Nigeria not 100% ready for Ebola outbreak; porous borders major risk — NCDC

By Adegboyega Adeleye

The director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Jide Idris, has revealed that Nigeria is currently only 59 per cent prepared to respond to a potential Ebola outbreak, with porous land borders identified as the country’s biggest vulnerability.

Idris disclosed this during an interview on ARISE News on Monday, warning that although Nigeria continues to strengthen its public health systems, the country is not yet fully prepared to handle an Ebola emergency.

“Our recent latest level of assessment puts us at about 59 per cent. But that’s quite variable. You can’t be 100 per cent prepared, but the essence is that we keep preparing because things change,” he said.

According to the NCDC boss, international airports remain critical points of concern because they serve as entry routes for travellers arriving from affected countries. However, he stressed that Nigeria’s extensive and poorly monitored land borders pose an even greater challenge to disease surveillance and control.

“The essence of that is to control traffic into this country, especially traffic from airlines. Those states are where you have international airports because that’s where people come in,” Idris explained.

“But the biggest one again is our borders — porous borders. Not everybody comes in by air. You have people migrating by road and that kind of thing. These are the scares, and that’s why again it’s essential for us to prepare.”

Reflecting on Nigeria’s successful containment of the 2014 Ebola outbreak, Idris said the experience provided important lessons in disease detection, isolation, contact tracing and emergency response. He noted that the NCDC has since expanded laboratory capacity, trained health workers and supplied high-risk states with testing materials, protective equipment and emergency response resources.

“To be frank, we are not 100% ready, but we are improving our readiness,” he said.

“This is a readiness that has to cover the whole country. We sent advisers to state commissioners to assess readiness and guide them on what to do, looking at infrastructure, isolation centres, public health emergency operation centres and stockpiles available in case of an outbreak.”

The NCDC chief also revealed that Nigeria is currently managing between seven and eight disease outbreaks, including cholera and Lassa fever, warning that some continue to claim lives across the country.

“Aside from Lassa fever, we are managing about seven to eight outbreaks in this country right now. Cholera is there; it’s killing people,” he said.

Idris linked the persistence of some infectious diseases to cultural practices and health-seeking behaviours in certain communities, particularly the consumption of rats and bushmeat in areas where Lassa fever remains prevalent.

“It’s interesting, but again, everything has to do with our culture, our tradition and our health-seeking behaviours. In those areas, people regard these rats as delicacies,” he said.

He also urged state governments to take greater ownership of disease prevention and emergency preparedness instead of depending largely on the federal government.

“Everybody relies on the federal government. The state governments need to take leadership of this,” Idris added.

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