As genomic sequencing generation has advanced in the fight against COVID-19 globally, Nigeria is executing a strategy to integrate infectious diseases into the country’s genomic surveillance.
The strategy aims to improve preparedness and physical security in Nigeria. These efforts are in line with the WHO Global Genomic Surveillance Strategy for Pandemic and Epidemic Pathogens 2022-2032, which provides the procedure and accentuates genomic surveillance worldwide.
Contributing to this plan, the Federal Health Secretariat (FMOH), with that of the World Health Organization (WHO), recently conducted an investigation of the COVID-19 genomic surveillance scenario in the country.
Sequencing Building
The company was led by a team of technical experts from WHO’s Regional Offices in Africa and Nigeria, as well as the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and other components as part of genomic surveillance efforts in the African region.
In his first meeting with project delegates, the WHO National Representative in Nigeria, Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo, reiterated the importance of expanding sequencing in Africa.
He said strengthening genomic surveillance for biosafety in Nigeria and across the continent is one of WHO’s priorities.
“Genomic surveillance is for the early identification of emerging pathogens, as well as for the preparation of any long-term outbreaks. Nigeria is a big country, and if it can get it right with genomic sequencing, we will be well prepared to count diagnostics, vaccines, production and biosafety awareness.
With the resurgence of Lassa fever, monkeypox and other infectious diseases, we want to strengthen our sequencing capacity beyond COVID-19 to other diseases, hence the need for other laboratories and prospective methods to expand their sequencing capacity,” he said.
Capacity-building
During the visit, FMOH and WHO convened a stakeholder assembly to highlight and review surveillance and detection rules in the country.
Partners in the assembly included: the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the US Centre for Disease Control (US-CDC), the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), the Institute of Human Virology (IHVN), Resolve to save (RTSL), AFENET, WHO, National Laboratory Technical Working Group, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), GF-NACA-CR-19 and GF-NACA-RSSH.
In addition, the team visited five sequencing laboratories: the National Reference Laboratory (NRL), the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), the Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL), Lagos, the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics in Infectious Diseases (ACEGID) and the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), as well as decided on the PCR laboratories that support the reference standard formula in the country.
Emphasizing the importance of the operation, WHO’s Chief of Mission for AFRO, Dr Gumede-moeletsi Nelisiwe, said the project is a component of WHO’s strategy to strengthen sequencing and surveillance capacities in Africa to encounter fear variants (VOCs) and variants of interest. (VOI) by multiplex PCR assay and genomic sequencing.
“The scale in aims to improve the working knowledge of the sequencing infrastructure in the country and the reference system and pattern processing. This will help identify and interact with financial and technical partners active in the area of genomic surveillance to perceive the scope of help. and interventions needed for genomic sequencing capacity in Nigeria, he said.
Since 2021, the WHO country office in Nigeria has been working hard with WOHF for genomic surveillance with monetary donor assistance from the African Development Bank and the Common Health Fund, adding the European Union and the Foreign Office, Commonwealth and Development (CDFF).
Meanwhile, Dr. Emeka Ndodo, NCDC’s head of molecular bioengineering, said the NCDC has been at the forefront of supporting all subnational entities in physical reaction and that the facilities visited tend toward pandemic preparedness in the country.
Expanded Partnership
During a stopover at the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), a personal facility in the southwest region of Osun State, ACEGID Director Professor Christian Happi applauded the initiative to expand genomic surveillance to Nigeria and the wider African continent.
He said ACEGID has expanded its sequencing activities beyond COVID-19 to infectious diseases such as cholera, Lassa fever and s.
ACEGID is one of the regional repository and bioinformatics centres used through WHO and CDC Africa to provide sequencing, knowledge research and other technical facilities to neighbouring countries and other countries in its subregions.
In the early stages of the pandemic, only seven countries had sequencing capacity and others had to rely on the pattern reference system. its national public fitness laboratories.
Nigeria has contributed greatly to the COVID-19 genomic sequencing database with 7000 sequences in the Global Avian Influenza Data Sharing Initiative (GISAID).
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