COVID-19 forcing investment in health sector, says NCDC

From Moses Emorinken, Abuja

The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing governors and political leaders to invest in public health facilities across the country, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Director-General, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, has said.

Speaking during a live conversation on Instagram with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Dr. Ihekweazu said his biggest surprise since the outbreak of the disease has been the rate at which investments are being sunk into public health.

He said: “I think what has surprised me right now in Nigeria is the interest people have, that is, our political leadership in the different states in Nigeria, in rapidly building up their public health infrastructure.

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“I have spent the last four years going around the country and begging for governments to invest in laboratories, set up Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs), or recruit a few people into the public health workforce. Their priorities were completely different and would rather build flyovers, focus on infrastructure and other things.

“It surprised me how quickly our political leadership has actually realised that in order to have the space to do the big projects, we have got to stay alive. The first responsibility of every government is to protect the lives of individual citizens.

“You don’t only protect it by security measures, you also protect by ensuring that we prevent infectious diseases. We look forward to a completely different landscape on health security in Nigeria making it mainstream.

“More importantly, in next elections, when people are asking our governors and other political leaders about their agenda, they will need to put health on the agenda.”