Chairman of the United Nations Foundation, Ted Turner and the Nigerian Senate president, David Mark, have noted that the outbreak of deadly diseases like Ebola offers a stark reminder of the importance of investing in health systems and infrastructure before health emergencies strike. Speaking at different fora in the United States of America and in Nigeria, they pointed out that past neglect of the health sector, especially in developing countries, has compounded the challenges of diseases when they storm the scene in ill-anticipated fury. The American, however, said that the programme established to help eradicate one of such diseases – polio – is currently offering vital support to the Ebola outbreak response in terms of surveillance, tracing people with whom patients have had contact, implementing preparedness planning, training of health workers and providing health information for the public. He observed that while polio infrastructure can play an important part in addressing health emergencies like the Ebola outbreak, there is the need to remain focused on the goal of ending polio itself on the African continent.

It will be noted that dramatic progress has been made in the global effort to eradicate polio, with cases decreasing by 99 per cent since1988.These gains are attributable to the efforts of UN agencies such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF, working with other partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Reports indicate that Nigeria, one of the countries recently affected by Ebola, is the only country in Africa where polio remains endemic and one of only three endemic countries in the world, along with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Even at that, the country’s polio programme has proven its effectiveness through a constructive engagement of governments at all levels and traditional and religious leaders. Through this process, polio has declined dramatically in Nigeria with only six reported cases in two states in 2014, compared to 48 cases in nine states for the same period in 2013 – a reduction of over 85 per cent.

Even with this apparent success, a strong polio programme with the potential to help fight the spread of other diseases like Ebola cannot afford to let its guard down for a minute, when it is realised that the progress on polio is, at best, fragile.

It is pertinent, in our view, to state that existing health efforts like the global polio eradication programme can be leveraged to fight a crisis like Ebola. The benefit of putting this type of infrastructure in place makes a strident case for the health authorities to be more proactive on issues that have to do with critical areas of public health. In our opinion, it is not enough for key state officials to lament over actions not taken. What is needed and urgently too, are concerted and purpose-driven measures, designed to take care of emergencies before they occur.