NAN reports that the NSPACC and the 2022 work-plan is organised by NCDC, in collaboration with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.
Adetifa said that it was of concern that Africa’s most populous nation, with over 200 million people and the largest economy on the continent, can be so described.
“While many countries have since eliminated cholera, an infectious disease transmitted through poor environmental and personal hygiene, Nigeria remains one of the countries where it is endemic.
“With advancement in health and technology, Nigeria still has a long way to go as we experience cholera outbreaks annually.
“Ongoing cholera outbreaks show that resources, whether actual or perceived, are insufficient in keeping this disease at bay.
“While funding is crucial, it especially requires our political leaders’ commitment.
“It takes states knowing their outbreak and ensuring a state-specific response to address issues like safe water infrastructure,” he said.
According to the NCDC boss, “while all of this is easy to say theoretically, I know we are all aware that improving water and environmental safety to eliminate cholera is not an overnight task.”
He said that eliminating cholera had been the aim of endemic countries.
“However, mobilised funding, efforts and collaborations have become more visible with national cholera plans.
“These efforts must be monitored and evaluated, which is why we are here today.
“In 2018, the National Strategic Plan of Action for Cholera Control was developed with intervention areas from leadership and coordination to social mobilisation and Oral Cholera Vaccine (OCV) interventions.
“Today, four years later, with several devastating cholera outbreaks in between, the mission and vision remain the ambition to reduce cholera outbreaks,” he said.
He added that the meeting was to review the strategic plan to further the ambition.
Prof. Adebola Olayinka, World Health Organisation, Cholera and Incident Manager, said that the long-term solution for cholera control lies in economic development and universal access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.
Olayinka said that actions targeting environmental conditions included the implementation of adapted long-term sustainable WASH solutions to ensure the use of safe water, basic sanitation and good hygiene practices in cholera hotspots.
“In addition to cholera, such interventions prevent a wide range of other water-borne illnesses, as well as contribute to achieving goals related to poverty, malnutrition, and education.
“The WASH solutions for cholera are aligned with those of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 6),” she said.
Mr Abel Augustino, Country Support Platform (CSP), Country Support Manager-Delegate, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said that the Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC) is a network of governmental and non-governmental organisations.
“It includes UN agencies and scientific partner institutions that help coordinate activities for cholera control,” he said.
Augustino said that the GTFCC Secretariat is hosted at WHO.
“It operates via its in-country support mechanism, the CSP, which is hosted by the IFRC and provides direct country-level support in priority geographies.
“It gathers organisations working across different sectors through a platform to support countries in the implementation of the GTFCC’s Ending Cholera by 2030 Global Roadmap.
“It is a shared global strategy to achieve 90 per cent reduction in cholera deaths and cholera elimination in 20 countries by 2030,” he said.
He said that the objective of the CSP, Nigeria Resource Mobilisation Strategy, is to secure sustainable resources for all pillars to achieve the roadmap implementation and also to launch a roadmap and advocacy Task Force in the country.
According to him, this is also to secure commitments from donors for anticipated funding and funding gaps.
He added that it would also achieve full political engagement in cholera control from relevant partners and donors.
Augustino said that it would continue to elevate cholera on the regional and national agendas, and increase funding for long-term WASH in cholera hotspots in the country.
He added that the objectives would Institutionalise the use of cholera as an indicator of the highest priority WASH needs in major WASH donors and implementers.
Ms Annika Wedland, Senior Scientific Officer, GTFCC, said that the key role of the GTFCC is to promote and support the implementation of the Roadmap at the country level.
Wedland said that GTFCC also provides advocacy, coordination, policy guidance and technical assistance necessary for countries to develop National Cholera Plans and implement them effectively.
NAN recalls that a global strategy on cholera control, Ending Cholera: a global roadmap to 2030, with a target to reduce cholera deaths by 90 per cent was launched in 2017.
Researchers have estimated that each year there are 1.3 million to 4.0 million cases of cholera, and 21,000 to 143,000 deaths worldwide due to cholera.
Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal disease that can kill within hours if left untreated.
The provision of safe water and sanitation is critical to preventing and controlling the transmission of cholera and other waterborne diseases.
Severe cases will need rapid treatment with intravenous fluids and antibiotics.
Experts recommend oral cholera vaccines, with improvements in water and sanitation to control cholera outbreaks and for prevention in areas known to be at high risk for cholera.
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