The Federal Government has activated an emergency response system and intensified surveillance following the confirmation of an imported Ebola case in Abuja.
The Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Ebola Preparedness, Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats, Femi Gbajabiamila, gave the assurance after an emergency meeting at the State House on Wednesday.
Gbajabiamila, who is also the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, said the task force had been working behind the scenes since its inauguration in June to strengthen Nigeria’s preparedness against Ebola and other emerging public health threats.
He attributed the early detection of the index case to surveillance measures and protocols established by the Federal Ministry of Health and other relevant agencies.
“Since the issue of Ebola came up in June, there have been about 44,000 flights in and out of Nigeria. So, it’s because of what the Ministry of Health, the task force and all the agencies have been doing. All hands have been on deck,” he said.
Gbajabiamila explained that the passenger who tested positive for the disease initially showed no symptoms, which developed four days after the woman arrived in Abuja.
He said the identification process and established protocols enabled health authorities to detect the case promptly.
“That also speaks to the country’s capacity and ability to deal with this disease as best as we can,” he added.
The Chief of Staff assured Nigerians that the government would strengthen existing protocols and ensure stricter enforcement of public health measures to prevent further spread of the virus.
“The Task Force is on top of it. NCDC is on top of it; everyone is on deck. We must build community trust and avoid panic, but it’s also important to state clearly that this is a collaborative effort between the government and the people,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to comply with public health directives, stressing that cooperation between citizens and government agencies was essential to containing the outbreak.
Also speaking, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, said Nigeria had competent health authorities and established surveillance systems capable of responding to the outbreak.
Pate said the government was working with private hospitals, immigration and aviation authorities, the Ministry of Interior and state governments to strengthen preparedness and response efforts.
“We have been conducting contact tracing diligently and isolating those contacts of the index imported case in this country. We will continue to do that,” he said.
The minister added that the Federal Government, in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), had activated the incident management system.
According to him, response teams were working round the clock, while hospital facilities and other necessary resources had been mobilised to contain the outbreak.
“They are working day and night diligently, and our hospital capabilities are also activated, such that we can aim to contain this case, as has been the case in other countries, but we will not relent,” Pate said.
He added that most states had adequate response plans and that the government was mobilising available resources to strengthen their capacity to manage the situation.
Pate urged Nigerians to comply with public health directives and avoid spreading misinformation capable of causing unnecessary panic.
“The key also for the population is to avoid spreading misinformation or baseless rumours, which can cause unnecessary panic,” he said.
The minister expressed confidence in Nigeria’s public health expertise, recalling the country’s experience in containing Ebola in 2014.
“In addition to our exceptional public health physicians who had successfully tamed this virus in 2014, and had contributed to other countries, we are confident that if we continue in this direction, we will emerge out of this crisis in a much stronger place,” he said.
The emergency meeting was attended by representatives of the NCDC, Nigeria Immigration Service, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, WHO, Africa CDC and other relevant agencies.
Other participants included the Mandate Secretary for Health and Environment in the Federal Capital Territory, Dr. Dolapo Fasawe; Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi; and representatives of the aviation and health sectors.