At a time several countries in the world have declared a total eradication of Cholera, Nigeria is still battling with the scourge. Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium vibrio cholera. This water borne disease has spread across the whole thirty six states of the federation and we are yet to nip it in the bud. At the moment, three Local Governments (Mubi South, Mubi North and Hong) in Adamawa state are currently battling a Cholera outbreak with 985 patients treated and 16 deaths recorded.

The disease which occurs so predictably it has become an annual epidemic has continued to claim hundreds of lives annually without government putting in place the necessary preventive mechanisms. The existing system has remained the “fire brigade” approach where we send health officers to the rural areas when the epidemic begins and return to the status quo after the whole episode.

The bad news is that Cholera will kill more Nigerians in years to come until government addresses the root cause of this disease which is zero access to clean water and uncontrolled open defecation. Majority of communities suffering from Cholera are located in rural areas with zero government presence. Their only source of clean water is through streams that are contaminated going by the multiple usage of the streams. The same stream they used for feeding their animals and washing their clothes is also used for drinking and cooking.

This is made worse by uncontrolled open defecation in these communities due to lack of sanitary facilities. The action of surface runoff water will later move these feaces into the large body of water which later goes into their body system. Adamawa state Government must as a reason of urgency address the unavailability of clean water and continued open defecation in these places as a starter to the eradication of Cholera. Also, toilet facilities must be constructed for them to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Cholera has killed too many people in the country, we need to save the remaining ones from sudden death.

tosin adesina