NCDC approves N100,000 weekly stipend for Ebola contacts

… Emergency support to cover feeding, accommodation, family upkeep By Chioma Obinna & Chidinma Chukwu The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, yesterday announced the approval of an emergency payment of N100,000 per person weekly for individuals placed in isolation or quarantine as part of efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.

The Director-General of the NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, disclosed this at a press briefing in Abuja on Sunday, explaining that the financial intervention was introduced after some contacts raised concerns about the cost of feeding, accommodation and maintaining their families while undergoing mandatory public health monitoring. Idris said the measure was intended to ease the financial burden on individuals identified as contacts of the confirmed Ebola patient and ensure their cooperation with public health authorities.

“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 was not part of the agency’s original response plan but had become necessary under the prevailing circumstances.

“This was not planned for, but it is an emergency. We will continue to review it as we go along,” he said. Idris warned that the responsibility for financing emergency public health interventions should not rest solely on the FCT, stressing that state governments must make adequate financial and logistical provisions to respond to similar outbreaks.

“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. According to him, state authorities must be prepared to provide the resources, personnel and materials required for contact tracing, isolation and other emergency response activities within their jurisdictions.

The warning comes as health authorities intensify surveillance and containment measures following the confirmation of an imported Ebola case in Abuja on October 20. Nigeria had recorded one confirmed case as of the briefing, with 53 primary contacts identified for monitoring, according to Idris. The contacts include healthcare workers, household members, domestic staff and personnel involved in collecting samples from the patient.

He said public health teams were categorising the contacts according to their levels of exposure and conducting follow-up checks, while anyone who developed symptoms would be promptly assessed and tested. The NCDC has also established isolation arrangements for contacts who require them, with health officials monitoring their condition throughout the 21-day incubation period following their last possible exposure.

Idris disclosed that one contact who reported feeling unwell had tested negative, adding that surveillance and follow-up activities remained ongoing. The agency is also strengthening infection prevention and control measures in healthcare facilities, training health personnel and supporting the availability of protective equipment and laboratory supplies.

The confirmed case involves a woman who travelled to Nigeria from Uganda and tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus. According to the timeline provided by the health authorities, she developed symptoms on October 7, sought medical attention in Abuja on October 11 and was confirmed positive on October 20. The World Health Organisation has identified the infection as an imported case, with investigations continuing to establish the likely source of exposure.

The regional outbreak has also affected the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya, highlighting the need for stronger cross-border surveillance, rapid case identification and effective tracing of people who may have been exposed. Nigeria is drawing on lessons from its successful containment of the 2014 Ebola outbreak, when coordinated case identification, contact tracing, isolation and public health interventions helped prevent wider transmission.

Idris said the NCDC was strengthening preparedness across states, emphasising that containing the current outbreak would require cooperation among government agencies, healthcare workers, affected contacts and the general public. He urged Nigerians to rely on verified information, avoid spreading rumours and cooperate with public health officials conducting contact tracing and monitoring.