Plateau State Government in partnership with the United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF), has strengthened preparedness and response advocacy efforts to end the menace of cholera outbreak ravaging some local government areas in the state.

 

The cholera preparedness and response efforts initiated by the United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF) alongside Plateau State Primary Health Care Development Agency is aimed at equipping health workers with requisite knowledge within Case Area Targeted Intervention (CATI) for onward prevention across communities.

 

Recently the cases of cholera outbreak has been recorded in Barkin-Ladi, Bokkos, Mangu, Jos North and Jos South local governments.

 

The Chief of Field Officer, UNICEF Bauchi, Dr. Rafiq Nusrat, confirmed that Plateau State is currently experiencing a cholera outbreak which according to her the outbreak is very critical.

 

“We are focusing on the immediate response by reducing the number of deaths and cases, while also strengthening preparedness to prevent future outbreaks across all the LGAs.

 

“Currently, cases have been reported in Barkin Ladi, Bokkos, Mangu, Jos North and Jos South. These are priority areas where preparedness is especially important so that we can establish systems to prevent future outbreaks.

 

“However, this cannot be achieved through the health sector alone. Preventing cholera requires a multisectoral approach. Alongside vaccination, we have requested and received cholera vaccines for the affected LGAs in Plateau State.

 

“At the moment, CATI training is also ongoing. CATI stands for Case Area Targeted Interventions. Whenever a cholera case is identified in a community, we immediately go there and implement a package of interventions.

 

“These interventions combine health services, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), social mobilisation, and behaviour change activities.”All of these are very important because many children are malnourished, and pregnant women who are malnourished are particularly vulnerable to cholera.

 

“That is why we target the areas where cases are reported and implement area-specific interventions to prevent further infections, contain transmission within affected families, and prevent deaths through immediate support and treatment”, UNICEF Chief maintained.

 

Engr. Godfrey Dashuhar, the General Manager Plateau State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (PRUWASSA), highlights the rationale behind the training.

 

“This training was organised following the cholera cases recorded, first in Bokkos Local Government Area last year. At the time, we carried out the necessary response and thought the outbreak had been contained.

 

“However, this year, cholera resurfaced in Mangu Local Government Area. Again, we worked alongside our colleagues in the health sector to respond. But it became clear that cholera remains a serious concern because it continues to spread, and we have a responsibility to contain it.

 

“While our colleagues in the health sector are responsible for managing cholera cases, our role is to prevent further transmission. That is why we organised this training for five local government areas: Bokkos, Mangu, Barkin Ladi, Jos North and Jos South. The training is known as CATI which stands for Case Area Targeted Intervention. It is designed to equip response teams with the skills needed to quickly intervene in communities where cholera cases are reported”, Dashuhar stated.

 

PRUWASSA GM who led hygiene promoters to Jos North local government revealed why they choose Angwan Rukuba and Rikkos communities for the field exercise.

 

“The reason for selecting these two communities is that one of them—Rikkos—is an area where cholera cases have already been recorded.

 

“Angwan Rukuba, on the other hand, was selected as a preventive intervention because it is considered a community at risk, even though no confirmed cases have been recorded there yet.

 

“So, while Rikkos is receiving a response based on confirmed cases, Angwan Rukuba is benefiting from preventive measures aimed at stopping an outbreak before it occurs”, he added.

 

In her contribution, another Field Officer from Bauchi State, Mrs Ijeoma Terver, said they were in the state to build the capacity to eradicate cholera outbreak.

 

She said that the government are the owners of their states, they are drivers of those programmes.

 

Terver stressed that their function and presence in the state is just to support what the government is doing on intervention of the disease.