WHO Commends NCDC for Controlling Disease Outbreak

Senator Iroegbu in Abuja

The Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has commended the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for its efforts in controlling disease outbreak in the country.

Ghebreyesus stated this on Wednesday at the NCDC headquarters in Abuja on his first official visit to Nigeria with a delegation that included the six regional directors from across the world, three deputy-directors general and WHO Nigeria Country Representative.

He reiterated the commitment of WHO to support the work of NCDC, while recognising the importance of effective primary healthcare system in supporting health security.

He noted: “Universal Health Coverage and health security are two sides of the same coin.”

In the same vein, the Regional Director of WHO African Region, Dr. Matsishido Moeti, applauded the work of the agency, highlighting that NCDC serves as a model agency for other African countries.

Moeti said that the NCDC model should be adopted in other regions of the world.

During the visit, NCDC’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, highlighted the contribution of WHO and thanked the organisation for its support to the agency’s activities including outbreak preparedness and response.

Ihekweazu further emphasised the strong partnership which has been key to strengthening the national health security.

He listed some of the activities carried out in collaboration with WHO to include the Joint External Evaluation (JEE) of the country’s International Health Regulations (IHR) capacity, response to outbreaks of monkeypox, yellow fever, Cerebrospinal Meningitis and Lassa fever.

He further said that the support from WHO has been key to the development of Nigeria’s National Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) action plan, and processes for operational research.

The visit ended with a tour of the new NCDC Incident Coordination Centre.

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