Institut Pasteur de Dakar forms alliances to strengthen epidemic preparedness, response in West Africa

By Sola Charles

The Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) has partnered with the African Risk Capacity, ARC, AfriCatalyst, and the West African Health Organisation, WAHO, to strengthen outbreak preparedness and response to high-consequence infectious diseases in West Africa. The targeted diseases include Ebola, Marburg, Lassa fever, Meningococcal meningitis, Monkeypox, and other emerging pathogens of concern. 

A statement by the IPD said that the partnership will also evaluate the capacities for epidemiological surveillance and laboratory diagnostics for viral haemorrhagic fevers in the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS.

Further, it will model the risk of new and re-emerging outbreaks and epidemics in the region and put in place epidemic contingency plans and countermeasures. 

As a WHO collaborating centre for arboviruses, the IPD will provide expert opinion to enhance the capacity of the programme to evaluate surveillance and laboratory capacities in the region.

It will also support the development of realistic outbreak scenarios deployed to prepare ECOWAS member states in their training and preparedness for response and national contingency plans.

The CEO, of IPD, Dr. Amadou Alpha Sall, noted: “The Alliance represents a unique partnership of leading African institutions with a global outlook that brings expertise in science, policy, governance, and finance to advance global public health security through epidemic intelligence and outbreak response. 

“As the project meets its goals, the Alliance will represent a critically important convergence of complementary expertise to promote health security in Africa and mitigate the risk of global threats spreading to and from the region.”

On his part, the Chief Executive Officer at AfriCatalyst, Daouda Sembene, noted: “We look forward to supporting the critical work being undertaken by ARC, WAHO, and IPD in the context of the Alliance to strengthen epidemic preparedness and response in our region. We’re thrilled to be partnering with the BMGF as we fulfill this unique responsibility.” 

United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and ARC Group Director General, Ibrahima Cheikh Diong, said ARC will continue to develop Outbreaks & Epidemics risk insurance products to enable early containment of epidemic-prone diseases and respond to acute public health emergencies.

The IPD is rising to the challenge of scaling new innovations, tools, and systems to contribute to the global effort to end epidemics and prevent pandemics. 

NGF, SCI seek stronger political support for breastfeeding in Nigeria

By Sola Charles

In continuation of their commitment to the survival and welfare of children, Save the Children International (SCI) and the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) are seeking stronger political support for breastfeeding in Nigeria. 

Noting that breastmilk is a natural, free, accessible, and rich nutritious source of all valuable nutrients that save lives, and serve as a vaccine, the two bodies called on the government at all levels, and all stakeholders to promote, protect, support, and sustain breastfeeding-friendly environments for lactating mothers and their babies in the post-pandemic era. 

 Making the call on the occasion of the 2022 World Breastfeeding Week, SCI and the NGF stressed that health workers, professionals, and their professional associations should be key advocates for breastfeeding and play an important role in influencing political support.  

World Breastfeeding Week 2022 focuses on strengthening the capacity of different relevant actors; health workers and other structures at community levels that must take positive actions to promote, protect and support breastfeeding. It enhances child growth and development, increases their performance at school, improves immunity to withstand diseases, and savings from household income. 

"If breastfeeding were adopted at close to universal levels, in low- and middle-income countries, 823,000 child deaths could be prevented each year," SCI indicated in its report entitled “Nutrition Critical: Why we must act now to tackle child malnutrition (2020).”

Further, the body explained that breastfeeding would lead to global savings of $300 billion per year, as a result of enhancing human capacity – increasing intelligence, and boosting adult earning potential.  

The report further revealed that early initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of life, alongside exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and complementary feeding until the age of two, is essential to child survival, health, growth, and development. 

Both the SCI and NGF expressed the belief that health workers, professionals, and their professional associations should be key advocates for breastfeeding and play an important role in influencing political support for breastfeeding in Nigeria.  

"Our organization has been in support of the full boarding of health and medical facilities at workplaces and in fact, as a proactive organization, we have a functional creche in our office where nursing mothers can keep their offspring and we recommend that all organizations should make provision for such to enhance baby/mother bonding without necessarily affecting their jobs adversely,’’ the Director-General of the NGF, Mr. Asishana Bayo Okauru noted in his statement.

On his own part, Mr. Famari Barro, Country Director, SCI, Nigeria observed: “Proper education of the mothers and their caregivers/support systems on the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding, can encourage them to practice it. All health workers, including health professionals and lay health workers, who come into contact with women, infants and families must be adequately trained to provide evidence-based breastfeeding support.” 

Already, the leadership of SCI and NGF are working together to support initiatives where health care workers and providers, community workers, and volunteers are adequately trained to provide breastfeeding counselling, correctly advise caregivers on child nutrition, and provide psycho-social support to pregnant women, women with infants and young children and adolescent girls, thus integrating Mental Health & Psychosocial support into all Mother Infant and Young Child Feeding (MIYCF) counselling. 

"We are also focused on ensuring pregnant women and caregivers of children less than two years of age benefit from social protection measures to support appropriate, respectful, and safe maternity services and recommended infant and young child feeding practices in Nigeria." 

Save the Children is a leading child rights organization headquartered in the UK with offices in over 120 countries around the world. Since it was founded 102 years ago, it has changed the lives of more than one billion children for the better. 

In Nigeria and around the world, SCI gives children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn, and protection from harm. SCI believes that every child deserves a future and we work every day including in
times of crisis to ensure the future of every child is secure. The organization works with partners to help governments identify and scale up innovations to ensure that children survive, learn, and are protected.   

The NGF is a coalition of elected Governors of the 36 States of Nigeria. It is the leading voice of Governors and a non-partisan policy hub dedicated to promoting good governance and development at the sub-national level.