Politics
Nigeria’s Lassa fever battle offers blueprint against Ebola
AS the outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus disease spreads across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda, a Nigerian health expert said the country’s years-long battle with Lassa fever has significantly improved its ability to detect and contain Ebola outbreak.
But the expert warned that preparedness could not be measured by emergency plans alone, noting that persistent weaknesses in healthcare funding, surveillance, laboratory capacity and infection prevention could undermine Nigeria’s response should the deadly virus cross its borders.
Although Nigeria has not recorded any confirmed Ebola case since it successfully contained the 2014 outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that continued cross-border transmission in Central Africa increases the risk of international spread.
The WHO said the current Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak has exceeded 1,400 confirmed infections and claimed more than 400 lives, making it the largest outbreak ever recorded for the strain. Uganda has already reported imported infections linked to the outbreak in eastern DRC, prompting renewed calls for neighbouring countries to strengthen preparedness measures.
Against this backdrop, Nigerian authorities have intensified emergency planning despite having no confirmed Ebola cases.
In June, the Federal Government approved the release of State Outbreak Investigation and Response Funds, disbursing ₦21.2 million to each state to strengthen surveillance, rapid response and emergency preparedness against Ebola and other emerging diseases. The intervention followed the establishment of a multi-sectoral Presidential Task Force on Ebola Preparedness and Other Health Threats.
Lassa fever experience shaping Ebola preparedness
For Adewale Adeleye, a public health expert and Senior Registrar in Community Medicine and Public Health at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Nigeria’s repeated encounters with viral haemorrhagic fevers have become valuable rehearsals for future Ebola threats.
“Nigeria remains vulnerable to an imported Ebola case because of our geographical location, our extensive international connections and the movement of people through airports and land borders,” he said.
According to him, the country has become considerably better prepared than it was before the 2014 Ebola outbreak.
He said lessons from Ebola, the COVID-19 pandemic and recurring Lassa fever outbreaks have strengthened disease surveillance, emergency coordination and outbreak response capacity.
“The country experienced Ebola in 2014 and was able to control it successfully. Since then, we have gained valuable experience that has strengthened our preparedness system,” he said.
Those improvements, he noted, include Emergency Operations Centres, Incident Management Systems, Rapid Response Teams and expanded laboratory networks operating at national and sub-national levels.
He cited a recent NCDC-led simulation exercise, held in Abuja between July 2 and 3, during which more than 100 healthcare workers across Nigeria tested the country’s preparedness for a possible imported Ebola case.
Lassa fever remains a warning
While recent attention focuses on Ebola, Nigeria continues to grapple with Lassa fever, another viral haemorrhagic disease that remains endemic in parts of the country.
According to the latest Lassa Fever Situation report by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), the country had recorded 855 confirmed Lassa fever cases and 214 deaths across 23 states by epidemiological week 23 of 2026, giving a case fatality rate of 25 per cent, higher than the 18.9 per cent recorded during the same period in 2025.
The disease has spread across 109 local government areas, with Ondo, Bauchi, Taraba, Edo and Benue accounting for 84 per cent of confirmed infections.
Although the weekly number of confirmed cases has stabilised, the NCDC warned that late presentation of patients, poor environmental sanitation, inadequate awareness and infections among healthcare workers continue to hamper control efforts.
Adeleye believed these recurring outbreaks have exposed weaknesses that Nigeria must urgently address before facing another Ebola emergency.
He said experiences from Lassa fever underscored the need to strengthen infection prevention and control practices, improve laboratory capacity, ensure reliable transportation of diagnostic samples and sustain surveillance systems at national, state and local government levels.
He also advocated regular simulation exercises and preparedness audits rather than waiting until outbreaks occur.
“Our experience with Lassa fever reminds us that preparedness is not only about responding to outbreaks. It is also about putting preventive measures in place to strengthen the healthcare system through human capital development, infrastructure development, community education and public awareness,” he said.
Funding alone may not guarantee preparedness
The Federal Government’s recent release of preparedness funds comes amid wider concerns over chronic underfunding of Nigeria’s health sector.
Earlier this year, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare Muhammad Ali Pate disclosed that only ₦36 million was released from the ministry’s ₦218 billion capital allocation for 2025, forcing many planned health infrastructure projects to stall.
The shortfall, The ICIR reported, reflected a long-standing structural pattern in Nigeria’s health financing, where most public spending goes to salaries and other overhead costs rather than building, refurbishing hospitals and equipping them.
The public health expert said emergency preparedness required more than emergency allocations.
According to Adeleye, governments must ensure sustained investment in surveillance systems, adequately equipped isolation and treatment centres, sufficient stocks of personal protective equipment, regular training for frontline health workers, and stronger collaboration with neighbouring countries on disease surveillance and information sharing.
He also urged healthcare workers to maintain a high index of suspicion whenever patients present with unexplained fever, bleeding or unusual illnesses, stressing the importance of promptly reporting suspected cases through Disease Surveillance and Notification Officers.
For the public, he advised early medical care for unusual symptoms, improved hygiene, safe food storage to reduce rodent exposure associated with Lassa fever, and reliance on verified health information to avoid misinformation during outbreaks.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M
