Saturday, August 8, 2026 - The Bauchi State Government has declared a cholera outbreak in the State, with sixteen people confirmed de@d due to the situation.
This was contained in a leaked memo by the State Ministry of
Health and Social Welfare, addressed to international donor partners, titled:
“Declaration of Cholera Outbreak in Bauchi State,” dated 01-08-2026.
The memo reads: “To all Partners and Donor Agencies. Bauchi
State Ministry of Health & Social Welfare wishes to inform the general
public and our development partners, following an increase in reported cases of
Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD) and the laboratory confirmation of cholera cases,
the Honourable Commissioner for Health & Social Welfare, based on the
recommendation of the state epidemiology team and public health emergency
operation center, has officially declared a cholera outbreak in the
State.”
It further stated, “This declaration is made in line with
the International Health Regulations (2005). the National Technical Guidelines
for Cholera Preparedness and Response, and the established public health
emergency management procedures of the Federal Ministry of Health & Social
Welfare.”
Giving the cholera situation analysis, the Ministry stated
that, “As of 31 July 2026, the State has recorded 398 suspected cholera cases
across 13 Local Government Areas (LGAs). 16 mortalities have been recorded with
a case fatality rate of (4%).”
The six most affected LGAs are Toro, with 231 cases;
Alkaleri, 46 cases; Kirfi, 46 cases; Ganjuwa, 21 cases; Bauchi, 14 cases; and
Tafawa Balewa LGA, 14 cases.
Meanwhile, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Desk Officers from eight LGAs
of Bauchi State where cholera outbreaks have been reported have been trained on
how to effectively prepare for and respond to the situation in a more
professional manner.
The workshop on Case Area Targeted Intervention (CATI), on
preparedness and response to the cholera outbreak in high-risk areas, was
organised by the Bauchi State Government through the Rural Water Supply and
Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA) and the United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF).
Speaking at the workshop, UNICEF Water, Sanitation and
Hygiene (WASH) Specialist, Bauchi Field Office, Nambam Dawap said, “We are here
to prepare response to possible cholera outbreak, we want to train the WASH
Desk Officers from the Eight high risk LGAs to equip them on how to effectively
respond.”
She added that, “UNICEF is focused on child survival,
especially around the first 1,000 days of a child. Cholera is a fundamental
concern when it comes to child survival, especially the 1,000 days that I
mentioned earlier. Where water is not safe, where there is inadequate
sanitation and poor hygiene, there is a very high risk for cholera outbreak and
diarrhea and other water and sanitation related diseases.”
According to her, “UNICEF is focused on child survival
around those days. And the reason why we are here is to talk about how we can
reduce drastically the risks of a child to cholera and diarrhea infection. It’s
not enough to have water for drinking. Water must be clean and safe, especially
for children. Where water is provided, we must make sure that there are
processes of testing and ensuring that water is safe and clean for
children.”
Nambam Dawap added that, “For instance, you agree with me
that some of the water that we have in our houses come from public water where
we recirculate it and it goes through the drainages, what we call gutter. Those
same drainages carry a lot of germs, water related diseases, and then high risk
of contaminating that water.”
She added that, “That water goes straight into our house and
then we take it and probably drink. That’s a very high risk for children. And
we are saying that water should be clean. Talking about sanitation. Sanitation
is very key, where there is inadequate or poor sanitation, there is a very high
risk of cholera or diarrhea outbreak.”
According to her, “We are focusing on open defecation. Why
are we focusing on open defecation? We are saying that there shouldn’t be open
defecation. This is because research has shown that a gram of excreta openly
carries millions of bacteria and viruses. And so that can lead to outbreak of
cholera and diarrhea. That is a high risk for child dehydration and it will
lead to possible d£ath.”
“And so we are saying that people should have improved
toilets and they are using it. And then let’s come to the section of hygiene.
It’s also not enough to have a toilet and we are using it. Research, because of
what I’ve explained earlier, the viruses and germs that excreta carries, hand
washing is very important. When you wash your hands at critical times, we call
them around after using the toilet, before feeding the baby, before serving
food, after cleaning the baby’s poo, and so on. These are critical times that
research have also shown that it can help reduce the risk of diseases by over
50% when hands are washed,” she added.
Nambam Dawap further said that, “And so for WASH, the
connection is that we are promoting safe water, adequate sanitation, safe
hygiene activities to ensure that children are kept safe, especially now that
cholera is seasonal for the outbreak. Now this season should not end around
only responding to cases and emergencies. When cases have reduced, we should go
to the root cause of the problem, which I’ve mentioned some earlier, around
washing of hands, using of toilet, and ensuring that water is safe for children.”
She stressed that, “We all have responsibility for that.
Government has responsibility, CSOs have responsibility, caregivers and parents
have responsibility to ensure that we tackle the issue. Processes of providing
safe water, processes of ensuring that the water is safe, processes of behavior
change, it doesn’t end at government policy.”
She added that, “Even where there is water, we should ensure
that that water is clean. That’s around behavior change. So we are encouraging
parents and everyone in this season of outbreak to ensure that all processes
are carried out to ensure children are safe from the disease that come with the
outbreak.”
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