ECOWAS Invites NPHIL’s Dr. Dougbeh Chris Nyan at Inter’l Confab -To speak on Lassa fever Epidemic

By Nathaniel Greene (Contributing writer)

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has invited renowned biomedical scientist and public health expert, Dr. Dougbeh Christopher Nyan to speak at the upcoming international conference on Lassa fever epidemic in West Africa.  Dr. Nyan is Director General of the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL).

“Dr Nyan brings deep experience to share on how we can strengthen regional cooperation to respond faster and prevent future outbreaks including the ongoing Lassa outbreak in the region,” Dr. Virgil Kuassi Lokossou, an ECOWAS official mentioned.

National Public Health Institutes are the backbone of outbreak prevention, detection, and response. When disease threatens, they are the first line of defense—gathering data, guiding decisions, and mobilising rapid action to save lives, a release from the ECOWAS Lassa Conference Organizing Committee stated.

The ECOWAS release further stated that, “Dr. Dougbeh Chris Nyan, M.D., Director General of the National Public Health Institute of Liberia, understands this [Public Health] responsibility firsthand. He has been at the heart of some of West Africa’s most complex health emergencies. He has worked to strengthen systems that can withstand the next epidemic. His leadership reflects the grit and clarity that public health demands.”

Lassa Fever is an acute viral illness caused by the Lassa virus, which is known to be endemic in parts of West Africa including Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, and Sierra Leone. It most like to exist in other West African countries as well.

The disease, Lassa fever, is spread through direct contact with infected rodents or inhalation of aerosols from rodent excretions. Human-to-human transmission can occur through direct exposure to blood or other bodily fluids from an infected person.

Under Dr. Nyan’s leadership of Liberia’s National Public Health Institute (NPHIL), the country is witnessing a decline in the active cases of Lassa fever infection. This represents a significant achievement in the fight against Lassa fever, while his team is simultaneously responding to Mpox and Measles outbreaks. His strategic response has also kept Mpox cases in Liberia at the lowest in on the African continent, despite the recent surge in the cases in neighbouring Sierra Leone.