THE Presidential Task Force on Ebola Preparedness, Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats has assured Nigerians that it has the capacity to handle Ebola in the country.
The Chairman of the Task Force and Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, gave the assurance while speaking to newsmen after the group’s emergency meeting at the State House on Wednesday.
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News Point Nigeria reports that Gbajabiamila said the Task Force had been working behind the scenes since its inauguration in June this year, adding that the efforts contributed to the quick detection of the index case discovered on Tuesday.
“It’s very important to note this. 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.
“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. That also speaks to the country’s capacity and ability to deal with this disease as best as we can,” he said, according to a statement by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga.
Gbajabiamila assured Nigerians that the Task Force would strengthen whatever needed strengthening, improve the protocols and ensure more rigorous enforcement going forward.
“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 appealed to all Nigerians to respond to calls for compliance for the good of all.
Meanwhile, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate, said Nigeria had competent health authorities, including private hospital operators and agencies such as Immigration, Aviation and Interior, as well as subnational actors, who had put surveillance systems in place across the country and were ready to respond.
“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, and we want to reassure Nigerians that the federal government, alongside its technical partners, the World Health Organisation, the Africa Centre for Disease Control, and our own Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, have activated the incident management system across the various pillars.
“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. Our population should respect public health directives.”
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Pate said most states had adequate response plans, adding that the government had the resources and was mobilising the necessary capabilities.
“Most of our states have adequate response plans. We have the resources, and we’re mobilising those capabilities. And we’re also confident that if we continue on this path, we should be able to dent this outbreak.”
He urged citizens to avoid misinformation while combating the virus.
“The key also for the population is to avoid spreading misinformation or baseless rumours, which can cause unnecessary panic. The Task Force leadership has met. WHO and Africa CDC are working closely with the team.
“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 assured.
Other members of the committee at the meeting were the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Kemi Nandap; Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Bunmi Kuku; General Manager of FAAN, Adamu Adamu; WHO Representative, Pavel Ursu; and Special Regional Representative to the Director General of the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Aliko Ahmed.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Administration and Operations and Secretary of the Task Force, Oyinade Nathan-Marsh; Public Health Executive, Niniola Williams; Mandate Secretary for Health and Environment, FCT, Dolapo Fasawe; and Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee at the State House Medical Centre, Victoria Ogala, were also present.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olajumoke Oduwole; Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi; and Director of Operations, Licensing and Training Standards (DOLTS) at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Captain Donald Spiff, also joined the meeting via Zoom.
On Tuesday, the Federal Government confirmed a case of the virus in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Pate said the imported case of Ebola virus disease was confirmed through laboratory testing.
Pate noted that the patient was a woman with a recent travel history to Uganda, who returned to Nigeria with symptoms on October 7. The symptoms progressed four days later before tests confirmed the infection.
Read also: Federal Government Confirms Ebola Case In Abuja, Begins Contact Tracing For 44 People
However, Ugandan authorities denied reports of an Ebola outbreak in the East African nation.
Uganda’s Ministry of Health said the location of exposure remained under investigation, adding that travel through Uganda alone was insufficient to establish where the infection occurred.
