The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that the country is not yet fully prepared to respond to a possible Ebola outbreak, disclosing that its current level of readiness stands at about 59 percent.
The Director-General of the NCDC, Jide Idris, made this known during an interview on ARISE News on Monday, noting that while progress has been made, significant gaps remain—particularly at Nigeria’s points of entry.
“Our recent latest level of assessment puts us at about 59%. But that’s quite variable. You can’t be 100% prepared, but the essence is that we keep preparing because things change,” Idris said.
He explained that a recent dynamic risk assessment revealed weaknesses in surveillance systems, especially at airports and land borders, which remain major vulnerabilities for disease importation.
According to him, “one area that came out was the point of entry, which is crucial,” adding that efforts are ongoing to strengthen monitoring of international arrivals in collaboration with relevant agencies.
Idris also warned that Nigeria’s porous land borders pose a greater risk than air routes, saying many movements into the country occur through unofficial crossings.
“But the biggest one again is our borders—porous borders. Not everybody comes in by air. You have people migrating by road and that kind of thing,” he said.
The NCDC boss stressed that Nigeria is drawing lessons from its successful containment of the 2014 Ebola outbreak, highlighting early detection, isolation, contact tracing, and rapid diagnosis as key response measures.
He noted: “Basically, it’s the basic things they taught us that we need to put in place: ability to detect, isolation of patients, preventing contact, rapid diagnosis, and contact tracing.”
Despite improvements in preparedness, Idris admitted the country is still not fully equipped for a large-scale emergency.
“To be frank, we are not 100% ready, but we are improving our readiness,” he said.
He added that the NCDC is working with states to assess health infrastructure, strengthen isolation centres, upgrade emergency operations, expand laboratory capacity, and provide training and protective equipment for health workers.
Idris also disclosed that Nigeria is currently battling multiple disease outbreaks, including cholera and Lassa fever, with about seven to eight active public health emergencies across the country.
He attributed the persistence of Lassa fever in some communities to cultural practices and exposure to rodents and bushmeat, urging stronger public health awareness and behavioural change.
The NCDC further called on state governments to take greater responsibility in disease prevention and outbreak response, rather than relying solely on federal intervention.
“Everybody relies on the Federal Government. The State Governments need to take leadership of this,” he said.
