Nigeria to Divert N10bn Ebola Fund to Lassa Fever, Other Diseases

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Mr Jide Idris, has said the N10 billion emergency intervention fund approved by the federal government was intended to strengthen preparedness for Ebola and other endemic diseases, including Lassa fever.

Mr Idris disclosed this on Monday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, amid questions over the utilisation of the fund approved by President Bola Tinubu for public health preparedness.

“The money was requested not only for Ebola, but to address issues of control of other endemic diseases,” he said.

He explained that several measures required to control Ebola, Lassa fever and other diseases involve similar activities, including surveillance, laboratory diagnosis, screening and monitoring at points of entry.

According to him, the Ebola outbreak increased the need to deploy the funding towards preparedness and response activities, including the purchase of personal protective equipment, laboratory supplies, fuel and other operational requirements.

Mr Idris said the response involved eight pillars, including coordination and leadership, surveillance and laboratory diagnosis.

He added that funding was needed for contact tracing, data collection and the provision of laboratory equipment, reagents and other consumables required for testing.

The NCDC chief also said some treatment and isolation centres across the country required repairs to make them ready for use, including a facility in Abuja.

President Tinubu approved the N10 billion intervention fund in June and established a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats.

The State House said the funding would strengthen the NCDC’s operational preparedness and support critical national public health emergency response activities.

The approval preceded Nigeria’s confirmation of its first imported Ebola case on October 20.

Mr Idris said Nigeria currently had no active positive Ebola case following the medical evacuation of the index patient to Switzerland.

However, he cautioned that the country was not yet out of danger, as health authorities were still monitoring contacts and investigating possible secondary contacts.

As of Monday, 54 primary contacts had been identified, including an Uber driver who transported the index patient to her first hospital.