Chicken Pox Outbreak: AMAC sends response team to affected community

The Chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Christopher Maikalangu, on Tuesday, dispatched a response team to Wukara community of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to curtail the further spread of chicken pox.
Mr Maikalangu, who was represented by Tunji Faoye, the supervisory councillor on Health at a ceremony of the medical outreach, urged residents to seek medical attention at the first sign of symptoms.

The chairman called on residents to maintain a healthy lifestyle, including sleeping in well-ventilated houses to avoid further loss of lives during outbreaks.

Mr Maikalangu expressed deep concern over the impact of the outbreak, which has claimed lives and affected numerous households.

“There is a need for urgent and comprehensive measures to address the recent outbreak of chicken pox in the Wukara community.

“The impact of this calamity has left so many in fear. It is an unfortunate situation, and we pray that such will never repeat.

“To us in the council, this outbreak is becoming one too many, and a permanent solution is urgently needed to prevent further occurrence,” he said.

He praised the AMAC Primary Health Care Department for its swift response to the outbreak, noting that the situation is considered an emergency due to the resurgence of chicken pox in some parts of the community.

He emphasised the need for precautionary measures, especially given the daily influx of people from various parts of the country into AMAC.

He also appealed to stakeholders, NGOs, and well-meaning individuals to support efforts to help affected communities mitigate the impact of the outbreak.

Mr Maikalangu extended his condolences to those who lost loved ones to the outbreak and prayed for the repose of the souls of the deceased.

He thanked the AMAC PHC, FCTPHCB, and other relevant agencies for their support, noting that their interventions would help alleviate the suffering of the affected communities.

The chairman underscored the need for collaborative efforts to prevent future outbreaks and protect the health and well-being of residents in Wukara and other communities in AMAC.

Fielding questions from journalists on the sideline of the event, Mr Faoye revealed that the team, which had been in the community for three weeks, tested individuals for blood pressure, malaria and other health conditions.

He said that the initiative was part of the team’s ongoing efforts, aimed at providing holistic healthcare to the community.

According to him, the location of the nearest health facility posed challenges, prompting the chairman to promise the establishment of another facility in the community to cater to their health needs.

He expressed the team’s commitment to regular outreach programmes, noting that they usually visit communities quarterly.

He also highlighted the unfortunate loss of lives to the recent outbreak, emphasising the importance of proactive measures to prevent future outbreaks.

Despite challenges with funding, particularly due to a lack of grants, he praised the collaboration with partners such as UNICEF, reassured the community of the chairman’s ongoing efforts and hinted at future programmes focusing on HIV/AIDS, Polio, and tuberculosis.

According to him, the team’s efforts underscore the importance of proactive healthcare initiatives and the need for continued collaboration with partners to improve the health outcomes of the communities.

The Director of Health at AMAC said that the health of every citizen of AMAC was important, hence the need for medical outreach to address the outbreak and prevent further spread.

“Those affected were taken to our nearby facility, which we stocked up with meditation for treatment.

“The AMAC chairman directed us to do a total package and not only chicken pox but all manner of ailments, treatment is ongoing and immunization of children against every preventable disease too,” she said.

Also speaking, the WHO Local Government Areas Facilitator, Mustapha Bichi, urged the residents to always make use of the facilities provided by the government and avoid self-medication.

The District Head, Wukara, Ibrahim Dalhatu, appreciated the chairman for the swift response, believing that the problem affecting the community would be solved quickly.

“This is the third time we in this community have experienced such outbreak.”

He, therefore, appealed to the government to help in completing the only hospital still under construction in the community for easy and faster access to medical attention.

“We do not have any hospital or clinic in this community. We travel all the way to Sauka and Gwagwalada to seek medical attention. And transformation fare this period is not an easy thing now.

“And the borehole we have is not servicing us well. We want to appeal to the AMAC Chairman to come to our aid, ” he pleaded.

(NAN)