Health
How Nigeria Beat Ebola
Nigeria has been Ebola-free since it narrowly avoided being sucked into the escalation of the highly contagious haemorrhagic fever outbreak which devastated its neighbours, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone resulting in the loss of over 11,000 lives.
WHO has commended the Nigerian Government for its strong leadership and effective coordination of the response that included the rapid establishment of an Emergency Operations Centre headed by Dr Faisal Shuaib, an advisor to the Minister for Health, who was at the centre of the country’s efforts to eradicate polio.
Dr Shuaib said: “The Government’s quick action and deployment of the necessary resources was key to averting a disaster. The circumstances were hugely challenging but we hit the ground running and there was good collaboration across all sectors involved. We were also fortunate in that Nigeria has a first rate virology laboratory affiliated with the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.”
The West Africa Ebola outbreak was the worst since the virus was first identified in 1976, and influenced the drafting of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction which emphasizes the need to enhance the resilience of national health systems and to integrate disaster risk management into health care.
Poverty, lack of preparedness and risk information, combined with inadequate health resources, made West Africa especially vulnerable, driving up exposure and fuelling the spread of the virus from March 2014 to January 2016 when WHO declared Liberia to be Ebola-free.
There was major alarm when the first case was reported in the sprawling Nigerian capital Lagos in July 2014, home to over 20 million people.
A diplomat who had been caring for a relative who died of Ebola in Liberia, and was already ill with the fever, managed to board a commercial fight to Lagos with the intention of visiting a faith healer.
He was admitted to a private hospital where he had to be physically restrained by a brave female doctor as he tried to flee the isolation unit. Both he and the doctor died. Matters were further complicated when another case was identified in the bustling oil centre of Port Harcourt.
Dr Margaret Lamunu, a veteran of WHO’s work on disease control in humanitarian crises, saw her family once during the 15 months she worked on the Ebola crisis. She was re-deployed from Sierra Leone to support the response in Nigeria when the news broke of the first case.
Commenting on the experience, Dr Lamunu said: “There was a huge difference in response capacity in Nigeria and what was possible in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia where you can almost count the numbers of doctors on one hand.
“In Nigeria we had people with Masters degrees doing the tracing work and there was no shortage of qualified medical personnel and lab facilities. All the resources necessary were mobilised quickly. The national Government, the public, partners, and the global community were concerned about it getting out of control.
“There was great detective work in tracking down hundreds of contacts and the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health, CDC (US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention), Médecins Sans Frontières, the Nigerian Red Cross and many other partners deserve much credit for how they managed to contain the risk of a major health disaster.”
A total of 894 contacts were linked directly to the original case. A further 526 contacts were linked to a health care worker who died in Port Harcourt. Altogether 18,500 face-to-face visits were carried out to check for fever and other symptoms. The high rate of literacy in the general population made it easier to carry out information campaigns by comparison with Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
By the time Nigeria was declared Ebola-free in October 2014, there were 19 infected individuals in addition to the index case from Liberia, 7 of whom died. These included eleven health care workers, 5 of whom paid the ultimate price for their courageous and successful efforts at containing the epidemic.
Dr Chadia Wannous, UNISDR health focal point, noted: “The experience of Nigeria when contrasted with that of other affected countries underlines how important it is to enhance the capacity of low-income developing countries to manage not just emergencies and disasters but the underlying risks. This requires resilient health systems with trained personnel, risk information and risk communication systems, logistics and supply chain structures, financing mechanisms and solid health governance as we have seen in Nigeria.”
She also highlighted the significant role played by the community, with teams of “social mobilizers” reaching thousands of households with health information and facilitating understanding so that fear and mistrust do not hinder mounting an effective response.
UNISDR is currently collaborating with WHO, UNDP and other partners to implement a project in Ebola-affected Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea to “accelerate the implementation of the Sendai Framework with risk-informed health systems”.
The project, funded by the government of Japan, aims to enhance collaboration between disaster risk management and health authorities and integrate health into disaster risk management structures and at the same time integrate risk management into the health sector. By doing so, it is expected that the project will further contribute to reducing mortality due to health emergencies and other types of disasters.
Reducing global disaster mortality is the theme of this year’s International Day for Disaster Reduction, October 13.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The sum of $250,000 in humanitarian funding is to be provided by Binance to support the frontline response to the ongoing Ebola disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda.
The cryptocurrency exchange said the funds would be used to enable rapid response in high-risk and underserved areas, where access to healthcare infrastructure, protective resources, and timely public health information remains limited.
The money will be shared equally between the Uganda Red Cross Society and Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), supporting urgent interventions in affected and high-risk communities.
Binance’s contribution will help strengthen emergency medical care and treatment, community awareness and prevention campaigns, contact tracing and containment support, and the provision of sanitation supplies and protective equipment for frontline workers.
By supporting both immediate response activities and preventative education, Binance aims to contribute to reducing transmission and strengthening community resilience.
“Communities across Africa continue to show extraordinary resilience in the face of complex challenges, but frontline responders should not have to face crises like this alone,” the co-chief executive of Binance, Mr Richard Teng, said.
“The teams working to contain the Ebola disease outbreak are delivering vital, life-saving support under incredibly difficult conditions.
