Ebola: NCDC Approves N100k Weekly For Each Person In Isolation

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has approved a weekly support allowance of ₦100,000 per person for individuals placed under isolation or public health quarantine as part of containment measures following an Ebola outbreak in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Addressing newsmen on Sunday in Abuja, NCDC Director-General Dr. Jide Idris explained that the emergency stipend was introduced to relieve financial distress for individuals identified as primary contacts of the confirmed index case.

According to Idris, several individuals undergoing public health monitoring raised concerns regarding feeding costs, temporary housing, and family upkeep while complying with strict movement restrictions.

He noted that providing financial relief was necessary to ensure full compliance and seamless cooperation with health officials without subjecting affected individuals to undue economic hardship.

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

We are providing N100,000 per person per week just to maintain their comfort and feeding, because they were complaining, he added.

The NCDC boss clarified that while the financial package was not part of the initial response budget, emergency realities necessitated its immediate implementation.

This was not planned for, but it is an emergency. We will continue to review it as we go along, he noted, emphasizing that the support structure will be evaluated as the situation develops.

Dr. Idris further called for nationwide subnational readiness, stressing that state governments across the federation must mirror similar logistical and financial preparations for contact tracing and isolation management.

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 remarked.

The financial intervention comes amid heightened public health operations following the confirmation of an imported Ebola case in Abuja on October 20.

The agency confirmed that 53 primary contacts—comprising healthcare workers, household members, domestic staff, and laboratory personnel—have been placed under health surveillance throughout the 21-day incubation period.