The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has approved a weekly stipend of ₦100,000 for each eligible individual placed under isolation or quarantine as part of measures to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The Director-General of the agency, Dr Jide Idris, disclosed this on Sunday in Abuja, explaining that the financial assistance was designed to ease the economic burden on people identified as contacts of Nigeria’s confirmed Ebola case.

Idris said some individuals under public health monitoring had expressed concerns about the cost of feeding, accommodation and providing for their families while complying with restrictions imposed by health authorities.

He said the NCDC had therefore approved the weekly payment to ensure that financial difficulties did not discourage affected individuals from cooperating with the containment measures.

“We are providing ₦100,000 per person per week just to maintain their comfort and feeding, because they were complaining,” Idris said.

According to him, the intervention was not part of the agency’s original response plan but became necessary because of the emergency and the challenges confronting those under monitoring.

“This was not planned for, but it is an emergency. We will continue to review it as we go along,” he added.

The NCDC chief also stressed the need for state governments to make adequate financial and logistical provisions for responding to public health emergencies, warning that the responsibility should not rest solely on the FCT authorities.

“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.

He said adequate funding at the state level was essential to support contact tracing, isolation arrangements and other interventions required to contain infectious disease outbreaks.

The financial assistance comes amid intensified efforts by health authorities to prevent further transmission following the confirmation of an imported Ebola case in Abuja on October 20.

At the time of the briefing, Idris said Nigeria had recorded one confirmed case, while 53 primary contacts had been identified for monitoring.

The contacts include healthcare workers, members of the patient’s household, domestic staff and personnel involved in collecting samples from the patient.

Health officials are assessing the contacts according to their levels of exposure and monitoring them for symptoms that may require further investigation and testing.

The NCDC said individuals who develop symptoms during the monitoring period would be assessed promptly and provided with appropriate interventions.