The National Council on Health rose from its emergency meeting on Tuesday in Abuja, approving the inauguration of the Multi-Sectoral Lassa Fever Eradication Committee.
The meeting which was conveyed to discuss the outbreak of the deadly Lassa Fever across the country was presided over by the Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole and attended by delegates comprising the 36 State Commissioners of Health and other key stakeholders.
According to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, the Council also approved the implementation of the Multi-Sectoral Response Strategy in tackling Lassa Fever.
Council equally agreed that a high index of suspicion should be maintained and the surveillance systems should be robust enough to detect further infections.
Council further appreciated the role of development partners in health, the media and other stakeholders for their contribution towards the success of the meeting.
Earlier, Council had received a presentation on Epidemiological Situation of the current Lassa Fever Outbreak in Nigeria including available Response Infrastructure/Resource requirements by Prof. Abdulaslami Nasidi, National Coordinator/CEO, NCDC; updates from Lassa Fever affected states who detailed the progression of the outbreak(s) in their states and current efforts to contain and prevent further spread of the disease and reassure the affected Communities; as well as updates from CMDs/MDs of Federal Tertiary Health Institutions located within the affected States on their response and high index of suspicion towards all cases coming to their institutions, their management of confirmed cases, and measures being implemented to prevent nosocomial spread within their facilities as well as their community outreach efforts.
Council observed that unlike Ebola, Lassa Fever is treatable if detected early and there are adequate treatment centres spread across the country. Council therefore reassured the Public on the adequacy of the response to the outbreak and urged the Public, Community and Religious leaders to cooperate with the Health Agencies in their States to ensure prompt reporting of any suspected case.
The 418 delegates in attendance comprises of officials from the Ministry, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Ministry of Health including Chief Medical Directors/Medical Directors of Federal Tertiary Health Institutions, State Ministries of Health and the Health & Human Services Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, Abuja. Others in attendance were representatives of key Federal Ministries such as Agriculture, Education, Environment and Information.
Also in attendance were Development Partners drawn from WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, WAHO, CDC, PATHS2, DFID, BMGF, HERFON, AFENET, Higher Commissioner of Canada, Innovative Vaccines, and USAID; as well as delegates from the Health Regulatory Bodies, Professional associations, the Tri-Services of the Nigerian Military and Para-Military Medical Corps.
Council agreed that the 58th NCH will hold on March 7th – 11th 2016 in Sokoto, Sokoto State.
