Borno Orders Cholera Prevention Measures in Schools

Borno Orders Cholera Prevention Measures in Schools

By Auwal Abdulrazaq

The Borno State Government has directed all schools across the state to immediately activate epidemic prevention and control measures following a confirmed cholera outbreak in Maiduguri and surrounding communities.

Engr. Lawan Abba Wakilbe, the Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, issued the directive. Lawan Abba Wakilbe, who described the outbreak as a serious public health emergency requiring swift and coordinated action from educational institutions.

In a statement released on Monday, Wakilbe instructed education secretaries, school administrators, principals, and head teachers to implement comprehensive cholera prevention protocols in line with guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and the Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC).

He noted that cholera spreads rapidly through contaminated food and water, particularly in crowded environments, such as schools, making immediate preventive measures essential to protect students, teachers, and other school personnel.

According to the commissioner, schools must strengthen Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) practices by ensuring regular handwashing with soap and clean water, providing multiple handwashing stations, guaranteeing access to safe drinking water, and prohibiting the sale or consumption of unpackaged food and water from unapproved vendors within school premises.

The directive also requires schools to enforce strict food safety standards, conduct daily environmental sanitation exercises, and maintain proper waste disposal and drainage systems to prevent contamination.

Wakilbe further ordered schools to intensify health surveillance and ensure prompt reporting of suspected cholera cases.

He said any student or staff member exhibiting symptoms such as severe watery diarrhoea, vomiting or rapid dehydration should be immediately isolated and referred for medical attention. He added that relevant health authorities must receive reports of suspected cases within two hours.

As part of this response, schools have also been instructed to organise emergency sensitisation campaigns through assemblies and classroom discussions to educate students on cholera prevention and personal hygiene.

The commissioner warned that compliance with the directive would be closely monitored through routine and unscheduled inspections, stressing that negligence or failure to implement the measures would attract serious consequences.

He also called on stakeholders in the education sector to work closely with health authorities to prevent the spread of the disease and safeguard public health.