Ebola Outbreak: NCDC To Pay Contacts N100,000 Weekly For Upkeep

Sunday October 25, 2026

By SituationREPORT

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has approved an emergency payment of N100,000 per person weekly to support people placed in isolation or quarantine as part of efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Federal Capital Territory.

The NCDC Director-General, Dr Jide Idris, during a press briefing on Sunday, said the payment was introduced after some contacts complained about the cost of feeding, accommodation and maintaining their families while undergoing public health monitoring.

Idris disclosed this during a briefing on the agency’s response to the outbreak, explaining that the financial support was an emergency measure to ensure that people identified as contacts could comply with monitoring arrangements without facing additional financial hardship.

“We are paying for their accommodation; we are paying for their feeding. Some of them are asking for a stipend to maintain their families,” he said.

He added, “We are providing N100,000 per person per week just to maintain their comfort and feeding, because they were complaining.”

The NCDC boss explained that the intervention was not originally planned but became necessary because of the circumstances surrounding the outbreak. He said the agency would continue to review the arrangement as the response progressed.

“This was not planned for, but it is an emergency. We will continue to review it as we go along,” Idris said.

(The PUNCH)