By most accounts, public health has become an integral element of any nation’s national security.
This
explains why structured efforts are always made to provide adequate and
timely medical care for the citizens of a nation, while tracking,
monitoring and controlling disease outbreaks in the country.
The
focus of global health concern is now on Ebola virus, which is currently
ravaging some West African countries, as the deadly disease has the
propensity to spread across national borders in epidemic proportions
which can be very catastrophic.
Ebola, a
devastating viral disease transmitted via contact with infected persons,
has ravaged Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and most recently, it
surfaced in Nigeria, which has recorded two Ebola-induced deaths.
The
World Health Organisation (WHO) says that at least 1,013 deaths in the
four countries have been attributed to Ebola virus disease (EVD) or
Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), out of 1,868 reported cases.
The
global health agency adds that 52 persons died of Ebola virus in the
four countries between Thursday, Aug. 7 and Saturday, Aug. 9
Observers
note that the number of Ebola infections is growing by the day, adding
that the disease has become an international health emergency.
Patrick
Sawyer, a Liberian national, was the first person to die of EVD in
Nigeria and the disease has also claimed the life of one nurse, while
five other Nigerians have been confirmed to be infected with the virus
and consequently quarantined.
When Ebola virus surfaced in
Nigeria via Sawyer, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) was on strike
and thus, government hospitals across the country were not fully
functional because of the absence of medical doctors.
Observers
describe the situation in government hospitals at that point in time as a
blessing in disguise, saying that the magnitude of the spread of the
Ebola virus would have been greater if Sawyer had been taken to a
government hospital.
A major question in the minds of many
concerned citizens now is: “Is Nigeria’s healthcare apparatus well
primed to handle Ebola epidemic?’’
Dr Jibril Abdullahi, the
National President, National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD),
said in a recent write-up that the Ebola virus had come to meet
dilapidated health system in Nigeria.
He stressed that over the
years, the Nigerian health system had crumbled into a state of
disrepair, as factors such as brain drain, corruption and dearth of
modern facilities had reduced the quality of the country’s health
system.
“And alas under this new health threat, one must x-ray the state of Nigerian hospitals.
“Indeed,
most government facilities are not equipped to handle such a crisis;
biohazard suits are not available, protocols for treatment and referral
of Ebola cases are nowhere to be found.
“Test kits are in short supply, even simple ancillaries like gloves and syringes are a premium in Nigerian hospitals.
“The
current system obtainable in most government hospitals where patients
are obliged to wander from one pay point to another in a bid to access
care is only a harbinger of doom, likely to precipitate the spread of
the virus en-masse by a potential sufferer who is striving to access
care.
“Indeed, providence has smiled on Nigeria for if not for
the ongoing doctors’ nationwide strike; it is highly likely that the
Liberian, Mr Sawyer, would have been taken to one of the teaching
hospitals.
“And before one could say Jack Robinson, scores of
doctors, medical students, nurses and even laboratory scientists would
have contracted the deadly disease with the exponential spread to their
families, friends and other patients.
“Ebola is, indeed, the game
changer for the Nigerian health sector whether the government likes it
or not, and it calls for urgent action,” he said.
Abdullahi said
that doctors were willing shelve their strike and go back to work, in
efforts to contain the virus, adding, however, that they would not do so
without the provision adequate protective gear and health insurance.
He
urged the Federal Government expedite action on the resolution of the
issues that led to the doctors’ strike, while forestalling the
recurrence of such strikes by revamping the health sector and meeting
the doctors’ valid demands.
Abdullahi argued that if the
government could spend trillions of naira to equip the military to fight
insecurity; then, it should be willing to spend a few billions to save
the health sector from an imminent collapse in the event of an Ebola
outbreak.
However, since the unfortunate Sawyer saga, the Federal
Government has been making concerted efforts to contain Ebola virus and
forestall the onset of an epidemic, while reaching out to the doctors
to call of their strike.
President Goodluck Jonathan moved
quickly and decisively to arrest the spread of the Ebola virus by
approving the acquisition of additional protective equipment for health
and border officials.
The special gear will reduce risk of
infection among those who, by virtue of their occupation, may come in
contact with persons who are infected with Ebola virus.
Jonathan
said that the gear would be distributed to all federal hospitals across
the nation; beginning with border states like Lagos, Cross River, Kano,
Rivers, and Borno.
Following the presidential directives, health
workers and border officials will also be educated on the use of the
gear; they will also be equipped with adequate information about the
Ebola virus and how to handle suspected cases of Ebola infection.
According
to the Federal Ministry of Health, government officials have started to
screen passengers coming into the country for symptoms of Ebola.
Besides,
workers of various agencies operating at the Murtala Muhammed Airport,
Ikeja, and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, have been
sensitised to the dangers of Ebola virus and how to prevent its spread.
The
Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, also said at a recent
meeting with diplomats that the government would begin the screening of
outbound passengers at the country’s borders, as a way of curbing the
spread of Ebola virus.
Moreover, Chukwu said that the Federal
Government had declared the Ebola disease as a national emergency, while
briefing the House of Representatives’ Committee on Health.
The
minister said that everyone in the world now was facing the risk of
Ebola infection, adding that the Nigerian experience had further opened
the “eyes” of the world to the reality of Ebola.
Although Nigeria
has yet to close its borders, the Federal Government has banned the
repatriation of dead bodies from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone into
the country.
As a proactive measure, the health ministry wrote to
the U.S. government, asking for the experimental serum “Zmapp” which is
reportedly efficacious in the treatment of two U.S. citizens, Nancy
Writebol and Kent Brantly, who contracted the Ebola virus.
Although
indications suggest that the U.S. may not be forthcoming with regard to
the drug, the Jonathan-administration is still relentless in efforts to
partner with the U.S. in curbing the spread of the virus and save
Nigerian citizens.
Meanwhile, all the states in the country have
gone ahead to set up isolation units for those who have contracted Ebola
virus, while embarking on the training of health personnel on how to
manage the disease.
In Enugu State, for instance, the
Commissioner for Health, Dr George Eze, disclosed the preparedness of
the state in efforts to fight the epidemic.
“We have an
epidemiology unit in the Ministry of Health, with experts who are
saddled with the responsibility of fighting epidemics like this,’’ he
said.
In Lagos State, the state government has moved swiftly to
secure the state’s borders and scrutinize all persons coming into the
state through the Seme axis of the Nigeria-Benin border.
Indeed,
Nigerians are now more cautious of the risks of contracting the Ebola
virus – the world’s deadliest virus — as people now avoid handshakes and
contacts with others.
All the same, the health ministry has
advised the citizens to adopt precautionary measures like hand washing
to guard against infection.
It also advised health workers to use protective gloves while handling patients.
Right God is able!
ReplyDeleteThere is God ooo
ReplyDelete