BREAKING: WHO Declares Nigeria Ebola Free, Hails Country’s Medical Response as “A Proud Moment for Africa”

…Index patient, husband evacuated to Switzerland as 52 contacts remain under surveillance

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that Nigeria currently has no Ebola cases, following Monday’s medical evacuation of the country’s index patient and her husband to Switzerland.

WHO Regional Director for Africa, Prof. Mohamed Janabi, announced the development on Monday, praising the Federal Government, Nigerian doctors, health workers, and emergency responders for what he described as a remarkable public health achievement.

Janabi said the Nigerian medical team successfully managed the Ebola patient through the acute phase of the disease and stabilised her sufficiently to permit her evacuation.

The patient and her husband were flown to Switzerland because both are Swiss citizens. Her husband, who has remained asymptomatic, had been listed as one of the contacts associated with the imported case.

“With the evacuation of the patient and her husband, Nigeria currently has no Ebola cases,” Janabi said.

He congratulated the Nigerian authorities and frontline personnel involved in containing the health emergency, describing their performance as evidence of Africa’s growing capacity to respond effectively to major public health threats.

Janabi said the response demonstrated “African expertise, resilience, and leadership in public health.”

The WHO chief, however, cautioned that the absence of an active case in Nigeria does not mean surveillance can be relaxed.

Nigeria will continue the close monitoring of 52 identified contacts, while Swiss authorities will take responsibility for the continuing treatment of the index patient and surveillance of her husband, who is contact number 53.

Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, also confirmed the evacuation, saying the patient’s condition had improved considerably before her departure.

Pate said she was stable, conscious, and communicating, although he cautioned that her clinical improvement did not necessarily mean she was no longer infectious. Strict medical protocols were therefore maintained throughout the evacuation.

The minister commended the clinical and public health personnel involved in managing the case and said containment measures would continue.

The development means that, for now, Nigeria has no Ebola patient within the country, even as health authorities maintain surveillance over the remaining contacts to ensure that any possible secondary infection is detected quickly.

For WHO, the successful stabilisation and evacuation of the patient represents a significant test of Nigeria’s emergency health response capacity — and, in Janabi’s words, “a proud moment” for African public health leadership.