Prof. Lere Baale urged the Federal Government on Thursday to strengthen Ebola preparedness in Nigeria with a 10-point plan. The Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy said the proposal is meant to cover the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory through a coordinated epidemic-readiness framework.
Baale signed the statement as President and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Academy. He said, "Nigeria demonstrated extraordinary leadership, professional competence and national coordination in containing Ebola in 2014. However, yesterday’s success does not automatically guarantee tomorrow’s preparedness".
Baale's 10-point plan
The Academy said the plan would begin with a nationwide audit of epidemic preparedness, checking surveillance systems, isolation facilities, laboratories, personnel and emergency response capability. It also called for mandatory outbreak simulation exercises for healthcare facilities and response teams, plus measurable laboratory turnaround standards and strategic reserves of essential medical supplies.
Its proposed framework also includes multidisciplinary epidemic-readiness teams at national and state levels, a healthcare worker protection framework, public education to counter misinformation and support for survivors. The Academy said the package would strengthen readiness across surveillance, laboratories, emergency supplies, workforce protection and public education if adopted.
NCDC and pharmacy surveillance
The Academy proposed integrating registered community pharmacies into disease surveillance through a partnership involving the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria and NAPHARM. It said pharmacists are often among the first healthcare professionals consulted by people with fever, weakness and other symptoms, and it wants reporting protocols, referral pathways and guidance for suspected public health threats.
Under that pilot, the Academy said pharmacists would not diagnose Ebola. Their role would be early recognition, referral and notification, which would widen the reporting net before suspected cases move deeper into the health system.
90-day rollout framework
The Academy proposed a 90-day implementation framework covering a national readiness audit, laboratory referral mapping, emergency commodity inventories, healthcare worker training and the development of the preparedness scorecard. It also urged the government to link preparedness funding to measurable outcomes and verified operational capacity rather than procurement alone.
The Academy commended the Federal Government, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the NCDC for work already done in surveillance, laboratory readiness, infection prevention and control. Whether the Federal Government will adopt any part of the 10-point plan is not answered, but the proposal now sets a clear standard for what a national response would need to measure and fund.
