21st March 2022 | Abuja – Clarification of concerns around use of the Nigeria International Travel Portal (NITP)
We acknowledge the expressed concerns of Nigerians regarding the Nigeria International Travel Portal (NITP), COVID-19 testing pre- and post- arrival in Nigeria. We would like to clarify some of these concerns:
• The NITP was developed by the private sector and is managed by Nigerians in the public sector as one of several measures introduced to limit the risk of importation and spread of COVID-19 in our country. Despite challenges in the functionalities of the site, mostly related to payments using foreign cards, we have continued to work extremely hard on its improvement.
• While the NITP site is hosted on NCDC’s domain, all funds for testing purposes are paid through the bank to the accredited private laboratories. NO FUNDS from private testing are received by NCDC. COVID-19 testing in government laboratories remains free of charge for public health purposes. Testing for personal purposes such as travel are paid for by individuals and conducted in private laboratories.
• The current travel protocol and public health safety measures are under review by the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 and will be updated shortly.
In the meantime, the NCDC continues to deliver on its mandate, including strong response to COVID-19 and other concurrent disease outbreaks in Nigeria.
Please take note: The NCDC’s twitter handle (@NCDCgov) is NOT a channel for handling travel portal queries.
For more information or FAQs on the travel portal, please visit - https://covid19.ncdc.gov.ng/nitpfaq.
About the NCDC
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control is the country’s national public health institute, with the mandate to lead the preparedness, detection and response to infectious disease outbreaks and public health emergencies. The Bill for an Act to establish NCDC was signed into law in November 2018, by President Muhammadu Buhari. The mission for the NCDC (2017-2021) is ‘To protect the health of Nigerians through evidence-based prevention, integrated disease surveillance and response activities, using a One Health approach, guided by research and led by a skilled workforce’.
Contact
NCDC Toll-free Number: 6232 | SMS: 08099555577 | Twitter: @NCDCGov | Facebook: @NCDCgov | Instagram: @NCDCgov | NCDC Media Releases
Signed:
Dr Ifedayo Adetifa
Director General
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control