ECOWAS must match words with action to defeat Lassa fever: Tomori

Virologist Oyewale Tomori has called on West African governments to take concrete steps to defeat Lassa fever, a viral haemorrhagic disease that continues to ravage the region.

Tomori, a former president of the Nigerian Academy of Science, made the call in his keynote address at the second International Lassa Fever Conference on Monday in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

According to him, although progress has been made since the first conference in 2019, many of the challenges identified then still persist.

It seeks to reaffirm regional commitment, mobilise political will, and drive collective action against Lassa fever and other emerging infectious diseases.

Mr Tomori disclosed that an estimated 100,000 to 300,000 Lassa fever cases occur annually, with about 5,000 deaths, mostly in West Africa, despite decades of research and intervention efforts.

“ECOWAS must match words with action. Without genuine political will and government ownership, we will continue to recycle the same promises and hold meetings without meaningful action,” he said.

Highlighting the achievements since 2019, he cited the establishment of five major laboratories capable of testing epidemic-prone diseases and conducting genomic sequencing.

The virologist also cited the expansion of field epidemiology training programmes and the deployment of community-level surveillance platforms across ministries.

He, however, complained that several gaps remained, including the absence of a licensed vaccine, uneven access to diagnostics, donor-dependent funding, weak cross-border coordination, and a persistent stigma that delays patients from seeking care.

He urged ECOWAS member states to invest more resources, strengthen regional surveillance systems, and accelerate vaccine research and community-led interventions.

“The 2025 conference is a wake-up call for us to take bold and coordinated steps.

“We cannot continue to rely on donors while our people remain at risk of repeated outbreaks,” he said.

(NAN)

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