Ebola: FEC approves N45.8bn airport biosecurity system

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved N45.8 billion for a biosecurity and disease surveillance system at five international airports to strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to detect Ebola and other dangerous pathogens.

Coordinating ​‌‌‍​‍⁠⁠‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌​Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents on the outcome of the Council meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

It was reported that the project will be implemented under a 20-year public-private partnership concession awarded to the BioHealth Consortium.

Pate said the initiative would strengthen disease surveillance at the country’s entry points, improve early detection of infectious diseases and protect public health and economic activities.

“Over the last two weeks, I think you realise the significance of enhancing biosecurity at our points of entry.

“Since COVID, we have known that there are significant vulnerabilities in terms of public health threats crossing borders.

“And the need for coordinated, technology-driven systems for early warning, detection and response to emerging infectious disease threats,” he said.

According to Pate, the system will be deployed at five international airports, including Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos; Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja; Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano; Port Harcourt International Airport; and Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.

He said more than 18 million passengers pass through Nigeria’s airports annually, making effective surveillance at points of entry critical to national health security.

The minister said the project was partly informed by lessons from Nigeria’s recent response to the Ebola threat.

He disclosed that Nigeria had sustained surveillance and containment measures before confirming an imported Ebola case in October.

Pate said the affected patient had recovered after receiving treatment in Nigeria and was continuing to improve in her home country.

He warned that the threat remained, given the continued spread of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the possibility of other infectious diseases entering Nigeria.

On government support for people placed in isolation or quarantine, Pate said the intervention was designed to encourage compliance and prevent community transmission.

He explained that some identified contacts, including people who transported or interacted with the patient after she developed symptoms, depended on daily earnings to support their families.

“If you ask them to stay in quarantine, they have a livelihood and a family. They may find ways to evade it, and that will put everybody at risk,” he said.

The minister described the support as a targeted public health intervention to ensure that identified contacts remained in quarantine and protect the wider population.

“It is a global public good, and it is circumscribed. By no means will it be applicable if we have the unfortunate situation of community transmission,” he said.

Pate said the authorities were determined to prevent the outbreak from spreading beyond the identified contacts.

He added that the contacts were required to undergo 21 days of quarantine, corresponding to Ebola’s incubation period of two to 21 days.

“We are not taking any chances,” he said, adding that health authorities would continue monitoring the contacts and respond swiftly to any suspected infection.

Pate said the government was pursuing a two-pronged strategy of containing the existing Ebola threat and strengthening border surveillance to prevent new cases from entering the country.

He expressed confidence that the new system would improve early detection of emerging threats, strengthen inter-agency coordination and protect Nigeria against future public health emergencies.