The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has explained that its decision to provide ₦100,000 weekly to people quarantined over possible exposure to Ebola was an emergency intervention introduced on compassionate grounds.
The agency’s Director-General, Dr Jide Idris, said the financial support was not included in the original budget but became necessary after some of the affected individuals complained about the economic burden of remaining in quarantine.
Idris disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday night.
He explained that the individuals were removed from their normal routines for public health reasons, making it necessary for authorities to provide for their basic needs, including food and accommodation.
“That was not budgeted for. Those people who were in the quarantine area were people who never planned to be there. We took them out of their comfort zones; we put them there for public health reasons, so we are responsible for their feeding, accommodation,” he said.
According to the NCDC chief, some of the quarantined individuals expressed concerns about being separated from their families and losing income because they could not attend to their businesses.
He said some had threatened to leave the quarantine facility because of the financial difficulties they faced while complying with public health restrictions.
Idris warned that allowing people whose infection status had not been established to leave quarantine could create a public health risk.
“If you allow them to leave the place, it’s a public health issue because you don’t know whether they will turn positive or who is ill,” he said.
He explained that the agency subsequently introduced the temporary financial assistance to address their concerns and encourage them to remain under monitoring.
“On compassionate grounds, we said, okay, let’s see how best we can support them. It’s a temporary thing because it’s not something we’ve done,” Idris added.
The NCDC director-general also said responsibility for providing quarantine facilities and related support ordinarily rested with state governments.
However, he explained that the agency stepped in because the expected support was not forthcoming and authorities needed to prevent disruptions to the Ebola response.
The weekly allowance followed Nigeria’s confirmation of an imported case of Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus in the Federal Capital Territory on October 20.
The patient, a 42-year-old woman who had travelled from Uganda through Addis Ababa, was placed in isolation before being medically evacuated to Switzerland on October 26.
The NCDC had initially identified 53 primary contacts linked to the case. The number later rose to 54 following the identification of an additional contact, an e-hailing driver, according to Idris.
The agency has continued contact tracing and health monitoring as part of efforts to prevent further transmission.
Idris said the ₦100,000 weekly payment was an emergency measure that would be reviewed as the response progressed.
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