The Nigerian Senate has called on the Federal Government to release emergency funds to strengthen disease surveillance and enforce mandatory health screening at all international airports, seaports and designated land borders amid concerns over the spread of Ebola.
The upper chamber made the call while considering a motion of urgent national importance sponsored by Senator Francis Faduyile, who warned that the spread of the Bundibugyo Ebola virus poses a significant threat to Nigeria’s public health system.
Faduyile noted that the outbreak, which began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), had spread to other African countries, including Uganda and Kenya, increasing the risk of infected travellers entering Nigeria through transit countries.
He also cited the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention’s assessment of the high risk of Ebola importation, recalling that Nigeria recorded an imported case in Lagos in July 2014.
Although the Senate acknowledged the Federal Government’s existing response measures, including health declaration forms and enhanced screening at entry points, it expressed concern that screening requirements had been restricted to travellers from selected countries.
According to the lawmakers, such restrictions could create gaps in the nation’s disease surveillance system, particularly as infected individuals could enter Nigeria through countries not initially classified as high-risk areas.
The Senate also raised concerns over inadequate staffing and equipment at several entry points, as well as the continued reliance of Port Health Services on the Quarantine Act of 1926.
It warned that Nigeria’s existing public health challenges, including Lassa fever, cholera and diphtheria, make it necessary to strengthen preparedness against potential epidemics.
Consequently, the lawmakers urged the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the NCDC and Port Health Services to make health screening compulsory for every international passenger arriving in Nigeria, irrespective of nationality or country of departure.
The proposed measures include the completion of health declaration forms, temperature checks and symptom assessments. Travellers who have visited or transited through affected areas within the preceding 21 days would be subjected to enhanced screening.
The Senate further recommended exit screening for departing passengers during officially declared public health emergencies.
To improve surveillance capacity, it called on the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and the Nigeria Immigration Service to deploy more trained Port Health officers and provide thermal scanners, protective equipment and isolation facilities at all entry points.
The Federal Government was also urged to ensure that isolation and treatment centres across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory are adequately equipped to respond to suspected and confirmed cases.
On the legal framework governing disease control, the Senate called for the replacement of the Quarantine Act of 1926 with a modern public health law aligned with the International Health Regulations of 2005.
It also urged the ministries responsible for finance, budget and economic planning to make adequate budgetary provisions for the NCDC and Port Health Services in the 2027 fiscal year and release outstanding funds to support their operations.
The resolution comes as the Federal Government has confirmed an Ebola virus disease case in the Federal Capital Territory.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Pate, announced on Wednesday that laboratory tests had confirmed the infection in a woman who recently travelled to Uganda.
Pate said the patient returned to Nigeria with symptoms on October 7, which reportedly worsened four days later before laboratory investigations confirmed the disease.
However, Ugandan authorities have disputed reports suggesting that an Ebola outbreak is ongoing in the East African country.
Uganda’s Ministry of Health said the location where the patient contracted the virus remained under investigation, stressing that travel through Uganda alone was insufficient to establish the source of infection.
The ministry also stated that the Nigerian government had yet to provide detailed information about the patient’s travel itinerary and clinical history, which it said would help determine the likely source of exposure and guide further investigations, including contact tracing where necessary.
The conflicting accounts have heightened concerns over the need for cross-border cooperation, reliable epidemiological investigations and stronger surveillance systems to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
The Senate’s call for emergency funding and universal screening underscores the importance of early detection, adequate health infrastructure and coordinated national preparedness in protecting Nigerians against Ebola and other epidemic-prone diseases.
