The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has approved an emergency payment of ₦100,000 per person weekly to support individuals placed in isolation or quarantine amid efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Federal Capital Territory.
The NCDC Director-General, Dr Jide Idris, disclosed this during a press briefing on Sunday, explaining that the measure followed complaints from some contacts about the cost of food, accommodation and providing for their families while under public health monitoring.
Idris said the financial support was introduced as an emergency measure to ease the burden on affected individuals and encourage those identified as contacts to comply with monitoring arrangements without facing additional financial difficulties.
“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 added that preparedness should not be limited to the Federal Capital Territory, noting that other states must also be ready to provide similar support if such emergencies occur.
“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 said state governments should ensure they have the necessary funds, supplies and logistical arrangements to support contact tracing, isolation and other emergency response measures within their jurisdictions.
The payment comes as health authorities step up efforts to prevent further spread of Ebola following the confirmation of an imported case in Abuja on October 20.
Idris said Nigeria had recorded one confirmed Ebola case as 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 explained that the contacts were being classified based on their level of exposure and monitored by public health teams. Anyone who develops symptoms would undergo medical assessment and testing.
The NCDC has also put isolation arrangements in place for contacts who require them, while health officials continue to monitor their condition throughout the 21-day incubation period after their last possible exposure.
Idris said one of the contacts who reported feeling unwell had tested negative for Ebola, adding that surveillance and follow-up activities were ongoing.
He said the agency was also stepping up infection prevention and control measures in healthcare facilities through staff training and the provision 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 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 case as an imported infection, noting that investigations are ongoing to determine 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 the prompt identification of contacts.
Nigeria previously contained an Ebola outbreak in 2014 through early case detection, contact tracing, isolation and coordinated public health interventions.
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.