The Lagos State Government has intensified efforts to prevent the importation of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) into Nigeria, with a high-level preparedness inspection at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, amid concerns over a resurgence of the disease in East Africa.
The delegation on Saturday, led by the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi and included Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr. Kemi Ogunyemi; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Dayo Lajide; and officials of the Lagos State Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, met with airport authorities, Port Health Services, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to review surveillance, screening and emergency response measures.
Abayomi recalled Nigeria’s successful containment of Ebola in 2014 after the disease was imported into Lagos from Liberia, paying tribute to healthcare workers, including the late Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh, whose efforts helped stop the outbreak.
He noted that MMIA handles about 70 per cent of international passenger traffic into Nigeria, making it the country’s most critical point of entry for disease surveillance. “Our objective is to create a bottleneck for the virus, not for passengers,” he said, stressing the need for stronger systems for early detection, isolation and monitoring of suspected cases.
The commissioner added that lessons from both the Ebola outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic underscored the importance of close collaboration between state and federal agencies in managing public health threats.
On her part, Ogunyemi, stressed that effective disease prevention and control depend on shared responsibility and strong collaboration among government agencies and health stakeholders.
