BY OLAPEJU OLUBI
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) on Tuesday, 5th November 2024, at the Headquarters of the NCDC in Abuja signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on data sharing and information exchange.
According to a statement from both agencies, the primary goal is to create a structured framework for data sharing and collaboration that supports Enhanced Situational Awareness (ESA), particularly for climate-sensitive diseases like cholera and malaria.
The partnership will also help correlate climate patterns with disease outbreaks, enabling better predictive models and risk assessments.
Signing the MoU which is set for an initial period of four years, with provisions for renewal based on mutual agreement, the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of NiMet, Charles Anosike said that the signing of the MoU is a significant achievement and is well worth it for both agencies because the changing weather patterns is continuously posing threats and severe challenges on health and well-being. “Climate change is the most impactful threat to our health. This partnership with NCDC will ensure that we improve our systems to go beyond what we are doing currently. It is a really important partnership for us to enhance preparedness and response to climate disasters.
These are critical components of the early warning system, which is an initiative of the United Nations.
It is important that we all make that investment so that we can protect all our citizens from climate disaster, Prof. Anosike said.
In his remarks, the Director General of NCDC, Dr Jide Idris said that the collaboration with NiMet marks the beginning of the sharing of data, expertise, and resources that will help NCDC to monitor climatic and disease issues. “This will help NCDC to improve our ability to prevent and respond to public health threats in Nigeria.
This will not only strengthen the collaboration between the NCDC and NiMet but will further benefit the entire Nigeria. We will continue to embark on this journey that will bring prosperity to Nigeria and that will lead to not just a healthier nation but climatic resilient Nigeria”, Dr. Idris said.
Among the expected benefits of the NiMet and NCDC collaboration are improved disease preparedness and response through timely climate and health data, enhanced ability to predict outbreaks based on climate indicators, strengthened institutional capacity for both NiMet and NCDC, benefiting Nigeria’s public health and resilience to climate change impacts.
