What Is The World Health Organization Waiting For?

The World Health Organization knew about the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria. In fact, it followed the development right from when the Liberian-American citizen brought it into the country (July 20th), to when the Nigerian government finally fought the deadly virus to a standstill…the question now is, what is the World Health Organization waiting for to declare Nigeria, an Ebola free country?

The death of Patrick Sawyer five days after he arrived Nigeria and checked into a medical facility in Obalende, Lagos State, put a team of World Health Organization experts on the trail of Nigeria. Experts who monitored and gave feedback to the public (to the international community) as regards the streaming status of the virus in the country. Expert whom after the Nigeria’s Health Minister, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, declared the last case Ebola patient completely okay, wrote and sent their “comprehensive” report to the organization’s headquarter with positive recommendations and commendations on the strength of the country to fight the deadly virus, as well as a shared satisfaction on awareness and preventive mechanisms put in place by both the Federal and State government. One of the experts in an interview said categorically, that “Nigeria is free again”. If Nigeria is free again according to the World Health Organization monitoring expert, why then has the organization not been able to declare to the rest of the world, that Nigeria as a country, is now FREE of the Ebola virus? Don’t the headquarter trust the recommendations or judgment of the experts it sent?

Though the World Health Organization is yet to declare Nigeria a “Free Ebola Nation”, however, the name NIGERIA has been removed amongst countries in Africa, or the world as the case maybe, with a threat of the virus – a relief you say right? As much as we as a country, pledge our unflinching support as Africa’s giant, to countries still battling with the virus, we would love the World Health Organization to make that pronouncement as it did when the virus entered Nigeria. I don’t think this is too big a request to make considering the givens.