Nigeria reviews guidelines for disease surveillance

The Director-General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Chikwe Ihekweazu, said the centre is reviewing the technical guidelines for Nigeria’s Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response strategy, alongside government and international partners.

Mr Ihekweazu said this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

He explained that the goal was to develop a concise plan to ensure improved detection and response to infectious disease outbreaks.

Mr Ihekweazu said the challenges of being an early starter was becoming very difficult to integrate with many other good systems because the centre has developed very well over the years in just one system.

“We should not be dogmatic in our review; rather, we should dynamically approach this as a guide that will help us further the work that we do to improve our surveillance and response system.

“We must leverage on the opportunities of new technologies to improve the work we already do. We do not need to entirely reinvent the wheel but must pursue avenues to collaborate and integrate to achieve the common objectives.”

Mr Ihekweazu, however, disclosed that there was a level of commitment as a nation to combat infectious diseases. He noted that surveillance is a collaborative effort that requires the support of States and Tertiary Hospitals.

He said Nigeria would be the first country to adapt the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) system of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

(NAN)