The Federal Government has assured Nigerians that measures are in place to contain an imported case of a disease detected in the country, saying health authorities are conducting contact tracing and implementing public health measures to prevent further spread.
The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Pate Muhammed, gave the assurance after a meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, noting that Nigeria was collaborating with Uganda and activating relevant public health institutions to manage the situation.
“All I can tell you is that we are collaborating with our sister African nation of Uganda. What is important is that we have found this one case. We are doing contact tracing, and we are putting containment measures to ensure that it doesn’t go into our population,” the minister said.
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant without giving in to fear, stressing that the country has the public health capacity and institutional experience to respond to such emergencies.
Pate also cited Nigeria’s experience in managing the 2014 Ebola outbreak as evidence of its preparedness.
“Nigerians should be reassured. We must be vigilant, but not panic, and people should respect public health information from trusted sources, and not spread misinformation and false rumours,” he said.
The minister disclosed that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) had activated its incident management system, with health officials and the relevant task force working round the clock to monitor developments and coordinate the response.
He added that the government would continue to provide updates based on verified information, assuring Nigerians that additional measures would be taken if the situation changed.
“We would be truthful to Nigerians with the information that we receive on a daily basis,” the minister said, reiterating the government’s commitment to transparency and the containment of the case.