Lessons from Nigeria in Responding to Coronavirus

By Ifeanyi NsoforABUJA, Mar 20 2020 (IPS) Coronavirus is now a pandemic and the World Health Organization considers Europe as its new epicenter. Italy, Spain and France are on lockdown and several nations are banning travelers from countries where cases are on the rise. But it’s a problem beyond Europe too, and governments in 61 countries have closed schools to slow the spread of the virus. In the U.S., President Trump recently declared a national emergency after the virus had spread to nearly every U.S. state, and he urged state governments to set up emergency operation centers immediately. Most of these measures occurred after a significant number of cases were documented. In contrast, Nigeria, where I am based, has shown a remarkable level of preparedness and response to the Coronavirus pandemic even with just 12 cases diagnosed. These efforts are led by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). Nigeria’s past experiences of quickly responding to the 2014 Ebola outbreak and continuously responding to other infectious diseases such as Lassa fever, have strengthened its health security capacity. Consequently, there are lessons that other countries can learn from Nigeria’s response to Coronavirus. Nigeria’s past experiences of quickly responding to the 2014 Ebola outbreak and continuously responding to other infectious diseases such as Lassa fever, have strengthened its health security capacity. Consequently, there are lessons that other countries can ...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Africa Headlines Health Coronavirus Source Type: news