The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole during the launch of a five-year National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS) yesterday in Abuja said that the Federal Government is committed to providing adequate public health services.
According to Daily Trust, the NAPHS is worth N135 billion at N27 billion per year for five years. The minister said that the successful implementation of the NAPHS would enable adequate planning, resource mobilization and prioritization for the overall goal of improving the National, Regional and Global health security.
“This plan is a significant investment aimed at enhancing our preparedness and response strategy. Outbreaks in the last few years have reinforced the need to institute safeguards that will ensure that as a nation, we are better prepared at all times to deal swiftly and decisively with issues pertaining to health security’’, he said.
The minister noted that ‘’ Nigeria and the rest of the world continues to be at risk of infectious disease outbreaks and public health threats. Over the last few years, the country has experienced outbreaks of infectious diseases such as Lassa fever, cerebrospinal meningitis, Ebola, as well as a resurgence of yellow fever and monkeypox.
“The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been described as the second largest outbreak of the particular strain, highlighting the need for regional and global preparedness’’
Also speaking, the Director-General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu commended the FG for its efforts towards improving Public health services. He added that the planinvolves collaboration with other agencies and stakeholders to produce a holistic plan to protect the health of Nigerians.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, represented by Dr. Clement Peter Lasuba, the WHO acting representative in Nigeria said “WHO congratulates Nigeria for the steps you have taken to establish the NCDC and to launch a National Action Plan for Health Security. This is an encouraging progress. Ultimately, the best defense against outbreaks and other crisis is strong, resilient health systems based on people-centered primary care’’.
