The Director General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa, has yesterday said that the COVID-19 pandemic response recorded the largest political commitment in the history of health system development in Nigeria.
Adetifa, who stated this in a statement to commemorate the second year anniversary of COVID-19 in Nigeria, said over 3,000 deaths associated with the virus were recorded in the country in the last two years.
He said the outbreak of the virus provided opportunities for prioritising healthcare and attracting the required future investments in health security in Nigeria.
The NCDC helmsman charged Nigerians to hold authorities accountable to sustain the investments in healthcare and health security in the country.
He stressed that Sunday, February 27, 2022, marked exactly two years since the first case of COVID-19 was detected in Nigeria.
“Since then, Nigeria has confirmed an excess of 250,000 cases, recorded over 3,000 deaths, and learnt major lessons in its bid to strengthen the country’s health system to cope with other infectious diseases and future health emergencies.”
Adetifa noted that the NCDC was committed to its mandate of leading in the preparedness, detection, and response to disease outbreaks of public health importance and to mitigate the health impact of public health emergencies/disasters in Nigeria.
He recalled that in the last five years, several efforts have been made towards improving the health system, as well as increased investment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
