The fight against COVID-19 and other infectious diseases in Kano received a boost with the commissioning of upgraded Emergency Operation Centre in the state.
The Centre, located within Infectious Diseases Hospital, Kano, was upgraded by the state government in collaboration with the United States government through USAID.
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In his address during the commissioning yesterday, the state Deputy Governor, Dr Nasir Yusuf Gawuna said the centre was meant for the generation, analysis and visualisation of data on COVID-19 and other public health emergencies.
He thanked the US Ambassador, USAID, NCDC and other development partners for the kind gesture and assured that the facility will be put to proper use in discharging the public health obligations in the state and beyond.
Also commenting, the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Mary Leonard, who joined the event online, said the US government would continue to support Nigeria in all aspects of development, including the health sector.
Explaining about the centre, the manager, who is also the state Deputy Director of Public Health and Disease Control, Dr Bashir Lawan Muhammad, said the facility has two important components.
“First component is the conference hall, which has a dashboard that is used in the visualisation of data as well as modeling system. You see in real time what is happening with regard to different diseases through TV sets. There is also another TV set, which shows Surveillance Outbreak Response Management and Analysis System (SORMAS) of all the data that is collected about diseases.
“The second component is the call centre through which the public reaches out to the centre for any information that requires a rapid response of the health authorities,” he said.
