The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has intensified nationwide preparedness measures against the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), even as it confirmed that Nigeria has no reported case of the disease.
Director-General of the NCDC, Dr Olajide Idris, disclosed this on Friday during the 15th Expanded Ministerial Oversight Committee (MOC) meeting held in Abuja, stating that the agency has activated surveillance systems, strengthened inter-agency coordination and assessed the country’s treatment and laboratory infrastructure to improve its readiness for any potential outbreak.
Idris acknowledged that while Nigeria may not be “100 per cent ready” for Ebola, the country possesses the capacity to rapidly detect, contain and respond to any imported case.
He explained that response measures commenced immediately after reports of the outbreak emerged elsewhere, even before the Presidential Ebola Task Force was formally reconstituted.
“The task force has only met once, but we did not wait for its reconstitution because we started working immediately after the outbreak was reported,” he said.
The NCDC boss said the agency is working closely with the Port Health Services, the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Nigeria Customs Service and aviation authorities to strengthen disease surveillance at the nation’s borders.
According to him, surveillance efforts are currently concentrated in five states with international airports to enhance screening of incoming travellers.
He disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has introduced entry protocols requiring all inbound travellers to complete health declaration forms before arriving in Nigeria.
Travellers identified as persons of interest, he said, are documented, monitored and their destination states promptly notified to ensure appropriate follow-up.
Although he admitted that implementation challenges remain, Idris expressed confidence that the surveillance system would become more effective as operations continue.
Idris revealed that the NCDC has completed an assessment of molecular laboratories and isolation centres established during the COVID-19 pandemic to determine their suitability for Ebola response.
He disclosed that the Federal Government has approved N785.3 million for Ebola preparedness activities, while the State Ebola Readiness Plan has been finalized, with disbursement of funds to states already at an advanced stage.
However, he raised concerns over the deteriorating condition of many treatment facilities.
“We found that most of the facilities are in a horrible, dilapidated state. Some have been abandoned and require urgent rehabilitation,” he said.
He also noted that several molecular laboratories had suffered operational setbacks due to unstable electricity supply, resulting in the loss of valuable diagnostic reagents and consumables.
According to him, rehabilitation work had begun in some facilities before funding constraints slowed the exercise.
The NCDC is also finalizing a national Ebola contingency plan while upgrading selected laboratories to strengthen diagnostic capacity nationwide.
He added that standard operating procedures have already been distributed to states, while healthcare workers continue to receive specialized training on Ebola case detection and management.
Providing an update on Nigeria’s cholera situation, Idris said the country’s case fatality rate has dropped below one per cent in most affected states after excluding data from Borno State.
He explained that investigations showed the higher mortality recorded in Borno was largely driven by inadequate access to clean water, poor sanitation and widespread open defecation.
The NCDC also discovered that some patients were initially treated for acute watery diarrhoea rather than cholera, delaying appropriate medical intervention.
To address the challenge, additional response teams have been deployed to strengthen surveillance, case management and outbreak control in the state.
Looking ahead to the third quarter of 2026, Idris said the NCDC plans to support high-burden states with the procurement of essential outbreak response commodities ahead of the seasonal period when disease risks typically increase.
He added that orientation and preparedness training would also be extended to the remaining geopolitical zones.
The Director-General urged state governments to fully implement the Special State Outbreak Investigation and Response Fund and align their annual health budgets with outbreak preparedness priorities under the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative.
He also called on state authorities to make sustained investments in disease surveillance, emergency response systems and public health infrastructure to improve Nigeria’s capacity to prevent and contain future outbreaks.
