NCDC and RKI Launch New Project to Strengthen Health Security in Nigeria

Thursday, June 13, 2019

13 June, 2019 | Abuja – NCDC and RKI Launch New Project to Strengthen Health Security in Nigeria

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) have signed a joint declaration of intent, to mark the start of a new project to strengthen health security in Nigeria. RKI is Germany’s national public health institute, with a similar mandate as NCDC.

This is coming less than two years after NCDC began to collaborate with RKI, in a project that led to the development of a national training manual for infection prevention control (IPC) in Nigeria. As a follow up to this successful project, NCDC and RKI have expanded their collaboration to include:

¥ Intensifying surveillance of endemic viral infections of high public health concern

¥ Improving surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and antibiotic stewardship

¥ Improving infection prevention and control (IPC)

The new Nigeria Centre for Disease Control: Capacity Development for Preparedness and Response for Infectious Diseases (NiCADE) project will involve partnerships with tertiary hospitals, under the coordination of NCDC and with support from RKI. This partnership will include surveillance for Hepatitis E, Rotavirus and AMR.

At the event held in Abuja today, the RKI President, Prof. Dr. Lothar H. Wieler, expressed his confidence in the outcomes that this partnership will bring. As national public health institutes of Federal Republics, NCDC and RKI have similar structures that will provide strong learning opportunities for each other.

As part of the project, RKI will provide technical expertise and advice to NCDC, towards strengthening International Health Regulations (IHR) capacity. The partnership between NCDC and RKI is a mutually-beneficial opportunity for national public health institutes to collaborate, towards global health security. It greatly demonstrates the fact that countries are mutually dependent on each other, for health security.

ABOUT NCDC

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) was established in the year 2011 in response to the challenges of public health emergencies and to enhance Nigeria’s preparedness and response to epidemics through prevention, detection, and control of communicable diseases. Its core mandate is to detect, investigate, prevent and control diseases of national and international public health importance.

ABOUT RKI

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is Germany’s public health institute and serves as the government’s central scientific institution in the field of biomedicine. It is one of the most important bodies for the safeguarding of public health in Germany, with a mission to protect and improve the health of the population. To this end, 1,100 individuals from 90 different occupational fields work and conduct research together at RKI every day.

Contacts:

NCDC Toll-free Number: 0800-970000-10

Twitter/Facebook: @NCDCgov

SMS: 08099555577

WhatsApp: 07087110839

Signed:

Jeremiah Agenyi,

for NCDC Communications

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