The Plateau State Government, in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has intensified preparedness and response efforts to contain a cholera outbreak reported in five local government areas of the state.
Gatekeepers News reports that the initiative, being implemented by UNICEF alongside the Plateau State Primary Health Care Development Agency and other relevant agencies, is focused on strengthening the capacity of health workers through Case Area Targeted Intervention (CATI) to prevent further transmission within affected communities.
Cholera cases have been reported in Barkin Ladi, Bokkos, Mangu, Jos North and Jos South Local Government Areas.
Dr Rafiq Nusrat, UNICEF Chief of Field Office in Bauchi, confirmed that Plateau State is currently experiencing a cholera outbreak, describing the situation as critical.
“We are focusing on the immediate response by reducing the number of deaths and cases, while also strengthening preparedness to prevent future outbreaks across all the LGAs,” Nusrat said.
She said the five affected local government areas had been identified as priority locations for intensified preparedness and response activities.
“Currently, cases have been reported in Barkin Ladi, Bokkos, Mangu, Jos North and Jos South. These are priority areas where preparedness is especially important so that we can establish systems to prevent future outbreaks,” she said.
Nusrat stressed that containing cholera required more than interventions from the health sector alone, noting that a multisectoral approach was necessary.
“However, this cannot be achieved through the health sector alone. Preventing cholera requires a multisectoral approach. Alongside vaccination, we have requested and received cholera vaccines for the affected LGAs in Plateau State,” she said.
She added that CATI training was ongoing across the affected areas.
“At the moment, CATI training is also ongoing. CATI stands for Case Area Targeted Interventions. Whenever a cholera case is identified in a community, we immediately go there and implement a package of interventions.
“These interventions combine health services, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), social mobilisation, and behaviour change activities.”
According to Nusrat, the interventions were particularly important given the vulnerability of malnourished children and pregnant women.
“All of these are very important because many children are malnourished, and pregnant women who are malnourished are particularly vulnerable to cholera,” she said.
“That is why we target the areas where cases are reported and implement area-specific interventions to prevent further infections, contain transmission within affected families, and prevent deaths through immediate support and treatment.”
Why CATI Training Was Introduced
Godfrey Dashuhar, general manager of the Plateau State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (PRUWASSA), explained that the training was organised in response to the recurrence of cholera in the state.
“This training was organised following the cholera cases recorded, first in Bokkos Local Government Area last year. At the time, we carried out the necessary response and thought the outbreak had been contained.
“However, this year, cholera resurfaced in Mangu Local Government Area. Again, we worked alongside our colleagues in the health sector to respond. But it became clear that cholera remains a serious concern because it continues to spread, and we have a responsibility to contain it,” Dashuhar said.
He said agencies responsible for water, sanitation and hygiene had an important role to play in preventing further transmission.
“While our colleagues in the health sector are responsible for managing cholera cases, our role is to prevent further transmission. That is why we organised this training for five local government areas: Bokkos, Mangu, Barkin Ladi, Jos North and Jos South,” he said.
“The training is known as CATI, which stands for Case Area Targeted Intervention. It is designed to equip response teams with the skills needed to quickly intervene in communities where cholera cases are reported.”
Why Rikkos, Angwan Rukuba Were Selected
Dashuhar, who led hygiene promoters to Jos North Local Government Area for a field exercise, explained why Rikkos and Angwan Rukuba communities were selected.
“The reason for selecting these two communities is that one of them—Rikkos—is an area where cholera cases have already been recorded,” he said.
“Angwan Rukuba, on the other hand, was selected as a preventive intervention because it is considered a community at risk, even though no confirmed cases have been recorded there yet.
“So, while Rikkos is receiving a response based on confirmed cases, Angwan Rukuba is benefiting from preventive measures aimed at stopping an outbreak before it occurs.”
UNICEF: Government Leads Response
Another UNICEF Field Officer from Bauchi State, Mrs Ijeoma Terver, said the organisation was in Plateau State to support efforts to build the capacity required to eradicate cholera.
Terver stressed that state governments remained the owners and drivers of health programmes, while UNICEF and other partners provided support for government-led interventions.
She said UNICEF’s role was to strengthen the state’s response capacity and support ongoing efforts to control the outbreak.
