BREAKING: FG Approves ₦45.08bn for Biosecurity Systems at Five Airports to Detect and Respond to Emerging Infectious Disease Threats

The Federal Government has approved a ₦45.08 billion investment to deploy an integrated biosecurity and disease surveillance system at five international airports, aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s capacity to detect and respond to emerging infectious disease threats.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Ali Pate, disclosed this after Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the State House, Abuja. The project will be delivered through a 20-year public-private partnership with the BioHealth Consortium. It will use technologies including aircraft wastewater surveillance, air and surface sampling, and specialised pathogen detection systems.

The five airports covered are Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu. Pate said the system is expected to monitor a range of dangerous pathogens, improve inter-agency coordination and strengthen health security at the country’s borders.

He also confirmed that an Ebola patient recorded in October had recovered, while contact tracing and other containment measures continued to prevent community transmission.