President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the establishment of a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Emergency Public Health Threats and ordered the immediate release of N10 billion as emergency intervention funding.
The fund will strengthen the operational preparedness of the National Centre for Disease Control and Prevention ( NCDC) and support critical national public health emergency response activities.
A statement by Mr Bayo Ononuga his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, revealed that the Presidential Task Force on Ebola will be chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, with membership drawn from relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA’s) and State representatives.
The President approval follow a stakeholder meeting convened under the chairmanship of the Chief of Staff to review Nigeria’s preparedness and develop strategies against the possible importation of Ebola into Nigeria.
Other critical stakeholders at the meeting included representatives from the Ministry of Interior, the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA), the Lagos State Government, and others.
According to the statement, President Tinubu also directed all States hosting international airports and international border corridors, as well as relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA’s) to submit their plans, funding requirements and intervention needs for consideration and coordinated implementation.
The additional measures to be put in place by the Task Force are: Intensification of passenger, screening at all international airports, including enhanced temperature checks and crowd – control protocols; Enhanced monitoring of passengers arriving through high – risk airline routes including Air Uganda, Rwanda Air, Air Tanzania, Air Angola, Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines; and immediate activation of referral, isolation centres at Lagos and Abuja International airports, with other airports to follow.
Others include: Mandatory activation of QR code – based pre – arrival health declaration system from passengers originating from transiting through designated high – risk countries, and disinfection of departure halls, cargoes, baggage areas, and airport facilities as precautionary measures.
In conclusion, the statement disclosed that the President mandated that the advisory group consult with security, diplomatic and aviation bodies with the view to regulating flights from affected and designate specific airports, or terminals for high – risk flights to enable controlled screening and isolation procedure, and to consider adjusting flight timings to minimise interaction between high – risk passenger and others.
