Nigeria Only 59% Prepared For Ebola Outbreak — NCDC

Nigeria is only 59 per cent prepared to respond to a potential Ebola outbreak, the director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Dr. Jide Idris, has disclosed, warning that significant gaps remain in the country’s disease surveillance and emergency response systems.

Speaking during an interview on Arise News on Monday, Idris said the assessment emerged from a recent review of the country’s readiness level, which identified critical vulnerabilities, particularly at Nigeria’s points of entry and porous land borders.

According to him, while authorities have continued to strengthen preparedness measures, Nigeria cannot afford to be complacent given the threat posed by the deadly virus and the movement of people across borders.

“Our most recent 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,” Idris said.

The NCDC boss explained that the agency conducted a dynamic risk assessment to determine Nigeria’s preparedness level, identify existing weaknesses and develop strategies to prevent the importation of Ebola into the country.

“We did a dynamic risk assessment for Nigeria basically to assess our level of preparedness, where we are, what gaps we need to cover, and then what we need to do.

“And very clearly, one area that came out was the point of entry, which is crucial because the objective is that we should not allow this thing to come into this country,” he stated.

Idris revealed that the Federal Ministry of Health had already issued protocols for government agencies to strengthen monitoring and control of international arrivals, especially through airports.

“Luckily, a day or two after, there was a protocol released by the Federal Ministry of Health to be adhered to by different agencies of government.

“The essence of that is to control traffic into this country, especially traffic from airlines. That’s why some states were categorised as high risk. Those states are where you have international airports because that’s where people come in,” he explained.

However, he warned that Nigeria’s porous land borders remain a bigger concern because many travellers enter the country through unofficial routes that are difficult to monitor.

“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 concerns, and that’s why it’s essential for us to prepare,” he said.

Drawing lessons from Nigeria’s successful containment of the 2014 Ebola outbreak, Idris said rapid detection, isolation, diagnosis and contact tracing remain the most effective tools in preventing widespread transmission.

“2014 was interesting because we had never had that experience before. But we were lucky to have the experience of the WHO and the Centers for Disease Control, who actually provided guidance.

“At the start, nobody knew what the problem was, but we learned as we went along,” he recalled.

He identified the core pillars of Ebola response as early detection, immediate isolation of suspected cases, prevention of physical contact, rapid laboratory testing and aggressive contact tracing.

“Ability to detect: Once you detect, you must isolate the patient because the mode of spread of Ebola is by contact.

“Preventing contact: Once you can prevent that contact, I think we are reasonably okay. That means protecting yourself, protecting healthcare workers and putting in place facilities for sanitisation.

“Isolation facilities: You need to put in place facilities where you can isolate people with suspected cases.

“Rapid diagnosis: Once you suspect cases, you must be able to carry out diagnosis quickly through laboratory testing.

“A lot of these things we put in place, and they actually guided us. So, detection, isolation and contact tracing are the key things,” he added.

Despite ongoing preparations, Idris admitted that the country is still far from being fully ready for an Ebola emergency.

“To be frank, we are not 100 per cent ready, but we are improving our readiness. This readiness has to cover the whole country.

“We have sent teams and advisers to work with state commissioners to assess readiness and guide them on what to do.

“We are looking at infrastructure, isolation centres, public health emergency operation centres and the kind of stockpiles they have in case of any outbreak,” he said.

The NCDC director-general also disclosed that efforts were underway to strengthen laboratory capacity nationwide, train healthcare workers, improve access to personal protective equipment and intensify public awareness campaigns.

“Over the years, we have expanded our laboratory system. The idea is to extend that capacity to more laboratories, especially those that serve areas with significant international travel.

“We are optimising preparedness by training staff, providing reagents, supplying personal protective equipment and ensuring standard operating procedures are followed.

“If you don’t follow those procedures, you might be at risk as a healthcare worker. One more important thing is public enlightenment,” he stated.

Beyond Ebola, Idris revealed that Nigeria is currently battling between seven and eight disease outbreaks, including cholera and Lassa fever, both of which 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, and it is killing people.

“Lassa fever is seasonal, and each disease has what they call carriers or reservoirs. Lassa fever is particularly associated with specific species of rats,” he said.

He attributed the continued prevalence of Lassa fever in some communities to cultural practices and poor health-seeking behaviour, including the consumption of rodents and bushmeat.

“Everything has to do with our culture, our tradition and our health-seeking behaviours. In some areas, people regard these rats as delicacies. No amount of warning seems to work easily.

“I had the opportunity of going to Ondo State a couple of months ago regarding Lassa fever, and what I saw was quite revealing because of some of the practices of the people,” he said.

Idris called on state governments to play a more active role in disease prevention and outbreak response, stressing that public health management should not be left solely to the Federal Government.

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