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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), yesterday, said COVID-19 pandemic response recorded the largest political commitment in the history of health system development in Nigeria.
Its Director General, Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa, stated this in a statement to commemorate the second year anniversary of COVID-19 in Nigeria. He said over 3,000 deaths associated with COVID-19 were recorded in the country in the last two years. He said the outbreak of the virus provided opportunities for prioritising healthcare and attracting the required future investments in health security in Nigeria.
He charged Nigerians to hold authorities accountable to sustain the investments in healthcare and health security in the country.
He recalled that Sunday, February 27, 2022, marked exactly two years since the first case of COVID-19 was detected in Nigeria, saying it was largely aided by the prompt notification of health authorities by an astute attending physician.
“Since then, Nigeria has confirmed an excess of 250,000 cases, recorded over 3,000 deaths, and learnt major lessons in its bid to strengthen the country’s health system to cope with other infectious diseases and future health emergencies.”
He said the NCDC was committed to its mandate of leading in the preparedness, detection, and response to disease outbreaks of public health importance and to mitigate the health impact of public health emergencies/disasters in Nigeria.
He said in the last five years, several efforts have been made towards improving the health system, as well as increased investment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He added that during the COVID-19 pandemic, NCDC supported the establishment of infectious disease treatment centres, molecular laboratories, and public health emergency operation centres in all states, and provided equipment required for critical care in hospitals, especially, dialysis machines.
