The Enugu State Commissioner for Health, George Ugwu, says the state is partnering with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) to ensure Ebola virus prevention and preparedness in the South-East.

Mr Ugwu, also a member of the Presidential Task Force Committee on Ebola Prevention and Preparedness, said this on Thursday at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.

He gave the update after a high-level Ebola prevention meeting between the director-general of NCDC, Jide Idris; officials of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Enugu State Ministry of Health.

The commissioner said Governor Peter Mbah had been very supportive and backed all preparedness efforts to ensure Enugu State and the South-East remained protected and safe.

According to him, the region is strengthening its preparedness and readiness to prevent Ebola by tightening its health security measures.

“At this period, we are working hard at the levels of the Presidential Task Force Committee, the zone and Enugu State to ensure that our readiness and preparedness measures are improved the way they should be.

“The Akanu Ibiam International Airport is very important to us. We want to see and bring our preparedness for Ebola virus prevention to be at par with or better than what is obtainable in Abuja and Lagos.

“This is why the high-level meeting is very important,” he said.

Mr Ugwu said capacity building and simulation had been conducted involving Port Health officials, state health ministry staff, health partners, and other stakeholders.

He said, “We are already planning another round of capacity building and simulation at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport.

“It will be a continuous thing to make all our team members and stakeholders be on top of their game to maintain protocol at an optimal level and be cautious and diligent.

“We are doing more on residents’ education and awareness as well as producing awareness materials and distributing them both physically and electronically.”

The NCDC had designated Enugu as a state with high importation risk due to Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.

It also reports that the World Health Organisation (WHO), supported by the U.S. government, is battling an Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda. 

(NAN)