“We are proud to support both the Uganda Red Cross Society and Doctors Without Borders as they work to protect vulnerable populations, strengthen local response efforts, and deliver urgent care where it is needed most,” he added.
Also commenting, the Secretary General for the Uganda Red Cross Society, Mr Robert Kwesiga, said, “Strong partnerships are essential during public health emergencies since we are not able to manage the outbreak alone.
“The support from Binance comes in so timely and handy, and will help us respond more rapidly, reach more at-risk communities, and reinforce the frontline services needed to help contain the outbreak and save lives.”
The MSF Emergency Programme Manager, Trish Newport, while speaking on the initiative, said, “The number of cases and deaths we are seeing in such a short timeframe, combined with the spread across several health zones and now across the border, is extremely concerning. In Ituri, many people already struggle to access healthcare and live with ongoing insecurity, making rapid action critical to prevent the outbreak from escalating further.”
Caused by the Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment, this Ebola disease outbreak has placed acute pressure on already fragile health systems in eastern DRC and the wider region.
Local authorities, international agencies, and humanitarian organisations are racing to contain it and protect affected communities.
Binance’s support is intended to reinforce these efforts at a critical moment. It reflects the company’s broader commitment to supporting communities across Africa through programmes focused on education, financial inclusion, digital skills development, and community empowerment.
In this case, Binance is extending that commitment to urgent humanitarian and public health needs by working alongside trusted organisations with deep frontline expertise.
By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu has approved the establishment of a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats and ordered the immediate release of N10 billion as emergency intervention funding.
According to a disclosure by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, 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.
The team will be chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, with membership drawn from relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and state representatives.
The presidency noted that the approval followed 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 the country.
Ebola has recently resurfaced in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda, both neighbouring countries.
Other key stakeholders at the meeting included representatives of the Ministry of Interior, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Lagos State Government and others.
Mr Onanuga also disclosed that President Tinubu directed all states hosting international airports and international border corridors, as well as relevant MDAs, to submit their plans, funding requirements and intervention needs for consideration and coordinated implementation.
Additional measures to be implemented by the Task Force include the intensification of passenger screening at all international airports through 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 the immediate activation of referral and isolation centres at the Lagos and Abuja international airports, with other airports to follow.
Other measures include the mandatory activation of QR code-based pre-arrival health declaration systems for passengers originating from or transiting through designated high-risk countries, as well as the disinfection of departure halls, cargoes, baggage areas and airport facilities as precautionary environmental measures.
The President also directed the advisory group to consult with security, diplomatic and aviation bodies on regulating flights from affected and designated high-risk countries.
The Task Force was further mandated to designate specific airports or terminals for high-risk flights to enable controlled screening and isolation procedures, and to consider adjusting flight schedules to minimise interaction between high-risk passengers and other travellers.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Over 500 residents of Ajegunle in Lagos enjoyed free healthcare services, comprehensive health education, youth mentorship, and community engagement activities at a one-day event organised by Queens Palm Support Initiative (QPSI).
This is part of the organisation’s Reach 1000 Initiative, deliberately designed to address immediate healthcare needs and empower individuals with the knowledge, resources, and support required to live healthier, more productive, and dignified lives.
QPSI is a non-profit organisation established by Ms Sabrina Ozma dedicated to advancing community development, healthcare advocacy, youth empowerment, leadership education, and social impact interventions across Nigeria. Fou
At the Ajegunle programme held at Bola Ige Millennium School, Tolu Complex, participants received a comprehensive range of healthcare services facilitated by accredited medical professionals, including general medical consultations and health assessments, malaria screening, diagnosis and treatment, blood sugar testing and diabetes awareness, comprehensive eye examinations and vision assessments, as well as specialist neurosurgical consultations provided by medical experts from Dukes Neurosurgery and Specialist Hospital.
Also, Reals Pharmaceutical Limited provided and distributed antimalarial medications to beneficiaries, ensuring continuity of treatment and improved health outcomes beyond the day of the outreach.
Ms Ozma, while speaking at the event, said access to quality healthcare remains one of the most pressing challenges confronting underserved communities across Nigeria.
According to her, interventions such as the Reach 1000 Initiative are deliberately designed to close this gap, not only by addressing immediate healthcare needs but by empowering individuals with the knowledge, resources, and support required to live healthier, more productive, and dignified lives.
Beyond healthcare delivery, the initiative featured structured health education and awareness sessions focused on disease prevention and early symptom recognition, personal hygiene and sanitation best practices, nutrition and food safety, healthy lifestyle habits, and the importance of routine medical check-ups.
In addition, a media personality and youth advocate, Ms Blessing Lopez, led engaging conversations around personal growth, confidence, and purpose-driven living, while entertainer Larry J inspired participants through discussions on resilience, positive decision-making, and the importance of becoming active contributors to societal progress.
The programme also attracted notable participation from government institutions and civil society organisations, highlighting the importance of multi-sector collaboration in addressing community challenges.
The Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA), Mrs Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, engaged participants on safeguarding, protection against domestic and sexual violence, and the importance of building safer communities.
Further, representatives of the Cleen Foundation facilitated discussions on crime prevention, community security, and the role of young people in promoting civic responsibility and the rule of law, while the Crime Prevention Partnership (CPP) led discussions on community-led safety strategies and citizen participation in fostering safer neighbourhoods.
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