The Federal Government, through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), has expressed gratitude to the people of Japan for their continued partnership following the delivery of cholera kits designed to strengthen preparedness and response efforts nationwide.
The supplies were procured and delivered by the World Health Organisation (WHO) with funding from a US$500,000 grant from the people of Japan.
NCDC Director-General, Dr. Olajide Idris, said the support from Japan came at a critical time, enhancing surveillance, improving laboratory diagnosis and boosting outbreak response across states. He noted that since the grant was received on 1 March 2025, it has contributed significantly to Nigeria’s ability to prevent, detect and respond to cholera outbreaks.
According to him, the intervention focuses on three key areas: provision of cholera kits to reduce morbidity and mortality, procurement of US$104,951 worth of critical response supplies to reinforce case management, and continuity of clinical services through strategic prepositioning of contingency stocks.
Dr. Idris added that a national Training of Trainers (ToT) was conducted to enhance cholera preparedness and response, equipping 176 trainers across all geopolitical zones in areas such as coordination, surveillance, laboratory diagnostics, infection prevention and control, case management and risk communication.
The knowledge has been cascaded to frontline responders in 134 Priority Areas for Multisectoral Interventions (PAMIs).He explained that the support has strengthened surveillance systems and improved coordination between national and sub-national health authorities. Community-based surveillance training was also conducted in LGAs across seven high-risk states to improve early case detection and reporting.
As of 2 November 2025, Nigeria has recorded over 22,196 suspected cholera cases and 505 deaths, with the North-West and North-East regions being the most affected.
Experts warn that the persistent caseload threatens progress toward the global target of eliminating cholera by 2030.
Japan’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Suzuki Hideo, said Japan is proud to support Nigeria’s fight against cholera, while WHO Representative, Dr. Pavel Ursu, stated that the partnership is saving lives by enhancing readiness and reducing cholera-related deaths.
The cholera kits, comprising 29 modules of medicines, supplies and equipment, can support the treatment of 100 cholera cases each during the initial weeks of an outbreak.
WHO urged states, health workers and communities to strengthen preventive measures such as hand hygiene, safe water use and proper sanitation to help curb the spread of cholera.