Peter Okoye, PBA Journalism MenteeBorno State in the Northeastern part of Nigeria which had four months of consecutive Cholera outbreaks is now free of the disease, as declared by the state government recently.
The State Director of Public Health, Dr Goni Abba, said the announcement followed the successive decline in cases below the emergency threshold, and an epidemiological review carried out in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The state recorded 12,496 confirmed cases with 394 deaths (confirmed 288, and suspected 106 deaths) from (17 September 2022 to 23 December 2022) in 17 out of 27 Local Government Areas.
Dr Abba, however, explained that the epidemiology of Cholera in Nigeria does not mean that new cases of the disease would not be detected in the state as the year goes by.
He further reiterated the state’s commitment towards ensuring a reduction in Cholera deaths through vaccination, strengthened disease surveillance, early detection and appropriate treatment.
The Director expressed gratitude to WHO and other partners for their collaboration with Borno State in managing the Cholera outbreak from when it was confirmed and reported till it was declared over.
“I would like to appreciate WHO technical officers for their leadership and guidance in containing the outbreak. Although the emergency phase is over, I appeal to all health partners to work in synergy to build a sustainable health response that will save lives,” Dr Abba said.
In her reaction, the WHO Northeast Emergency Manager, Dr Beatrice Muraguri, noted that the WHO technical officers have been part of the Cholera emergency response since the first cases were reported.
Muraguri stressed that Cholera is one of the fatal endemic diseases ravaging the lives of the most vulnerable people, and the prompt Cholera coordination by the Borno State government yielded a good result.
On how they arrived at the Cholera free status for the state, the WHO official said: “The outbreak was declared over after there were no cases reported following weeks of heightened surveillance in the affected LGAs. This provides an opportunity to review lessons leant and strengthen our public health preparedness, detection, surveillance and response for the upcoming rainy season.
“Meanwhile, WHO will continue to work towards the 2030 Global Roadmap for Ending Cholera by providing technical guidance to the state government, preparing and preposition kits to avert Cholera outbreaks from occurring,” she said.
In their effort to kick Cholera out of the State, WHO supported Borno State by donating 85 foldable beds for emergency treatments, led the coordination of health partners during the outbreak response, provided life-saving intervention by strengthening the capacity of 516 healthcare workers to improve the surveillance system, raising public awareness through risk communication and community engagement. All these contributed to the early reporting of cases and management across the hotspots LGAs.
The Cholera outbreak was confirmed by the State government in September 2022, and it was declared over on 23 December 2022.
This was made possible by WHO in partnership with the Government of Germany, European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), the Nigerian Humanitarian Fund (NHF), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).
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