The Adamawa State Ministry of Health and Human Services has intensified preparations against the potential threat of an Ebola outbreak, directing emergency response officials to strengthen disease surveillance and improve the state’s readiness to handle suspected cases.
Key Highlights
- Adamawa health ministry steps up Ebola preparedness.
- State rapid response team activated; surveillance reinforced across 21 LGAs.
- Emergency operations centre heads to assess gaps and recommend urgent actions.
- Permanent Secretary Amos Piribu inspects the state infectious disease centre.
Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Amos Piribu, gave the directive during an emergency meeting with the ministry’s technical directors to review existing preparedness measures and assess the effectiveness of public health emergency response mechanisms.
Piribu directed the heads of the various emergency operations centres to convene an urgent meeting to evaluate their preparedness levels, identify operational gaps and recommend immediate actions to strengthen the state’s response capacity.
He also called for the activation of the state rapid response team and the reinforcement of disease surveillance systems across the state’s 21 local government areas.
The permanent secretary further emphasised the need to strengthen the capacity of the state infectious disease centre to ensure its readiness to isolate, assess and manage suspected Ebola cases.
Focus Areas For Outbreak Preparedness
The meeting of the emergency operations centre heads is expected to focus on critical areas of outbreak preparedness, including surveillance and epidemiology, case management, laboratory services, infection prevention and control, risk communication, logistics and coordination of emergency response activities.
Piribu stressed the importance of proactive planning, collaboration among relevant departments and timely information sharing to ensure that suspected cases are promptly detected, investigated and appropriately managed.
He explained that strengthening the state rapid response team would improve the state’s ability to investigate suspected cases and initiate timely interventions, while enhanced surveillance across the 21 council areas would support early detection and reporting.
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Infectious Disease Centre Inspected
As part of the assessment, Piribu visited the state infectious disease centre to evaluate its preparedness for a possible Ebola outbreak.
During the visit, he assessed the centre’s existing arrangements and highlighted the need to ensure the availability of adequate facilities, trained personnel, essential equipment and effective infection prevention and control measures.
The ministry said the measures are aimed at strengthening health infrastructure and ensuring that designated infectious disease facilities are adequately prepared to respond to public health emergencies.
The ministry reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening health security and ensuring that relevant departments and emergency response structures remain vigilant and adequately prepared to protect the health and well-being of residents across Adamawa State, in line with national guidance from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
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