Nigeria Leads AU to International Confab on Ebola

The Nigerian government will lead other African countries to brainstorm on International Conference on Africa’s Fight against Ebola, holding in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea from July 20 to 21, 2015.

The theme of the conference, which is being organised under the auspices of the African Union Commission, is “Africa Helping Africans in Reconstruction and Recovery from Ebola.”

President Buhari who is scheduled to address the gathering will not be in attendance as he would be represented by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Mr. Linus Awute.

His absence might not be unconnected with his planned visit to the US.
The conference would bring together heads of government, ministers, experts, captains of industry and stakeholders who would share experiences of their Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) containment and support efforts. A major objective of the confab is to seek support for post-Ebola recovery and reconstruction in the region, especially for those countries that had been adversely affected by the disease.

On the continent, the strategy to contain and eradicate the Ebola epidemic had been mapped out by each government with support from the World Health Organisation (WHO), development partners and the private sector. However, the conference would focus on “Africa helping Africa” in the spirit of African solidarity.

Nigeria was certified Ebola free on October 20, 2014 by the World Health Organisation, it has also been constantly mentioned as a reference point for successful Ebola containment response. Consequently, Nigeria would share country’s experience in EVD containment and the Country Response Plan against the unlikely event of another outbreak.

A meeting of African Health Ministers precedes the AU Ebola Conference. Health Ministers will convene for the meeting on “The Establishment of an Africa Centres for Disease Control” (CDC) from 17 to 19 July, also in Malabo.

The Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Health, Mr. Linus Awute will head the delegates from Nigeria to the ministerial meeting.