In reaction to China’s recent public health announcement regarding COVID-19, Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has called a Strategic Preparedness and Response Meeting.
The Bureau Newspaper gathered that the purpose of the conference, according to NEMA Director General Zubaida Umar, was to exchange information and perspectives regarding the COVID-19 situation worldwide and its possible effects on Nigeria.
She clarified that this was in accordance with its purpose to coordinate disaster preparedness, mitigation, and response throughout Nigeria while upholding its dedication to guaranteeing efficient cooperation, prompt response, and emergency resilience.
The current COVID-19 outbreak that came out of China, according to Umar, is a clear reminder that public health crises know no boundaries.
A health risk in one nation could have an effect on countries on different continents in the connected world of today. Although Nigeria is not yet directly impacted, early planning, readiness, and cooperation are crucial to protecting our people and reducing any possible hazards.
As part of its mandate, she explained, it must evaluate its collective preparedness and response capabilities at the national, state, and local levels; improve coordination and collaboration among all pertinent stakeholders to guarantee a coordinated and successful response strategy; and identify immediate actionable steps to improve readiness, monitoring, and surveillance across critical sectors.
Each of you, stakeholders, is a crucial component in guaranteeing Nigeria’s ability to withstand public health crises. Your knowledge, assets, and cooperation are crucial to our common goal, regardless of whether you work for health authorities, border control organizations, security services, civil society organizations, or foreign partners.
The Director General went on to say that it is impossible to overstate the value of openness, transparency, and a coordinated strategy. They also added that the public’s trust and confidence will be based on their capacity to act decisively, communicate effectively, and work together to achieve outcomes.
As a fundamental component of a preparation plan, Mrs. Umar also emphasized the significance of resource mobilization and optimization.
“Strategic allocation of financial, technical, and human resources is necessary to guarantee the efficacy and efficiency of our collective response.”
Chidinma Victoria Agbai, a representative of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, stated that it is necessary to comprehend the symptoms and indicators and be able to provide guidance based on facts rather than a galaxy.
Agbai also pushed Nigerian researchers and research institutes to develop vaccines and other drugs by building on past success.
There should be absolutely no panicking. Let’s educate our people, provide them with accurate information, and keep an eye out for any symptoms that may arise, particularly during this time of year when many people come from far and wide to celebrate Yuletide.
The International Federation of Red Cross, or IFRC, stated that it will contribute lessons learned from the successful COVID-19 pandemic response, the Lassa fever response, and the Mpox response it is now working on.
The IFRC’s operations manager, Mr. Hopewell Munyari, stated that the organization is prepared and eager to collaborate closely with the government through its network of volunteers in Nigeria.
He emphasized that the main areas on which the IFRC will concentrate are risk communication and community participation.
use the volunteer network to spread the word to the nearby towns. In order to ensure that people are safe and take the necessary precautions, it will be very beneficial to address concerns related to myths and hesitation surrounding the disease.
In order for people to receive accurate information, he asked the media to convey the truth and guard against any misleading components.
The community will be crucial in this regard since “false elements could be mitigated when early and timely information is sent to the communities from reliable sources, addressing all the myths around there.”
Stakeholders concurred that the shortcomings from the prior experience should be sufficiently filled.
