LASG partners organisations to strengthen preparedness, response system to emergencies

The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, says the state government was collaborating with organisations to strengthen preparedness and response system to public health emergencies.

Idris spoke on Wednesday at a workshop on Medical Emergencies organised by the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Chapter and the College of Medicine, LUTH, Idi-Araba, Lagos.

According to the WHO, preparedness as well as strong response and well-developed systems give room for cases to be detected early before they have chance to spark multiple new chains of transmission.

Theme of the workshop is: “Preparedness and Response to Public Health Emergencies: The Challenge of Emerging and Neglected Tropical Diseases.”

The commissioner was represented by Dr Ismail Absulsalam, an Endocrinologist with the Lagos State Ministry of Health.

Idris said that public health emergencies caused by highly infectious disease have the potential to kill thousands or millions of people.

“The threats can emerge naturally as outbreaks or pandemics as in the case of Ebola virus, Lassa fever and extremely Drug Resistant Tuberculosis.
“It is expected that preparedness and response initiatives should be promoted at all times through appropriate action by healthcare givers.

“There are several collaborations, in which Lagos State is involved, in an attempt to strengthen preparedness and response system to biological threats.

“The state, in collaboration with the Dr Stella Ameyor Adadevor (DRASA) Health Trust, is conducting training and simulation exercise on infection prevention and control,” Idris said.

According to him, the state government, in collaboration with the Redeemers University’s Centre of Excellence, has just inaugurated a virology laboratory at the Ikorodu General Hospital for prompt diagnosis of infectious agents and research.

“Other facilities that will be inaugurated soon will afford the state the opportunity to promptly diagnose disease of public health importance during routine surveillance activities.

“It will also be used for diagnoses during outbreaks of emerging highly pathogenic infectious diseases or incidents of environmental toxicity toward effective clinical management,” he said.

Idris, however, identified high financial burden, non-availability of policies and legislature on bio-security and bio-safety as parts of the challenges faced in preparation and prompt response to infectious disease outbreaks.

“Others include: increasing threats by cross border risk, rising population in area of greatest hazards of communicable diseases and inadequate data on vulnerable risk groups.

“Irrespective of these challenges, the goal of Lagos State as a government, is to prepare adequate and appropriate prompt response to any threat that can be posed by biological agents.

“This process is strengthened through regular training and re-training of surveillance officers and regular sensitisation of all stakeholders at the local government areas and community level to create awareness on disease surveillance and reporting,’’ he said.

In her remarks, Mrs Folake Peters, the Project Manager of the workshop, said that health workers and people in the communities need to know more on preparedness of medical emergency outbreaks in hospitals and communities.

Peters, who is also the Assistant Director, Medical Laboratory Services, Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, LUTH, said that medical emergencies would definitely arise, but there was need to be prepared.

“This workshop was put together because of the constant Lassa fever outbreaks in Nigeria and the recent outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“We should always be prepared for emergency, because we live in a world that is at risk of infectious diseases.

“Most of these infectious disease outbreaks in European countries always get to African countries.

“It is essential that each country should prepare to handle public emergencies when they occur and arise,’’ Peters said.

Also, Mr Bassey Ibiang, the Head, School of Medical Laboratory Science, LUTH, urged governments and health organisations to create awareness on how they could respond to medical emergencies.

“Health workers should always be careful so that they will not contaminate or spread any medical outbreaks within the hospitals and environment.

“Health workers and the general public need to know that no matter the measures that are in place, medical emergency will always occur but it depends on how prepared we are to address it.

“We want the participants to be well informed to enable them to work as a team and make sure their hospital facilities are put in place for any medical emergencies,” Ibiang said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that no fewer than 150 health workers including public health physicians, endocrinologists, virologists and microbiologists participated in the workshop.