Many Nigerians were gripped with fear when Lagos
confirmed a case of new coronavirus at the wee hours of penultimate Friday. The
news stimulated memories of anxiety generated six years ago when West Africa’s
Ebola epidemic hit the busy megacity.
Prior to the importation of the dreaded disease,
many had asked; Is Nigeria prepared for an eventual outbreak of Coronavirus (Convid19)
in the country? The Federal Government had assured citizens that it is prepared
to combat the deadly Coronavirus in the advent of an outbreak in the country
and urged non-stigmatisation of infected persons should the case arises.
Mr Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of
the Federation (SGF), at a one-day sensitisation programme on the spread of
Coronavirus and Lassa fever noted; “We have been informed by the Nigerian
Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) that they have set up their response centres
and mounting surveillance. Medical personnel have also been put on standby to
attend to any emerging issue.”
He stressed further; “What we are doing today is the
responsibility of management to create awareness within our workforce. The
issue of stigmatisation should be reduced to the barest minimum. No fiction, no
rumours, science and facts are what we want to deal with.”
However, some experts are worried about the Federal
Government’s response to the Convid19 infection in the country and have
identified gaps which could be huge problems in the face of an epidemic like
in the index country, China.
But, others gave kudos to the Federal Government
stating that the NCDC and the Federal Ministry of Health have done very well in
equipping and mobilising a network of coordinating laboratories to undertake
prompt laboratory analysis of blood specimens from suspected cases and
laboratory diagnosis of same. However, they stressed the need to increase
the number of laboratories and containment facilities across the country.
Commenting, Dr Godswill Okara, Registrar of West
African Postgraduate College of Medical Laboratory Science (WAPCMLS), said;
“The leadership of the NCDC and the Federal Ministry of Health have done very
well in equipping and mobilising a network of coordinating laboratories to
undertake prompt laboratory analysis of blood specimens from suspected cases and
laboratory diagnosis of same. It is a very commendable effort indeed.”
In an interview, Okara said; “While commending
Federal and some State Governments on the ongoing effort and response, it would
be desirable to increase the number of laboratories and containment facilities
across the country to curtail the need for suspected cases to travel far from
their place of residence for testing and quarantine.
“The psychological impact of travelling out of one’s
locality to Lagos or Abuja for testing and isolation might be part of the
factors preventing the remaining contacts from coming forward to be tested.
This again underscores the imperative of developing laboratory personnel,
infrastructural facilities and diagnostic capacity across the three tiers of
our health system,” he added.
He also noted that though the Port Health Services
have proved equal to the demands of the moment, they need to beef up the number
of personnel, especially at land borders.
Okara further said; “There is an obvious
infrastructural gap. There is only one or two Level 3 Biosafety Laboratory in
Nigeria for handling the analysis of specimens involving high-risk pathogens.
The one in Lagos, I understand was donated by the Canadian Government.
“We have the money in this country to put world-class facilities in place. Be the level 3 or level 4 Biosafety Laboratories,
or containment facilities. But, what you hear every day is the diversion of
public funds by government actors charged with the responsibility of providing
these facilities. Again, the Government does not listen to the advice and guidance
of relevant professionals in policy formulation and project execution,” he
regretted.
He added; “In this era of a knowledge-driven society
and economy, any government that wants to deliver on its mandate and obligation
to society must deliberately seek, respect and implement the advice of
professionals.
That is the difference between the developed world and the rest
of other nations. They invest heavily in research and development because they
have discovered that research is the engine room of human and social progress
and survival. It has been said that knowledge doubles every seven years, if any
society does not engage actively in research, knowledge discovery and
development, such a society or government would be left behind.”
Also, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, the National President,
Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) said; “I believe that the level of
preparedness should have been better than it is now. The saving grace that we
have is that we have had an experience in managing crisis like this which is
the Ebola crisis.
“That has given us residual experience in the world,
but beyond this, we ought to have done a lot better. Because I believe that when
the first signs came when the news broke, I expected that efforts should have
been made especially with acquiring medical equipment that would have been used
for managing the illness.
“We are certain that, if such an epidemic had
occurred in the world that Nigeria was going to be part of it, given our level
of interaction with China. In fact, our involvement with global trade and the
fact that Nigerians travel all over the world, our level of preparedness should
have been better. We need to be more proactive than we have been but, I think
that the Ebola and some of the residual incidence have been helpful here,” he
added.
Dr Usman Abdulrahman, an Infectious Diseases
Specialist and member, Nigeria Infectious Disease Society, said; “Our level of
preparedness is poor in terms of isolation centres or treatment. Like the
Professor Ehanire Osagie, Health Minister said, the one in Abuja is still under
construction, and hopefully to be completed soon. The one in Lagos is what was
built during Ebola hence may likely need upgrading or modification to take care
of coronavirus patients.
He added; “Needless to say that more centres are
urgently required if we are really serious in our emergency preparedness.”
Abdulrahman who also works with University of Abuja
Teaching Hospital (UATH) Gwagwalada, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja,
further observed; “One thing that can help in the containment of the disease is
to strengthen disease surveillance at both ports and community education on
precautionary measures.”
Similarly, Olumide Akintayo, former National
President of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) told our reporters; “From
a realistic perspective a country cannot be ready to contain any health
emerging with the structure of its weak or poor funded health system. The
exception is probably the Lagos State Government (LASG) in sub-Saharan Africa.
It has the heaviest and probably the only function isolation center in Nigeria.
“Given the scenario we are only realistically
relying on divine intervention. I think we might restrict international
movement to part of entry in Lagos and Abuja, while the international public
health emergency last. This is because the surveillance is difficult in this clime
in which clients are met usually about the health when they consult health
providers,”Akintayo added.
On his part, Dr Avidime Solomon, Chairman, Nigerian
Medical Association (NMA) Committee on Inter-Professional Relations and
Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria,
recommended that the NCDC which is saddled with the responsibility of contact
tracing should strengthen both the human capacity and resources to overcome all
the challenges obstructing contact tracing. “There is need for the stakeholders
that is FMOH, Ministry of Aviation and other relevant agencies to collaborate
to accomplish the task.”
