By Princess-Ekwi Ajide Abuja
The United States Office in Nigeria has debunked a recent post on social media, calling on the World Health Organization, WHO, to investigate “U.S.-controlled laboratories” in Nigeria.
The office in a statement to newsmen, described the post as misleading, wrongly speculates on the origin of the current global outbreak of monkeypox disease, a pure fabrication as there is zero merit to any allegations regarding the use of U.S.-assisted Nigerian laboratories in the spread of monkeypox adding that there are no “U.S.-controlled” laboratories in Nigeria.
The laboratories are Nigerian, and U.S support enables them provide essential services for the public good and health of Nigeria’s citizens. Especially important, our support to laboratories across the country extends to quality improvements that ensure they have appropriate levels of biosafety and biosecurity requirements in place.
It said the falsehood is a detraction from the work the United States, in close coordination with Nigerian and multilateral partners, accomplish together on public health, including in disease surveillance, diagnosis, prevention, and control.
According to the statement, the collaborative work between Nigeria and the United States has provided opportunities for technical assistance in capacity building, equipment, commodities/consumables, and funding to critical public health program, hospitals and laboratories which all contributes greatly to the prevention and amelioration of global disease outbreaks.
It noted Monkeypox is not a new disease, nor is it unique to Nigeria or the region, as it was first diagnosed in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo and they all work together to contain its spread, exported cases have been reported in the United Kingdom, United States, and other parts of the world.
The statement further reitterates that United States government will continue to lend its support and work closely with the government of Nigeria in responding to the outbreak through the collaborative interventions, U.S. government agencies working in Nigeria (including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research Program) and their implementing partners have supported both national and state laboratories with technical assistance and funding.
“We will continue to collaborate with the Nigerian government on the ongoing global monkeypox and COVID-19 outbreaks and intensify support to Nigeria in other areas on which we have proudly partnered over the years, such as HIV epidemic control, tuberculosis eradication, malaria elimination, prevention of vaccine-preventable disease, and enhancing food and nutrition.” the statement concluded.
