US CDC Donates Disease Detective Equipment To Nigerian Counterpart

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has donated disease detection equipment to Nigeria.

Dr Jide Idris, Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, received the Equipment on behalf of the Federal Government on Friday in Abuja.

The laboratory supplies, which include biosafety cabinets, sample collection materials, and other essential laboratory commodities, are expected to increase the country’s outbreak response capacity.

Dr. Farah Husain, Programme Director of the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Global Health Protection, said the donation was part of efforts to assist Nigeria in dealing with disease outbreaks.

She stated that the equipment will help Nigeria’s labs maintain their high quality and output.

She also assured Nigeria of her country’s commitment to assisting in the development of response capacity to protect citizens from disease outbreaks.

She stated, “The United States is committed to working hand-in-hand with Nigeria to build response capacity and protect the health of our people,” adding, “Today, we gather to celebrate a concrete example of the strong partnership between the United States and Nigeria.”

“The United States government, through the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, is pleased to donate equipment and supplies to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention to support emergency response laboratory activities.

Nigeria is currently dealing with several ongoing disease outbreaks, including Lassa fever, diphtheria, and meningitis.

“Laboratory scientists play an important role in quickly detecting and verifying cases, which is critical for an effective outbreak response.

“The increased volume of laboratory work caused by these concurrent outbreaks necessitates an urgent need for additional resources.

“With laboratories at the heart of our collaborative work, we can quickly and effectively prevent and respond to outbreaks.”

She revealed that health workers were not left out, as there was personal protective equipment for laboratory workers’ safety, stating: “We have also included large amounts of personal protective equipment to safeguard the health and safety of laboratory workers. “Whether in subnational labs, health facilities, or the communities they serve, this donation will directly help save lives,” said the CDC Programme Director.

In his remarks, the NCDC chief assured the US government that the equipment would be used prudently.

Idris stated that the gesture would improve the country’s disease detection and capabilities.

While praising the importance of collaboration with the US government, Idris emphasised that no government can fund the healthcare system because it is prohibitively expensive.

He explained that: “No government can fund the health system, so we need this type of collaboration from various partners.

“The goal is to reduce the incidence.

“What we are most concerned about here is health security. This is critical because a nation’s mandate to its people is to ensure that the people’s health is sacrosanct in terms of preventing them from contracting any disease, and if that progression, activity is insufficient, to ensure that you properly detect and respond to whatever disease has occurred.

“As previously stated, the government funds the sector, but the funding may not be adequate at this time. That is why the healthcare system is so costly. No government can fund it alone. That is why various partners must collaborate in this manner.

“More importantly, in terms of global health security, one of the major focuses is collaboration, and partnerships, both internationally, nationally, and sub-nationally, because everyone is coming in with different expertise, and we may not have all of the expertise we need, but with this kind of collaboration, productivity can be increased.

“The goal is to meet our objective of reducing disease incidents.  And where you can not stop it, we respond appropriately so that we can reduce the impact of any disease, which is the goal here.

“So, collaboration, and partnerships are critical components of health security..”