President Bola Tinubu has approved the establishment of a presidential task force on Ebola virus disease preparedness and emerging public health threats.

The president also ordered the immediate release of N10 billion for emergency preparedness.

The fund is to strengthen the operational readiness of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and support critical national public health emergency response activities.

Presidential Spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, announced this in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday.

The presidential task force will be chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, with membership drawn from relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and state representatives.

The approval followed a high-level stakeholder meeting convened by the chief of staff to assess Nigeria’s preparedness and develop strategies against the possible importation of Ebola into the country.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Interior, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Lagos State government and other key stakeholders.

Mr Tinubu also directed all states hosting international airports and border corridors, as well as relevant MDAs, to submit their preparedness plans, funding requirements and intervention needs for coordinated implementation.

The president approved a series of immediate measures to strengthen surveillance and response mechanisms across the country.

These include intensified passenger screening at all international airports through enhanced temperature checks and crowd-control protocols.

Other measures include increased monitoring of passengers arriving through designated high-risk airline routes, including Air Uganda, RwandAir, Air Tanzania, TAAG Angola Airlines, Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines.

The task force is also to ensure the immediate activation of referral and isolation centres at the international airports in Lagos and Abuja, with similar facilities to be established at other airports.

In addition, a QR code-based pre-arrival health declaration system will be activated for passengers arriving from or transiting through designated high-risk countries.

The government also approved the disinfection of departure halls, baggage areas, cargo sections, and other airport facilities as a precautionary environmental measure.

Mr Tinubu further directed the advisory group to consult with security, diplomatic and aviation authorities on measures to regulate flights from affected and designated high-risk countries.

The task force is expected to designate specific airports or terminals for high-risk flights to facilitate controlled screening, isolation and response procedures.

It will also consider adjusting flight schedules where necessary to minimise interaction between high-risk passengers and other travellers.

Mr Onanuga said that the measures were part of proactive efforts by the federal government to safeguard public health and strengthen the country’s emergency response capacity against emerging disease threats.

(NAN)