The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has approved an emergency payment of ₦100,000 per person weekly to support individuals placed in isolation or quarantine amid efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Federal Capital Territory.
The NCDC Director-General, Dr Jide Idris, disclosed this on Sunday during a briefing on the agency’s response to the outbreak, explaining that the intervention followed complaints from contacts about the cost of feeding, accommodation and family upkeep during public health monitoring.
Idris said the financial support was not part of the agency’s original plan but became necessary to ease the burden on individuals expected to comply with monitoring arrangements.
He stressed that the initiative should not be limited to the FCT, urging state governments to make adequate financial and logistical provisions to respond effectively to similar emergencies.
According to him, Nigeria had recorded one confirmed case as of the briefing, with 53 primary contacts identified for monitoring. The contacts include healthcare workers, household members, domestic staff and personnel involved in collecting samples from the patient.
He said public health teams were tracking the contacts based on their levels of exposure, with anyone developing symptoms to be assessed and tested.
The NCDC has also established isolation arrangements for contacts requiring them and is monitoring their health throughout the 21-day incubation period following their last possible exposure.
Idris disclosed that one contact who reported feeling unwell had tested negative, while surveillance and follow-up activities remained ongoing.
The agency is also strengthening infection prevention and control measures in healthcare facilities, training health workers and supporting the availability of protective equipment and laboratory supplies.
The confirmed case involves a woman who travelled from Uganda to Nigeria and tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus. She reportedly developed symptoms on October 7, sought medical attention in Abuja on October 11 and tested positive on October 20.
The World Health Organisation has classified the case as an imported infection, with investigations continuing to establish the likely source of exposure.
Idris said Nigeria was drawing on lessons from its successful containment of the 2014 Ebola outbreak, emphasising that the current response required cooperation among government agencies, healthcare workers, affected contacts and the public.
He urged Nigerians to rely on verified information, avoid spreading rumours and cooperate with public health officials conducting contact tracing and monitoring.
