The World Health Organization (WHO), the federal government and other stakeholders in the health sector have commended the former director general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, for his coordination of the COVID-19 response in Nigeria.
They gave the commendation in Abuja during the launch of a book authored by Ihekweazu and his wife Vivianne, titled ‘An Imperfect Storm: A Pandemic and the Coming of Age of a Nigerian Institution’.
WHO Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the book highlighted the incredible work Ihekweazu
did in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic as well as the role the support of family played among others.
He lauded the authors for helping to build a safer Nigeria and safer world.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, described the former NCDC boss as one of the leaders the country was proud of for his leadership of a public health institution during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said pandemics result in major transformations, adding that the NCDC which Ihekweazu has helped built was one of the significant efforts towards responding when the next ‘storm’ shows up.
He further said it was vital that Ihekweazu documented the lessons learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said, “And your successor , Dr Jide Idris will pick the baton and build the institution together with all the members of the NCDC family , the development partners and the entire health ecosystem in Nigeria. So that we can strengthen our ability to be ready to respond, and to also ensure that outbreaks are stamped before they become epidemics and pandemics.”
Former minister of State for Health , Dr Oloruninmbe Mamora, said the COVID-19 pandemic was a blessing in disguise for the country, saying it helped shore up molecular laboratories, intensive care units, ventilators and other medical equipment.
Unveiling the book, former Secretary to the Government of the federation, Boss Mustapha, said one of the lessons learnt was the importance of collaboration, adding that the multi faceted approach , and partnership between public and private sector in responding to the pandemic contributed tremendously to success.
He commended the understanding and role played by Vivianne Ihekweazu towards ensuring that her husband worked effectively as a member of the taskforce against COVID-19 and director general of the NCDC.
Introducing the book, Prof Ibrahim Abubakar, Dean, Faculty of Population health sciences, University College London, said, ” If you are interested in pandemics and how we learnt from our mistakes, I recommend this book to you . If you are interested in how to effectively communicate to the wide national audiences I recommend it to you. If you are interested in learning about effective partnership leveraging different government agencies, multilateral organizations this is the book for you. If you are interested in knowing how best to engage the private sector for public health benefits, you have found the right book. Indeed if you are Nigerian I recommend this book to you.”
The authors of the book also shared their experiences building collaboration across government and non public sectors, international partners and navigating challenges to build an effective response and preparedness for future ones during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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