Ebola: N10 billion FG emergency fund covers Lassa fever, different ailments too – NCDC

The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Jide Idris, has clarified that the N10 billion emergency intervention fund accredited by the federal authorities was not meant solely for Ebola response.

Idris stated the funding was requested to strengthen Nigeria’s preparedness and response to Ebola in addition to different endemic ailments, together with Lassa fever.

He spoke on Monday night throughout an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, amid questions over the utilisation of the N10 billion accredited by President Bola Tinubu for public well being preparedness.

“The money was requested not only for Ebola, but to address issues of control of other endemic diseases,” Idris stated.

“Right now, Lassa fever season is coming. Lassa fever and Ebola are the same class of viruses, just like yellow fever and dengue fever.”

Idris stated a number of of the measures required to manage the ailments are related, together with surveillance, analysis, screening and monitoring at factors of entry.

“Leadership, diagnostics, screening, surveillance issues, point of entry, all those funny things. They are the same thing, and that was the request initially,” he stated.

Idris stated the Ebola outbreak subsequently elevated the necessity to deploy the intervention funding to strengthen preparedness and response actions.

He listed the acquisition of non-public protecting tools, laboratory provides, gas and different operational wants among the many areas requiring funding

He stated the response entails eight pillars, together with coordination and management, surveillance and laboratory analysis.

On surveillance, he stated public well being officers want funding to conduct contact tracing and gather knowledge, whereas laboratories require tools, reagents and different consumables to conduct checks.

“Treatment isolation centres all over the country, there are some that are just broken down. We need to fix it so that it will be ready, including the one in Abuja,” he added.

President Tinubu accredited the N10 billion funding in June, when he additionally established a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats.

The State House stated on the time that the funding would strengthen NCDC’s operational preparedness and help crucial nationwide public well being emergency response actions.

The approval got here months earlier than Nigeria confirmed its first imported Ebola case on 20 October.

The NCDC boss stated the nation presently has no lively optimistic Ebola case following the medical evacuation of the index affected person to Switzerland.

However, he cautioned that Nigeria just isn’t but “out of the woods” as a result of well being authorities are nonetheless monitoring contacts and investigating potential secondary contacts.

As of Monday, he stated 54 major contacts had been recognized, together with an Uber driver who transported the index affected person to her first hospital.