Ebola Drug: Why Obama Turned Down Nigeria’s Request

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines Friday, August 8th, 2014

US President Barrack Obama has explained that Nigeria’s request for Ebola drug was rejected as it would be improper for the US to share such vaccine which was still at the experimentation level.

US President Barrack Obama

The decision to approach the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in Atlanta, was first disclosed on Wednesday in Abuja after the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja by the Ministers of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu and Information, Labaran Maku.

Alternatively, President Obama advised that Nigerian government should stick to prevention drives, checking and controlling of further outbreak of the deadly virus in the country.

“We’ve got to let the science guide us and I don’t think all the information is on whether this drug is helpful. The Ebola virus, both currently and in the past, is controllable if you have a strong public health infrastructure in place.

“The countries affected are the first to admit that what’s happened here is the public health systems have been overwhelmed. They weren’t able to identify and then isolate cases quickly enough.” the US President stressed.

Meanwhile, the Health Minister, Professor Chukwu has warned against closing all Nigeria borders, saying such move would affect movement in and out of the country as well as affect other social and economic activities, just as another Lagos based Medical Practitioner, Dr Peter Ogunubi has faulted the claims that using hot salty water to bath is a cure for EVD.

Dr. Ogunnubi while speaking during an interview in a Lagos private radio station and monitored by African Examiner, condemned the purported antidote, saying it did not have any good effect, instead was capable of causing more damaging health hazards like skin cancer.

He added that bitter Kola also lacked scientific backings as a vaccine for the virus which has claimed two lives in Nigeria, a Liberian, Mr. Patrick Sawyer and a nurse who had contact with him.