The Lagos State Government has announced the adoption of the One Health Strategy in response to the recent cholera outbreak in the state.
The Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, at a press briefing on Tuesday, explained that the approach involved a collaborative response among relevant government agencies, including the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies in the Health, Environment, Agriculture, Physical Planning, Education, and others, to promote a unified effort to prevent and curb the spread of the disease in Lagos communities.
Abayomi emphasised that the collaborative efforts between relevant agencies were a positive step towards preventing and controlling the further spread of cholera in the state, stressing that the state government remained committed to protecting the health and well-being of its citizens.
He said, “As part of activities to combat the spread of cholera and address the spike in cases, the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre was activated.
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“The activities of the PHEOC involve the adoption of the One Health Approach through relevant Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of the Lagos State Government. Officials from the Ministries of Health, Environmental and Water Resources, Education, Information and Strategy, Physical Planning, and Agriculture are working together under the PHEOC to curb the outbreak and prevent future occurrences.”
The commissioner assured residents that the outbreak was well under control, noting that the state had in place an incident command structure led by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and an effective emergency operation centre, comprising multiple pillars representing different ministries, agencies, and relevant stakeholders.
Since the cholera outbreak in June, Lagos has recorded 579 suspected cases, 43 laboratory-confirmed cases, and 29 cholera-related deaths, according to data from the Ministry of Health.
“We have unfortunately experienced 29 deaths. Most of these deaths were caused by patients presenting very late, at a stage when we could not resuscitate them due to severe dehydration. Some patients were brought in dead,” the commissioner said.
He noted that the government investigation was still ongoing to ascertain the cause of cholera in the state.
“So far, we have not been able to identify a source yet, but investigations are continuing. We want to see if we can identify a particular source,” he said.
