The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Jide Idris, has said that the controversial N10bn emergency intervention fund approved by President Bola Tinubu was not meant for Ebola Virus Disease alone but for strengthening Nigeria’s preparedness against multiple epidemic-prone diseases.

Idris explained that the N10bn was released directly to the NCDC and not to the Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease.

He said that the allocation was inadequate in view of Nigeria’s growing health security needs, disclosed that implementing the country’s National Action Plan for Health Security, covering 2025 to 2029, would cost approximately N522bn over five years.

Idris also dismissed calls for the postponement of elections, restrictions on travel or a blanket ban on mass gatherings, insisting that the prevailing situation did not warrant such measures.

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