Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health says it is yet to access funding from international donors on Coronavirus (COVID19) preparedness in the country and that all expenditures are domestically funded.
Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Health, Mr. Abdulaziz Mashi Abdulaziz disclosed this as the Health Minister, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, was giving an update on the disease in the country in Abuja last Friday.
News of Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that IMF is making available about 50 billion dollars through its rapid-disbursing emergency financing facilities for low income and emerging market countries that could potentially seek support.
Ten billion dollars of the amount is available at zero interest for the poorest members through the Rapid Credit Facility.
The World Bank Group President, David Malpass also announced an initial package of up to 12 billion dollars in immediate support for countries coping with COVID-19. The package will include emergency financing, policy advice and technical assistance.
Nigeria’s Health Minister
Abdullaiziz, said, “it is just the domestic funding that we have.
“The one that was announced by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group are interventions made by the two institutions.
“But guidelines and framework of accessing the money is still yet to be developed.
“I believe the country representatives in various countries where the disease has manifested will be getting in touching with them to see how we can access it, but for now, I think it is strictly domestic funding the country is accessing.”
Abdulaziz disclosed that some donors and partners met with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), to see how they could support with detection and response to the disease.
He described the interventions a timely and important by their commitment to fight against Covid19 as the public health crisis “is rapidly becoming a global crisis of health, economics and politics”.
“That’s why the country is ramping up to execute COVID19, response, isolation, quarantine, as well as develop measures to contain and detect the outbreak,” he said.
Abdulaziz recalled that such intervention gave birth to the establishment of the National Ebola Emergency Operations Centre (EEOC) in Yaba, Lagos state.
The Permanent Secretary said government was mobilising relevant agencies to get the country ready for the virus.
He urged Nigerians to join in taking the actions needed to be safe, smart and disregard fake reportage of the virus.
“We will emphasise early detection, isolation, treatment and the government’s engagement,” he said.
While responding to the remarks of the Senate President on the poor state of the isolation centre in Gwagwalada, Abuja, Ehanire said that the facility was now in good condition.
The minister clarified that all the monies approved for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), had been disbursed adding that government had already set plans in motion to put up a state of the art disease control centre.
According to him, construction is ongoing, and the contractor has also been asked to fast-track it.
