Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, on Monday said pandemics are inevitable, stressing that countries must strengthen their capacity to respond swiftly and effectively to future health emergencies.
Salako spoke in Abuja at a public health symposium titled Lessons on Pandemic Preparedness and Response: Insights from China and Nigeria.
“The next pandemic is not a matter of if but when,” he said.
He underscored the need for coordinated, equitable and innovative preparedness, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic, which claimed over seven million lives globally, exposed weaknesses in health systems while also highlighting the value of collaboration and resilience.
According to the minister, Nigeria has made measurable progress in strengthening its health security architecture. He listed key interventions to include the digitalisation of infectious disease surveillance through the Surveillance Outbreak Response Management and Analysis System (SORMAS), capacity building for health workers, and the expansion of diagnostic capabilities with more than 100 public health laboratories nationwide.
He added that the country has also established infectious disease centres and public health emergency operations centres across all states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Salako said the interventions contributed to an improvement in Nigeria’s technical evaluation score from 39 per cent in 2017 to 54 per cent in 2023.
He also pointed to China’s rapid and disciplined response to COVID-19, emphasising the importance of technology integration and community mobilisation in managing health crises.
“Mutual learning between Nigeria and China is critical to building resilient systems capable of safeguarding citizens and optimising global actions against future health emergencies,” he said.
The minister further noted that under President Bola Tinubu, health security has been prioritised as the fourth pillar of the health sector renewal investment initiative.
He said efforts to deepen preparedness at the sub-national level are being driven through initiatives such as the 7-1-7 target and the SITAware Transition Project, alongside the One Health approach, which promotes coordinated attention to human, animal and environmental health.
Salako added that Nigeria is actively participating in negotiations on the World Health Organisation (WHO) pandemic agreement, reflecting its commitment to multilateral cooperation.
He stressed that pandemic preparedness requires a whole-of-society approach involving government, the private sector, communities, researchers and international partners.
Salako urged stakeholders to focus on actionable policies, partnerships and innovations to ensure global readiness and equity.
“Let us work together across borders and sectors to ensure full readiness for the next pandemic, leaving no one behind,” he said.
