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•As Africa CDC rejects travel ban, questions whereabouts of $700m aid
The Nigeria Aviation Tourism Association (NANTA) has told anxious Nigerians to calm down, as the Ebola outbreak has had no impact on flight operations into and out of the country.
This comes as concerns over the disease raise calls for travel restrictions.
However, the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has rejected calls for a travel ban ahead of its October 28 regional meeting. The agency also expressed concern over $700 million in aid yet to be accounted for and threatened to blacklist defaulting partners.
Nonetheless, the federal government has ramped up response after confirming a case in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
NANTA’s President, Yinka Folami, told Daily Sun that the main effect in the market has been more of anxiety rather than changes in travel plans by passengers.
Folami said entry screening into Nigeria currently applies mainly to passengers arriving from certain parts of Africa, including the Congo and Uganda belt, while most countries, particularly in Europe and America, are exempt.
He said the federal government has advised all arriving passengers to complete the health form which can be gotten from the NCDC website for free and avoid third-party platforms that charge a fee. He said he is confident the government could contain the outbreak quickly given the country’s public health track record.
Folami explained that as of now, there have been no flight cancellations from passengers and no changes to travel plans beyond the government’s medical advisory. He warned, however, that if the outbreak spreads, Nigerian travellers could face restrictions into other countries.
“So far, what the government has directed is that forms should be completed by passengers arriving in Nigeria, without any exception for nationality, but I think it is still basically restricted to passengers who travel to certain parts of Africa.
But even the advice from the government is that when you’re arriving, whether you’re exempted or not, just complete the form, because it costs nothing to complete the form.
“We advise that passengers should only go to the NCDC sites, not to any third-party site that will charge some amount for it. We are confident that the Nigerian government, because our track record for public health is good, will be able to contain it very quickly. There have been no cancellations of flights either,” he explained.
Nigeria’s first Ebola patient is the wife of a diplomat whose name has not been revealed. According to the government, she holidayed in Uganda for about two and a half weeks before returning through Ethiopia and arrived in Abuja on October 3.
Uganda, however, denied having any case of Ebola and said the lady only passed through the country after visiting the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It added that where she contracted the virus remains unclear.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, said on his X handle that the patient showed no symptoms on arrival, but developed them four days later. He said the identification process and established protocols enabled government officials to respond swiftly. The World Health Organisation was reportedly notified within 24 hours, while the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, told correspondents that the patient was already recovering.
Keyamo added that 44 people who came into contact with the patient at the hospital where she sought treatment had been traced, alongside two domestic staff members. The contacts are being isolated pending confirmation that they have not been infected. He also directed the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority to place them on a no-fly list for at least 21 days, the period within which symptoms are normally expected to emerge, and notify all local and international airlines.
On its part, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) says it is working with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Port Health Services and other agencies to contain the outbreak. The Authority said that measures including enhanced health screening, temperature checks, travel history tracking and digital health declarations at international airports have been put in place and urged passengers to rely on verified information and avoid spreading unconfirmed reports.
Meanwhile, the Senate and House of Representatives have called for the urgent release of emergency funds for disease control.
This prompted former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to demand accountability for N10 billion reportedly approved for Ebola preparedness, questioning how the money has been disbursed and spent.
Africa CDC to blacklist partners over unaccounted Ebola funds
On the issue of transparency in the use of funding, the Africa CDC Director General, Jean Kaseya, warned that organisations operating without transparency will be blacklisted. Speaking on Channels on Thursday, he said that of the $3 billion pledged by donors, following a September meeting on the margins of the UN General Assembly and G20 gatherings, only $962 million has been disbursed.
He said when Africa CDC convened partners in the Democratic Republic of Congo, only 19 of 92 attended, adding that those present acknowledged receiving about $220 million.
Kaseya said he has asked a professor to coordinate partners working in Nigeria and provide the Minister of Health with daily updates.
“There was a practice in many African countries, I say many, not all, but many, where partners would get money from donors, implement their activities without disclosing how much they got, and without even sending a report to the government. And when the outbreak is over, we’ll hear from some capitals that billions of dollars were invested to stop this outbreak. I said, enough is enough. It will never happen again on this continent.
“We managed to fundraise. We got figures from all donors. Out of $3 billion pledged, based on the last meeting that the US organised in September on the margins of the UN G20 meeting, we got a total pledge of $3 billion.
“Out of that, $962 million was already disbursed. We went to work with the DRC government. We organised a meeting with partners. Only 19 out of 92 partners attended. These 90 partners who attended one night disclosed that they received around $220 million.
“If I see, out of $962 million disbursed, the government knows only about $220 million, what kind of government can accept to lead a response without knowing even how much they have, without knowing who’s doing what and where? Then I said, stop. I need first to know: where is the $700 million? For now we are not talking about mismanagement. For now we are not talking about fraud. No, for now we are talking about traceability. We want to know where the money is.
“This is why even in Nigeria, I already instructed Professor Aliko Ahmed, who’s working closely with Professor Mohammed Pate. His role will be to coordinate all partners who will be working in Nigeria and to provide updates to the minister on a daily basis,” he said.
We won’t support travel ban -Africa CDC
Kaseya also rejected the idea of a travel ban as a response to containing Ebola.
He argued that restrictions do not resolve outbreaks and that the continent cannot be closed off. He noted that Nigeria does not border Uganda or the DRC and was not among the 15 countries identified as at risk, yet the case reached Nigeria through Addis Ababa.
He said anyone can be affected and called for stronger preparedness and cross-border cooperation.
He also mentioned that since the outbreak was first reported in June, roughly 44,000 flights have arrived in and departed from Nigeria, making this the first case in that period. He then revealed that he will convene a meeting on October 28 with African Union leaders and ministers to discuss cross-border coordination.
“Let me say this. It’s very important to note this. Since the issue of Ebola came up in June, there have been about 42,000, 43,000, 44,000 flights in and out of Nigeria. So it’s been about five, close to six months. To have a case like this, one case out of 40-something flights, is because of what the ministry, the task force and all the agencies have been doing.
“African CDC policy is clear on this issue and it is that there should be no travel restriction, because travel restriction doesn’t tend to resolve anything. We cannot block the whole continent. I told you Nigeria is not a neighbour of Uganda or DRC. Nigeria was not part of the at-risk countries we identified. There are 15 at-risk countries yet we saw a case from Uganda to Nigeria through Addis Ababa. It means we just need to strengthen our preparedness.
“We need to increase the level of cross-border collaboration. This is what will save this continent. We are not stopping meetings in Africa. We are not closing borders. We are saying we will continue to work collaboratively, and we will continue to make sure that each country in Africa plays the game. This will be discussed on the 28th, because, as I said in my statement, no one is safe today. We need to work together.
“No one can think that because I’m in West Africa, or I’m in North Africa, I cannot be affected by this outbreak. No. Everyone can be affected. This is why we need to take it as a continental issue, and that’s why we are coming together on the 28th of October. On the continent, for instance, West Africa has confirmed cases of Ebola. Eastern Africa, of course, is where it originated. And then Central Africa. So only Northern Africa appears to be perhaps safe right now,” he said.
