Lagos State kicks off the 7th African Conference on One Health and Biosecurity
Peace Omenka
Τhe 7th African Conference on One Health and Biosecurity commenced yesterday in the city of Lagos. The three-day program centers on the theme; ‘Universal Approach to Addressing Biosecurity Threats: Genomic Intelligence and Vaccines’.
The event kicked off with the opening remark of the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, with the Governor of Lagos State Babajide Sanwo-Olu in attendance.
The commissioner, in his address, stated that climate change has become the major issue globally which is the resultant effect of deforestation and environmental degradation spurred by massive rural migration to urban locations.
Professor Abayomi noted that the emergence of infectious diseases on an increasing basis is largely caused by the ease of movement.
The commissioner also stated that infrastructure is one crucial necessity that cannot be overemphasized especially in the age of genomic intelligence. This calls for the establishment of biosecurity facilities to diagnose, manipulate and conduct researches.
According to Professor Abayomi, it is the responsibility of the government to equip the state and country for potential outbreaks. As it is usual for pandemics to come in waves, the Professor stated that what we do between waves is important. Therefore, the goal during an outbreak is to flatten every wave. He emphasised how integral it is, most especially with the coming festive season which may usher a fourth wave in Lagos.
The commissioner also noted that now more than ever, there is a need to build significant capacity.
The World Health Organization (WHO) have implored nations to practice the world health paradigm. Hence, Lagos State has moved to develop Infectious Disease Research institutions to curb exposure to the disease in the state.
Professor Christian Happi, a Professor at the Redeemer’s University also gave a speech on the theme, ‘Addressing Genomics and Bioinformatics Research Gap in Africa’.
The professor noted that the issue of genomics is paramount as a few years back, there was an obvious discovery of how genomics was changing the paradigm in Medicine. However, Africa was yet to contribute to the uprising development.
The establishment of the platform, African Center of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID) was to help bridge the gap in Africa. The platform’s mission was to bring Africa together to apply the knowledge of genomics in addressing the problems of infectious disease in the content.
The two-pronged approaches employed to deal with these gaps are Education and Research. These created an effective system to research the Ebola Virus as well as the prevalent covid-19 pandemic.
Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Executive Governor of Lagos State during his remark stated that the government will not reduce its spending on human capital development. He also disclosed that Lagos State is building the biggest mental health infrastructure in the country as well as the biggest children hospital in the whole of West Africa.
The Governor also noted that in the last six months, the state has established two massive hospitals well furnished and in compliance with global standards.
According to the governor, the state has begun preparation for the fourth phase of covid-19 vaccination.
He commended the team of medical doctors, health experts and individuals contributing to the state development and helping to curb the pandemic in the country. He further noted that Lagos will leave nothing to chance.
Other speakers at the event include Vice Admiral AZ Gambo, Chief of the Naval Staff, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Ayodotun Babayode, Professor Mayowa Owolabi, Professor Alan Christoffels, Director South African Bioinformatics Institute, and Dr. Mohammed Abdulaziz, Head of Division for Disease Control and Prevention.