A Medical Laboratory Scientist, Mr Godwill Ogbonaya, says Nigeria’s healthcare workforce has the capacity to respond effectively to emerging disease outbreaks in spite of persistent challenges confronting the country’s health sector.
Ogbonaya, Head of the Microbiology Laboratory at Garki Nisa Hospital, Abuja, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday, highlighting the resilience of healthcare professionals.
He said the COVID-19 pandemic exposed significant preparedness gaps in health systems worldwide, noting that many countries were caught unprepared by the scale, speed and impact of the outbreak.
According to him, countries have since taken steps to strengthen preparedness for future public health emergencies, adding that Nigeria should continue enhancing its capacity to address emerging health threats.
Ogbonaya acknowledged the growing impact of the “Japa syndrome”, the migration of Nigerian professionals abroad in search of better opportunities, on the country’s healthcare workforce and service delivery.
He, however, expressed optimism that Nigeria could continue training and producing more healthcare professionals to bridge existing manpower gaps and sustain quality healthcare services across the country.
“We think now that the Japa syndrome really does not have so much effect in disturbing the trend of tracking down more after it,” he said.
The medical laboratory scientist recalled Nigeria’s response to alerts about an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, saying the country demonstrated strong preparedness against infectious disease threats.
He commended the Federal Ministry of Health for establishing response teams and raising preparedness levels following the Ebola alert, describing the action as timely and necessary.
According to him, the prompt response showed Nigeria’s ability to mobilise its health workforce and relevant stakeholders whenever confronted with the threat of an infectious disease outbreak.
Ogbonaya, however, said there was still room for improvement, particularly in strengthening the number of trained personnel available to respond effectively during public health emergencies nationwide.
He emphasised the need for sustained investment in human resources, laboratory capacity and disease surveillance systems to ensure rapid detection and confirmation of emerging infectious diseases.
According to him, the speed of detecting and confirming outbreaks depends largely on the nature of diseases, availability of trained personnel and preparedness of laboratories and response agencies.
Ogbonaya urged the government to continue strengthening the health system and create enabling conditions that would encourage healthcare professionals to remain and contribute within the country.
He said sustained investment in healthcare preparedness would help Nigeria respond more effectively to future outbreaks and significantly reduce their potential impact on the population.(NAN)
