By ABUJAH RACHEAL

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), has said that Nigeria is currently responding to multiple infectious disease outbreaks across all six geopolitical zones.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the diseases include diphtheria, cholera, Lassa fever, and measles.

Dr Jide Idris, Director-General, NCDC, made the disclosure on Tuesday during a three-day Stakeholder Workshop on Preparedness and Response to Public Health Emergencies, organised by the agency, in collaboration with UNICEF and the WHO.

Idris noted that these outbreaks are compounded by climate-related and humanitarian emergencies, as well as broader structural factors such as population mobility, rapid urbanisation, pressure on health systems, and persistent inequities in access to essential services.

“Preparedness is not defined by the absence of outbreaks, but by the capacity to anticipate risk, detect threats early, coordinate effectively across sectors and levels of government, and respond in a timely, equitable, and evidence-driven manner,” he said.

The NCDC boss highlighted the centre’s role as Nigeria’s national public health institute, established by law in 2018, to provide technical leadership for the prevention, detection, and response to public health threats.

He emphasised that the centre works in close collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, state governments, sister agencies, and development partners to strengthen the country’s health security architecture.

“Over the years, Nigeria has made deliberate investments to enhance its emergency preparedness, including the implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005) Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, the adoption of the National Action Plan for Health Security 2.0, operationalisation of the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) 3rd Edition, and the ongoing implementation of the 7-1-7 outbreak detection and response approach,” he said.

However, he acknowledged that persistent challenges remain, particularly in coordination across sectors, data integration, logistics, workforce readiness, sustainable financing, and alignment of partner support with nationally defined priorities.

The three-day workshop, according to him, is designed as a technical and policy-oriented platform to examine how Nigeria’s preparedness and response systems function, identify bottlenecks and enablers, and strengthen coherence across frameworks, institutions, and investments.

He urged participants to engage with intellectual honesty and technical depth, adding that the success of the meeting would be measured by its ability to produce an actionable, nationally owned roadmap to strengthen early detection, improve response coordination, and enhance resilience at both national and sub-national levels.

He commended partners for their collaboration and the government for its leadership in advancing health security. (NAN)

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