The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Dr. Jide Idris, has disclosed that Nigeria is currently about 59 per cent prepared to respond to a potential Ebola outbreak, as health authorities intensify surveillance and border monitoring efforts.
The warning follows renewed Ebola outbreaks in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, raising concerns over the risk of importation into Nigeria amid increasing international travel and cross-border movement.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television on Monday, Idris said a recent nationwide risk assessment conducted by the agency revealed significant gaps in the country’s preparedness, particularly at points of entry.
According to him, the assessment was aimed at evaluating Nigeria’s readiness, identifying vulnerabilities, and strengthening response systems in the event of an outbreak.
“Our latest assessment puts Nigeria’s preparedness level at about 59 per cent. But preparedness is dynamic; you can never be 100 per cent prepared because situations keep changing,” he said.
“To be frank, we are not fully ready, but we are continuously improving our readiness. This preparedness must cover the entire country, not just a few locations.”
The NCDC Director-General explained that teams were deployed across states to assess healthcare systems, including isolation centres, emergency operations centres, and available medical stockpiles required for outbreak response.
He added that the evaluation also focused on identifying weaknesses in coordination between federal and state health authorities.
One of the key findings, according to Idris, was the vulnerability of Nigeria’s entry points, prompting the Federal Ministry of Health to introduce new protocols for agencies managing border and airport operations.
He said the aim is to improve screening and monitoring systems to prevent infected individuals from entering the country.
“We carried out a dynamic risk assessment to determine where we are, what gaps exist, and what actions are required. One area that clearly stood out was our points of entry, which are critical because our primary objective is to prevent the disease from entering Nigeria,” he said.
Idris noted that states with international airports have been classified as high-risk due to their role as major entry points into the country.
However, he warned that Nigeria’s porous land borders remain a major challenge to disease prevention efforts, as many travellers enter through unofficial routes that are difficult to monitor.
“The biggest challenge remains our porous borders. Not everyone enters Nigeria by air. Many people travel across borders by road and through informal routes. This is one of the major concerns and why preparedness is so important,” he added.