Following outbreaks of the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus in parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, a strain for which there is no widely available licensed vaccine or specific antiviral treatment, the Lagos State Government last Sunday said it had launched a statewide emergency public awareness campaign tagged “Operation Lagos BioShield” to strengthen surveillance and prevent the possible importation of the Ebola virus into the state.
It must be noted, however, that the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, reassured residents that there was currently no confirmed case of Ebola in Lagos or anywhere in Nigeria, stressing that the campaign is a preventive response aimed at keeping the state ahead of any potential threat.
The Operation Lagos BioShield strategy is built on the core principles of detect, report and respond and is divided into three activation tiers – green, amber, and red. The key operational components and pillars of the initiative include surveillance and points of entry; diagnosis and laboratory capacity; isolation and case management; rapid response and governance; and risk communication and public awareness.
The public is admonished to cooperate. If you develop symptoms – such as fever, weakness, vomiting, diarrhoea, or unexplained bleeding – after travelling from an affected region, you are advised to limit contact with others and immediately contact the Lagos State Ministry of Health via emergency numbers 112, 767, or directly to the state epidemiologist at 08023169485.
Nevertheless, I think we should also review lessons from the past Ebola outbreak. There are moments in the life of a nation when history quietly hands over a report card. One such moment arrived in Nigeria in July 2014 when a Liberian traveller carrying the Ebola virus landed in Lagos. Then, the disease had already become a nightmare in parts of West Africa. It had left fear, death and uncertainty in its wake. The expectation among many international observers was that if Ebola found its way into Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, the consequences could be catastrophic.
Yet, something remarkable happened. Nigeria rose above its familiar weaknesses and demonstrated what is possible when institutions work, professionals are empowered, and citizens cooperate. Within a few months, the country had contained what could have become one of the worst public health disasters in modern African history. The World Health Organisation would later describe Nigeria’s response as a “spectacular success story” and officially declare the country Ebola-free after 42 days without a new case.
More than a decade later, however, one must ask: Have we preserved the lessons of that victory, or have we returned to our dangerous culture of amnesia? The answer matters because biological threats have not disappeared. If anything, they have become more complex.
From Ebola and Lassa Fever to COVID-19, Monkeypox and emerging zoonotic diseases, the world is entering an era where outbreaks may become more frequent and more disruptive. Climate change, population growth, urbanisation, and increased human movement across borders are creating ideal conditions for infectious diseases to spread. In this new reality, Nigeria requires more than emergency response plans. It requires a permanent national Bio-Shield.
A Bio-Shield is the collective system of surveillance, prevention, public education and rapid response that protects a nation from biological threats before they become disasters. While hospitals and laboratories remain important components of this system, they are not the frontline. The frontline is the community. And at that frontline stands a cadre of professionals whose strategic importance remains grossly underappreciated: Environmental Health Officers.
Before a patient reaches an isolation centre, someone must identify unusual symptoms. Before a disease spreads through a market, someone must educate the public. Before a virus crosses a border undetected, someone must be watching. That “someone” is often an environmental health officer. Across Nigeria’s local government areas, ports, border communities, airports, markets, schools and rural settlements, environmental health officers perform the difficult but indispensable work of disease surveillance, sanitation monitoring, environmental inspections, risk communication and community engagement.
They are the foot soldiers of public health. Unfortunately, they are also among the least recognised. During disease outbreaks, public attention naturally focuses on doctors and nurses battling to save lives in hospitals. Their sacrifices deserve every commendation. Yet there is another battle that receives far less visibility – the battle to prevent infections from occurring in the first place.
That battle belongs largely to environmental health officers. Their role becomes even more critical when dealing with diseases such as Ebola. Unlike many illnesses that spread through the air, Ebola transmission occurs through direct contact with infected persons, bodily fluids, contaminated materials and unsafe burial practices. Preventing such transmission requires intensive community-level monitoring, behavioural change communication, contact tracing support and environmental sanitation measures.
These are precisely the areas where environmental health officers possess unique expertise. Nigeria’s experience in 2014 demonstrated that early detection and community engagement are among the most powerful tools against Ebola. Yet many local governments today face severe shortages of Environmental Health personnel.
Recognising the gap, the then-President Goodluck Jonathan announced the Federal Government would employ about 400 environmental health officers to help boost the national response to the outbreak. But after Ebola disappeared, nobody heard anything about the employment anymore. My personal enquiry at the Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria revealed that the government did not carry through with the announced plan.
In some councils, recruitment has remained frozen for years despite increasing public health challenges. This is a dangerous oversight.
A nation of over 230 million people cannot build an effective Bio-Shield while neglecting the workforce specifically trained to protect communities from environmental and infectious disease threats.
Government at all levels should therefore embark on a strategic programme to recruit, train and deploy thousands of additional environmental health officers across the federation. Such a programme would produce multiple benefits. First, it would strengthen disease surveillance at the grassroots. Environmental health officers live and work among the people. They are often the first public health professionals to notice unusual disease patterns, sanitation failures or emerging risks within communities.
Second, it would improve border health security. Nigeria’s extensive land borders remain vulnerable entry points for infectious diseases. While technological systems and screening equipment are important, nothing replaces trained personnel capable of observing, investigating and responding to potential threats on the ground. Environmental Health Officers stationed at border communities and transit corridors can serve as an early warning system against imported diseases.
Third, it would enhance public awareness. One of the greatest challenges during outbreaks is misinformation. Rumours travel faster than viruses. During the 2014 Ebola outbreak, many Nigerians resorted to unscientific remedies because of widespread fear and confusion. A strengthened environmental health workforce would provide credible health education at the community level, helping citizens distinguish facts from dangerous myths.
Fourth, it would create jobs while improving national security. Public health security is national security. Every environmental health officer employed represents another trained professional protecting communities, reducing disease risks and strengthening national resilience. The economic cost of employing thousands of environmental health officers would be insignificant compared to the devastating human and financial consequences of a major Ebola outbreak.
If Nigeria is serious about constructing a durable Bio-Shield against Ebola and future epidemics, then employing, equipping and empowering environmental health officers may be one of the smartest investments the nation can make. History has already shown us what happens when preparedness works. The challenge now is whether we have the wisdom to strengthen the very workforce that makes preparedness possible.
In the twenty-first century, national security is no longer measured solely by the number of soldiers at the nation’s borders. It is also measured by the number of trained public health personnel standing guard against invisible enemies. Ebola taught Nigeria that a virus can threaten national stability as surely as any armed adversary. The environmental health officer, therefore, is not merely a sanitation inspector; he or she is a sentinel of national security. Building Nigeria’s Bio-Shield begins with recognising this reality.