The U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reaffirmed it’s dedication to strengthening the Nigeria’s public health emergency preparedness and response capacity .
This move was made crucial in order to empower Nigerian disease experts to tackle the country’s ongoing multiple disease outbreaks effectively.
Speaking at a media roundtable in Lagos, U.S. CDC, Dr. Muhammad Saleh, who highlighted the importance of the investment given the country’s frequent disease outbreaks explained that the U.S. CDC has been supporting Nigeria’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) through its Public Health Emergency Management (PHEM) certification program.
Saleh who also presented another set of graduands of the U.S. CDC-supported Public Health Emergency Management (PHEM) noted that the program was designed to equip public health professionals with the skills and knowledge needed to effectively manage and respond to emergencies.
Saleh emphasised the importance of the PHEM program, noting that it has improved Nigeria’s capacity to control outbreaks such as meningitis, diphtheria, and COVID-19 in the past
He added that the program has also facilitated regional and international knowledge sharing, contributing to Nigeria’s improvement in joint external evaluations.
The U.S. CDC has invested over $2 million in supporting these efforts, and not fewer than 200 Nigerian public health staff have graduated from the PHEM program since 2017.