Nigeria may be in a position to officially declare the Ebola outbreak over as early as December 7, 2026, provided no new confirmed or probable cases are recorded, according to the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate. He noted that, under the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, the country is on track to meet the requirements for ending the outbreak if the current situation remains unchanged.
Pate disclosed this in a post on his X page on Monday.
He said that following the imported Ebola index patient’s medical evacuation from Nigeria today, 26 October, the government’s immediate priorities remain active monitoring of all identified contacts, prompt investigation of alerts, and strengthened readiness across our health facilities.
“If no further confirmed or probable cases are detected, Nigeria could progress towards declaring this outbreak over under WHO criteria, potentially as early as 7 December 2026,” the minister stated. “This date remains provisional, subject to NCDC and WHO validating the 42-day countdown.”
He, however, noted that “any further case would require a fresh countdown in accordance with those criteria”.
“Our teams, working with FCTA and state health authorities and our partners, remain focused on containment and preventing community transmission,” Pate said. “I ask Nigerians to remain calm, cooperate with contact-tracing teams and follow regular updates from NCDC and FMoH.”
