A Lesson …in Crisis Preparedness

A Lesson …in Crisis Preparedness

By E. Stanley Ukeni

I am of the conviction that success springs from the seeds of deliberate preparedness, and is sustained by tenacious vigilance. This conviction was aptly demonstrated by Nigeria Health Ministry’s impressive efforts to contain and manage the Ebola outbreak in the country of a Hundred and Seventy million inhabitants—with all kinds of variables to contend with. 

Amidst the incessant corruption and resource mismanagement that has historically plagued the country, its current leadership’s ability to stem the spread of this highly virulent disease is nothing short of remarkable.  I trace the Nigerian government’s current success in halting a nation-wide spread of the deadly Ebola scourge to a singular initiative—preparedness.

My investigation into the nature of this preparedness revealed some of the strategic initiatives that the Nigerian government employed to prepare for all eventualities—long before the late Liberian-American, Mr. Patrick Saywer introduced the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) into Nigeria. I learnt from a reliable source that, as the Ebola pandemic ravaged parts of the Nations of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, the Nigerian Ministry of Health—under the leadership of Professor Dr. Onyebuchi Chukwu, quietly developed and deployed strategic disease surveillance and control initiatives as a preemptive measure against the spread of EVD in Nigeria in the event that an outbreak occurred.

Some of these initiatives employed by the health ministry included the following;

·         The country quietly stockpiled bio-hazard suites for front-line emergency medical responders.

·         Hospitals and Medical centers were instructed on methods of disease detection, and confirmation procedures.

·         Quarantine measures were developed, and surveillance process adopted.

·         The government ensured that there would be no disruptions in the distribution chain of life essentials, in other to avoid unnecessary social panic.

·         Medical first responder were adequately trained and given necessary logistical support.  

In other to maintain continuing vigilance against complacency in their efforts to keep Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in check, the Health Ministry quickly elicited the cooperation of the internal intelligence assets of the country in the effort to effectively track the movements of quarantined individuals, in the event they breached containment. This particular initiative yielded good results in containing the wider spread of the Ebola epidemic in Nigeria, when individuals who were placed in isolation escaped and went into hiding—putting the lives of the broader citizenry at risk. These individuals were quickly located and successfully returned to quarantine. Equally remarkable, is the fact that virtually everyone who came in contact with these renegade individuals were promptly identified and placed under immediate observation.

If governments across the West African region had adopted,  and perhaps even scaled-up, these preparatory  initiatives that the Nigeria government implemented, there would have been  little need for them to resort to some of the draconian measure they implemented, such as boarder closures and flight restrictions and trade ban with effected countries.

In response to those drastic and irrational decisions by governments and corporate entities to ban flights to affected countries, WHO has called on airlines to remove restrictions to flights from and to the Ebola affected West African countries, stating that travel bans were threatening efforts to beat the epidemic. Sadly, driven by, perhaps, the instinct of self-preservation, many African leaders refused to heed this call to rational reason.

President John Dramani Mahama—the Chairman of ECOWAS, echoed the WHO sentiment when he said, while announcing that Accra, Ghana would host a strategic outpost for the conveyance of vital medical supplies and personal to Ebola-effected countries in the West African region,  that “…some countries have placed bans on vessels entering the Ebola affected countries. This, combined with cancellation of flights to the affected countries, is creating difficulty in sending vital supplies to the affected country. This is negative.”

The African Regional Director of WHO, Dr. Louis Sambo, have tasked the leaders of African countries to stop disregarding WHO guidelines for the containment of the Ebola outbreak. He warned that failure to abide by WHO approved strategies could worsen the plight of the inhabitants of effected countries.  

In light of the above discussed policy debacle by a number of ECOWAS States, it is apparent that governance synergy needs to be improved amongst the ECOWAS intergovernmental contact groups, so as to help forestall future disjointed policy initiatives by the countries that make up the regional economic block—especially during times of regional crisis management.  

The nation Nigeria showed remarkable leadership in the manner in which it managed the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). It is imperative that the other ECOWAS countries learn from this demonstration of mature leadership, in a time of crisis, so that the region can begin to embrace the notion of collective responsibility. There needs to be a realization that the ECOWAS region must grow together or risk a continued economic stagnation, which would negatively affect the quality of life and wellbeing of its citizens.

By Stanley Ukeni,   Copyright 2015. All Rights Reserved.  
photo courtesy of the US CDC