Kaduna Residents Kick Against Proposed Ebola Isolation Centre

The Fear of contracting the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) has prompted residents of Down quarters of Kakuri community in Kaduna South Local Government Area of Kaduna State to stage a peaceful protest on Wednesday against the siting of a containment centre for the disease in the area by the state government.

Their protest came, even as the State government had already converted an abandoned Primary Health Centre in the area into an emergency centre for Ebola disease and had begun putting up structures for that purpose.

The village head of the community, Danjuma Musa, expressed the anxiety of the community over the siting of the Ebola centre in the community.

To justify the apprehension of his people about the proposed Ebola centre, the village head pointed out that the proposed centre was located in a high density area.

“The health facility is also located very close to a big market, a railway station and residential areas made up of women and children among others”.

Although there was no confirmed case of the virus infection in Kaduna State, the fear of the community in allowing the government to site the isolation centre very close to residents is hinged on the mode of transmission of the disease.

The largely rural community, which is about five kilometres from the city centre has not known any peace since the intention of the government was made public about two weeks ago.

According to the residents, bringing Ebola centre to such a crowded area will amount to mass murder, as many of them will likely contract the disease. They are appealing to the state government to relocate the proposed centre to a more isolated place where nobody is living.