By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
The Senate has called for mandatory health screening at all entry points into the country following the spread of Ebola Virus Disease from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Uganda and Kenya, and the reported case in Nigeria.
The resolution followed a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Senator Adebayo Faduyile (Ondo South).
Presenting the motion, Faduyile noted that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has rated the risk of importation of the virus as high, adding that there is currently no approved vaccine. He commended the federal government for stepping up surveillance but expressed concern over poor staffing and inadequate equipment at entry points.
He warned that Nigeria, already grappling with Lassa fever, cholera, and diphtheria, cannot afford another disease outbreak.
Contributing to the motion, Senators Ekong Samson, Umar Sadiq, Mohammed Tahir Monguno, Adamu Aliero and Ali Ndume urged the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Health to enforce compulsory health and symptom screening at airports, seaports and land borders for both arriving and departing passengers.
The lawmakers also called on relevant agencies to provide necessary facilities for personnel and establish functional isolation centres in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
They further called for the urgent replacement of the obsolete Quarantine Act of 1926 with modern public health legislation.
In his remarks, President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, lamented the laxity at the nation’s entry points, revealing that the traveller from Kenya who tested positive was not detected at the airport but at a hospital, with contact tracing already identifying 44 contacts.
Akpabio described the incident as a wake-up call for Nigerians to be proactive. He directed the Senate Committees on Judiciary and Health to liaise with relevant Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to fast-track the amendment of the Quarantine Act.
The Senate also urged the Federal Government to immediately release funds to all relevant agencies to effectively contain the threat.
