WHO, FG Collaborate To End Looming Epidemic
Princess-Ekwi Ajide Abuja
The Federal Government of Nigeria and the World Health Organisation, WHO, are collaborating in preparedness for emerging threats of disease outbreaks from flood disaster across the country.
According to reports, the flood crises in Nigeria has affected 3,219,780 persons, with 1,427,370 of them displaced, 2,776 injured, and 612 dead while 305,407 houses have been damaged.
18,093 suspected cholera cases have also been reported in 256 Local Government Areas in 31 states as at 2nd November, 2022 hence the dire need for a rapid response team that can deal with possible infectious disease outbreak,
Speaking at the opening ceremony for Emergency Preparedness and Response Capacity Building, Learning and Training for African Volunteers Corps (AVoHC) on Strengthening and Utilising Response Groups for Emergencies (SURGE) team, in Abuja, the WHO Representative in Nigeria, Dr. Walter Mulombo, assured stakeholders that WHO is ready to support with logistics and otherwise, in the event of an unexpected public health emergency.
Dr. Mulombo, stated that training of 350 rapid response medical personnel to deal with any health emergency that may arise from the flood incidents will provide national and subnational Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) with the key knowledge and tools needed to detect and effectively respond to public health emergencies as they occur.
According to him, enhancing global health security (GHS) requires holistic and coordinated sustained national and sub-national actions to ensure a faster and more equitable response as emergencies, disasters, and other crises were increasing in number and magnitude daily in Nigeria, affecting thousands of vulnerable and unprotected people.
He said in order to deliver an early and effective response, governments and institutions must be prepared collaboratively for new outbreaks and must be ready to respond, “nationally, sub-nationally and locally before an attack becomes an epidemic or pandemic.”
Dr. Mulombo, said COVID-19 has exposed and intensified the need for better structures that will quickly mobilise human resources and supplies at all levels once emergencies are declared.
The Minister of State for Health, Ekumankama Nkama, in his remarks, noted that Nigeria is working with WHO to ensure that another pandemic does not take the country by surprise as nobody knows what will happen if there is another pandemic that will be worse than the COVID-19 pandemic.
He re-echoed the need for all to be prepared and ready to respond effectively when such crisis or emergencies arise which according to him, is why the country is collaborating with the WHO to make sure that it trains “trainers” ready to deploy in case of such situations.
