from EMEKA OKONKWO in Abuja, Nigeria
Nigeria Bureau
ABUJA, (CAJ News) – NIGERIA lost no fewer than 583 people to cholera in the just-ended year.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) confirmed the deaths from a total of 23 550 cases of the water borne disease during the period.
The death toll and caseload is much likely higher considering the figures are for the first 47 weeks of the year.
Figures for the remaining five weeks could not be ascertained at the time of publication.
Nonetheless, this is significantly lower than the 3 604 deaths recorded from 111 662 cases recorded in 2021, the year the West African country experienced one of the worst cholera outbreaks in years.
Thirty-two (32) states, out of 36, and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) reported suspected cholera cases in 2022.
Of the suspected cases since the beginning of the year, the age group 5 -14 years is the most affected.
Of all suspected cases, 49 percent are males and 51 percent are females.
More than half (53 percent) of the cases are in Borno, the northeastern state most affected by the Islamist insurgency.
NCDC listed challenges including difficulty in accessing some communities due to security concerns, open defecation in affected communities, lack of potable drinking water in some rural areas and urban slums as well as poor hygiene practice in most cholera affected communities.
– CAJ News