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The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon has earmarked N720m to support outbreaks of cholera in Bauchi, Adamawa and Yobe States that affected thousands of people.
The outbreaks have been officially declared in four Local Government Areas on March 28, 2018, with reported cases of over 400 with 27 deaths.
In a statement released yesterday, Kallon said: “The reported cases of cholera represented 3.7 per cent of fatality rate in the Northeastern region.”
He said the United Nations and its partners activated an immediate emergency response in the affected communities in support of the states’ Ministry of Health.
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Kallon, who declared that additional resources are needed to contain the outbreak, warned that as the rainy season was about to commence, there is high risk of cholera outbreaks with increased water-borne diseases.
According to him, the funds would enable humanitarian partners to provide safe water to over 1.6m people, including improvement in sanitation in the affected communities of Gashua and Mubi.
“Raising awareness of how to identify, prevent and treat cholera is also a key part of the response to the outbreak,” he said.
