The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that Nigeria contributes significantly to 100 health emergencies that occur every year in Africa, ranging from disease outbreaks and natural disasters to conflict-driven crises.

To this end, the organisation has handed over eight utility vehicles to the Federal Capital Territory Administration, Health Services, and Environment Secretariat to enhance the operational capacity of the Public Health Emergency Response System and bolster health emergency preparedness and response within the FCT.

Speaking at the handing over of the vehicles yesterday in Abuja, WHO Representative in Nigeria, Dr Walter Mulombo, said that the COVID-19 pandemic, Ebola, cholera, Lassa fever, and recent anthrax and diphtheria outbreaks have tested the health systems and exposed gaps that need urgent attention, especially in the areas of coordination, mobility, workforce readiness, and logistics.

He stated that health emergency preparedness is a necessity, adding that investing in resilient systems today ensures we save lives tomorrow.

Mulombo noted that the eight vehicles, procured with the support of WHO, are intended to strengthen national and sub-national capacity for health emergency preparedness and response.

He noted that the FCT is one of six states selected to pioneer the Strengthening, Utilising Response Groups for Emergencies (SURGE) initiative implementation in Nigeria, adding that the vehicles will enhance the FCT’s mobility and rapid deployment capacity for emergency teams, ensuring that critical personnel, supplies, and response efforts reach affected communities swiftly and efficiently.

Mulombo explained that the SURGE flagship project was designed by WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) to ensure that countries are able to mobilise within 24 hours of a confirmed emergency, adding that the initiative aims to develop a multidisciplinary, trained, and rapidly deployable national workforce, backed by a strong operations and logistics system, all led by the government.

According to him, the WHO has trained at the national level over 300 SURGE responders in Nigeria between 2022 to now and is supporting those teams with vehicles to be regularly mobilised or deployed within 24 to 48 hours upon declaration of an emergency.

He said, “Today’s handover of vehicles is more than a symbolic gesture. It is a practical step forward in realising the SURGE initiative’s four pillars of workforce development, response coordination, operations and logistics, and risk communication and community engagement. The SURGE initiative is a testament to our commitment to ensuring health security in the African region. This event reflects WHO’s continued commitment to working hand-in-hand with the Government of Nigeria to strengthen national and sub-national capacity for health emergency preparedness and response.

“We are proud of the progress made so far in partnership with the FCT Administration. We commend your leadership and the dedication of your health teams. As WHO, we remain fully committed to providing the necessary technical, operational, and logistical assistance to support SURGE implementation—not only here in the FCT but across the country.

Also speaking, the Mandate Secretary Health Service and Environment Secretariat, Dolapo Fasawe, noted that surveillance plays a critical role in emergency response, stressing that as the country continues to face emerging and re-emerging health threats, it is imperative to prioritise robust surveillance systems to protect our communities.

Fasawe stated that disease surveillance is the backbone of public health as it helps to detect outbreaks early, helps to respond swiftly and prevent widespread harm.

She said, “By monitoring trends, we can identify hotspots, track transmission patterns, and inform evidence-based policies. This all together leads to prevention being better than cure. Investing in disease surveillance is investing in our collective health security. We have reporting mechanisms”.

“We have to invest in preventing outbreaks, reducing morbidity and mortality, and promoting not only Nigerian health stability, but global stability. Since the onset of this Renewed Hope Administration, we have been able to quash epidemics. We have been able to work as a team with data and with technology to prevent outbreaks.”

On his part, the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (NCDC), Dr Jide Idris, observed that the NCD’s mandate is health security, which is a huge task, adding that the agency is supposed to prevent these diseases or epidemics from occurring.

He said, “We are supposed to track data to track the occurrence of diseases, what we call surveillance, and there are many aspects of it. Having tracked, we are supposed to prepare and respond to emergencies, and preparing and responding to emergencies involves so many things.”

Idris stated that the NCDC is currently managing over eight emergencies, stressing that one of the major concerns is human resources, especially the health security workforce.