Nigeria is ramping up efforts to prepare for future health emergencies as the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, warned that pandemics are inevitable and require swift, coordinated responses.
Speaking at a public health symposium in Abuja, Salako stressed that the next global outbreak is not a question of if but when. He highlighted lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, which claimed more than seven million lives worldwide and exposed weaknesses in health systems across nations.
According to the minister, Nigeria has made significant progress in strengthening its health security infrastructure. Key improvements include the digitalisation of infectious disease surveillance through the SORMAS platform, expanded diagnostic capacity with over 100 public health laboratories, and the elishment of infectious disease centres and emergency operations hubs across all states and the Federal Capital Territory.
These efforts have contributed to an increase in Nigeria’s technical evaluation score from 39 percent in 2017 to 54 percent in 2023, reflecting improved readiness to detect and respond to outbreaks.
Salako also pointed to China’s rapid and disciplined handling of COVID-19 as a model, noting that technology integration and strong community mobilisation were key to its response. He emphasised that collaboration between Nigeria and China could strengthen global preparedness and resilience.
Under the leadership of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, health security has become a central pillar of national policy. Initiatives such as the 7 1 7 target and the SITAware Transition Project aim to boost state level preparedness, while the One Health approach promotes coordination across human animal and environmental health sectors.
Nigeria is also actively participating in negotiations led by the World Health Organization on a global pandemic agreement, reinforcing its commitment to international cooperation.
The minister concluded by urging governments, private sector players, researchers, and communities to adopt a whole of society approach to pandemic preparedness, ensuring no one is left behind in future responses.
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