President Bola Tinubu has approved the establishment of a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease preparedness and other emerging public health threats, and directed the immediate release of ₦10 billion as emergency intervention funding.
The development was disclosed on Tuesday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
According to him, the fund will strengthen the operational capacity of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and support national emergency preparedness and response activities across the health sector.
The Presidential Task Force on Ebola will be chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, with membership drawn from relevant ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), as well as state government representatives.
Onanuga said the approval followed a high-level stakeholder meeting convened to assess Nigeria’s preparedness and develop preventive strategies against the possible importation of Ebola into the country, following recent outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda.
Other stakeholders at the meeting included representatives of the Ministry of Interior, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Lagos State Government, and other relevant agencies.
He further disclosed that the President directed all states hosting international airports and land border corridors, alongside relevant MDAs, to submit detailed preparedness plans, funding requirements, and intervention proposals for coordinated national response.
As part of the measures approved, the Task Force is to intensify passenger screening at all international airports through enhanced temperature checks and strengthened crowd-control protocols, as well as improve monitoring of travellers arriving via identified high-risk routes, including airlines operating from affected countries.
The measures also include the activation of referral and isolation centres at the Lagos and Abuja international airports, with other airports to follow, alongside the deployment of QR code-based pre-arrival health declaration systems for passengers arriving from or transiting through designated high-risk countries.
In addition, airport facilities, including departure halls, baggage areas, and cargo sections, are to undergo enhanced disinfection as part of preventive environmental safety measures.
The President also directed relevant security, diplomatic, and aviation authorities to coordinate on possible travel regulations involving flights from affected and high-risk countries.
The Task Force is further mandated to designate specific terminals for high-risk flights to ensure controlled screening and isolation procedures, as well as consider adjustments to flight schedules to reduce contact between high-risk and other categories of passengers.
