BY CALEB ISHAYA, ABUJA
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the establishment of a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats, alongside the immediate release of N10 billion to strengthen the country’s emergency response capacity against the deadly disease.
The intervention fund is expected to bolster the operational readiness of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, and support critical public health emergency response activities nationwide.
According to a statement issued yesterday by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, the newly established task force will be chaired by the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, and will comprise representatives from relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, as well as state governments.
The move comes amid renewed concerns over the resurgence of Ebola cases in the neighbouring African countries of Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, raising fears of possible cross-border transmission.
President Tinubu’s approval followed a high-level stakeholders’ meeting convened by Gbajabiamila to assess Nigeria’s preparedness and formulate strategies to prevent the importation of the virus into the country.
Participants at the meeting included representatives from the Ministry of Interior, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the Lagos State Government, and other key stakeholders.
As part of the government’s preventive measures, the President directed all states hosting international airports and border corridors to submit detailed preparedness plans, funding requirements, and intervention needs for coordinated implementation.
The task force has also been mandated to intensify passenger screening at all international airports through enhanced temperature checks and crowd-control measures. Authorities will closely monitor passengers arriving via high-risk routes, including flights operated by Air Uganda, RwandAir, Air Tanzania, TAAG Angola Airlines, Kenya Airways, and Ethiopian Airlines.
Additionally, referral and isolation centres are to be activated immediately at the international airports in Abuja and Lagos, with plans to expand the initiative to other airports across the country.
Other measures include the compulsory use of QR code-based pre-arrival health declaration systems for travellers from designated high-risk countries, as well as the routine disinfection of airport facilities, baggage handling areas, cargo sections, and departure halls.
The President further directed the advisory group to engage security, diplomatic, and aviation authorities on the regulation of flights originating from affected countries. The task force will also identify designated airports or terminals for high-risk flights and may adjust flight schedules to reduce interaction between potentially exposed passengers and the general travelling public.
The Federal Government says the proactive measures are aimed at safeguarding public health and ensuring Nigeria remains prepared to respond swiftly to any potential Ebola outbreak.
This preparedness by the presidency has corroborated AljazirahNigeria earlier reports on possible Ebola outbreak and an index , who happened to be a foreigner, working in Calabar and those he came in contact with were all traced and treated.
