Director-General (DG) of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Dr Jide Idris, has said the country is just 59 per cent prepared for a potential Ebola outbreak.

Earlier, the NCDC said it had strengthened disease surveillance following the recent Ebola outbreaks in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The agency said Nigeria faced a high risk of an Ebola outbreak due to the ongoing transmission of the disease in the DRC and Uganda, as well as increased cross-border movement and international travel.

Speaking on Arise TV yesterday, Idris said a recently conducted risk assessment of Nigeria’s readiness revealed some critical gaps that authorities were working on to address at points of entry into the country.

He said the assessment identified vulnerabilities and improved response mechanisms against any potential importation of the virus.

“Our latest level of assessment puts us at about 59 per cent. But that’s quite variable. You can’t be 100 per cent prepared, but the essence is that we keep preparing because things change,” Idris said.

“To be frank, we are not 100 per cent ready, but we are improving our readiness. This is a readiness that has to cover the whole country.”

Idris added that NCDC was “working tirelessly” in assessing states’ readiness.

“What we are doing is that we’ve assessed our situation. We sent people out to do assessments.

“We sent advisors to state commissioners to assess readiness, guiding them on what to do. Look at things like infrastructure, isolation centres, public health emergency operation centres, and what kind of stockpiles they have just in case they have these cases.”

Idris noted that the Federal Ministry of Health had issued protocols for relevant government agencies aimed at tightening controls on international arrivals through airports.

Idris also said Nigeria’s porous land borders were vulnerable, noting that travellers entering by road present a major surveillance challenge.

He noted that the containment of the 2014 Ebola outbreak was a lesson for the country’s current preparedness efforts.

He added that the country was burdened by seven to eight disease outbreaks, which include cholera and Lassa fever.