Former
President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has commended the Federal and Lagos
state governments for curbing the spread of the Ebola virus in the
country.
The former President stated this at the opening ceremony
of the 11th Biennial International Conference on “Drugs, Alcohol and
Society in Africa” organized by the African Centre for Research and
Information on substance Abuse (CRISA).
This came as Ogun State
government has procured a variety of emergency supplies including
specialised Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) as part of its efforts
at strengthening its preparedness towards curtailing the sudden outbreak
of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).
Sequel to this development,
Officers of the State Ministry of Health have sensitised Environmental
Health Officers Association on safe practices relevant to viral
hemorrhagic fever containment.
Obasanjo who however, submitted
that if the attention given to the dreaded virus had been given to the
abducted Chibok girls about three months ago, the story could have been
different today.
He called for collective efforts at the West African region to stem the tide of the virus in the region.
According
to him: “I have always believed that where we have done well we should
be able to commend ourselves whether or not anybody comments. On the
other hand, where we have not done well enough, we should be bold and
courageous enough to admit our failing, show remorse and make
correction.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, Lagos State Government and the
Federal government separately and collectively have done very well in
the prompt measures taken to stem the tide of Ebola disease and to
prevent the spread into an epidemic proportion both in Lagos and in the
country .
“We should hail these efforts which are in contrast to
the efforts and time deployed to rescue the 276 Chibok girls abducted.
The difference is clear and the results are obvious. Where we fail like
in Chibok, no excuse will absolve us from the responsibility and guilt
that will remain for years and decades to come.
Receiving the
PPEs, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Daisi Odeniyi
said that other efforts of the state towards curtailing the disease
included visitation of the State Steering Committee to the isolation
centers being prepared by the state to further step up the capacity to
combat any outbreak of the disease.
The Permanent Secretary
further said that the regular meeting of the Emergency Operation
Committee and the Sub-Committees on ebola would take place as the State
continues to implement its Emergency Response plan. [Vanguard]
An American doctor who contracted Ebola treating victims of the deadly virus in Liberia has been released from a U.S. hospital.
