53. That’s the number of people who have lost their lives to Cholera in Nigeria in the most recent outbreak which began in June. It’s the second cholera outbreak in three years, with 1,598 suspected cases. Cholerafacts, an online resource, hopes to fight the spread of the disease by providing information about prevention and symptom detection.
Launched by Yahaya Hassan and Dipo Ayoola in June 2024 shortly after Cholera cases in Nigeria began to pick up, Cholerafacts aggregates useful information about the prevention and early detection of the bacterial disease on its website.
“We wondered what if there was a single free forever one-stop-resource that you can always access when there’s a cholera outbreak in Nigeria and that was the primary inspiration for the idea,” Yahaya told TechCabal.
The nine-page user-friendly website aggregates information about cholera, with dedicated sections describing the disease, its symptoms, how it spreads, prevention tips, and resources for treatment. The microsite also provides contact information for relevant health agencies, enabling users to promptly report concerns and escalate issues in cases of emergencies or suspected exposure.
While prevention is often better than cure, Cholerafacts provides information on how to get a care kit to treat early symptoms. It also provides access to a list of pharmacies across the country where users can get a cholera vaccine in the case of a suspected exposure.
Cholerafact comes at a time when government and private institutions are ramping up awareness campaigns about the spread of cholera. The website which mirrors resources like the COVID-19 tracker and Ebola Facts, which were used during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ebola Virus outbreak, can be easily referenced as a crucial resource to help curb the spread of the bacterial disease.
So far, Nigeria has recorded 1,598 suspected cases and 53 deaths as a result of the disease which is prominent in areas with poor sanitation and limited access to clean water. Cholerafacts also tracks this data and updates it regularly. The website also offers information about previous outbreaks of cholera in Nigeria, including the deadly 2021 outbreak which claimed over 2000 lives.
“We hope that in the future, Cholerafacts can serve as a single source of truth for anything cholera,” Hassan concluded.
