Korede Abdullah 
Cross section of participants at the sensitization programme
CROSS RIVER, Nigeria – Cross River State Government and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have intensified community awareness campaigns against cholera, Lassa fever, Mpox and flood-related diseases amid persistent outbreak risks across the state.
The campaign, which concluded in Calabar on Tuesday, is designed to take disease prevention messages beyond health facilities to markets, schools, worship centres and hard-to-reach communities.
The Head of SOMTEC and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Orientation, Anthony Okon, represented by State Director of Information Rekpene Uket, said the partnership reflected Governor Bassey Otu’s emphasis on preventive healthcare and community health education.
“I take this exercise very seriously because prevention is cheaper and more effective than cure,” Uket said. “What we are doing with UNICEF is taking the message to the grassroots, to markets, schools, worship centres and hard-to-reach communities using mass media and social media so that our people know how to prevent infection, when to seek care, and how to keep their environment safe.”
She said the state’s experience with flooding, which has displaced residents and destroyed homes, made the distribution of information, education and communication materials particularly important.
The State Epidemiologist, Dr Blessing Ekpenyong, said cholera, Lassa fever, Mpox, measles and yellow fever remain recurring priority diseases in Cross River despite the state’s Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response system tracking 45 notifiable diseases.
She said Cross River’s borders with neighbouring states and Cameroon increase the risk of cross-border disease transmission.
According to Ekpenyong, almost all 18 local government areas report suspected cholera cases every year, with Obubra, Abi, Biase, Odukpani, Obanliku, Ikom, Etung, Yakurr, Bakassi and Calabar Municipality identified as hotspots.
She recalled that the state recorded 724 suspected and confirmed cholera cases, including deaths, in 2023, which she described as the worst-case scenario for the state.
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Oluwatobi Adu 
