Poor financing of the water supply and sanitation sectors is the cause of the cholera plague – expert

Michael Ale, national president of the Association of Offshore Oil Rig Owners and Operators (AWDROP) and founder of the Global Initiative for Nigeria’s Development (GIND), blamed the cholera plague plaguing the country on chronic underfunding of the water and sanitation sector.

But in a statement in Ibadan yesterday, he said cholera has been endemic in Nigeria since its first appearance in 1972, with the most serious outbreak being in 1991, which resulted in 59,478 cases and 7,654 deaths.

He said: “Fast forward to 2024 and the situation does not appear to have improved much. On June 9, the Lagos State government declared a cholera epidemic, reporting 324 suspected cases, including 15 deaths and 40 discharges.

“Nationally, the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded 1,141 suspected cholera cases in 30 states since January 1, of which 65 were confirmed and 30 deaths.”

But he stressed that repeated cholera epidemics in Nigeria are a manifestation of chronic underfunding of the water and sanitation sector.

He noted that almost a third of Nigerians do not have access to basic water resources, which he said is due to “legal loopholes”.

“Government alone cannot provide safe water to Nigerians; they must engage private sector actors in their planning and interventions,” Ale said.

To address the current crisis, Ale called for a more aggressive and comprehensive approach, going beyond just vaccine distribution and public awareness campaigns.

He called on other private organisations, development partners, civil society organisations and non-state actors to join the fight against the disease.

But he suggested that the government should invite private borehole drillers to immediately undertake professional drilling in water-scarce areas as part of an emergency intervention.