FG Approves N100,000 Weekly Stipend for Ebola Contacts in Isolation

The Federal Government has approved a weekly payment of N100,000 for people undergoing isolation or quarantine as Nigeria intensifies efforts to contain an Ebola outbreak in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Dr Jide Idris, disclosed this on Sunday during a briefing on the country’s response to the outbreak.

He said the intervention followed complaints from people identified as contacts of the confirmed case. Some expressed concern about the cost of feeding, accommodation and providing for their families while complying with public health monitoring.

Idris explained that the financial support would help ease their burden and encourage compliance with measures designed to prevent further transmission.

“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 chief described the payment as an emergency intervention that officials had not initially planned. However, he said the circumstances surrounding the outbreak made the support necessary.

“This was not planned for, but it is an emergency. We will continue to review it as we go along,” Idris said.

He also urged state governments to prepare for similar emergencies rather than leave the financial and logistical burden to the FCT alone.

“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 must provide the resources needed for contact tracing, isolation and other public health interventions within their jurisdictions.

The financial assistance comes as health authorities step up surveillance following the confirmation of an imported Ebola case in Abuja on October 20.

Nigeria had recorded one confirmed case as of Sunday, while health officials identified 53 primary contacts for monitoring. The contacts include healthcare workers, household members, domestic staff and personnel who collected samples from the patient.

Idris said public health teams were assessing the contacts according to their level of exposure and monitoring them for symptoms. Anyone who develops symptoms will undergo further assessment and testing.

The NCDC has also arranged isolation for contacts who require it and is monitoring their health throughout the 21-day incubation period after their last possible exposure.

According to Idris, one contact who reported feeling unwell tested negative for the virus. He said surveillance and follow-up activities would continue.

Meanwhile, the agency is strengthening infection prevention and control measures in healthcare facilities. It is also training health workers and supporting the provision of protective equipment and laboratory supplies.

The confirmed case involves a woman who travelled from Uganda to Nigeria and tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus.

She developed symptoms on October 7 and sought medical attention in Abuja on October 11. Authorities confirmed the infection on October 20.

The World Health Organisation has classified the case as an imported infection, while investigations continue to establish the likely source of exposure.

The outbreak has also affected the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya, highlighting the need for cross-border surveillance and rapid identification of people who may have come into contact with infected individuals.

Nigeria successfully contained an Ebola outbreak in 2014 through prompt case identification, contact tracing, isolation and coordinated public health interventions.

Idris said the NCDC was applying lessons from that experience to strengthen preparedness across the country.

He stressed that containing the current outbreak would require cooperation among government agencies, healthcare workers, people under monitoring and the wider public.

The NCDC director-general urged Nigerians to rely on verified information, avoid spreading rumours and cooperate with public health officials conducting contact tracing and monitoring.