Immediate Response to COVID-19 Pandemic for Effective Border Management in Nigeria

IOM in anticipation of the opening of the airspaces, proposes to equip the selected points of entries (PoEs) with necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) and other tools necessary for adequate border management through a public health emergency lens. In line with the National COVID-19 Multi-Sectorial Pandemic Response Plan's pillar on PoEs, IOM seeks to strengthen and increase surveillance at PoEs, including capacity building of the relevant PoE entities. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has in this Response Plan detailed the type of PPEs and materials that the Port Health Services (PHS) and the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) would need to adequately protect themselves while in the line of duty as front-line workers. Central to infection, prevention and control (IPC) is the strengthening of weak water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) systems at PoEs, in some instances, these are non-existent and will need to be established. WASH systems play an important role in IPC, and it is important to ensure that PoEs are decked out with the necessary infrastructure to ensure that IPC is effectively conducted. To complement all the aforementioned interventions, IOM will seek to provide the PHS with computers to enable them to establish electronic system for adequate border management.