President Bola Tinubu has approved ₦45 billion for an integrated biosecurity and disease surveillance system at five international airports to strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to detect and respond to emerging infectious diseases.
The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, disclosed this after Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by the President.
The project will cover international airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu. According to Pate, it will be delivered through a 20-year public-private partnership (PPP) concession awarded to the BioHealth Consortium.
The system will use technologies such as aircraft wastewater surveillance, air and surface sampling, and specialised pathogen detection equipment to identify potential health threats.
Pate said the initiative would strengthen disease monitoring, improve coordination among relevant agencies and enhance health security at Nigeria’s borders.
He explained that the project was informed partly by lessons from Nigeria’s recent response to an Ebola case, adding that disease outbreaks could disrupt economic activities and threaten public safety.
The five airports covered by the project are Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano, Port Harcourt International Airport and Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu.
Pate said more than 18 million passengers pass through Nigeria’s airports annually, making surveillance at international points of entry critical to national health security.
WHO Rules Out Advice to Restrict Public Gatherings
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has clarified that it did not advise the Federal Government to restrict public gatherings following the Ebola case recorded in Nigeria.
Speaking on Arise Television, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, said the organisation had recommended appropriate response measures, which Nigeria had largely implemented.
He commended the country’s handling of the case, particularly the speed of laboratory confirmation and genetic sequencing, as well as the measures introduced to contain possible transmission.
According to Ihekweazu, the patient’s country of origin requested the medical evacuation. He said the decision was not prompted by any shortcomings in Nigeria’s ability to manage the case.
“We have not advised any restriction of further gatherings,” he said, adding that WHO’s recommendations were based on technical considerations rather than political interests.
Ihekweazu urged the authorities to maintain daily monitoring of everyone who had contact with the patient to ensure that any further transmission could be detected and addressed promptly.
He also encouraged Nigerians to trust the relevant government agencies and their response efforts, warning against politicising the outbreak.
Nigeria Needs 42 Days Without New Cases
The WHO official said Nigeria would need to record 42 consecutive days without another Ebola case before the country could be declared free of the outbreak.
The report stated that 53 people who had contact with the patient remained under surveillance.
Ihekweazu stressed that monitoring contacts remained essential to preventing further transmission and ensuring that any new case was identified early.
The surveillance project approved by Tinubu is expected to strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to detect infectious disease threats at major international entry points, while health authorities continue their response to the Ebola case.
