Cholera hits Nigeria hard

The West African country of Nigeria has been hit hard by a cholera epidemic that has claimed a total of 296 lives. The health authorities are on alert.

While the Coronavirus pandemic has not finished claiming victims in the most populated African country, cholera comes to complicates further the task of health authorities. On Thursday, seven people died from the disease, bringing the death toll to 296.

Dr. Mohammed Kawu, Acting Secretary of the Health and Social Services Secretariat, said another 91 people had been diagnosed with cholera in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, adding that emergency supplies of drugs and medical equipment are being sent to areas affected by the disease.

Nearly 11,000 people have been diagnosed with cholera since January 2021 in the West African country

, which is faced with the inability to meet the need for clean water, hence the frequent recurrence of the disease. In addition, the inadequacy and slowness of the response of health authorities, increasing the risk of spreading the disease.

It is not only cholera, which occurs every year, especially during the rainy season, that threatens Nigeria. The country is caught in a spiral of epidemics such as malaria, polio, typhoid, and smallpox. For the moment, Nigerian health authorities are on alert and are trying to contain the disease, which is already beginning to gain ground.