Japan sends $1.7m lifeline to Lagos as cholera fears rise

The Government of Japan has donated emergency medical supplies valued at about $1.7 million to the Lagos State Government to strengthen cholera response and prevent a recurrence of the deadly 2024 outbreak.

The consignment was formally handed over during the Project Handover Ceremony of Emergency Support for Cholera Response and Preparedness held at the Lagos State Medical Store in Oshodi on Wednesday.

Speaking on behalf of the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, the Director of Epidemiology, Biosecurity and Global Health, Dr. Ismail Abudus-Salam, described the intervention as timely and significant, noting that the supplies would support the management of cholera and other diarrhoeal diseases.

He recalled that contaminated food and water were major causes of the 2024 outbreak and explained that the state government has intensified training and sensitisation programmes for food vendors, water suppliers and waste workers, especially in flood-prone communities.

Abudus-Salam commended the Japanese government for complementing Lagos’ public health initiatives and strengthening emergency response capacity in high-risk areas.

“The partnership is not ending here; it is just the beginning,” he said, expressing appreciation to the state government for sustaining international collaborations aimed at protecting residents.

Japan’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Suzuki Hideo, said the donation demonstrates his country’s solidarity with Nigeria in preventing avoidable deaths from cholera. He disclosed that Japan is funding three cholera-related interventions in Nigeria through the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), with a combined contribution of about $1.725 million.

He noted that Nigeria recorded over 77,000 cholera cases across 31 states in 2024, with Lagos accounting for more than 20 percent of infections, making prevention efforts in the state critical to national control.

Also speaking, the Acting Head of Office, Nigeria/West Africa, UNOPS, Hazel Natukunda, said the project enabled the procurement of essential medicines, diagnostic kits, water, sanitation and hygiene materials, and personal protective equipment to strengthen surveillance, case management and infection prevention in health facilities.

“These are more than commodities; they are instruments of preparedness and tools of protection,” she said.

In her remarks, the Director of Pharmaceutical Services at the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Pharm. Olawale Poluyi, assured that the supplies would be properly stored and transparently distributed to general hospitals and primary healthcare centres, particularly in high-burden local government areas including Eti-Osa, Lagos Island, Ikorodu, Kosofe and Lagos Mainland.

Health authorities expressed optimism that sustained public education, improved sanitation and stronger partnerships would help Lagos detect outbreaks early, contain infections quickly and ultimately achieve zero cholera-related deaths in the state.