The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic and other emerging diseases, such as Lassa Fever, and Cholera were indications of gaps in the preparedness for epidemic by many countries, including Nigeria, the World Health Organisation has said.
The organisation also called on the Federal Government to prioritise health funding towards preparedness and prevention in the fight against outbreaks of diseases.
The specialised agency of the United Nations also said that Nigeria accounted for 50 per cent of tropical diseases in Africa and contributes 27 per cent of global cases of malaria and 24 per cent of deaths.
The WHO Country Representative, Dr. Walter Kazadi Mulombo, represented by its Medical Officer (Emergency Programming and Response), Dr. Victor Tugumizemu, provoked the issues during the 3rd edition of Nigeria Health Watch Prevent Epidemics Journalism Awards which held in Abuja on Friday.
At the event, the Managing Director, Nigeria Health Watch, Vivianne Ihekweazu, said poor health funding makes everyone vulnerable to outbreaks.
She said health security should not be seen as the responsibility of the Federal Government alone, but also state and local governments.
Ihekweazu, therefore, called on Nigerians to “hold politicians accountable in order to improve public health” in the spirit of electioneering campaigns and voting for new leaders
According to WHO, there was need for every country to find, prevent or stop epidemics.
Mulombo said, “If unchecked it (gaps in emergencies preparedness) can result in terrible danger. Nigeria needs a pivot to prevention in the fight against diseases by addressing the root causes.
“While there is no single pathway to epidemic prevention, all countries must find their way in the context of their own social, political and economic circumstances.
The foundation everywhere must be a political commitment to building a strong health system, based on primary care, with an emphasis on disease prevention and health promotion.
“Such health systems do not only provide the best health outcomes; they are also the best defence against outbreaks and other health emergencies.
“Currently, the country bears the highest burden of tuberculosis and paediatric HIV, while accounting for 50 per cent of neglected tropical diseases in Africa.
Although the prevalence of malaria is declining (from 42 per cent to 23 per cent), the country contributes 27 per cent of global cases and 24 per cent of global deaths.
“Non-Communicable Diseases account for 29 per cent of all deaths in Nigeria with premature mortality from the four main NCDs (hypertension, diabetes, cancers, and malnutrition) accounting for 22 per cent of all deaths.”
Mulombo commended the NHW for facilitating a strong collaboration with the media through the ‘Prevent Epidemics Project’, to raise public and policymaker awareness and demand for epidemic preparedness and build understanding and support among policymakers for dedicated epidemic preparedness funding.
“This event underscores the need to meaningfully engage critical stakeholders to accelerate and make Nigeria and the world safer from epidemics with advocacy and action because we all know that epidemic outbreaks have multiple determinants, affect many people and require action from all of us gathered here today,” he emphasised.”
He added that WHO recently launched its $2.54 billion 2023 health emergency appeal fund to assist millions of people around the wold health emergencies.
“As the health cluster lead for emergencies, WHO is currently responding to the urgent needs of the most vulnerable people in 54 ongoing graded emergencies around the world, 11 of which is classified as Grade 3, WHO’s highest level of emergency, requiring a response at all three of the organisation.
“Furthermore, the number of people in need of humanitarian relief increasing by almost a quarter compared to 2022, to a record 339 million”, the WHO Country Representative said.
The Director-General of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa, lauded the critical role of the media in tackling epidemics.
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