Experts urge Nigeria to include professional cleaners in epidemic response plans

Two health and hygiene experts have called for the integration of professionally trained cleaning practitioners into the epidemic preparedness and response framework of Nigeria. The News Agency of Nigeria reported on Monday that the call was made during interviews in Abuja. The experts stated that excluding trained cleaners from emergency planning could undermine efforts to prevent the spread of infectious diseases such as Ebola. [1]

Olubunmi Fagbuyiro, the founder and convener of the Pan-African Industrial Cleaning Academy, warned against inadequate cleaning practices and cross-contamination. According to the News Agency of Nigeria, experts emphasized that professional cleaning is crucial for effective infection prevention and control during health crises. [1]

The West African Ebola epidemic between 2013 and 2016 was the most widespread outbreak of the disease in history. It mainly affected Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, while minor outbreaks occurred in Nigeria and Mali. [3]

Efforts to improve epidemic responses across the continent are ongoing. As FTMQ Health reported earlier, the Training Initiative for Modelling Epidemic Response in Africa recently opened applications for a fellowship to train 50 public health professionals in infectious disease modelling. [4]