Borno Government has inaugurated an 11-member committee for the control of cholera outbreaks in the state.
Inaugurating the committee in Maiduguri on Tuesday, the State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Umar Kadafur, said it became necessary now that the government had embarked on resettlement of displaced persons back into their various communities.
Kadafur said that government would provide the committee with all the needed support to successfully carry out its assignment.
Kadafur also urged members of the public to take precautionary measures by observing strict hygiene like regular hand washing before eating and after visiting the toilet, covering of food and warming of leftover foods before consumption.
“Mr Chairman, members of the committee, you are all appointed based on your individual merit, experience and personal integrity and therefore, you should work hard to justify the confidence reposed in you by the government, ” Kadafur said.
He listed the committee terms of reference to include determining the cause of the outbreak, extend of the outbreak in the state and the level of preparedness on the ground to contain the outbreak.
Others include requirements for the control of the outbreak and activation of all Local Government Areas Rapid Response Teams.
Responding, the Chairman of the committee, Prof. Hussaini Marte, thanked the government for the confidence reposed in them and assured them that they would deliver.
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“I promise you that we are going to contain this situation, and also we are going to recommend preventive measures to prevent reoccurrence in future.
“We will also work with World Health Organisation (WHO) which has experience in containing such situations.
“We are swinging into action today,” Marte said.
Giving an update on the situation, the Commissioner of Health who is also the Secretary of the committee, Mrs Juliana Bitrus, said 10 LGAs were now affected as against the initial seven and that so far, 917 suspected cases were reported with 43 deaths.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 10 LGAs affected by the outbreak in Borno are: Gwoza, Magumeri, Kaga, Hawul, Maiduguri, Damboa, Jere, Biu, Shani, and Kwaya–Kusar.
