Ihekweazu: Building NCDC’s Biomedical Engineering Team Was Crucial for Covid-19 Pandemic Response

Former Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, has said that the constitution of the NCDC’s biomedical engineering squad was important for the Covid-19 pandemic response.

During an interrogation with ARISE NEWS connected Wednesday, Ihekweazu highlighted that “when I got to NCDC, determination was not a azygous biomedical technologist successful the full parastatal.”

He explained that aft recruiting a fewer aboriginal graduates and partnering with improvement organisations similar Japan and the U.S. for training, “we acceptable up the archetypal biomedical engineering squad astatine NCDC.” This team, helium noted, was “the squad with the highest demands successful my 5 years successful NCDC.”

Ihekweazu discussed the challenges faced during his tenure, emphasising that “no portion of the state tin enactment if portion of it is not working.”

He added that the NCDC grew importantly during his leadership, from 80 to 500 unit members.

He credited the team’s achievements to “three years of working” earlier the pandemic, which laid the groundwork for their effect efforts.

Reflecting connected the broader challenges, Ihekweazu stressed that solving Nigeria’s problems requires “hard work, diligence, and the close expertise,” not conscionable successful healthcare but crossed sectors similar acquisition and maritime.

He besides urged that enactment should absorption connected “getting the close radical successful the close positions” to thrust meaningful change.

He further noted the value of gathering and maintaining infrastructure, stating, “There’s a batch to criticise astir our state from the outside, but erstwhile we are wrong you tin besides spot wherefore it works and wherefore it doesn’t.”

Ihekweazu shared that his book, “An Imperfect Storm” which volition beryllium disposable connected August 8, offers insights from his acquisition and reflections connected Nigeria’s improvement challenges.

NNEOMA UDENSI

The station Ihekweazu: Building NCDC’s Biomedical Engineering Team Was Crucial for Covid-19 Pandemic Response appeared archetypal connected Arise News.