Edo State Government has said it established Public Health Emergency Operation Centre (PHEOC) as a mandate to provide services to the six states in the South-South geo-political zones.
BusinessDay reports that the centre located at the Palm House in Benin City was commissioned by the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki in conjunction with Will Stevens, the United States Consul- General.
Obaseki said that the PHEOC would serve the six states in the South-South geopolitical zone pending when they will establish their own.
According to him, the centre would serve as hub for epidemiologist intelligence gathering, health situational awareness, emergency risk analysis among others which are needed for decisions making.
He noted that it was an initiative that underscores his administration’s sustained efforts to strengthen health institutions for real-time emergency and disease management in the state.
“A couple of weeks ago, we launched the emergency response centre where we are training emergency responders to deal with emergency situations which they find in their communities.
“This Centre is set up to effectively respond and coordinate public health emergencies and to ensure adequate surveillance data on disease conditions especially those priority diseases we are tracking in Edo State, as well as other emerging and reemerging diseases.
“Institutions such as this are critical in managing crisis, especially making data readily available to study trends, and prepare for response in terms of emergencies.
“The Edo State Emergency Public Health Operation Center was set up in 2020 during COVID-19 after several months of painstaking work by myself, NCDC, USAID and was declared opened by the then Director-General of NCDC, Chikwe Ihekwuazu,” he said.
On his part, Will Stevens, the U.S. Consul-General said, it was the job of a government to take care of its people.
Stevens said the facility was a great symbol of democracy delivered by responding to the needs of the people and making the people happier and safer.
“We, the United States Government, are so grateful for the health partnership we have with the Nigerian people for nearly 25 years,” he stated
Earlier, Samuel Alli, commissioner for Health, said the centre would serve as a nerve center facilitating real-time communication and data sharing amongst health professionals and epidemiologists.
Alli also said that the facility would specifically address public health emergency outbreaks, like Lassa fever, and COVID-19, among others.
