The Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, Dr. Jide Idris, has revealed that Nigeria is only 59 per cent ready to respond to a possible Ebola outbreak. Idris made this known despite efforts to improve the country’s public health emergency response system.
Idris said this on Monday, June 1, 2026 during an appearance on Arise Television on the issue of concerns of the resurgence of Ebola cases in parts of Africa including Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo.
“A recent assessment conducted by the NCDC revealed that although Nigeria has made substantial progress in disease surveillance and response, there are still several gaps, especially at the country’s entry points and border communities.
“Our latest level of assessment puts us at about 59 per cent, you can never be 100 per cent prepared but the essence is that we continue to improve our readiness because situations keep changing,” Idris said.
Idris admitted that Nigeria is not fully prepared for an Ebola outbreak but said authorities are working to enhance response capacity in all states of the federation.
“We have dispatched teams to assess isolation centres, emergency operation centres, laboratories and other critical infrastructure that will be required to contain any possible outbreak,” he explained.
He also pointed to Nigeria’s porous borders as a major challenge, warning that unregulated movement through unofficial entry points could heighten the risk of disease importation.
The NCDC boss however said he was confident that the country could respond effectively if an outbreak happens, citing lessons learnt from the successful containment of Ebola in 2014.
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