FG reaffirms commitment to tackle infectious diseases

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate has said that the federal government is working to reduce the prevalence of infectious diseases in the country.

Speaking at the 2nd APIN Public Health Initiatives annual symposium with the theme, “Securing our future: Strengthening global health security in Nigeria” held yesterday in Abuja, Pate observed that a lot of attention has been given to major public health diseases of importance over the years while neglected tropical diseases which are common among the poor still thrive in our communities and urges public health practitioners to do more on this direction.

Pate who was epresented by the Director of Port Health Services at the ministry, Dr Nse Akpan , noted that Malaria, HIV and Tuberculosis, which are the leading public health diseases are dropping but more still need to be done and called for collaboration between the government and partners to tackle these disease in order to achieve the Universal Health Coverage.

He said, “If you look at the theme for this year’s event, it’s talking about securing our future. How do we secure our future if we work independently? The government is calling on all the stakeholders, and we should have a platform and together. We need to step up efforts to reduce the prevalence of infectious diseases and many other diseases in this country

The minister stated that government is working toward a one-health approach to integrate all programmes and tackle diseases with effective response, so that we’ll be able to contain, and if possible, eradicate all diseases of importance in this Country.

In his remarks, the Board Chairman, APIN Public Health Initiatives, Dr Oladipo Shittu highlighted the need for the country to put in place a resilient health system that will enable it be respond and prevent public health threats.

He said,”Recently, the world was thrown into some state of inactivity by COVID-19, and we all had to face its consequences and effects on all spheres of our lives. Incidentally, all countries felt the economic consequences of that condition. Since then, the international community has had to come to terms with the need to securitise health, and our country is not an exception.

“It’s very important for us to square up, and deal with all these challenges. We all need to position ourselves to look into the future of our beloved country, and ask ourselves, how are we prepared to come to terms with health security in our domain?

Shittu emphasised the need to disseminate the outcome of the symposium to all the states in the country, so that they prioritise health security, and commit some of those security issues to health security.

Chief Executive Officer of APIN Public Health Initiatives, Dr Prosper Okonkwo, noted that effective health security transcends disease-specific approaches as they require a resilient and adaptable health system that can adapt, that can detect, assess, respond to, and contain both existing and emerging health challenges.

Okonkwo stated that the emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases have dominated the global health landscape, highlighting people’s vulnerabilities in our health systems worldwide.

He asserted that the COVID-19 pandemic acted as a global alert, highlighting the barriers of the United States environment adding that the pandemic brought the entire world, rich countries, poor countries, tough men, not too tough men, small and mighty, brought everybody to talk.

He said,” For countries like Nigeria, which are now dealing with the challenges of the global burden of infectious and non-communicable diseases primarily, as well as system-wide and sectoral reform such events underscore the necessity for a robust health care system.

Okonkwo observed that the focus of the symposium was on how to enhance health security in Nigeria with respect to infectious diseases in the country with some emphasis on HIV-solvents.

He observed that the health infrastructure in Nigeria faces severe challenges adding that strengthening health security is paramount in protecting the population from health threats.

Okonkwo stated that global health security involves preparing for and responding to public health threats and securing Nigeria’s health future is not just about preparing for today’s challenges, but about building a resilient system that can adapt to the evolving landscape of public health.