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 as part of efforts to contain the reported Ebola outbreak in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The Director-General of the NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, disclosed this on Sunday during a briefing on Nigeria’s response to the outbreak, explaining that the intervention followed complaints from contacts about the financial burden of feeding, accommodation and maintaining their families while under public health monitoring.
“We are paying for their accommodation; we are paying for their feeding. Some of them are asking for a stipend to maintain their families,” Idris said.
He added that the agency had approved ₦100,000 per person weekly to help cover their upkeep during the monitoring period.
“We are providing ₦100,000 per person per week just to maintain their comfort and feeding, because they were complaining,” he said.
Idris explained that the payment was not part of the initial response plan but had become necessary under the circumstances. He said the arrangement would be reviewed as the public health response progressed.
“This was not planned for, but it is an emergency. We will continue to review it as we go along,” he stated.
The NCDC chief also urged state governments to prepare for similar emergencies, stressing that the financial and logistical responsibilities associated with outbreak management should not rest solely on the FCT administration.
According to him, other states must be ready to provide the resources required for contact tracing, isolation and other public health interventions should similar situations arise within their jurisdictions.
“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 financial support comes amid efforts by health authorities to prevent further transmission following the reported confirmation of an imported Ebola case in Abuja on October 20.
Idris said Nigeria had recorded one confirmed case as of the briefing, while 53 primary contacts had been identified for monitoring. They reportedly include healthcare workers, household members, domestic staff and personnel involved in collecting samples from the patient.
He explained that the contacts were being assessed according to their level of exposure and monitored by public health teams. Anyone who develops symptoms would undergo further assessment and testing.
The agency has also established isolation arrangements for contacts requiring them, with monitoring continuing throughout the 21-day incubation period following their last possible exposure.
Idris further disclosed that one contact who reported feeling unwell had tested negative, while surveillance and follow-up activities remained ongoing.
