May 28, 2026
By Chioma Obinna
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) on Thursday placed Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Kano, Rivers and several other states on high Ebola preparedness alert following the classification of Nigeria’s risk of importing the deadly Bundibugyo Ebola Virus Disease as “HIGH.”
In a national public health advisory addressed to Honourable Commissioners for Health across the 36 states and the FCT, the NCDC warned that Nigeria must urgently strengthen surveillance, isolation capacity and infection prevention systems as the virus spreads across parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has already declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), a development the NCDC said underscores the urgency for immediate nationwide readiness before any suspected case is detected in Nigeria.
