The Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Emergency Working Group has expressed concern over the incessant outbreak of cholera in parts of the country.
The group conveyed the concern in Abuja on Wednesday at a meeting organised to assess WASH Emergency Response plans.
Mr Ibiyemi Olu-Daniels, who gave an update on cholera situation, said that the group had received reports of outbreak of suspected and confirmed cases of cholera with some deaths.
“In Bauchi State, 84 cases were reported last week and seven cases were also reported yesterday (Tuesday), while Adamawa has reported no fewer than 1,637 suspected cases.
“Twenty-six cholera deaths have been reported in Adamawa State: 14 in Mubi North Local Government Area (LGA) and 12 in Mubi South LGA,” Olu-Daniels said.
Also speaking, Mr Noor Bakhsh, a WASH Specialist in Emergency Response, underscored the need to close the funding gap in emergency interventions in the North East geo-political zone, saying it still stood at 84 per cent.
He noted that the gap would hinder response activities, especially interventions in the provision of water supply and sanitation facilities.
He also stressed that proper emphasis should be placed on the operation and maintenance of water systems.
Bakhsh said it was worrisome that only 16 per cent of funding requirements was available, adding that about 48.7 million U.S. dollars would be required to finance humanitarian response activities in the North East in 2018.
“This administration should continue in its efforts to arrest the incidences of water-borne diseases, especially cholera, and this is what the WASH sector partners are doing through the humanitarian response plan.
“The critical needs of water are still there, a lot of funding is needed; it is saddening that only 16 per cent of the needed funding has been received so far. So, we need to change the narratives,’’ he said.
He urged the Federal Government to start the implementation of its response plan, while commending the government for drilling eight boreholes in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Borno.
Bakhsh said that the group’s collaboration with Borno State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency had been quite beneficial, adding, however, that there was a need to initiate deliberate strategies to halt the spread of preventable diseases.
He also spoke on the Cholera Hotspot mapping, which was carried out by the WHO, UNICEF, in collaboration with the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, in the last five years.
He said that the report showed that Nigeria had the highest incidence of cholera cases in West Africa, with 14 states likely to have reoccurring episodes.
He listed the states as Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Nasarawa, Bauchi, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Zamfara, Niger, Kebbi, Kwara and Benue.
Bakhsh stressed that the data showed the likelihood of witnessing more cholera outbreaks, following the frequency of disease occurrence in high, low and moderate ranges.
He, therefore, urged the Federal Government to prioritise plans to expand the citizens’ access to water supply, sanitation and hygiene facilities so as to minimise the risks that could occur.
Mr Baba Galadima, the official managing WASH sector collaborations in Federal Ministry of Water Resources, said that due to the recent cholera outbreak in parts of the country, the group had activated its Emergency Operation Centre in the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control.
He said that the ministry had also started the execution of its WASH Preparedness Plan to intervene in the affected areas. (NAN)
