RismadarVoice Reporters
October 28, 2026
The Federal Government of Nigeria has confirmed that it is paying ₦100,000 weekly to individuals placed under quarantine following contact with Nigeria’s confirmed Ebola patient, as authorities intensify efforts to prevent community transmission.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja.
Pate explained that the financial support was introduced to help affected individuals meet their basic needs and support their families while complying with quarantine directives.
According to him, some contacts depend on daily economic activities for their livelihoods and could face significant hardship if required to remain in isolation without financial assistance.
The minister warned that failure to address these concerns could discourage compliance with public health measures and increase the risk of transmission.
He stressed that the government’s immediate priority was to identify, isolate and monitor individuals who had direct contact with the infected patient after she developed symptoms.
Pate described the confirmed Ebola case as a serious public health warning, maintaining that early containment was essential to preventing a wider outbreak.
He explained that the weekly payment was an emergency intervention designed for the current limited number of identified contacts, rather than a permanent financial assistance programme.
The minister cautioned that the arrangement would become financially and logistically difficult to sustain if the virus spread widely within communities.
He also emphasised the importance of continuous medical monitoring, explaining that early detection of infection among contacts would enable health officials to identify and trace further possible exposures.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention had earlier announced the ₦100,000 weekly allowance, alongside arrangements to provide accommodation and feeding for individuals in designated quarantine facilities.
According to the NCDC’s October 26 situation report, Nigeria had recorded one confirmed Ebola case and identified 54 contacts for monitoring.
The agency also reported that the confirmed patient and her spouse had been medically evacuated to Switzerland following the necessary approvals.
Health authorities said contact tracing, surveillance and infection prevention measures remained active despite the evacuation.
Pate reaffirmed the government’s commitment to containing the outbreak and urged affected individuals to cooperate fully with health officials.
He stressed that preventing community transmission would protect lives and reduce the wider economic and social consequences of the disease.
