UN provides vital supplies for FG’s COVID-19 response - ITREALMS

NaijaAgroNet:

The United Nations today received delivery of vital health supplies to support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria on a flight funded by APM Terminals, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The supplies, made up of 10,000 test kits, 15 oxygen concentrators, and various personal protective equipment (PPE), vaccines, IEHK/PEP kits, and other vital health supplies, will support the Nigerian Government’s COVID-19 Response Plan and UNICEF’s work with children and families in Nigeria.

The supplies will also support the Government of Nigeria, through the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), to prevent and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in affected states across the country. The supplies are co-financed by the European Union (EU) and IHS Nigeria, the Nigerian subsidiary of IHS Towers.

Additional COVID-19 response supplies are expected in a UN joint flight to be delivered to Nigeria in the coming days.

The personal protection equipment (PPEs) will protect medical personnel and ancillary staff who are the first responders in the frontline, providing care and treatment to people affected by the virus. The test kits will enable healthcare workers to test those who suspect they may have the virus to verify their health status, so they can get treatment and protect their families and communities.

“We know that to limit the spread of the virus, it is important to test as many people as possible, especially those with recent travel history and those who came into contact with travelers. These test kits will support Nigeria’s drive to control the transmission of COVID-19 infections and support the Government’s ongoing strong efforts to protect the country from an escalating pandemic,” said Edward Kallon, the UN’s Resident Coordinator in Nigeria.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus in Nigeria in late February, the UN has been supporting the Government of Nigeria to respond to the pandemic through risk communications and community engagement, infection prevention and control, epidemiology/surveillance and management of coronavirus cases.

Working with government and other partners, the UN is developing and disseminating messages, infographics, and audio-visual material informing the public about the risks of COVID-19 across the country, and how to protect oneself.

“Working closely together with the Government and other partners, including the private sector, is the surest way of preventing and containing the COVID-19 pandemic. We are grateful for the support of the EU and IHS in getting these vital supplies to strengthen the UN’s efforts in helping the Government of Nigeria to address the COVID-19 challenge,” said Edward Kallon.

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AfDB commits 100% to renewable energy projects for Africa - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet: 

The African Development Bank Group has recommitted to supporting renewable energy projects by 100 per cent on the continent, reports NaijaAgroNet.

AfDB in a refutal over alleged plans to provide financial support to the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project, declared ‘renewable energy as the future” path for Africa. 

The group through its Acting Director of Communication and External Relations Department, Mrs. Nafissatou Diouf, said the bank is strongly committed to renewable energies, noting that for over a decade, the bank has played a leading role in crafting policies and delivering investments that promote sustainable development practices on the continent, including climate adaptation and resilience.

“The Bank is committed to facilitating the transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient development in African countries across all its operational priority areas,” she told NaijaAgroNet in a press statement.

AfDB maintained it did not have any plan to finance the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project, declaring that the group is for “100% renewable projects and sustainable, low-emission agriculture and infrastructure.”

The Bank, she equally said, has prioritized investment in renewables and has not invested in any coal project in the past decade as it sees renewable energy as the future.

“Since the launch of the Bank’s Strategy for the New Deal on Energy in 2016, up to 2019 renewable energy projects constitute about 85% percent on average of the Bank’s power generation investments,” she said,

Maintaining that the Bank is working closely with African countries to realize their renewable energy potential and has developed dedicated programmes and instruments to achieve this goal.

Isaac Oyimah/Editor

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Covid-19: Renewable energy solutions'll provide fast response - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

Renewable energy solutions will provide fast response to the global ChineseVirus-17 also known as Coronavirus pandemic and build more resilient energy systems, reports NaijaAgroNet.

This follows an agreement between the African Union Commission (AUC) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to closely advance renewable energy across the continent to bolster Africa’s response to Covid-19.

The two organisations will focus on innovative solutions to drive the development of renewable energy including decentralised systems, and to increase access to energy across the continent.

The cooperation aims to bolster Africa’s response to the pandemic by, inter alia, improving the ability of rural health centres and communities to deal with the health challenge using renewable energy to power critical services such as medical equipment and water pumping for improving hygiene.

Africa is home to more than two thirds of the world’s least developed countries and 600 million people currently live without access to modern energy services. Paradoxically, Africa possesses vast renewable energy potential that could cover nearly a quarter of its energy needs through indigenous renewable energy by 2030. The deployment of renewables-based solutions is, therefore, central to the achievement of universal access and a key enabler for the attainment of the aspirations of the AU Agenda 2063 as well as achievement of the UN Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development. The two organisations will collaborate to make this possible.

