By Chioma Umeha
Stakeholders in the health sector have identified gaps in emergency preparedness and called for concerted efforts to bridge them to ensure global best practices.
Stakeholders in the health sector have identified gaps in emergency preparedness and called for concerted efforts to bridge them to ensure global best practices.
Speaking at the training
of health workers from general hospitals in Lagos State on management of
emerging infectious diseases, Dr. Jide Idris, the state Commissioner for Health
said inadequate personnel and data on vulnerability/health risk,
non-availability of risk specific contingency plans were some of the factors
accounting for the poor state of affairs.
Others he said were
inadequate information on available resources and inadequacy of Biosafety and
Bio-containment laboratories.
The training was
organised by the Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh (DRASA) Trust Fundat the Lagos State
Chamber Of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Conference Centre.
Idris said; “There is
therefore need for concerted efforts towards bridging these gaps.”
He noted that the State
Government is intensifying efforts towards resolving these challenges and
developing emergency preparedness and response in the state to a desirable
level.
The Lagos Health Ministry
boss stressed that the training is critical for the State.
“This training is very
crucial in that, with a population of over 22 million people and rapid
urbanisation, Lagos State remains at high risk of outbreak of infectious
diseases,” Idris said.
According to him, the aim
of the training is to increase the capacity of the health workers to identify
and promptly manage patients during outbreak of emerging infectious diseases.
These diseases are mostly
deadly viral infections, he explained.
The focus of the training
was on a group of illnesses called viral haemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) which
includes deadly viruses such as Ebola, Lassa fever, Yellow fever, and Dengue.
These viruses, the
Commissioner observed cause sporadic outbreaks all over the country and the
goal of the training is to build capacity in identifying and containing them in
the megacity of Lagos.
In line with the
preparedness strategy, Idris said that all Medical Directors of General
Hospital in the State have been directed to designate a ward as isolation
unit to quarantine suspected cases.
“Once diagnosis is made,
a confirmed case of VHF will be moved to the isolation ward for expert management.
We need to build the capacity of health workers in the State hospitals to
identify and diagnose cases before they could be properly managed.”
According to him, “health
sector emergency preparedness and response involves establishment and strengthening
of the components of the health systems that are essential for rapid and
effective response to emergencies and humanitarian crises.”
Institutionalisation of
emergency preparedness has enabled Lagos State to respond rapidly, efficiently
and effectively to emergencies and humanitarian crisis, the Commissioner said.
Some of the emergencies
that the State had responded to in the last decade include Massive flooding of
the Ajengunle community in Ikorordu, 2012;Measles and Cholera outbreak, 2013;
Ebola Virus Disease outbreak, 2014; Lassa Fever Outbreak, 2015- 2016 and
Cholera outbreak in 2016.
To curtail future disease
outbreak, Idris also said that the State has conducted resource mapping for
emergency preparedness and response across its ministries, directorates and
agencies.
“We are in the process of
developing a policy document and guidelines on health sector response to
emergencies as well as humanitarian crisis and developing Logistics
Preparedness and Management Plan.
He also said that the
State is “Conducting vulnerability and risk assessment analysis for emergency
preparedness and establishing reference public health laboratory.”
The State has also
embarked on “continuous capacity building of various cadres of health personnel
on disease surveillance and emergency management, especially cascading the
recent national training on Public Health Emergency Operation Centre (PHEOC)
conducted by NCDC in collaboration with US CDC,” the Commissioner said.
He pledged the commitment
of the State Government to the successful implementation of the larger project
of DRASA in the State, which is the establishment of a Simulation Training on
Emergency Preparedness and Response for Emerging Infectious Disease Centre in
Lagos Mainland Hospital, Yaba.
Similarly, the Managing
Director of DRASA, Niniola Soleye, said that her company organized the training
with the support of Lagos State Ministry of Health (LSMoH).
Soleye also said the aim
of the training was to boost the capacity of the health workers to identify and
promptly manage patients during outbreak of emerging infectious diseases.
Corroborating earlier
views, the Managing Director of DRASA stressed that the training is centred on
deadly viral infectious illnesses called viral haemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) which
includes deadly viruses such as Ebola, Lassa fever, Yellow fever, and Dengue.
She said; “With this
training, LSMoH and DRASA seek to increase the state’s level of outbreak
preparedness, protect its health workers and help keep the people in Lagos
state safer.
“The training will also
enhance emergency preparedness and response to all health related emergencies
in the State.”
According to her, the
training is to be held in batches even as she noted that her company planned to
host 50 health workers in the just concluded first batch which had 34 in
attendance.
She added that
beneficiaries of the training are expected to cascade their lessons to others
in their respective facilities.
