Health
WHO Supports Nigeria, 4 Others to Fight Lassa Fever Outbreaks
By Dipo Olowookere
With five countries in Western Africa reporting outbreaks of Lassa fever, the World Health Organization (WHO) has scaled up its efforts to support the region’s response to the disease.
While these outbreaks are occurring during the Lassa fever season in countries where the disease is endemic, the speed of escalation is of concern.
The largest outbreak thus far has affected 16 states in Nigeria. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) declared an outbreak of Lassa fever on 22 January 2019. The 213 confirmed cases to date, including 42 deaths, mark a significant increase – already a third of the total cases for all of last year, when Nigeria experienced its worst outbreak of Lassa fever. Four health workers have been infected so far in this latest outbreak.
In Nigeria, WHO is scaling up its efforts to support the Federal authorities, NCDC and the affected Nigerian states in responding to the outbreak.
An important focus is on early detection and confirmation of suspected cases, providing optimal supportive care and ensuring infection prevention and control measures in designated health care facilities in the affected states.
WHO has intensified its technical assistance and is supporting coordination, enhanced surveillance, epidemiological analysis and risk communication. WHO is also mobilizing experts to support case management and infection prevention and control.
A total of 12 cases have been confirmed to date in Benin, Guinea, Liberia and Togo, including two deaths, with more suspected cases being investigated. WHO is assisting health authorities in these countries with contact tracing and providing medical and non-medical supplies and technical and financial resources as needed for case management, risk communication and logistics.
“We are concerned by the high number of cases so early in the Lassa fever season, which is expected to last another four more months,” said Dr Ibrahima Socé Fall, Regional Emergencies Director at WHO Regional Office for Africa. “WHO is working with the health authorities in the five-affected countries to ensure health workers have the capacity to detect cases and we are monitoring the regional spread of the disease.”
WHO has set up a regional coordination mechanism for countries to report any suspected case of Lassa fever to expedite the flow of timely information and to assess the situation, recommend actions and help organize assistance. WHO has also reached out to the six other at-risk countries – Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Sierra Leone – and is supporting prevention and readiness activities as needed.
“WHO continues to advise all countries in the Lassa fever belt to enhance their preparedness and response capacities, especially for early case detection, laboratory confirmation, case management under recommended barrier nursing, risk communication and community engagement,” said Dr Fall.
Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness that occurs predominantly in West Africa, after human exposure to the urine or faeces of infected Mastomys rats. More than 80% of Lassa fever cases are rodent-to-human transmission. Person-to-person transmission occurs in both community and health-care settings.
Prevention of Lassa fever relies on promoting good “community hygiene” to discourage rodents from entering homes by storing grain and other foodstuffs in rodent-proof containers, disposing of garbage far from the home, maintaining clean households, keeping cats and the safe handling of anyone who may have died of the disease.
In health-care settings, health-care workers should always apply standard infection prevention and control precautions when caring for patients.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
As part of its efforts to safeguard public health in Nigeria, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has strengthened its regulatory framework for blood and blood products.
A statement signed on Thursday by the Director General of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed that to achieve its goal, the agency will collaborate with relevant authorities and stakeholders to establish a robust regulatory framework that promotes the availability of safe, quality-assured and efficacious blood and blood products, while strengthening public confidence in Nigeria’s healthcare system.
NAFDAC said it intends to partner with government institutions, healthcare providers, blood establishments, development partners and other stakeholders for the robust oversight.
Mrs Adeyeye disclosed that already, her organisation has received the support of the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Ali Pate.
According to her, NAFDAC has been given the mandate to regulate blood and blood products in line with global best practices and the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation that these products be subject to oversight by National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) for medicines.
She said blood and blood products are classified as essential medicines and must be consistently available with assured quality, safety and affordability, stressing that the aim is to protect patients throughout the blood transfusion chain.
Effective regulatory oversight will support the quality and safety of blood products from donor assessment and collection through testing, processing, storage, transportation and use, the NAFDAC chief noted.
Several African countries, including Egypt, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Senegal and Rwanda, have already established regulatory oversight of blood and blood products by their NRAS, she added.
Mrs Adeyeye pointed out that NAFDAC’s renewed regulatory preparedness builds on its broader transformation into a modern, science-based regulatory authority.
Already, it has attained WHO Maturity Level 3, completed WHO Global Benchmarking ML3 re-assessment, obtained WHO prequalification for its drug laboratory, and established internationally accredited laboratory and quality management systems. These capabilities provide a strong foundation for the effective regulation of blood and blood products.
