President Bola Tinubu has approved the immediate release of N10bn in emergency funding and established a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness as Nigeria steps up efforts to prevent the spread of a deadly outbreak that has swept through parts of central Africa.
The move follows a rapidly expanding outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, where hundreds of deaths have been recorded and international health authorities have raised concerns over the potential for wider regional transmission.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the newly constituted task force would be chaired by the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, and would comprise representatives from key ministries, agencies and state governments.
According to the presidency, the N10bn intervention fund will be deployed to strengthen the operational readiness of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and support critical emergency response activities across the country.
The task force was established following a high-level preparedness meeting convened by Gbajabiamila and attended by officials from the Ministry of Interior, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the Lagos State Government, among others.
As part of a sweeping package of preventive measures, Tinubu directed authorities to intensify passenger screening at all international airports, including enhanced temperature checks, crowd-control procedures and closer monitoring of travellers arriving on routes considered high-risk.
The presidency said the enhanced surveillance would cover passengers arriving through airlines with direct or connecting services from affected areas, including Air Uganda, RwandAir, Air Tanzania, Air Angola, Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines.
The President also ordered the immediate activation of referral and isolation facilities at the international airports in Lagos and Abuja, with similar arrangements to be extended to other airports nationwide.
Passengers arriving from, or transiting through, designated high-risk countries will be required to complete QR code-based pre-arrival health declarations as part of strengthened border control measures.
Tinubu further instructed aviation authorities to disinfect departure lounges, baggage handling sections, cargo facilities and other airport infrastructure as a precautionary measure against possible contamination.
In a sign of growing concern over the outbreak, the task force was directed to examine the designation of specific terminals or airports for high-risk flights in order to facilitate controlled screening, isolation and monitoring procedures. It will also consult security, diplomatic and aviation authorities on whether additional restrictions or regulations should be imposed on flights originating from affected countries.
The President ordered all states hosting international airports and major border corridors to submit detailed preparedness plans, funding requirements and intervention proposals to enable a coordinated national response.
The current outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus — a species of Ebola virus — was first confirmed in Ituri Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo on 15 May before spreading across borders into Uganda, where cases have since been detected in the capital, Kampala.
Health officials have expressed particular concern because, unlike some other strains of Ebola, there is currently no licensed vaccine or specific antiviral treatment approved for the Bundibugyo variant. Medical experts say early detection and supportive clinical care remain the most effective means of improving survival rates.
Previous outbreaks of the strain have recorded fatality rates ranging from 30% to 50%.
Nigeria’s heightened vigilance reflects the enduring memory of the 2014 West African Ebola epidemic, when the country recorded 20 confirmed infections and eight deaths after an infected traveller, Patrick Sawyer, arrived at Lagos’s Murtala Muhammed International Airport from Liberia.
That outbreak was ultimately contained through an aggressive public health response that won international recognition, but officials are keen to avoid a repeat as the latest epidemic gathers pace elsewhere on the continent.
The latest measures underline the government’s determination to bolster border surveillance and public health preparedness amid fears that increased regional mobility could heighten the risk of cross-border transmission.
