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Nigeria is committed to sustaining its zero-case status for Ebola Virus Disease while positioning the country to play a leading role among African nations in epidemic preparedness, the government said on Thursday.
The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, who chairs the Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness, made the pledge during the task force’s inauguration at the State House.
He said there have been no reported cases of Ebola in the country and that the government is intensifying preventive measures to ensure the situation remains unchanged.
“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,” Gbajabiamila said.
“That is why all hands must be on deck to ensure that preventive measures are prioritised rather than curative measures.”
Gbajabiamila stressed that Nigeria’s strategy is focused on prevention, noting that lessons learned from previous outbreaks, particularly the 2014 Ebola outbreak, have informed the development of stronger surveillance and response mechanisms.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Gbajabiamila expressed confidence in Nigeria’s capacity to spearhead Africa’s efforts to tackle Ebola and other emerging public health threats, citing stronger collaboration between the federal government and states with international airports, including Lagos, Kano, Rivers, Enugu and the Federal Capital Territory.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
“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,” Gbajabiamila added.
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; NCDC Director General, Dr Jide Idris; FAAN Managing Director, Olubunmi Kuku; and WHO Representative in Nigeria, Dr Pavel Ursu.
Others included Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi; FCT Mandate Secretary for Health, Dr Adedolapo Fasawe; Enugu State Commissioner for Health, Prof. George Ugwu; and representatives from Rivers State and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Niniola Williams, managing director of the Ameyo Stella Adadevoh (DRASA) Health Trust, and renowned epidemiologist Dr Ismail Abdulsalam also attended.
Nathan Oyinade Marsh, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Administration and Operations, will serve as Secretary of the Task Force.
