Sunday Ehigiator Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, has emphasised the importance of synergy among all stakeholders, vigilance, and documenting lessons from experiences with biological shocks, such as the Ebola and COVID-19 outbreaks in Nigeria. He made this known while speaking recently at a launch of the book titled ‘An Imperfect Storm’, written and published by the former Director-General (DG) of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Chikwe Ihekweazu, and his wife, the Managing Director of Nigeria Health Watch, Vivianne Ihekweazu, In his address, Prof.
Abayomi shared his experiences managing the COVID-19 response in Lagos, highlighting the challenges and tensions between state and federal authorities. He also acknowledged the efforts of Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, in developing a public health strategy for Ebola and COVID-19.
According to him, Lagos had invested in infrastructure and biosecurity measures before the COVID-19 pandemic, which helped mitigate its impact. However, he warned of the ongoing threat of high-consequence pathogens, including the potential for laboratory accidents or intentional release. His words: “It is important that we document these kinds of activities and learn from our experiences.
Of all the shocks, the biological shock is one you can preemptively create a strategy to mitigate its impact and luckily for us in Lagos, we had experienced the outbreak of Ebola at that time. “Long story short, we got over Ebola in Lagos.