Tunde Bakare
The Nigerian government has expressed its commitment to sustaining the country’s current zero-case status for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) while positioning the country to play a leading role among African nations in epidemic preparedness and response.
Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, who is also the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness, stated this at the inauguration of the Task Force on Thursday at the State House.
He said there have been no reported cases of Ebola in the country, adding that the government is intensifying preventive measures to ensure the situation remains unchanged.
Gbajabiamila stressed that Nigeria’s strategy is focused on prevention rather than cure, noting that lessons learned from previous outbreaks, particularly the 2014 Ebola outbreak, have informed the development of stronger surveillance and response mechanisms.
“We inaugurated the committee today on Nigeria’s preparedness for the Ebola Virus Disease. We have covered a lot of ground, and there are presently no reported cases in the country, which is good news.
“That is why all hands must be on deck to ensure that preventive measures are prioritised rather than curative measures.
“We do not want a repeat of what happened during the last outbreak when a carrier entered the country, and everyone was scrambling to respond. Today, we have covered a lot of ground and established structures to address any potential threat.
“We have set up sub-committees to address key areas of concern, and hopefully Nigeria will take the lead among African nations. We will not follow; we will lead,” he said.
Expressing confidence in Nigeria’s capacity to spearhead Africa’s efforts to tackle Ebola and other emerging public health threats, Gbajabiamila said there is now stronger collaboration between the Federal Government and states with international airports, including Lagos, Kano, Rivers, Enugu States and the Federal Capital Territory, to ensure effective monitoring and rapid response.
“There is also significant emphasis on land borders because of the high volume of cross-border movements. The Border Management Agency, Immigration Service and border communities are all involved. We have learnt valuable lessons from the 2014 outbreak and are building on those gains by putting structures in place to eliminate any gaps in our preparedness,” he said.
“We want to put in place permanent arrangements and structures so that in two or three years, if another outbreak occurs, we will not be running from pillar to post trying to establish response mechanisms”.
He added that the task force comprises committees on border management, immigration control and disease surveillance, with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) providing overall technical leadership and coordination.
Present at the inauguration were the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris; Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo; Director General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Jide Idris; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Olubunmi Kuku; and WHO Representative/ Head of Mission in Nigeria, Dr Pavel Ursu.
Others include Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), State House Medical Centre, Dr Victoria Ogala; Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi; Mandate Secretary, Health Services & Environment Secretariat, FCT, Dr Adedolapo Fasawe; Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Health, Dr Vincent Wachukwu; Enugu State Commissioner for Health, Prof. George Ugwu; the Director of Public Health, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Charles Nzelu; and Deputy Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gwendy Omije.
Also in attendance were Niniola Williams, managing director of Ameyo Stella Adadevoh (DRASA) Health Trust, and Dr Ismail Abdulsalam, a renowned epidemiologist.