NCDC Approves ₦100,000 Weekly Stipend for Ebola Contacts
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has approved a weekly payment of
₦100,000 for each person identified as a contact of the confirmed Ebola case, to support them during
isolation or quarantine.
NCDC Director-General Dr Jide Idris announced the decision on Sunday during a media briefing in Abuja
on the country’s response to the outbreak.
He said the emergency stipend followed complaints from some contacts about financial difficulties,
including feeding themselves and providing for their families while complying with public health
monitoring measures.
“We are paying for their accommodation; we are paying for their feeding. Some of them are asking for a
stipend to maintain their families. We are providing ₦100,000 per person per week just to maintain
their comfort and feeding, because they were complaining,” Idris said.
“This was not planned for, but it is an emergency. We will continue to review it as we go along. 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.”
The intervention comes after Nigeria confirmed an imported case of Ebola virus disease in Abuja on 20
October 2026.
As of the briefing, the country had recorded one confirmed case, with 53 primary contacts identified for
monitoring.
These include healthcare workers, household members, domestic staff and personnel involved in
sample collection.
Idris urged state governments to make adequate financial and logistical arrangements for public health
emergencies, stressing that the burden should not fall solely on the Federal Capital Territory.
The NCDC is already covering accommodation and feeding for the contacts under monitoring as part of
efforts to prevent further transmission during the 21-day incubation period.
By Oyinkansola Shittu
