By Agbafo Ijeoma
The Federal Government and the ECOWAS Regional Centre for Surveillance and Disease Control (ECOWAS-RCSDC) have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening risk communication and community engagement to improve regional health security across West Africa.
The commitment was made on Wednesday in Abuja at the opening of a three-day regional capacity-building workshop on Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE), organised to strengthen regional preparedness and emergency response systems.
Speaking at the event, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, represented by Dr Tochi Okwor, said infectious diseases ignored national borders, making coordinated preparedness, trusted communication and active community participation essential across the ECOWAS region.
Pate said effective surveillance required public trust and transparent communication, adding that the ECOWAS-RCSDC had played a key role in harmonising surveillance systems and strengthening cross-border disease prevention and control efforts. He described the workshop as timely, particularly in view of ongoing Ebola outbreaks in neighbouring African countries.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of the ECOWAS-RCSDC, Dr Mamadou Diarrassouba, represented by Dr Babacar Fall, said community trust remained the foundation of effective emergency response. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that participants will assess Ebola preparedness, review RCCE capacities, identify operational gaps and update the regional roadmap for 2026–2027, while strengthening rumour management, social listening and community engagement across member states.
