In stark contrast to the surge last week, reported cases of cholera in Lagos have declined significantly, according to the city’s health commissioner. In a graph illustration posted on X, the health commissioner showed that cases had slumped to 9 as of Friday, up from an all-time high of 146 cases on Monday, June 10.
A couple of days ago, the Internet was gripped with anxiety after news broke of a cholera outbreak in Lagos. Internet influencers glommed onto the news, doling out unsolicited health tips and imploring their followers to “stay safe.” At least 15 deaths have been recorded so far among the 350 suspected cases of the disease, which the WHO describes as a “global threat to public health.”
A severe virulent infection, cholera is transmitted mostly through contaminated food and water, causing around 21,000 to 143,000 global deaths each year. Although the disease has been eradicated in Western countries, it persists in Africa and Southeast Asia, where poverty and natural disasters cause people to live in crowded spaces without proper sanitation.
According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), 1,141 suspected cases of cholera have been recorded in 2024. An estimated 90 per cent of the cases are spread across 10 states, including Lagos and Cross River. Although on a smaller scale, the latest surge in cholera cases is eerily similar to the 2010 epidemic, with 40,000 cases and about 1,500 deaths, according to a United Nations report.
Notwithstanding the Lagos government’s reassurance about a decline in the trend, the latest cholera incidences in Nigeria’s most expensive city hint at a deeper problem than poor hygiene and sanitation.
Next to its high-rise buildings, Lagos is notorious for its heavy population and its gridlocked traffic. The West-African megacity cannot meet 50 per cent of the shelter demands of its 23 million residents, leaving many to scout for informal settlements. Without access to proper sanitation and toilet facilities, many of these disadvantaged residents indulge in open defecation.
Together with clogged drainages, improper sewage systems allow pathogens to thrive, resulting in a full-blown epidemic, experts argue.
However, the problem of inadequate housing and infrastructure reflects a broader problem that afflicts the country. Rental costs have doubled in the face of multiple currency devaluations and the soaring cost of construction. This, in turn, has left a huge deficit in the country, as the country grapples with myriad economic troubles. In areas where housing doesn’t pose much of a challenge, potable water becomes a luxury, forcing hundreds to resort to contaminated rivers and streams for water.
The government as well as health experts extol the virtues of cleanliness to keep the infection at bay. UNICEF has called for strong proactive measures to keep the disease in check and prevent a national emergency. Proactive and tactical as they are, these responses only offer temporary relief. A strategic action to deal with the sporadic incidence of cholera—and other such epidemics—in Nigeria is to attack the forces of poverty and inequality that leave millions of Nigerians vulnerable to the disease.