As part of its preparedness, NAFDAC has established a dedicated Vaccines, Biologicals and Medical Devices Registration and Regulation Directorate to oversee the registration and regulation of these products.
The agency established a Vaccines, Biologicals and Medical Devices Laboratory Services many years ago, but became a Directorate in 2024, responsible for quality control, including laboratory testing and lot release, while the Directorate of Evaluation and Research provides oversight of Good Manufacturing Practices. An ultra-modern laboratory facility is also being developed to further strengthen its capacity for the assessment and quality control of vaccines and biologics.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
An organisation known as GoMed Nigeria is offering free reproductive health services to Nigerian students through a digital self-care platform.
This is being delivered through a partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Lagos State Government.
The pilot scheme will be available to students of the University of Lagos. They will enjoy easier and more private access to essential health products, accurate information, and professional support.
Young Nigerians face some of the highest rates of unintended pregnancy and unmet need for contraception in the world.
Cost, distance, stigma, misinformation, and fears about confidentiality routinely stop students from seeking the products and guidance they need, with consequences that include unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion, sexually transmitted infections and interrupted education.
The self-care platform is designed to remove each of these barriers. Through the platform, students receive free contraceptives and other sexual and reproductive health commodities provided through the Lagos State Ministry of Health and UNFPA, exclusive discounts on health essentials, and fast, discreet delivery directly to campus and student hostels.
Students can also access trusted sexual and reproductive health information and services through UNFPA’s SoftLife 247 and U-Plan platforms. Through U-PLAN, they can chat directly with qualified Family Planning Service Providers to receive accurate information and address their concerns. They can also confidently engage with GoMed’s registered pharmacists for confidential, judgement-free guidance on medicines and other health products.
“Students should be able to get reliable health information and essential products without cost, distance or fear of judgement becoming barriers.
“This platform brings free sexual and reproductive health commodities, other affordable health products and professional guidance together, with discreet delivery directly to students on campus,” the chief executive of GoMed Nigeria, Mr Anthony Edeki, said.
Also speaking, UNFPA in Nigeria Resident Representative, Muriel Mafico, said, “As the UN agency mandated for “Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights”, we are committed to reducing preventable maternal deaths and addressing the unmet need for family planning, including by providing and overseeing access to life-saving commodities worldwide.
“Working alongside our partners, we’re helping roll out the digital Self-Care Platform—so that vital, life-changing information can reach more people, more easily. Together, we want to empower Nigeria’s next generation to make informed health choices and achieve stronger health outcomes and a brighter future.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A financing framework to accelerate the electrification of health facilities nationwide has been approved by the federal government.
The approval was announced at the third meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee (IMSC) of the Nigeria Power for Health Initiative (NPHI), a presidential programme jointly coordinated by the Federal Ministries of Power and Health and Social Welfare.
The committee was constituted to ensure reliable electricity in at least 30 per cent of Nigeria’s health facilities by the end of 2027.
At the meeting, chaired by the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Mr Isiaq Salako, and co-chaired by the Minister of Power, Mr Joseph Tegbe, members of the Inter-Agency Technical Committee (IATC) presented the recommendations under consideration.
Speaking at the meeting, Mr Salako said the Steering Committee approved a financing framework to mobilise investment for healthcare electrification, alongside a facility energy management framework requiring participating hospitals to build sustainable systems for managing their energy infrastructure.
He said the committee also cleared eight (8) private sector proposals for further engagement, drawn from about 70 submissions received during the National Healthcare Electrification Investor Matchmaking Week in Lagos.
The Health Minister added that Energy Management Teams are already in place at federal tertiary hospitals, with state governments being encouraged to set up similar structures. The initiative will now be institutionalised through dedicated budgetary provisions and a full-time Project Coordination Unit to oversee implementation.
On his part, Mr Tegbe declared that the initiative must now move from announcements to actual project delivery.
Describing the NPHI as one of the President Bola Tinubu administration’s flagship programmes, he said the emphasis should shift towards commissioning completed projects that Nigerians can see for themselves, rather than further groundbreaking ceremonies and public messaging.
He emphasised the need for teaching hospitals, state hospitals, and primary healthcare centres to be fully energised, noting that the Rural Electrification Agency has already energised 5 Federal Teaching Hospitals and several other health facilities nationwide.
He also tied the initiative directly to patient outcomes, arguing that dependable power would end hospitals’ reliance on emergency generators, and pledged that the Ministry would continue to prioritise the initiative’s funding needs while ensuring value for money.
