By Hadiza Mohammed, Northern Operation
Nigeria’s aviation authorities have stepped up health surveillance and passenger screening at international airports following reports of an Ebola outbreak in parts of Central Africa.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) said the measures are aimed at preventing the virus from entering the country and protecting travellers, airport workers and the general public.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, FAAN’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Henry Agbebire, said the agency is collaborating with the Port Health Services, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), and other relevant agencies to strengthen monitoring at all international entry points.
FAAN said screening procedures are now fully operational across international terminals, particularly for passengers arriving from high-risk countries.
According to the agency, all incoming passengers are being checked for Ebola-related symptoms, while any suspected case will be immediately isolated and managed in line with established national and international health protocols.
“Although there is currently no confirmed case of Ebola in Nigeria, FAAN remains vigilant and fully committed to safeguarding public health and ensuring safe airport operations,” the statement said.
The authority added that emergency response systems have been reinforced and airport personnel given additional training to improve early detection and rapid response to potential health threats.
FAAN also reassured travellers and stakeholders of its commitment to maintaining safe and secure airport operations amid growing global health concerns.
Nigeria has previously activated tighter border health surveillance measures during outbreaks in neighbouring countries to curb the cross-border spread of infectious diseases.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) poses a high risk at national and regional levels, even as the global threat remains low.
Speaking during a press briefing in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said investigations into the source of the outbreak are still underway, but early findings suggest the virus may have been spreading undetected in eastern DRC for several months before it was officially identified.
According to WHO, 51 confirmed Ebola cases have been recorded in the eastern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, although health officials fear the true scale of infections could be far greater.
“WHO assesses the risk of the epidemic as high at the national and regional levels, and low at the global level,” Tedros said.
He revealed that neighbouring Uganda has already confirmed two Ebola cases in Kampala, including one fatality, while an infected American citizen in the DRC has been transferred to Germany for treatment.
Tedros added that nearly 600 suspected infections and 139 suspected deaths have also been reported, heightening concerns over wider transmission across the region.
“We expect those numbers to keep increasing, given the amount of time the virus was circulating before the outbreak was detected,” he said.
Despite the growing outbreak, WHO said the situation has not yet reached the threshold for a pandemic-level emergency.
Tedros had previously declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), the second-highest alert level under international health regulations, prompting affected countries to intensify emergency response measures.
However, the WHO emergency committee, which met on Tuesday, concluded that while the outbreak remains serious, it does not currently qualify as a pandemic emergency.
“The current situation and criteria for a public health emergency of international concern have been met, and we agree that the current situation does not satisfy the criteria for a pandemic emergency,” committee chair Lucille Blumberg said.
WHO technical officer on viral haemorrhagic fevers, Anais Legand, said investigations are continuing to determine how long the virus had been circulating unnoticed in eastern DRC.
“Given the scale, we are thinking that it has started probably a couple of months ago, but investigations are ongoing,” she said.
She explained that response efforts are focused on contact tracing, isolation, and treatment of both suspected and confirmed cases in a bid to halt transmission.
However, WHO has come under criticism over the speed of its response, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggesting the agency may have acted too slowly in identifying the outbreak.
The remarks come amid renewed tensions between the United States and WHO following moves by US President Donald Trump to withdraw from the organisation over disagreements tied to its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Responding to the criticism, Tedros defended WHO’s actions, saying the comments reflected a misunderstanding of international health regulations.
“Maybe what the secretary said could be from lack of understanding of how IHR work, and the responsibilities of WHO and other entities,” he said, adding that WHO’s role is to support national health authorities, not replace them.
