The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a N45.8 billion biosecurity and disease‑surveillance programme that will be installed at five of Nigeria’s international airports, aiming to boost the country’s ability to detect Ebola and other high‑risk pathogens at its borders. The scheme, announced by Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare Ali Pate, will be delivered through a 20‑year public‑private partnership awarded to BioHealth Consortium.
The approval emerged from the Council meeting held on Wednesday, and the minister highlighted that more than 18 million passengers transit Nigeria’s airports each year, making robust surveillance essential. He remarked, “Over the last two weeks, I think you realise the significance of enhancing biosecurity at our points of entry.”
Pate explained that the COVID‑19 pandemic exposed serious gaps in Nigeria’s capacity to manage cross‑border health threats, prompting the need for a coordinated, technology‑driven early‑warning system.
The surveillance infrastructure will be rolled out at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano, Port Harcourt International Airport, and Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu.
Under the public‑private partnership, the private partner will design, finance, construct, operate and maintain the facilities for the full concession period, while the federal government retains policy, institutional and regulatory oversight. At the end of the 20‑year term, all assets will revert to the government as stipulated by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission.
Key technical components include wastewater surveillance to detect pathogens from aircraft, air and surface sampling equipment, cargo and baggage monitoring technologies, and modern laboratories capable of rapid diagnostics at each point of entry.
The new system will be integrated with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Port Health Services, the Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigeria Immigration Service and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, ensuring a coordinated response across agencies.
Pate noted that Nigeria had already maintained surveillance and containment measures before confirming an imported Ebola case in October. The patient recovered after receiving treatment in the country and continued to improve after repatriation.
He warned that the risk remains, citing the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the possibility of other infectious diseases entering Nigeria.
Addressing support for individuals placed in isolation or quarantine, the minister said the government provides targeted assistance to encourage compliance and prevent community transmission. “If you ask them to stay in quarantine, they have a livelihood and a family. They may find ways to evade it, and that will put everybody at risk,” he said.
Contacts of the Ebola patient are required to undergo a 21‑day quarantine, matching the virus’s incubation period. “We are not taking any chances,” Pate affirmed, adding that authorities will continue close monitoring and swift response to any suspected infection.