Nigeria Records 7% Progress in Epidemic Control Preparedness 

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) yesterday, disclosed that the country has recorded an increase of seven per cent in disease epidemic control readiness.

A statement by the NCDC, stated that the result came from country-led 2019 mid-term National Joint External Evaluation (JEE) of the health sector.
It stated that the score represented a significant progress compared to the baseline study conducted in 2017.
The Centre reiterated the country’s commitment to prioritisation of global and national health security by conducting the National Joint External Evaluation (JEE)
It added: “Consequent to these, a country-led 2019 mid-term JEE showed some progress; a seven per cent increase in readiness scores compared to the baseline in 2017.

“This success is a testament to the government’s commitment, partners support and the usefulness of the NAPHS in improving Nigeria’s capacity to handle public health emergencies.
“The adoption of the IHR and the investments made was instrumental in the national responses to diseases of pandemic significance like Ebola in 2014, Mpox in 2017, and the novel SARS-COV2 (COVID-19) in 2019.”

It said Nigeria has voluntarily requested to participate in another JEE in line with IHR requirements using the new/revised JEE 3.0 tool.
It said the JEE 3.0 compared to the previously used JEE 2.0 incorporated lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the NCDC, COVID-19 pandemic exposed gaps in health equity globally, adding that the third edition will enable more constructive conversations around issues of health equity and its intersection with other relevant capacities.

“The JEE 3.0 evaluation will help measure Nigeria’s progress in addressing previous recommendations and identify new areas for improvement considering evolving national and global health threats,” it added.

The centre stated that as part of preparation for the national JEE by external evaluators, the country had outlined activities with a given timeline.  
“This evaluation process is of utmost importance as it will help us assess and strengthen Nigeria’s health security capabilities through a multi-sectoral collaboration for a comprehensive and accurate evaluation of our health security systems.

“This will ensure we identify gaps, develop effective strategies, and implement necessary measures to safeguard the health of our nation,” it said.
Nigeria signed the IHR (2005) including the commitments under the provisions of the IHR Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for mandatory annual reports of compliance through the States Parties Annual Reporting tool and the voluntary Joint External Evaluations (JEE) that assesses country-specific status and progress in developing the required capacity to prevent, detect and rapidly respond to public health threats.
Nigeria had a baseline JEE in 2017 that thoroughly assessed the country’s public health security system using a multi-sectoral approach that involved external and internal teams of experts working with country teams.

The JEE results revealed strengths and weaknesses in the country’s preparedness and response capabilities towards public health emergencies and recommendations were offered.

The National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS) 2018-2022 was collaboratively developed to address identified gaps and in response to recommendations following the 2017 JEE. This five-year multi-sectoral NAPHS plan involved over 15 Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). It integrated various work plans to address the gaps identified by the JEE and performance of Veterinary services assessments conducted in 2010. Since implementing NAPHS, there has been significant investment by the federal government of Nigeria to enhance public health preparedness and response capacities.