President Bola Tinubu has approved N45.8 billion for an integrated disease surveillance system at five international airports to strengthen Nigeria’s ability to detect and respond to infectious disease threats.
The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, disclosed this on Wednesday after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja.
The airports covered by the project are Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu.
According to Pate, the project will be implemented through a 20-year public-private partnership with the BioHealth Consortium.
The system will use aircraft wastewater monitoring, air and surface sampling, and specialised pathogen detection technology to identify dangerous pathogens and improve early outbreak detection.
It will also include a national surveillance operations centre to coordinate monitoring and response among relevant agencies, including the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and Port Health Services.
The approval comes amid heightened efforts by the Federal Government to strengthen border health surveillance following a confirmed imported Ebola case in Nigeria.
