Assessment of Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response at a Nigerian Port of Entry in Seme, Lagos-Nigeria: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background: The international health regulation (IHR, 2005) are a set of legally binding working instrument for the member Nations of the World Health Organization (WHO) that seek to help countries minimize the impact and spread diseases considered as Public Health threat. as it requires countries to develop, strengthen and maintain the capacities to detect, assess, notify and report Public Health events at the Member countries' earliest convenience but before June 2012.This study, therefore, sets out to assess Public Health emergency preparedness and Response at Seme land border, Nigeria. Since Ports of Entry (PoE), were identified as potential areas of implementing the IHR provisions.

Objectives: To assess the preparedness and Response, role of Health workforce and available Human Resource that can partake in Public Health emergency preparedness and Response in the event of Public Health emergencies.

Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study using the qualitative technique approach conducted at Seme Border. Respondents were purposively enrolled. Thematic analysis was used to generate the report.

 Results: Based on WHO standard, the Human Resource was limited. It was also found from this work, that the study area lacks adequate capacity for Public Health emergency preparedness and eventual Response to events of Public Health emergencies. Worthy of note is the effort of a Non-governmental organisation that is working to develop a document on emergency preparedness and response.

 Conclusion and Recommendation: Effort should be made to have multidisciplinary Human Resource and Public Health risk and resource mapping that will help to withstand any emergency threats in PoEs, this is important as Seme Border was proposed as designated points of entry (PoE) to implement IHR (2005).