Former Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, has said that the establishment of the NCDC’s biomedical engineering team was crucial for the Covid-19 pandemic response.
During an interview with ARISE NEWS on Wednesday, Ihekweazu highlighted that “when I got to NCDC, there was not a single biomedical engineer in the entire parastatal.”
He explained that after recruiting a few early graduates and partnering with development organisations like Japan and the U.S. for training, “we set up the first biomedical engineering team at NCDC.” This team, he noted, was “the team with the highest demands in my five years in NCDC.”
Ihekweazu discussed the challenges faced during his tenure, emphasising that “no part of the country can work if part of it is not working.”
He added that the NCDC grew significantly during his leadership, from 80 to 500 staff members.
He credited the team’s achievements to “three years of working” before the pandemic, which laid the groundwork for their response efforts.
Reflecting on the broader challenges, Ihekweazu stressed that solving Nigeria’s problems requires “hard work, diligence, and the right expertise,” not just in healthcare but across sectors like education and maritime.
He also urged that leadership should focus on “getting the right people in the right positions” to drive meaningful change.
He further noted the importance of building and maintaining infrastructure, stating, “There’s a lot to criticise about our country from the outside, but when we are inside you can also see why it works and why it doesn’t.”
Ihekweazu shared that his book, “An Imperfect Storm” which will be available on August 8, offers insights from his experience and reflections on Nigeria’s development challenges.
NNEOMA UDENSI
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