The U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says Nigeria is transitioning from an emergency cholera response to building long-term resilience against the disease and other outbreaks.

Muhammad Saleh, a senior emergency management specialist at the U.S. CDC, attributed the feat to the partnership between Nigeria and the centre.

On Wednesday in Abuja, Mr Saleh said that the joint effort is focused on strengthening surveillance, laboratory capacity, and community-level interventions to contain recurring epidemics.

“Cholera has been a persistent challenge in Nigeria, but we are now going beyond reactive response. We are building systems that can withstand future outbreaks, from infection prevention and control to rapid community detection and treatment,” he said.

Mr Saleh said one major intervention was the widespread distribution of oral rehydration solutions and rapid diagnostic tests in high-burden states.

He added that the intervention enabled frontline health workers to quickly identify suspected cholera cases and provide lifesaving care.

Regarding laboratory strengthening, he noted that the U.S. CDC has collaborated with Nigerian authorities to equip testing facilities and train health workers to detect not only cholera but also other priority diseases, such as Lassa fever and meningitis.

He noted that Infection Prevention and Control measures have been reinforced through the training of disease experts and community health workers.

“So far, 2,400 community volunteers have been trained across the FCT, Sokoto, Ebonyi, and Ondo states. These volunteers are the first line of defence. They spot symptoms early, alert health facilities, and educate their neighbours on safe practices like hand-washing and proper sanitation,” he said.

To better allocate resources, the expert said that the CDC and the Nigerian government had developed a mapping tool that identifies cholera “hotspots” across the country.

“The tool helps determine which states and communities to prioritise during an outbreak,” he said.

Mr Saleh hailed the efforts of the Emergency Operations Centres, established in all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, as well as the governments that provided the necessary physical infrastructure.

According to him, the U.S. CDC supported training in public health emergency management, enabling states to better coordinate outbreak response and use data for informed decision-making.

He stressed that the progress made so far reflected the importance of collaboration.

“Not to say we have achieved everything, but we are far better than before. Our aim is long-term resilience. Everybody has a role: government, partners, communities, and families. The more we sustain these efforts, the more resilient Nigeria becomes,” he said.

(NAN)