FG To Pay ₦100,000 Weekly To People Isolated Over Ebola Outbreak

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has approved an emergency payment of ₦100,000 per person weekly to support people isolated or quarantined over the Ebola outbreak in the Federal Capital Territory.

NCDC Director-General, Dr Jide Idris, disclosed this during a press briefing on Sunday, explaining that the support became necessary after some contacts complained about the cost of feeding, accommodation and maintaining their families while under monitoring.

“We are paying for their accommodation; we are paying for their feeding. Some of them are asking for a stipend to maintain their families,” Idris said.

He added that the agency was providing ₦100,000 per person weekly to cover their basic needs during isolation.

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

Idris stressed that the responsibility should not rest solely on the FCT, urging other states to prepare the necessary funding and logistics for similar emergencies.

“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 added.

Nigeria had recorded one confirmed Ebola case at the time of the briefing, involving a woman who travelled from Uganda to Abuja. The case was confirmed on October 20, with 53 primary contacts identified for monitoring.

The NCDC said contact tracing and health surveillance were ongoing, with contacts monitored throughout the 21-day incubation period following their last possible exposure.