During a virtual discussion, H.E. Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy of the African Union Commission and H.E. Francesco La Camera, Director-General of IRENA agreed that a concerted and coordinated response is essential to address the energy related response to COVID-19 and noted that renewable energy offers the most plausible and sustainable response, which will continue to uplift the quality of life for millions of Africans long after the pandemic.

H.E. Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that energy is critical for all spheres of life and is now proving to be a matter of survival. The African Union Commission has made major strides to advance energy development in Africa through various programmes and partnerships. It is now even more urgent to fast track energy access efforts on the continent”.

The Commissioner went on to say, “It is time to use Africa’s enormous renewable energy resources for the benefit of the African people in response to the coronavirus pandemic.” She called upon IRENA and AU to work together to mobilise international support, including the private sector, to provide electricity to health facilities and associated services for fighting the pandemic in Africa, especially the rural and peri-urban areas. “It is critical that the vulnerable in society, especially women and girls, are specifically targeted in these efforts”, she added.

On his part, the IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera said: “Renewable energy can cost-effectively supply the critical power needed in Africa’s rural communities to supply health centres, facilitate the provision of clean water, support agriculture and facilitate other productive sectors. Such measures are critical to the continent’s ability to deal with the pandemic.”

“Our response to this crisis must also promote long-term sustainable development and support for the achievement of NDCs,” continued Mr. La Camera. “The deployment of renewables is therefore a foresighted strategy to ensure a resilient future, in which no one is left behind.”

The collaboration between the AU and IRENA complements ongoing AU programmes, which include the Africa Bioenergy Policy Framework and Guidelines; Renewable energy in African island states; Development of small hydropower potential in Africa; Geothermal Risk Mitigation Facility; and the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) as well as the Strategy for integrated approach for provision of basic infrastructure in rural and remote areas of Africa. This is in addition to other African initiatives such as Desert to Power, Coalition for Sustainable Energy Access, and the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI) – an Africa owned and led drive to scale up renewable energy – consolidating efforts from the international community to address the needs of African countries.

The AU and IRENA will also collaborate in the context of IRENA’s Clean Energy Corridors initiatives in East, West and Southern Africa focused on advancing the deployment of renewables through the creation of larger and more robust power markets encouraging cross-border trade of renewable power.

These commitments build on existing cooperation between the AU and IRENA to strengthen the enabling environment for low-carbon, climate-resilient renewable energy investment as the continent seeks to raise its renewable energy ambition.

Isaac Oyimah/Editor

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Expert lists numerous implication of lockdown to malnourished children – NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet: 

The Lagos State Coordinator of the Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), Dr. Mrs Modupe Akinyinka, has said there are numerous implication of the current lockdown in the state for malnourished children, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Speaking to NaijaAgroNet exclusively, Dr. Akinyinka said that the implications of the lockdown for malnourished children are numerous, and gave some prescriptions on way out of the wood.

For those already on treatment, she told, NaijaAgroNet that “it may be interrupted as all attention is focused on curbing COVID-19 spread.”

Akinyinka who doubles as Lecturer and Consultant Community Health Physician, Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM) also said that if eventually malnourished children contract the Coronavirus or COVID-19 disease, “they will be less able to fight it and are more likely to die.”

Equally for those not on treatment, Dr. Akinyinka said, the situation could be even worse as “they may now be faced with starvation from reduced” with no income from parents and caregivers due to the lockdown.

“And are more prone to dying from the disease if they contract it,” she lamented.

On the way forward, Dr. Akinyinka advised parents and caregivers to ensure they take all the prescribed precautions including social distancing, frequent hand washing, not touching the face, as well as making certain they get food supplies that include different types of food that are usually not too expensive.

These, she outlined to include crayfish, beans, soya, eggs, fruits in season and vegetables in addition to “our staples like rice, yam, sweet potatoes, etc. And if they can afford it, meat and fish are excellent too.”

These, she highlighted should be purchased from nearby markets and the visit should be planned to reduce outings in order to stay home and safe from the pandemic.

Remmy Nweke/DoP

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COVID-19: MeCAM advises parents to keep children indoors - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet: 

The Media Centre Against Child Malnutrition (MeCAM Nigeria) has urged parents and guardians to desist from any action capable of endangering their family members at this time of battle to curb Wahun-Chinese Virus also known as Coronovirus or COVID-19 in the country, especially malnourished children, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Malnourished children are those under 5 suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) largely caused by a significant imbalance between nutritional intake and individual needs, according to experts at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Nigeria currently has over 2 million children in this category.

