Despite a surge in cholera cases across 31 states in Nigeria, the Nigerian Correctional Services has announced that none of its custodial centres have reported any cases of the disease.
The NCoS attributes this success to the routine hygienic measures in place, which have helped prevent the spread of cholera.
According to The PUNCH, the NCoS spokesman, Abubakar Umar, the service has taken steps to ensure adequate water supply and good hygiene in all custodial facilities.
Umar said, “A lack of potable water and poor hygiene often exacerbates cholera. We have taken steps to provide adequate water and maintain good hygiene in our custodial facilities.
“We have professional community health professionals who see to it that staff and inmates are properly educated on some basic hygiene mechanisms such as regular hand washing, proper handling of their food, and keeping their surroundings clean and hygienic.
“Due to these measures, we have not recorded any cholera outbreak or any such epidemic in our custodial centres,” Umar stated.
Umar emphasised that the NCoS had a healthcare system, encompassing various medical professionals and consistent medical supplies, noting that severe medical cases are referred to government hospitals for further treatment.
He highlighted the partnership with the NCDC, which ensures the distribution of essential hygiene supplies like soaps, sanitisers, toiletries, and disinfectants.
Umar also pointed to the effective management of COVID-19 within their facilities as evidence of their proactive health measures.
“We did not record any COVID-19 cases in our custodial centres as a result of the proactive measure we put in place to secure our facilities from such outbreaks,” he said.
As of Monday, the NCDC reported 1,528 suspected cases of cholera and 53 deaths in 31 states across 107 Local Government Areas. The World Health Organisation, UN Children’s Fund, and International Organisation for Migration held an emergency meeting in Lagos to address the cholera outbreak.
