Abuja, March 7 (NAN) Nigeria strengthened its capacity to detect and respond to public health threats in 2025 and it resulted in fewer disease outbreaks compared to the situation in 2024.
This is contained in the 2025 State of Health of the Nation Report.
The report was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Abuja. It was produced in line with the National Health Act (2014).
It highlighted the expansion of Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) functionality and the rollout of electronic IDSR reporting across more states, enabling quicker detection and management of epidemics.
It also noted major advancements in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) control, with a 71 per cent increase in digital AMR reporting, supported by the introduction of high-throughput genomic sequencing technologies for more sophisticated surveillance.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) enhanced laboratory quality assurance across 11 sites and secured ISO15189:2012 accreditation for the National Reference Laboratory and Central Public Health Laboratory in Lagos, ensuring reliable diagnostics.
To decentralize testing for infectious diseases such as Lassa fever, Mpox, and Yellow Fever, the NCDC completed three Zonal Reference Laboratories in the South-West, South-East, and North-West.
The laboratory network now covers 31 states (84 per cent of Nigeria’s territory), integrated with the Surveillance, Outbreak Response Management and Analysis System (SORMAS) and Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) to strengthen real-time outbreak detection and response.
The report, developed by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMOH&SW) through a consultative and evidence-based process, also incorporated routine data, population surveys, and input from state ministries, private sector partners, and development agencies.
Findings were reviewed and validated during a national stakeholder workshop, confirming national ownership of the report.
NAN reports that Public Health expert said the progress demonstrates Nigeria’s growing resilience in health security, particularly in rapid outbreak detection, laboratory capacity, and digital surveillance, even as the country continues to address gaps in hospital supervision and infrastructure rehabilitation.
(NAN)
