Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State
The Lagos State Government is already looking beyond COVID-19 in the interest of the health and safety of Lagosians.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos State governor, stated this while speaking and declaring open the 7th African Conference on One Health and Biosecurity themed ‘Universal Approach to Addressing Biosecurity Threats: Genomic Intelligence and Vaccines’ organised by the Global Emerging Pathogens Treatment Consortium (GET) with the support of Lagos State Ministry of Health at the Civic Centre in Lagos.
He said the COVID-19 pandemic remained unforgettable for all and for most of the world, just as he recalled how the state was able to fight against the pandemic by reducing bureaucracy to ensure a swift response to the coronavirus threat.
The Governor said the Ebola incident that happened in 2014 gave the state a seeming pathway to understanding the issues around biosecurity and also gave the state a strong awakening at that time.
He said with the help of the state’s partners since 2014 the state had been able to build a level 2 and level 3 biosecurity laboratory which is a hybrid biosafety laboratory facility that also has a bio-bank and drives the Lagos State biosecurity roadmap.
He also said that the state was building the biggest mental health facility in Nigeria and also building the biggest children’s hospital in sub-Saharan Africa.
Speaking further Sanwo-Olu noted that health and education had continued to receive priority in the scheme of things in the life of his administration which resulted in the gradual improvement in the allocation in the state’s budget of the two areas of public concern.
The Governor however assured that his administration would not leave anything to chance in its resolve to make Lagos safe and healthy for all, noting that the state government had continued to invest in humans and materials to address the biosecurity threats to Lagos State and Nigeria.
Professor Akin Abayomi, the State’s Commissioner for Health in his opening remarks predicted that the likelihood of a fourth wave was apparent in Lagos because of the huge population and due to the forthcoming festivities period of celebration.
He however assured that the state government was ready to combat it, even as he soliciting the support and cooperation of residents of the state to defeat coronavirus.
Abayomi recalled how the state had taken the lead in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic due to the foresight and sterling leadership of the Incident Commander and Governor of the state who seemed to have had an inkling of the likely health challenges to confront the citizenry with the THEMES agenda of his administration which focused on health and environment.
