A major step towards enhancing regional public health was taken on Monday, in Nigeria when officials from Nigeria and Niger Republic convened for a critical three-day cross-border meeting aimed at improving disease surveillance and outbreak intervention strategies.
Organized by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Regional Centre for Surveillance & Disease Control (RCSDC) , the event highlights the necessity of cross-border cooperation in managing public health threats.
Dr. Yusuf Abubakar, Director of Public Health Services in Zamfara State, underscored the meeting’s importance, stressing the interconnectedness of health issues between the two nations.
“Given the numerous land borders between Nigeria and Niger, anything affecting states like Sokoto and Zamfara inevitably impacts Niger. This meeting ensures both countries are aware of and can effectively manage disease outbreaks,” he said.
Abubakar elaborated on the meeting’s goals, stating, “By the end of this meeting, we aim to develop a coordinated action plan. This includes sharing information and using it to manage outbreaks effectively. Additionally, this meeting will strengthen our relationships, fostering a harmonious working environment.”
A primary catalyst for the meeting was the recent outbreak of heavy metal poisoning in Sokoto and Zamfara states, which has also affected regions in Niger.
“We reported these cases almost simultaneously. While heavy metal poisoning is a pressing concern, we’re also dealing with other diseases like diphtheria, meningitis, and cholera,” Abubakar noted.
Dr. Aisha Usman, Technical Advisor on Cross-Border Surveillance for ECOWAS, explained the broader context of the initiative.
“This meeting is part of WAHO’s mandate to strengthen collaboration between Nigeria and Niger. By monitoring, preventing, and sharing information on priority diseases, we aim to develop a joint action plan to manage outbreaks effectively,” she said.
Usman mentioned that this is not the first such meeting, saying, “WAHO has been organizing cross-border meetings among member states since its establishment in 1987. These meetings are crucial for pooling resources and harmonizing policies to strengthen public health systems in the region.”
Previous meetings have included countries like Liberia, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire, and Guinea.
The urgency of the current situation was evident. “We currently have an outbreak of suspected heavy metal poisoning between Niger and Nigeria. This meeting allows us to assess the current status, understand interventions in place, and identify support needed from WAHO,” Usman said.
She emphasized the need for strong surveillance systems, effective risk communication, and community engagement. “Educating border communities about the signs and symptoms of poisoning is critical. We need to ensure adequate case management and prevent further cases,” she added.
Dr. Fatima Mohamed Yusuf from the Federal Ministry of Health highlighted the importance of developing frameworks for enhanced collaboration. “This meeting is key to strengthening surveillance for cross-border activities. While collaboration exists, it needs to be more robust to ensure seamless information sharing on diseases and events, not just infectious diseases,” she noted.
Dr. Abdulganiyu Yusuf, the Director of Public Health, Ministry of Health, Sokoto State, emphasized the development of action plans. “Our goal is to ensure that deliberations lead to actionable strategies for managing notifiable diseases affecting both countries. This includes heavy metal poisoning, measles, meningitis, and diphtheria,” he stated.
He traced the heavy metal poisoning cases back to March in Sokoto State. “Initially, it was an unknown disease, but it has been diagnosed as multiple heavy metal poisoning. Both Nigeria and Niger are affected, with children aged 2 to 14 years being the most vulnerable,” he explained.
Preventive measures focus on environmental factors like water and soil contamination. “We need to examine our water sources and agricultural soil for heavy metals. Strategies include water treatment, digging boreholes, and testing food crops for contamination,” Yusuf said.
A representative from Niger, Dr. Ibrahim Tasiu, highlighted the meeting’s significance. “Any problem in Nigeria affects Niger due to our shared borders. This meeting allows us to understand and address public health challenges collaboratively,” he stated.
Declaring the three-day meeting open, the Minister of Health, Prof Ali Pate, noted that with a population of over 230 million people, Nigeria cannot fight infectious disease outbreak that transcend national borders alone, particularly given the spill-over of huge populations from neighbouring countries.
The Minister, who was represented by the Director, Port Health Services in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Akpan Nseobong, described the cross-border surveillance meeting as very important in the considering that since Nigeria and Niger Republic share borders, anything that happens to any of the two countries affects the other.
While commending the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) and the ECOWAS Regional Centre for Surveillance and Disease Control (RCSDC) and partners like the World Health Organisation (WHO), United States Centre for Disease Control (CDC), UNICEF and USAID for their support, the minister called for more collaboration with Nigeria to tackle the growing public health challenges.
“We will continue to appeal to our partners for more support because given the size of our country, once Nigeria is able to contain these diseases, the whole of West Africa and indeed Africa will be safe,” he said.
Other speakers at the opening ceremony were the Director-General of WAHO, Dr. Aissi Melchior Athanase, who was represented by the Executive Director of ECOWAS RCSDC, Dr. Virgil Lokossou; representative of UNICEF, Dr. David Dauda; representative of WHO, Dr. Beatrice Muraguri and Dr Elh Ibrahim Tassiou from Niger Republic.
