Ebola: NCDC to Pay ₦100,000 Weekly to People in Isolation

BY TAIBAT UMMI YAKUBU

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has approved a weekly payment of ₦100,000 for each person placed in isolation or quarantine as part of measures to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The Director-General of the NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, announced the decision at a press briefing in Abuja on Sunday, explaining that the payment followed complaints from people being monitored about the cost of feeding, accommodation and supporting their families during the isolation period.

He said the intervention was introduced to ease their financial burden and encourage compliance with public health measures.

“We are providing ₦100,000 per person per week just to maintain their comfort and feeding, because they were complaining,” Idris said.

He added that the payment was not included in the agency’s initial response plan but had become necessary because of the circumstances surrounding the outbreak.

Idris also called on state governments to make adequate financial and logistical provisions for public health emergencies, stressing that outbreak response should not depend solely on the FCT administration.

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“This is not the responsibility of the FCT alone. What we have to do for the FCT, we have to do for any other state, just in case,” he said.

The NCDC chief disclosed that Nigeria had recorded one confirmed Ebola case as of Sunday, while 53 primary contacts had been identified for monitoring. They include healthcare workers, household members, domestic staff and personnel involved in collecting samples from the patient.

He said health officials were monitoring the contacts during the 21-day incubation period following their last possible exposure, with anyone who develops symptoms expected to undergo prompt medical assessment and testing.

According to Idris, one contact who reported feeling unwell had tested negative for the virus, while surveillance and follow-up activities remained ongoing.

The confirmed case involves a woman who travelled from Uganda to Nigeria and tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. Health authorities said she developed symptoms on October 7, sought medical attention in Abuja on October 11 and tested positive on October 20.

The NCDC said it was strengthening infection prevention and control measures in healthcare facilities, training health workers and supporting the supply of protective equipment and laboratory materials.

Idris urged Nigerians to avoid spreading unverified information and cooperate with public health officials as contact tracing and other containment measures continue.