The Federal Government has taken several decisive steps to strengthen disease surveillance and outbreak preparedness.
Dr Iziaq Salako, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, made this known on Monday in Abuja at a high-level health security dialogue with the People’s Republic of China on pandemic preparedness and response.
Salako stressed the importance of early detection, transparent data sharing, and resilient health systems.
“No country, regardless of its strength, can face global health threats alone. Strong surveillance, laboratory networks, and emergency coordination mechanisms are critical to saving lives,” he said.
Also speaking, Mrs Nanlop Ogbureke, Executive Director of Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL), highlighted Nigeria’s progress under the World Health Organization’s International Health Regulations Monitoring and Evaluation Framework.
According to Ogbureke, preparedness scores improved from 39 per cent in 2017 to 54 per cent in 2023, reflecting leadership, learning, and institutional growth.
She added that about 35 per cent of Nigerian states now have context-specific health security action plans.
Dr Pavel Ursu, WHO Representative, emphasised the need for global cooperation in pandemic response.
He said the Pandemic Accord ensures that when countries share information about dangerous pathogens, the benefits — diagnostics, vaccines, treatments, and technologies — are shared fairly and rapidly.
Ursu noted the importance of equity, trust, and science-driven strategies.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare had earlier visited China from October 31 to November 6, 2025, to strengthen Nigeria–China collaboration in healthcare. The visit focused on boosting local production, improving health security, and advancing Nigeria’s healthcare value chain under President Bola Tinubu’s agenda.
Nigeria currently relies heavily on imports for pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and vaccines, spending about one billion dollars annually on medical tourism.
The visit aimed to address these gaps by promoting local manufacturing, attracting investment, creating jobs, and enhancing healthcare quality.
Key initiatives include a partnership with PlusLife Diagnostics to localise tuberculosis (TB) test kit production in Lagos. The project targets early detection and expanded access, particularly in rural areas. Production is expected to begin by 2028, with plans to scale across West Africa.
The visit signals a shift from aid dependency to mutual investment and local production, emphasising “health sovereignty” in vaccines, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and knowledge exchange.
Collaborations with Chinese firms include manufacturing medical consumables, hospital modernisation, technology transfer, and a potential “medical city” initiative.
Regulatory reforms, improved financing frameworks, technology transfer, and human capital development were also highlighted, alongside the proposed China–Nigeria Health Cooperation Committee and stronger public-private partnerships.
Partnerships with Chinese institutions aim to strengthen disease surveillance, laboratory systems, and vaccine development, including for Lassa fever, with plans to establish a joint China–Nigeria laboratory for pathogen surveillance and biotechnology research.
Experts at the event said the visit marks a strategic shift toward a self-reliant, industrialized healthcare system in Nigeria through international partnerships, local production, and strengthened health security.
