The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has approved a weekly payment of ₦100,000 for each person placed under isolation or quarantine as Nigeria steps up efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in Abuja.
The emergency financial support is designed to ease the burden on people being monitored for possible exposure to the virus, following complaints about the cost of feeding, accommodation and maintaining their families during the process.
NCDC Director-General, Dr Jide Idris, disclosed the intervention during a press briefing on Sunday, explaining that authorities introduced the payment to ensure financial difficulties did not discourage people from complying with public health monitoring.
Idris said the agency had already been covering accommodation and feeding costs but decided to provide additional financial assistance after some contacts raised concerns about supporting their families while under monitoring.
He explained that the ₦100,000 weekly allowance was an emergency arrangement that would be reviewed as the outbreak response progressed.
The NCDC chief also warned that the Federal Capital Territory should not be left alone to shoulder the financial and logistical demands of containing the outbreak, stressing that state governments must be ready to provide similar support if cases emerge in their jurisdictions.
He said effective containment required adequate funding, contact tracing, isolation facilities and other resources to be available wherever an outbreak occurred.
The intervention comes as health authorities intensify surveillance following the confirmation of an imported case of Ebola in Abuja on October 20.
Nigeria had recorded one confirmed case as of Sunday, with 53 primary contacts identified for monitoring. They include healthcare workers, household members, domestic staff and personnel involved in collecting samples from the patient.
Public health teams are monitoring the contacts according to their level of exposure, with anyone developing symptoms to undergo further assessment and testing.
Authorities have also made isolation arrangements for contacts who require them and are monitoring their health throughout the 21-day incubation period after their last possible exposure.
Idris disclosed that one contact who reported feeling unwell had tested negative for Ebola, while surveillance and follow-up activities continued.
The NCDC is also strengthening infection prevention measures in healthcare facilities, training medical personnel and providing protective equipment and laboratory supplies to support the response.
The confirmed case involves a woman who travelled to Nigeria from Uganda and tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus. She reportedly developed symptoms on October 7, sought medical attention in Abuja on October 11 and received a positive test result on October 20.
The World Health Organisation has classified the infection as an imported case, with investigations ongoing to establish the likely source of exposure.
The wider regional outbreak has also affected the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya, raising concerns about cross-border transmission and the need for rapid identification and monitoring of contacts.
Nigeria successfully contained an Ebola outbreak in 2014 through early case detection, isolation, contact tracing and coordinated public health interventions.
Idris said the agency was applying lessons from that experience to strengthen preparedness across the country, emphasising that preventing further transmission would require cooperation among government authorities, healthcare workers, affected contacts and the public.
He urged Nigerians to avoid spreading unverified information, rely on credible health updates and cooperate with officials carrying out contact tracing and monitoring.
