The Senate has called on the federal government to provide emergency funding to strengthen disease surveillance and enforce mandatory health screening at all international airports, seaports and designated land borders.
The resolution followed a motion sponsored by Senator Francis Faduyile, who raised concerns over the spread of Ebola and the risk of the disease in Nigeria. The Senate further expressed concern over gaps in the country’s screening system, including inadequate staffing and equipment at some entry points. It therefore directed the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and Port Health Services to make screening compulsory for all arriving international passengers, including health declarations, temperature checks and symptom assessments.
The upper chamber also called for adequate Port Health officers, thermal scanners, protective equipment and isolation facilities at entry points, as well as properly equipped treatment centres across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. It further urged the federal government to replace the Quarantine Act of 1926 with a modern public health law aligned with the International Health Regulations of 2005, and provide adequate funding for disease surveillance and emergency preparedness.
The development comes after the federal government confirmed Nigeria’s first case of Ebola in the Federal Capital Territory.
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