The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has approved an emergency payment of N100,000 per person weekly to support people placed in isolation or quarantine as part of efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Federal Capital Territory.
The NCDC Director-General, Dr Jide Idris, during a press briefing on Sunday, said the payment was introduced after some contacts complained about the cost of feeding, accommodation and maintaining their families while undergoing public health monitoring.
Idris disclosed this during a briefing on the agency’s response to the outbreak, explaining that the financial support was an emergency measure to ensure that people identified as contacts could comply with monitoring arrangements without facing additional financial hardship.
“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 boss explained that the intervention was not originally planned but became necessary because of the circumstances surrounding the outbreak. He said the agency would continue to review the arrangement 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 also stressed that the Federal Capital Territory should not be the only jurisdiction prepared to provide such support, warning that other states would need to make adequate financial and logistical provisions should similar emergencies arise.
“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.
According to him, state governments must be prepared to provide the resources and materials required to support contact tracing, isolation and other response activities within their jurisdictions.
The payment comes as health authorities intensify efforts to prevent further transmission of Ebola following the confirmation of an imported case in Abuja on October 20.
Idris said Nigeria had recorded one confirmed case at the time of the briefing, with 53 primary contacts identified for monitoring. The contacts include healthcare workers, household members, domestic staff and personnel involved in collecting samples from the patient.
He said the contacts were being categorised according to their exposure and followed up by public health teams, while anyone developing symptoms would be assessed and tested.
The NCDC had also established isolation arrangements for contacts requiring them, with officials monitoring their health throughout the 21-day incubation period following their last possible exposure.
Idris said one contact who reported feeling unwell had tested negative, adding that surveillance and follow-up were continuing.
The agency was also strengthening infection prevention and control measures in healthcare facilities, training personnel and supporting the availability of protective equipment and laboratory supplies.
The confirmed case involves a woman who travelled to Nigeria from Uganda and tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus. She developed symptoms on October 7, sought medical attention in Abuja on October 11 and was confirmed positive on October 20.
The World Health Organisation has identified the case as an imported infection and said investigations were continuing to establish the likely source of exposure. The ongoing regional outbreak has also affected the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya, underscoring the importance of cross-border surveillance and rapid identification of contacts.
Nigeria previously contained an Ebola outbreak in 2014 through case identification, contact tracing, isolation and coordinated public health action.
Idris said the NCDC was drawing on lessons from that experience while strengthening preparedness across states, warning that containing the current outbreak would require cooperation among government agencies, healthcare workers, affected contacts and the wider public.
He urged Nigerians to rely on verified information, avoid spreading rumours and cooperate with public health officials conducting contact tracing and monitoring.