Nwifuru Calls For Strengthening Resilience Against Future Epidemics, Pandemics

The Ebonyi State governor, Francis Nwifuru, has called for the strengthening of resilience against future epidemics and pandemics in the country even as he reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to improving health outcomes and boosting economic development in the State.

Governor Nwifuru made the call during the launch of One-Health Initiative in the State and the presentation of Evidence Brief for Policy on One-Health (Antimicrobial Resistance-AMR) for Policy Dialogue.

The launch was organised by Evidence-Informed Policy Approaches for One-Health (OH-EVI Project), African Institute For Health Policy and Health Systems Nigeria and David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu.

Governor Nwifuru stated that the launch will help to strengthen disease prevention and Integrated Health Systems, adding that safeguarding the well-being of the state’s citizens remained a top priority under the People’s Charter of Needs.

He noted that in recent years, there has been an increase in disease outbreaks across the world, with Africa bearing a disproportionate high burden of malaria, waterborne diseases, childhood illnesses, neglected tropical diseases, and zoonotic infections.

Highlighting the devastating impacts of the Ebola epidemic of 2013–2016 and the global COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Nwifuru stated that the pandemic exposed major structural weaknesses in health systems, especially in resource-constrained environments.

“These crises revealed the consequences of inadequate preparedness across sectors such as health, agriculture, and the environment,” he said. “Unfortunately, insufficient efforts have been made at sub-national levels in Nigeria to build resilient, integrated systems capable of withstanding future epidemics.”

Governor Nwifuru described the One Health Initiative as a vital multisectoral and collaborative approach that recognises the interconnectedness of humans, animals, plants, and environmental health. He cited rapid urbanisation, high population density, deforestation, and increased human–animal interactions in Ebonyi as key factors driving the rise of vector-borne and zoonotic diseases.

According to him, to address the challenges, there was the need to strengthen collaboration among the state’s ministries of health, agriculture, and environment, along with their agencies, adding that there was the need for closer partnerships between government bodies, researchers in universities and tertiary institutions to ensure that research evidence informs policymaking.

“The evidence generated in our institutions must get into the hands of policymakers so that evidence-based and context-specific policies can be developed for Ebonyi State,” he said.

Governor Nwifuru pledged sustained government funding and political commitment toward improving the health, agriculture, and environmental sectors.

He commended the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (Germany), which is funding the One Health Project in Nigeria through a grant to the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, with Professor Jesse Uneke as principal investigator.

“Let me also commend the World Health Organization (WHO) country office, the EVIPNet team, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and other stakeholders for their contributions,” the governor added.

The Vice Chancellor of David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Prof. Jesse Uneke, highlighted the significance of the event, describing it as “a remarkable day for Ebonyi State.”

“Ebonyi State is now leading efforts to domesticate the National One Health framework at the sub-national level—something many other states are yet to implement.”

He said that the engagement brought together senior policymakers from the Ministries of Health, Agriculture, and Environment, as well as officials from the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency and the Health Insurance Agency.

Other policymakers that were participating in the engagement include academic representatives from two universities—including deans, provosts and heads of departments.

Prof Uneke maintained that there will be a presentation of an Evidence Brief for Policy on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), followed by a scheduled policy dialogue during the technical session.

“This event will also explore how disease transmission occurs across humans, animals, and the environment, and to strengthen cross-sectoral collaboration in response.

“We hope that our discussions today will lead to actionable working documents that integrate the roles of the key ministries,” the speaker said, emphasising the need for joint planning to detect, control, and prevent future outbreaks, whether pandemic or endemic.

He commended Governor Nwifuru for providing the enabling environment and approving the hosting of the program and described his support as evidence of his commitment to advancing public health in the state.

Dr. Laxmikant Chavan, the Technical Officer, AMR and One Health Coordinator, World Health Organization (WHO) Country Office Abuja, said that the launch became imperative as states were at the frontline of health service delivery, veterinary services, environmental protection, and community engagement.

He noted that One Health Initiative enhances states and LGAs ability to detect outbreaks early and respond quickly, improve food safety and strengthen agribusiness value chains, promote responsible use of antimicrobials and reduce the spread of resistant germs, reduce the economic burden of diseases in livestock and humans and protect water resources.

The launch concluded with a call for continued collaboration among stakeholders to ensure Ebonyi State remains prepared for emerging health threats.