By Juliana Ekong
The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has stressed the need for regular hand washing with clean, running water, soap and avoiding consumption of uncooked vegetables, unwashed fruits, raw or undercooked seafood, and food from street vendors as ways to reduce the risk of cholera infection.
This advice came in the wake of the recent outbreak of cholera in Lagos and some parts of Nigeria.
Celin Lafoucrier, UNICEF Lagos Chief of Field Office, noted that, “Good water and sanitation infrastructure play a crucial role in reducing disease outbreaks, such as cholera, which causes an estimated 100,000 deaths annually. Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions are fundamental in preventing and responding to cholera epidemics. Safe water supplies, hygienic sanitation, and effective water management are key elements in this effort “.
” Increasing access to safe drinking water, improving sanitation and hygiene, and better water management can prevent almost one-tenth of the global disease burden. Community access to sanitation, like simple latrines, prevents drinking water contamination from human waste, reducing infections, ” Regular hand washing with soap and safe drinking water storage are also high-impact practices “. Lafoucrier continued
According to her, “Investing in drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, and water resource management systems is economically beneficial, each dollar invested yields up to eight dollars in benefits. Safer water could annually prevent 1.4 million child deaths from diarrhea, 500,000 deaths from malaria, and 860,000 child deaths from malnutrition, and protect 10 million people from serious illnesses like lymphatic filariasis and trachoma “.
Lafoucrier added that cholera, outbreaks hinder Nigeria’s progress in achieving health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3, which focuses on ensuring healthy lives and well-being for all, the outbreaks strain Nigeria’s health system, diverting limited resources from essential services like routine immunizations and maternal and child care, undermining universal health coverage “.
“It also disrupt health programs, leading to resurgences of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and diphtheria, which hinder efforts to reduce child mortality and control epidemics, she disclosed that, economically, outbreaks shift funds from primary healthcare to emergency response, causing economic downturns that reduce health budgets and government revenues, further straining health services”.
“It also presents opportunities to strengthen Nigeria’s health system. A robust response is needed to improve health infrastructure, enhance economic resilience, and ensure equitable access to health services. This is essential for mitigating the impact of outbreaks and progressing towards sustainable health outcomes “. She said.
She further explained that Community-led surveillance can enforce sanitation practices, with empowered local monitors ensuring compliance, access to clean water and sanitation will prevent outbreaks.