The Federal Government has requested that the proposed African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, be located in Nigeria, Minister of Health, Dr Onybuchi Chukwu, said.
Chukwu told the News Agency of Nigeria in Luanda that the request was made to the Conference of African Union Ministers of Health and World Health Organisation.
NAN reports that Ghana and Ethiopia want the centre to be set up in their respective countries as well.
Chukwu cited the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control as a yardstick for the request, saying Nigeria was the first in Africa to establish such a centre.
He said that the Nigeria centre had been doing well in conducting researches on disease outbreak, prevention and other public health issues.
“Nigeria, so far, has the best disease surveillance system, according to WHO, on the continent of Africa.
“Actually, Nigeria was the first to offer to host the African Centre for Disease Control followed by Ethiopia and since then we have been working toward it.
“It was inconclusive, though Ethiopia brought it up. The decision was that we should still do more consultation and I believe what we are saying here is part of that consultation,’’ he said.
Chukwu said many countries outside Africa, including the United States, supported the ACDCP initiative.
“The idea is to have a strengthened centre for disease control so that when we have an outbreak it will take the lead in investigation and treatment,’’ he said.
Chukwu recalled that Nigeria was the first country to host its neighbours in 2012 to discuss disease control.
He said WHO recognised that meeting as the first of its kind in the world that a country initiated.
“What we need is what we always say since 2010 when we first called that meeting on cross-border infection control.
“Infections do not care for passport or visa, diseases just move across borders, not something a single country can curtail.
“You will see what has happened recently, an outbreak of disease started in Guinea before you knew it, it spread to three other countries,’’ he said.
Chukwu commended President Goodluck Jonathan for his support for the establishment of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
On the establishment of African Medicine Agency, Chukwu said Nigeria was still in the lead as no other country in the continent had been able to establish a body similar to National Agency for Food Administration and Control.
He said NCDC, NAFDAC and FRSN were three institutions in Nigeria that had not been replicated in other countries. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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