Ekiti State Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Oyebanji Filani.
The Ekiti State Government says it is intensifying disease surveillance and rapid response mechanisms across its 16 Local Government Areas to prevent the outbreak of diseases, including Ebola Virus Disease and Diphtheria.
The state Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Oyebanji Filani, said that “surveillance and response systems in the state have been strengthened to ensure early detection, prompt reporting and effective containment of any suspected case.”
Filani, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mrs Olusola Gbenga-Igotun, spoke in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, on Saturday, at a one-day sensitisation programme for stakeholders on Ebola and Diphtheria.
The stakeholders in attendance included community and religious leaders, market leaders, transporters’ representatives, artisans
The commissioner, who said that the government would continue to take proactive measures to prevent and control diseases in the state, lauded Governor Biodun Oyebanji for his “commitment to improving healthcare delivery and the wellbeing of residents.”
Ekiti State Epidemiologist, Dr Bosede Alowooye, who said that the World Health Organisation had declared Ebola as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, said, “All countries need to be on alert. When we are in a state of alert, we need to carry out some activities; this sensitisation is part of it.”
“We are sensitising different stakeholders, telling them about the current update on Ebola and diphtheria, and also the preventive measures to take in the state,” she said.
The epidemiologist, who said the state public health emergency operation centre had been activated, added that it had already carried out some activities, including the sensitisation of health workers, disease surveillance structure and community informants on the signs and symptoms, and how to report any cases.