FG moves to check Ebola, other diseases at Ogun border

The Federal Government, through the Ogun State Command of the Port Health Services, on Wednesday inaugurated a new emergency ambulance at the Idi-Iroko border post, apparently in response to a resurgence of the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease in neighbouring Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The ambulance would be used during medical emergencies to convey patients suffering Ebola and other contagious diseases to referral points from the border post, when discovered at the screening point.

Inaugurating the ambulance, the Director of Port Health Services in the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Alex Okoh, described it as an important tool for quality and smooth service delivery.

Okoh, who was represented by the Coordinator of PHS, Mr. Taiwo Afolabi, said that such an initiative formed a part of core capacity requirements in the implementation of the World Health Organisation’s international health regulations.

He noted that with the ambulance in place, it would be easier to respond quickly to health issues of both internal and international concern in and around the Idiroko border.

The Comptroller, Ogun State Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, Mr. Michael Agbara, also represented by his deputy, Mrs Christiana Adamu, commended the initiative, noting that it would go a long in solving health challenges at the border areas.

The Officer-in-charge of the PHS at Idi-Iroko, Adeniyi Ogungbayi noted that with the arrival of the vehicle and well-trained personnel and an ambulance the situation had changed for good, unlike what was on ground in 2014 when the dreaded Ebola scourge hit the country.

“We are better prepared to deal with any emergency, be it Ebola or any other contagious disease, at the Idiroko border post,” he said.

The Chief Medical Director, General Hospital, Idiroko, Dr. Margaret Kilanko, and the Secretary-General, Nigeria-Republic of Benin inter-border forum, Dr Bonny Abisogun-Botoku, equally commended the Federal Government’s initiative aimed at addressing “diseases that can cause contamination between two countries.