Nigeria should not be complacent with its Ebola free status. This is the consensus coming out of the first day of a 3-day meeting of a group of Nigerian doctors in the Americas.
Participants which include former Nigerian Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, Commissioners of Health and medical officials from the First Consultant Hospital, Lagos Island, outlined strategies that can prepare the country for future epidemics.
The current state of the Ebola outbreak in a few West African countries and lessons learnt from the importation of the disease into Nigeria shaped the opening conversations of the 3-day conference which has other physicians from Nigeria in attendance.
Nigeria, sadly with casualties but thankfully also survivors, contained the 2014 Ebola infection to earn her current W.H.O Ebola free status.
The experts have, however, warned that a reappearance of the disease in Liberia, which was equally certified free of the virus, should send a strong signal of a possible re-importation.
The Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas (ANPA) has been doing this for 21 years, bringing onto the discussion table, burning issues in Africa and particularly in the Nigerian health sector.
Discussions on healthcare delivery during conflicts, disasters and epidemics continue on Friday with a focus on managing victims of terrorist attacks.
The 2015 Conference of the Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas is being held in Orlando, Florida in the United States.