Strategic Lessons Learned from The Management of Covid-19 That Can Influence Better Management of Future Pandemics in Nigeria.

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 is the causative agent for COVID-19. The virus first identified in Wuhan, China in 2019. Nigeria was the first sub–Saharan African country to record a case of COVID-19 after an imported case from Italy was confirmed on February 27, 2020.  Globally, as of 7:06 pm CET, 23 December 2021, there have been 276,436,619 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 5,374,744 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 23 December 2021, 8,649,057,088 vaccine doses have been administered. In Nigeria, from 3 January 2020 to 7:06pm CET, 23 December 2021, there have been 231,413 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 2,991 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 22 December 2021, 13,498,938 vaccine doses have been administered. It is a heartening news that the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 and associated death rate has remained low. However, it is troubling that the number of vaccine doses so far administered has remained significantly low. The Nigerian government have tried to curb the spread of the virus by enacting enabling laws like the total lockdown, curfew, closure of schools, ban on religious, social gatherings, implementing the use facemask, social distancing, effective hand washing and sanitization. The government seems to be doing her best to manage the pandemic. There are however, a number of challenges and lessons learnt thus far that may need to be taken into consideration in the management of this evolving Covid-19 and future pandemics. The provision of palliatives in the face of lockdown imposed at the early stage of the pandemic could have been
better managed and not politicized, there is need to build local capacity to locally produce lifesaving PPE’s and sanitizers, there is also the need to hold a significant stockpile of essential medicines and medical supplies that is recycled regularly, investment and integration of relevant technologies into the educational system as well as well as the promotion of remote teaching through online learning management systems such as Canvas, Zoom, Edmodo, Google 138 Classroom and Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp and availability of universal internet coverage across the educational system; businesses need to develop capacity for their staff to work
remotely from home, there is need to build capacity (human and material) for pandemic management, capacity to manage mental health challenges associated with lockdowns will need to be improved upon, effective risk communication is vital to allow for an efficient recovery through planning and awareness. There is need for collaboration among all stakeholders to develop a coordinated risk communication approach for all sectors to minimize COVID-19's impact on the economy and the socio-political domain. Community engagement is important to establish accountability of behavioral changes. There is need for the FGN to increase the funding for epidemic preparedness, enhance our surveillance and database system, upscale research and development, influence policies, motivate health workers, strengthen the public health emergency network, partnerships and support of innovations. The prices of food, cost of agricultural equipment, fertilizers and seed should be subsidized, agricultural loans and grants should be provided for farmers, the problem of insurgency and insecurity in Northern Nigeria, and other parts of the nation should be aggressively dealt with, aggressive public health interventions and restrictions against mass gatherings should be sustained in the face of a ravaging pandemic like Covid-19 and other future epidemic, the Nigerian Central banks and commercial banks should do more in supporting businesses to enable them weather the storm created by the pandemic by providing liquidity support, borrower assistance, monetary easing for struggling businesses as well as extend banking services including cash dispensing ATM and online banking services and internet connectivity in rural settings across the nation, religious community need to work in partnership with government to ensure strict implementation of infection control measures (hand washing, use of sanitizers, social distancing, prompt testing for members at risk as well as vaccination advocacy) as well as develop a Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) regarding gatherings during times of infectious disease epidemics/pandemics, isolation centers must be fit for purpose and the environment should be conducive and enabling in terms of comfort and availability of equipment, staffing and protective equipment required. These issues will go a long way in helping us better manage this evolving Covid -19 and other future pandemics. It is public health and humanitarian imperative that vaccines are available to everyone across the globe. Vaccinating all populations in developed and developing countries seems the only logical way of bringing the world closer to the end of this deadly pandemic