President Muhammadu Buhari will be among African leaders and Heads of State attending the International Conference on Africa’s Fight Against Ebola, holding in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea from July 20 to 21, 2015.
The theme of the conference, which is being organized under the auspices of the African Union Commission, is: “Africa Helping Africans in Reconstruction and Recovery from Ebola.”
President Buhari, who is scheduled to address the gathering, will be represented by Linus Awute, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health.
The conference will bring together heads of government, ministers, experts, captains of industry and stakeholders, who will share experiences of their Ebola Virus Disease containment and support efforts.
A major objective of the confab is to seek support for post-Ebola recovery and reconstruction in the region, especially for those countries that have been adversely affected by the disease.
On the continent, the strategy to contain and eradicate the Ebola epidemic has been mapped out by each government with support from the World Health Organization, development partners and the private sector.
However, the conference will focus on “Africa helping Africa” in the spirit of African solidarity.
It will be recalled that Nigeria was certified Ebola free on October 20, 2014 by the World Health Organization.
Itt has also been constantly mentioned as a reference point for successful Ebola containment response.
Consequently, the President will share Nigeria’s experience in EVD containment and the Country Response Plan against the unlikely event of another outbreak.
A meeting of African Health Ministers will precede the AU Ebola Conference.
Health Ministers will convene for the meeting on “The Establishment of an Africa Centres for Disease Control” from July 17 to 19, also in Malabo.
Awute will head the delegates from Nigeria to the ministerial meeting.