Yuletide: FCTA Heightens Surveillance System On Cholera, Ebola, Others

In a bid to avert an outbreak of deadly diseases in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the FCT Administration (FCTA) has heightened its disease surveillance system against key diseases like Cholera, Ebola, Monkeypox, meningitis, measles, and COVID-19.

The FCTA disclosed that the Epidemiological Division of the Public Health Department, under the FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat (HHSS), has gone into the alert mode of all the diseases, posing mortal dangers to humans.

The director of the FCT Public Health Department, Dr. Sadiq Abdulrahaman, made this known while briefing journalists on the state of preparedness and response of the FCTA health sector, in Abuja.

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Abdulrahaman said the FCT was on a high alert mode, as part of proactive measures taken, even though it has not witnessed any serious outbreak of the diseases within the year ending.

He added that periodically, there was a weekly review, in conjunction with FCTA partners like WHO, NCDC, and Disease Surveillance and Notification officers, who are key foot soldiers at the Area Councils level.

“For Ebola viral disease, which is a big global disease of public health concern, though it is not yet witnessed in Nigeria except for the last case in 2014, we are aware that there is already an outbreak in DRC Congo, with so many consequences from quite a several deaths, and closure of schools.

“So, in FCT we have executed a high alert mode even though we have not witnessed any case yet. Proactive measures have been taken. Our surveillance system is heightened, and the FCT Administration bought quite a several commodities, particularly for these key diseases like Cholera that we witnessed in 2021.

“We went on advocacy visits to key stakeholders, especially in those Area Councils that had high potent of the disease during the outbreak such as AMAC, Kuje, and Bwari. Also, there is ongoing training and retraining of our health workers especially those involved in periodic reporting of these diseases.

“Of course, awareness creation and support from stakeholders especially the media is key to getting to the grassroots, as it can only be mitigated if those in the hinterlands get the timely and right information, to take the right decision concerning their health,” he stated.