The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has approved a weekly payment of ₦100,000 for people placed in isolation or quarantine following Nigeria’s confirmed Ebola case, to help cover feeding, accommodation and family expenses during monitoring.
The NCDC Director-General, Dr Jide Idris, disclosed this during a press briefing on Sunday, explaining that the emergency support followed complaints from people identified as contacts about the financial burden of complying with public health measures.
Idris said some contacts had raised concerns about how to cater for their families while undergoing monitoring, prompting the agency to introduce the payment.
“We are paying for their accommodation; we are paying for their feeding. Some of them are asking for a stipend to maintain their families,” he said.
He added: “We are providing N100,000 per person per week just to maintain their comfort and feeding, because they were complaining.”
The NCDC chief said the payment was not part of the agency’s original plan but had become necessary because of the emergency. He added that the arrangement would be reviewed as the response progressed.
“This was not planned for, but it is an emergency. We will continue to review it as we go along,” Idris said.
He stressed that the responsibility for supporting people affected by public health emergencies should not rest solely on the Federal Capital Territory, warning that other states must also be prepared to provide financial and logistical support if cases emerge in 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.
Idris urged state governments to make adequate provisions for contact tracing, isolation and other emergency response activities.
The intervention comes as health authorities intensify efforts to prevent further transmission of Ebola following confirmation of an imported case in Abuja on October 20.
According to Idris, Nigeria had recorded one confirmed case at the time of the briefing, with 53 primary contacts identified for monitoring. They include healthcare workers, household members, domestic staff and personnel involved in collecting samples from the patient.
He said public health teams were categorising contacts according to their level of exposure and monitoring their health. Anyone who develops symptoms will be assessed and tested.
The NCDC has also established isolation arrangements for contacts who require them, with health officials monitoring exposed individuals throughout the 21-day incubation period following their last possible exposure.
Idris disclosed that one contact who reported feeling unwell had tested negative, while surveillance and follow-up activities continued.
The agency is also strengthening infection prevention and control measures in healthcare facilities, training health workers and supporting the supply of protective equipment and laboratory materials.
The confirmed case involves a woman who travelled to Nigeria from Uganda and tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus. She developed symptoms on October 7, sought medical attention in Abuja on October 11 and tested positive on October 20.
The World Health Organisation has classified the infection as imported, while investigations continue to establish the likely source of exposure. The wider regional outbreak has also affected the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya, highlighting the need for cross-border surveillance and rapid identification of contacts.
Nigeria successfully contained an Ebola outbreak in 2014 through case identification, contact tracing, isolation and coordinated public health action.
Idris said the NCDC was applying lessons from that experience while strengthening preparedness across the country. He called for cooperation among government agencies, healthcare workers, affected contacts and members of the public.
He also urged Nigerians to rely on verified information, avoid spreading rumours and cooperate with public health officials carrying out contact tracing and monitoring.
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