The minister of health, Prof Isaac Adewole has given his first assignment and litmus test to the director-general of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Dr Abdusalami Nasidi on the reported case of nutritional emergency in Borno State, where it has been estimated that eight children might die daily as a result of malnutrition.“There is a nutritional emergency in Borno state where it is been reported that eight children stand the risk of dying every day if nothing is done to arrest the situation. President Muhammad Buhari has given a directive and so this is my first assignment to you. There is the need to dispatch an emergency team to Borno state.”
He said establishing the RCDC in Nigeria was reached following the devastating impact of the outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease in West Africa, which had far reaching economic effects in the three most affected countries in the region. “The outbreak exposed the weaknesses of our health systems and indicated a lack of readiness to respond effectively to EVD or any other serious health security threat in the line with the core capacities outlined by the international health regulations.”
Since 2015, other significant new threats such as Lassa Fever, Yellow Fever, and Zika Virus outbreaks have been experienced in the region. Nigeria’s role in curtailing the spread of these diseases in our region is acknowledged by ECOWAS’ decision to site the RCDC here.” While stating that an MoU has been signed by the federal government, West Africa Health Organisation, and the NCDC on the actualisation of the ECOWAS RCDC, four important functions which member countries will effectively do include, increased surveillance and information systems for early detection, strengthening of laboratory capacity, preparedness and emergency response as well as retention of trained healthcare workforce.”
Source: Leadership Online
