Nigeria recorded 23,550 suspected cases of cholera in 2022, with Borno taking the lead with 12,459 cases.

The country also lost 583 lives to the scourge in 2022, director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Ifedayo Adetifa, said on Friday in Abuja.

He said Yobe placed second with 1,888 cases, while Katsina followed with 1,632 cases. Taraba had 1,142 cases, Gombe had 1,407 cases, and Kano recorded 1,131 cases. The six states accounted for 84 per cent of all cholera cases in Nigeria in 2022, Mr Adetifa said.

He revealed that 52 per cent of cholera victims in 2022 were female, and males accounted for the balance of 48 per cent. The NCDC boss put the fatality rate at 2.5 per cent of cases reported in 33 states.

Mr Adetifa said children between the ages of five and 14 were the most affected, noting that bacterial cholera, endemic during the rainy season, is an acute diarrhoeal disease passing through faeces, contaminated foods and drinks and unhygienic environment and causes severe dehydration.

He lamented that cholera is largely associated with rural communities and among the poor with poor nutrition, poor water quality, and poor sanitation and had not gotten the desired attention from governments.

Mr Adetifa said the rise in cholera cases in Nigeria was exacerbated by limited access to clean water and sanitation facilities, open defecation and poor hygiene practices. He cautioned that without proper Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) practices, Nigeria would continue to be at risk of cholera outbreaks along with the associated sufferings and deaths.

“The long-term solution for cholera control lies in access to safe drinking water, maintenance of proper sanitation (especially the discontinuation of open defecation) and the practice of hygiene,” he explained. “Nigerians should avoid open defecation and indiscriminate refuse dumping, which contribute to the spread of cholera.”

In 2016, Nigeria launched an action plan to end open defecation by 2025. The plan involves providing equitable access to water, sanitation, and hygiene services and strengthening tailored community approaches to total sanitation.

According to experts, Nigeria needs an estimated N959 billion to end open defecation by 2025. 

(NAN)