Nigeria Approves ₦45.08 Billion Disease Surveillance System at Five Airports

Nigeria's Federal Executive Council approved ₦45.08 billion for an integrated disease-surveillance and biosecurity system at five international airports on October 28, Health and Social Welfare Minister Ali Pate said. He announced the decision after a council meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Pate described the project as a 20-year public-private partnership with BioHealth Consortium. The airports covered are Murtala Muhammed in Lagos, Nnamdi Azikiwe in Abuja, Mallam Aminu Kano in Kano, Port Harcourt and Akanu Ibiam in Enugu. According to Pate, the planned system combines aircraft wastewater surveillance, air and surface sampling, and biosurveillance equipment for cargo and baggage. He said more than 18 million passengers pass through Nigeria's airports annually, and the project is intended to strengthen early detection, coordinated responses and cooperation among agencies dealing with infectious diseases. Pate said the system would address a range of pathogens rather than a single disease. “It is all pathogens of huge public health threats,” he said. As background to the government's disease-control measures, he said Nigeria had recorded an Ebola infection in October, the patient had recovered, and contact tracing and containment efforts were continuing.