The European Union (EU) has said 2.6 million people in Nigeria are at risk of the cholera epidemic.
The EU made this known in a statement on Monday in which it disclosed that it has allocated a fresh €500, 000 from its Epidemics Tool to contain the cholera epidemic heavily affecting Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States.
Of the 2.6 million vulnerable people, 1.6 are internally Displaced Persons (IDP) while 1 million are members of the local population. Presently, at least 11,820 cases and 382 associated deaths have been reported in these states.
EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič was quoted as saying: “Nigeria has been facing many crises at the same time, including measles and malaria outbreaks, record levels of food insecurity and malnutrition, and catastrophic flooding – the latter also impacting negatively on the spread of cholera.
“ In addition, the security situation has rendered access to many communities increasingly challenging. With the EU’s support, our humanitarian partners will work to reduce morbidity and mortality through early detection, awareness raising, health education and case management. “
The statement also noted that the EU has already allocated €100,000 to Nigeria in response to the floods affecting the country. “In October 2022, the EU also committed €700,000 million in humanitarian aid to support the fight against cholera epidemics in Syria, €100,000 million for the cholera outbreak in Ethiopia and €1 million for the cholera outbreak in Haiti”.