MeCAM is a media advocacy group contributing to nation building and mitigation of hunger as well as malnutrition especially in children and mothers in line with SDG goal 2 among others, made this call on Thursday following evidences of lack of adherence to the lockdown order by the Federal Government.

A press statement signed by the National Coordinator of MeCAM, Mr. Remmy Nweke and Director of Outreach, Mrs. Julie Ekong the group said that the counsel became pertinent following outcome of investigations and monitoring by the group on adherences by adults and families since the commencement of COVID-19 lock down in Lagos State, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Ogun State by the Federal Government over 10 days ago.

MeCAM noted with dismay that some adults and parents in the name of strolling for exercise, take walk with their children, without realizing the weight of danger they are putting such children to by mere exposure on the streets.

The group also gathered that in some instances, mothers have to back their children of less than five (5) years to the markets during the shopping windows of 10am through 2pm for open markets and 10am to 4pm for shopping malls in closed communities like estates, as allowed by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.

Equally, the National Coordinator of MeCAM, noted that these little actions as it may seem are putting children in danger, particularly now that many families are yearning for palliatives and nutrition meals at the same time.

The effect of this, he said, is that more families are being exposed and for already malnourished children the situation spells double tragedy.

Nweke pointed out that once any child is affected, it’s no longer only that child that is sick as the mother from what we know would not afford to leave her child to just die without attempts which does not preclude extreme contacts, at this era of social distancing.

He noted the possibility of having more malnourished people in the country at the end of this scourge if families do not get cautious of these situations and on what they consume as food.

He urged Nigerians to ensure they eat right and follow simple nutritious plans for their families in line with available economic powers.

MeCAM, therefore, enjoined parents who really love their families, to stop exposing these children and stay indoors as well, while sticking to all guidelines by the authorities including frequent washing of hands with soap and application of hand sanitisers where washing of hands becomes difficult.

Further, MeCAM advised parents to assist their children at this time with school home works no matter their conditions and show love to children who may be suffering malnutrition as they need to place them on special meal like the Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF).

Government, MeCAM said should make arrangement to ensure that malnourished children and mothers receive special attention at this time whenever palliatives are being distributed to our communities.

*Isaac Oyimah/Editor

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COVID-19 lockdown: HSRC to Govs 'Not yet time to unban public gatherings' - NaijaAgroNet

ForTheRecords@NaijaAgroNet: 

Our Dear Governors,

The Health Sector Reform Coalition receives with shock, concern and fear, the lifting of bans on some gatherings including Friday prayers and Easter services, by some states.

The lockdown in the FCT, Lagos and similar decision by some governors across the country was a welcome development.

It is important for containing the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), avoiding the high number of deaths that might follow and the disastrous effects on the health system and economy, as we are seeing with countries like US, Italy, Spain, UK, amongst others.

HSRC with its membership of over 100 non-governmental actors, working to improve health care and development across every state in Nigeria, recognises and respects the importance of worship and religious celebrations to us Nigerians. We acknowledge and value the role of religious leaders and faith-based organizations in providing spiritual support through faith for their followers in a healthy and safe environment.

HSRC further appreciates the socio-economic difficulties being faced by our people over the lockdown across the country.

Unfortunately, options are limited for now in the best ways to fight the spread. Scientific evidence and experience from developed and developing countries reinforce that avoiding crowd, physical distancing, handwashing and respiratory hygiene are still the best ways to prevent the spread and associated deaths. With the high number of people living in poverty, high prevalence of chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes (underlying diseases) and very weak health systems, it will be catastrophic if the virus spreads widely in Nigeria.

Data from the WHO and Johns Hopkins shows that 1.6 million people have tested positive and more than 95 thousand have died from COVID-19 between December 2019 to April 9, 2020. While majority of infections and deaths have been in developed countries, both infections and deaths are also rising in Africa. Cases in Nigeria have multiplied from one to 288 in six weeks with seven deaths. Number of states with established cases have risen from one to 17 within the same period.

Trends from other countries shows that without drastic measures such as maintaining lockdowns and distancing, the numbers can easily rise exponentially over a short time. Between February 27 and March 27, the US went from 54 to 100,522 cases while Italy went from 593 to 66,414 in one month!

