Nigeria's Health Minister announces potential Ebola-free date

Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, announced that Nigeria could potentially declare itself Ebola-free by December 7, 2026, depending on the results of contact monitoring and validation by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and the WHO. The declaration is contingent on no further confirmed cases being detected, as per WHO criteria, which require 42 consecutive days without new confirmed cases.

The government is prioritizing monitoring identified contacts and enhancing preparedness in health facilities. This announcement follows the medical evacuation of a female Ebola patient and her husband to Switzerland.

The patient is reported to be stable and improving, receiving treatment at Geneva University Hospital, while her husband is in isolation at Zurich University Hospital. The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health confirmed that the situation poses no health risk to Switzerland and that both hospitals are equipped to manage such infections.