Enugu, April 17, 2021 (NAN) The World Health Organisation (WHO) has lauded Enugu State Government for its openness to be assessed during a sub-national health security assessment.
Dr Shola Haruna, the Team Leader for the International Health Regulations (IHR) Office, WHO Nigeria, gave the commendation, on Saturday in Enugu.
Haruna spoke at the end of a week-long Sub-national Health Security Assessment of International Health Regulations (IHR) Core Capacities.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that assessment workshop is sub-themed: “Strengthening Epidemic Preparedness Across Nigeria.’’
He called on all health offices in the state – ministries of health, agriculture and environment – to further work together so as to achieve the best as regards human and animal health issues.
“When it comes to health issues, it is solely not the responsibility of the health ministry but every stakeholder should be involved,” she said.
She commended the state health ministry personnel for understanding each other in health security as it had helped them to work together and had a frame work that would move health forward.
Dr Oyaladun Okunromade, Head, IHR and One-Health in Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), said that Enugu total ready score was 36 per cent.
Okunromade enumerated areas with critical needs to include policy and legislation, financing for health security, multi-sectoral coordination at all level and human resource capacity building.
She commended the state for their leadership role and for being the first in Nigeria and the African continent to be assessed.
“Enugu State is the first state engaging in the Health Security Assessment of International Health Regulation Core Capacities,” she said.
Responding, the state’s Commissioner for Health, Prof. Ikechukwu Obi, said that the ministry hhad already done its internal and joint assessments before now.
According to Obi, the tools used for the internal and joint assessments were parts of the tools used for external assessment by WHO today.
He assured WHO, NCDC and other health partners that the state would meticulously study the recommendations of the assessment and improve in all areas of its health indices and coordination.
The IHR assessment team assessed the state’s ministries of health, agriculture and environment emergency preparedness to tackle emerging epidemics and outbreak of diseases.
(NAN)
