Nwifuru Seeks Strong Planning Against Future Epidemics, Pandemics

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

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

The event 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.

The governor said the launch will strengthen disease prevention and integrated health systems, adding that safeguarding the well-being of the state’s citizens remains a top priority under the People’s Charter of Needs.

He said in recent years, there had been an increase in disease outbreaks across the world, with Africa bearing a disproportionately 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 human, animal, plant, 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 these challenges, there is the need to strengthen collaboration among the state’s ministries of health, agriculture, and environment, along with their agencies. There is 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 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 are 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.

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 are at the frontline of health service delivery, veterinary services, environmental protection, and community engagement.