CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE ROLES OF NCDC AND WHO IN COVID-19 PANDEMIC MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL MEASURES

Abstract

This study was on critical analysis of the roles of NCDC and WHO in covid19 pandemic management and control measures. Three objectives were raised which included: To find out the role played by NCDC in covid19 pandemic management and control measures in Nigeria, to find out responsibility of WHO in covid19 pandemic management and control measures and to find out the challenges of NCDC and WHO in managing and controlling covid19. The total population for the study is 75 staffs of NCDC, Abuja. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies. The study recommended that the major challenges of these two bodies to carryout their work perfectly is financial challenge, the study hereby urge government, NGOs to support in controlling covid19 pandemic

Chapter one

Introduction

1.1Background of the study

In late 2019, a novel coronavirus, now designated SARS-CoV-2, was identified as the cause of an outbreak of acute respiratory illness in Wuhan, a city in the Hubei province of China. In February 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated the disease COVID-19, which stands for coronavirus disease 2019. The clinical presentation of 2019-nCoV infection ranges from asymptomatic to very severe pneumonia with acute respiratory distress syndrome, septic shock and multi-organ failure, which may result in death. On January 30, 2020, the WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak a public health emergency of international concern and, in March 2020, began to characterize it as a pandemic in order to emphasize the gravity of the situation and urge all countries to take action in detecting infection and preventing spread

The virus that causes COVID-19 is thought to spread mainly from person to person, mainly through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs. Other routes have also been implicated in the transmission of coronaviruses, such as contact with contaminated fomites and inhalation of aerosols, produced during aerosol generating procedures. Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from asymptomatic individuals (or individuals within the incubation period) has also been described. However, the extent to which this occurs remains unknown

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is the national public health institute for Nigeria. It is a federal government agency under the Federal Ministry of Health (Nigeria), with its headquarters in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (wikipedia.org)

The agency’s goal is to protect Nigerians from the impact of communicable diseases through the coordination of public health preparedness, surveillance, laboratory, and response functions for all infectious diseases. The NCDC targets its activities towards the prevention and control of diseases of public health importance. This includes the preparedness, detection and response to public health emergencies, research, training and knowledge management, health promotion and other activities to protect the health of Nigerians (wikipedia.org)

The World Health Organization (WHO) is a leading organization involved in the global coordination for mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic, within the broader United Nations response to the pandemic (WHO, 2021)

On January 5, 2020, the WHO notified the world about a “pneumonia of unknown cause” in China and subsequently began investigating the disease. On January 20, the WHO confirmed human-to-human transmission of the disease. On January 30, the WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern and warned all countries. On March 11, the WHO said that the outbreak constituted a pandemic. By October 5 of the same year, the WHO estimated that a tenth of the world’s population had been infected with the novel virus. (WHO, 2021)

The WHO has spearheaded several initiatives, such as the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund to raise money for the pandemic response, the UN COVID-19 Supply Chain Task Force, and the solidarity trial for investigating potential treatment options for the disease. The COVAX program, co-led by the WHO, Gavi, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), aims to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.

The WHO’s handling of the initial outbreak required a “diplomatic balancing act” between member states, in particular between the United States and China. On August 27, 2020, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that an independent expert committee will be established to examine various aspects of the international treaty that governs preparedness and response to health emergencies. A WHO-led international mission arrived in China in January 2021 to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, and released preliminary findings the following month (WHO, 2021)

Statement of the problem

To prioritize countries for support during COVID-19, WHO and NCDC has used several of the tools and platforms that have been developed and strengthened since 2016 to assess national health emergency preparedness and response capacities in line with the International Health Regulations. Assessments of national operational readiness to respond to COVID-19, and their vulnerability and risk, were based on a combination of the results reported through the self-assessment International Health Regulations State. Based on this, the researcher wants to investigate the critical analysis of the roles of NCDC and WHO in covid19 pandemic management and control measures

Objective of the study

The objectives of the study are;

1. To find out the role played by NCDC in covid19 pandemic management and control measures in Nigeria
2. To find out responsibility of WHO in covid19 pandemic management and control measures
3. To find out the challenges of NCDC and WHO in managing and controlling covid19

Research question

1. What is the role played by NCDC in covid19 pandemic management and control measures in Nigeria?
2. What are the responsibilities of WHO in covid19 pandemic management and control measures?
3. What are the challenges of NCDC and WHO in managing and controlling covid19?

Research hypotheses

The study formulated the following research hypotheses;

H0: there is no role played by NCDC in covid19 pandemic management and control measures in Nigeria

H1: there is role played by NCDC in covid19 pandemic management and control measures in Nigeria

H0: there are no responsibilities of WHO in covid19 pandemic management and control measures

H2: there are responsibilities of WHO in covid19 pandemic management and control measures

H0: there are no challenges of NCDC and WHO in managing and controlling covid19

H3: there are challenges of NCDC and WHO in managing and controlling covid19

Significance of the study

The study will be very significant to students and the Nigeria as a whole. The study will give a clear insight on the roles of NCDC and WHO in covid19 pandemic management and control measures. The result of the study will help us to abide to the measures in controlling covid19 pandemic. The study will also serve as a reference to other researcher that will embark on the related topic

Scope and limitation of the study

The scope of the study will covers critical analysis of the roles of NCDC and WHO in covid19 pandemic management and control measures

Limitations/constraints are inevitable in carrying out a research work of this nature. However, in the course of this research, the following constraints were encountered thus:

1. Non-availability of enough resources (finance): A work of this nature is very tasking financially, money had to be spent at various stages of the research such resources which may aid proper carrying out of the study were not adequately available.
2. Time factor: The time used in carrying out the research work is relatively not enough to bring the best information out of it. However, I hope that the little that is contained in this study will go a long way in solving many greater problems.

NCDC: Nigeria Centre for Disease Control

WHO: World Health Organization

COVID19: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus

Control: the power to influence or direct people’s behaviour or the course of events.

Measure: ascertain the size, amount, or degree of (something) by using an instrument or device marked in standard units.

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