Thread by @Chikwe_I

It has been an incredibly busy week for us. An important engagement for me, was a message to our State Epidemiologists working across the country.

Their role in national health security is critical and we’re constantly finding ways to support this

#NCDCSundayReflections

At the State level, the State Epidemiologist has the primary responsibility for outbreak prevention, preparedness, detection & response.

However, most State Epidemiologists work in difficult circumstances with few resources and training opportunities

At @NCDCgov, we recognise the importance of State Epidemiologists.

We are developing a policy that will professionalise this role and support their capacity to deliver on it.

Critical to this is to promote peer to peer collaboration and support.

State Epidemiologists should have a strong network that helps them learn from each other and share lessons from disease outbreaks.

With our new Strengthening States for Health Security strategy, we have a plan to build the capacity of our State Epidemiologists and develop a structured way to communicate with them

We’re only as strong as our weakest link and building the capacity of State Epidemiologists will be at the heart of our engagement to keep Nigerians protected from infectious disease threats