By Seun Ibiyemi
The Federal Government on Wednesday assured Nigerians that it has the capacity to contain the Ebola outbreak in the country, saying surveillance systems, contact tracing and emergency response mechanisms have already been activated following the detection of an imported index case.
The assurance came after an emergency meeting of the Presidential Task Force on Ebola Preparedness, Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats at the State House, Abuja, chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.
Gbajabiamila said the Task Force had been working quietly since its inauguration in June, a preparation he said enabled authorities to swiftly identify the first confirmed case despite the passenger showing no symptoms on arrival.
According to him, Nigeria’s health authorities had maintained heightened vigilance despite over 44,000 international flights moving in and out of the country since June.
“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.
He explained that the infected passenger developed symptoms four days after arriving in Abuja, but existing identification protocols allowed officials to detect the case quickly.
“The passenger with the disease showed no symptoms, which came four days after the woman got into Abuja, and it was the identification process and the protocols that were put in place that enabled the quick identification,” he added.
Gbajabiamila said the government would further tighten existing protocols and strengthen enforcement while urging Nigerians to cooperate with health authorities rather than panic.
“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,” he said.
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The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Mohammed Ali Pate, said health authorities had intensified contact tracing and isolation of persons linked to the imported case.
He said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, working alongside the World Health Organisation and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, had activated the national incident management system across multiple response pillars.
“We have been conducting contact tracing diligently and isolating those contacts of the index imported case in this country,” Pate said.
He added that hospitals across the country had also activated emergency response capacities to contain the outbreak.
According to the minister, most states already have response plans in place, while additional resources are being mobilised to strengthen the national response.
He appealed to Nigerians to obey public health directives and avoid spreading misinformation that could trigger unnecessary panic.
“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,” Pate said.
The emergency meeting brought together senior officials from key agencies involved in border control, aviation, healthcare and emergency response.
Those in attendance included Nigeria Immigration Service Comptroller-General Kemi Nandap, FAAN Managing Director Bunmi Kuku, WHO Representative Pavel Ursu, Africa CDC Special Regional Representative Dr Aliko Ahmed and other members of the Presidential Task Force.
Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Olajumoke Oduwole, and NCAA Director of Operations, Licensing and Training Standards Captain Donald Spiff joined the meeting virtually.
The government said the coordinated response would continue until the outbreak is fully contained.
