Nigeria warns sick travellers transiting through Addis Ababa
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Vanguard and Kenyans.co.ke
Abuja urges people with heart or lung conditions to seek medical advice before passing through the Ethiopian capital. After the deaths of sixteen Nigerians in transit this year, Nigerian diplomacy attributes these deaths to health problems linked to the city’s high altitude.
According to Vanguard, the federal government specifies that this advisory is not intended to discourage Nigerians from transiting through Addis Ababa. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Oluwafemi Adeniyi stressed this point. The aim is to inform medically vulnerable people so that they can take the necessary precautions.
The ministry says that most healthy people adapt to these altitude conditions, whereas travellers with cardiovascular or respiratory illnesses are more exposed to complications. Nyahururu, in Kenya, is at 2,303 metres, and Limuru, in the Nairobi conurbation, has the same altitude as Addis Ababa.
Addis Ababa is also a major air hub, where Ethiopian Airlines connects African destinations with international markets. The advisory could therefore be of interest to Kenyan travellers who use the Ethiopian capital as a stopover.
