Edo State inaugurates Rapid Response Committee on EVD

Following public outcry against the alleged delayed in the constitution of Ebola Virus disease committee by the Edo State Government, the state Governor; Adams Oshiomhole has inaugurated a 48 member of Rapid Response Committee on Ebola Virus Disease.

BusinessDay reports that members of the public had in the past weeks since the death of the index(first) case of Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian-American in Lagos called on the state government to set up a committee charged with the responsibility of providing medical care to any suspected patient of the disease.

The committee has the state commissioner for health as chairman and information and orientation commissioner as the spokesman. Members of the committee were drawn from the state chapter of the NMA, Iruua Specialist Teaching Hospital, UBTH, WHO, UNICEF, ministry of Health, Agriculture, Women Affairs, Health Management Board (HMB), Traditional Medicine Board, and Conference of Non- Governmental Organization (CONGO).

Other members of the committee include representatives of the Nigeria Airforce medical centre, Directorate of State Security Services, Nigerian Police, Nigerian Army medical centre, traditional rulers, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Nigeria Prison, and Immigration among others.

The commissioner of health, Aihunuwa Eregie who inaugurated the committee said the committee was one of the largest committees ever set up by the state government.

The commissioner represented by Peter Ugbodaga, Permanent Secretary in the ministry of health added that the size of the committee was an indication of the seriousness and importance the state government attached to contain the spread of Ebola virus disease in the state.

Eregie added that the membership of the committee was carefully chosen to reflect the diversity in unity and strength to tackle the enormous challenge posed by Ebola disease, adding that the committee was set up to create awareness on the seriousness and the contagious nature of the deadly disease.

She however dismissed the insinuation that the state government was not proactive enough in putting structures and modalities in place to contain the likely spread of the disease in the state.

She said the state government had held a meeting with the management of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital and the state leadership of the Nigeria Medical Association on the need to collaborate towards containing the likely outbreak in the state.

She posited that Stella Obasanjo Hospital have been identified as an isolation centre in the state as a result of the state-of the –art facilities in the hospital, programme put in place for volunteers to ensure that they were adequately remunerated as well as other medical personnel that would be involved in treatment of any recorded case of its outbreak in the state.

She also added that the state government has concluded plans to procure state-of the –art ambulances, collaborating with the Irrua Specialist Hospital to make available its Lassa Fever isolation facilities for its use while the ministry of health had already procured some preventive equipment that would be provided to all the medical and health personnel that, would be involved in the treatment of any patients in the state.

The commissioner however assured that the state government will do all that is necessary to collaborate with the relevant bodies to ensure that the virus is promptly attended to when recorded in the state.

Earlier, the state commissioner for information, Louis Odion, solicited for collaboration by the media in dissemination of correct information to members of the public.

Ebola is not a death sentence. We don’t have any Ebola case in the state, but the governor insisted that we set up this committee to be on the safe side,” he said.

Terms of reference of the committee include review and approve the epidemic preparedness and response plan, mobilise resources for epidemic prevention and control, coordinate and monitor control activities during outbreaks, including information dissemination to the public and media, and others.