In an effort to ensure that Nigeria sustains her current zero-case status for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), the Federal Government has inaugurated a Presidential Task Force on Ebola preparedness and response.
Speaking, while inaugurating the taskforce, the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, who is also Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness, stated that, though 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”.