The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, says pandemics transform the world and that of COVID-19 is already underway.
Pate said this on Thursday in Abuja at the launch of a book, “An Imperfect Storm,” written by Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, the former Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, and his wife, Mrs. Vivianne Ihekweazu.
Pate underlined that pandemics throughout history always resulted in severe social changes. He drew examples from the ancient times of the Greeks and Romans who suffered from pandemics and even observed that the HIV epidemic changed society. He fastened an emphasis on the fact that the century-long outbreak of COVID-19 is at work, reshaping the face of the globe with economic disruptions and more frequent encounters with new pathogens.
It is during such pandemics, which have happened since the 1990s up to date, that Pate underscored the fact that pandemics are part of our lives. He emphasized that new pathogens will always emerge and that the question is not if but when the next crisis will be.
He said that he got in on the rapidly prepared remarks, as he did also wish to commend Dr Ihekweazu in his efforts of building the NCDC and leading Nigeria’s response on Covid-19. He urges that this achievement must be the critical benchmark for how the country responds to future health crises.
Dr Ihekweazu, one of the authors, said at the launch of the book that strengthening health systems through the book was a way of dealing with pandemics effectively. He said that when the Ebola virus came to Nigeria in 2014, the country was quite prepared and well responded. However, he said the country spent too much time celebrating the success such that when he joined the NCDC in 2016, the country was still unprepared for outbreaks.
The book has been said by the co-author, Mrs. Ihekweazu, that it is not just a documentation of their response to the pandemic, but a call to storytelling. She said others must learn from the experience, and that Nigeria must continue to get better on being prepared for the next health emergency.