… UNICEF donates items to 14,000 households
Says, “items donated are enough to treat all cases in Niger”
BY OUR REPORTER
Sigh of relief as Niger state government on Wednesday disclosed that the Cholera endemic that caused panic few weeks ago has been put under control.
This is as the government said over three hundred and twenty patients who were admitted across the state have been discharged and free from the disease.
While speaking during a live Radio programme tagged Media Chat, organized by the State Ministry of Information and Strategy and monitored by our Reporter, the Commissioner for Primary Health Care, Dr. Ibrahim Ahmed Dangana said currently, less than 10 persons are on admission across the state.
Dr. Dangana while calling on the people not to engage in open defecation, said water treatment kits have been donated to help over 14,000 households to curb the endemic.
According to him “we recorded 14 deaths so far; and out of the 327 patients hospitalised as we speak we have discharged virtually all of them and have less than ten of them still on admission across the state for cholera”.
He disclosed that after the outbreak, the State immediately activated the State Inter Sectorial on Emergency Preparedness and Response; the Emergency Operation Centres (EOCs) in the state and activated the Disease Surveillance Systems the 274 wards and communities across the state.
“We identified isolation centres and similarly, we have what we call Cholera Treatment Units (CTU) in all the 25 LGAs across the state and these have really helped us in curbing the spread”, he added.
Dr. Dangana disclosed that, “the Ministry with support from various MDAs and partners like the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) was very active and I can tell you that we are winning the battle against cholera.”
He added that the Ministry has doubled the level of sensitization by reaching out to over 16,000 school children, went to markets, religious and traditional institutions to create awareness.
Also, when our Reporter spoke with the Health Specialist UNICEF, Kaduna Field Office, Dr. Idris Baba, he said “the supplies made so far are enough to treat all cases currently identified and admitted in the state”.
Accordingly, he said “some of the items are, Community and periphery AWD kits, cholera kits, 40 Cholera beds, Ringers lactate, Normal saline with giving sets.
“Others are antibiotics, scrubs, disposal gowns, heavy duty and surgical hand gloves, boots, water purification tabs, chlorine solutions, calcium hypochlorite, water testing and stool testing RDTs”.
Earlier, Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Hon. Binta Mamman said the state swung into action, after it was faced with the outbreak by carrying out sensitization.
Hon. Mamman said, all hands are on deck and all efforts are still in place to ensure the disease does not spread.