Tinubu Approves ₦10bn Ebola Response Fund, Sets Up Presidential Task Force

President Bola Tinubu has approved the immediate release of ₦10 billion for Nigeria’s Ebola emergency response and set up a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness.

The move follows fresh concern over a fast-spreading outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. Reports from Punch and Premium Times said the task force will be chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, with membership drawn from relevant ministries, departments, agencies and state representatives.

The funding is expected to strengthen the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and support public health emergency activities across the country.

According to the presidency, Tinubu directed tighter passenger screening at international airports, including temperature checks, crowd-control measures and closer monitoring of passengers arriving through high-risk airline routes. Referral and isolation centres are also to be activated at the Lagos and Abuja international airports, with other airports expected to follow.

The President also ordered the use of QR code-based pre-arrival health declaration systems for passengers coming from, or transiting through, high-risk countries. Airport departure halls, cargo areas, baggage sections and other facilities are to be disinfected as a precaution.

The current outbreak is linked to the Bundibugyo species of Ebola virus. Punch reported that the outbreak was first confirmed in DRC’s Ituri Province on May 15 before spreading to Uganda. The report said that, as of June 7, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control had recorded 515 confirmed cases and 91 confirmed deaths, with 283 people in isolation.

The same report said suspected cases had reached 1,037 by May 29, with 349 deaths. Unlike some earlier Ebola strains, there is no licensed vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo virus, although early supportive care can improve survival.

Nigeria has faced Ebola before. In 2014, the country recorded 20 confirmed cases and eight deaths after an infected traveller arrived at Lagos’s Murtala Muhammed International Airport. The new federal response appears aimed at preventing a repeat of that airport-linked spread.

Sources: Punch, Premium Times