Because our testing is grossly inadequate, the true numbers of cases in Nigeria may be hidden. It is highly likely that community spread is happening because up to 85% of the infected may be asymptomatic yet capable of transmitting the virus. Our containment is still in the nascent stage, this is not the time to relax our guard. The couple of weeks are very critical in containing an upsurge in the number of confirmed cases.

As the Health Sector Reform Coalition of Nigeria, we:

A. Implore our governors to cancel all plans or reverse the directives to lift the ban on religious and other gatherings until the NCDC and Federal Ministry of Health advise otherwise – No matter the pressure, this is not the time for populism.

B. Call on the federal government and state governments to increase the delivery of economic mitigation packages to households and individuals that are in need, to reduce the pressure on people to go out for their daily living.

C. Ask all Nigerians to PLEASE continue to listen to the advice of health experts represented by NCDC and WHO at this critical time. Nothing is more important than staying alive.

Furthermore, we need to remind ourselves of the following:

i. COVID-19 (Coronavirus) does not go to sleep at night, market days, Fridays or Sundays

ii. Infected people without any symptoms can still transmit the virus

iii. Over 2500 infections in France was linked to a single religious gathering while about 230 infections in South Korea were linked to a religious group where members continued gathering

iv. Crowd gathering should be avoided, and at all time maintain at least 2 m or 6 feet or two arm’s length of distance between people

v. Religious and faith institutions are encouraged to explore means of conducting faith activities remotely/virtually (as long as required) and provide psychosocial and mental health support and resilience

vi. Cloth face masks might help reduce the spread by those who are infected but does not fully protect healthy people from getting infected, so continue to practice hand washing, respiratory hygiene, physical distancing and crowd avoidance even when wearing a face mask

vii. Clean/disinfectant surfaces such as doorknobs, handles, to remove the virus

viii. Actively promote attitudes and behaviours to uphold the dignity and rights of all people, and counter all forms stigma and discrimination associated with the virus

ix. Even if you have good immunity, you can spread it to children, the elderly and other family members who are vulnerable and more likely to die from COVID-19

x. States that currently have zero recorded cases are still not safe and closing state borders is not enough.

As the custodian of power in the state, necessity is placed on the governors to make the right decision that will protect the citizens. This is the time to make that difficult sacrifice to protect our future. Our governors and other political leaders should be seen to be leading.

Nigerian, please stay at home and stay alive!!!

Signed: Dcn. Mike Egboh and Dr. Chizoba Wonodi
(HSRC COVID-19 Response Task Team Co-chairs)
April 10, 2020
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COVID-19 Lockdown: 2m Nigerian malnourished children need urgent attention – NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

With some estimated 2 million children in Nigeria suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), they need an urgent attention especially with the current lockdown in the country, says the Executive Secretary, Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), Mrs Beatrice Eluka, reports NaijaAgroNet.

UNICEF Nigeria recently revealed that some 2 million children in the country have Severe Acute Malnutrition. Just as experts defined SAM Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) as the state caused by a significant imbalance between nutritional intake and individual needs.

Reacting to the state of the world and Nigerian nation in particular over responses to the Chinese Virus-19 also known as Coronavirus or COVID-19 with regards to SAM, Mrs. Eluka told NaijaAgroNet that malnourished children already have compromised immune system that deserve urgent attention.

According to her, any malnourished child is at risk of infections including the ravaging Coronavirus.

Such a child, she pointed out also unlikely to survive “if he is infected” due to several factors including inability to access requisite nutrition food.

She also said that the importance of good nutrition cannot be over-emphasised.

The lockdown, Mrs. Eluaka said has rendered many families food and nutrition insecured.

She, therefore, called on governments at all levels to quickly ensure they have centres where children, mothers and families discovered to have Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) symptoms are singled out for special care and attention.

Eluaka further said that at every SAM cenetre in any state, it is expected that Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) could be freely administered and accessed at ease in line with the ongoing palliative distributions.

NaijaAgroNet recalls that only two out of every 10 children affected by SAM is currently reached with treatment, according the UNICEF office in Nigeria, just as Seven per cent of women of childbearing age also suffer from acute malnutrition.

Remmy Nweke/DoP

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COVID-19: Nigerian doctors may withdraw services over invitation to Chinese doctors - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

Members of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) may be spoiling for war over the invitation of the Federal Government to some 18-man Chinese medical doctors, threatening to withdraw services nationwide especially on ChineseVirus-19 also known as Coronavirus or Covid-19, reports NaijaAgroNet.

NMA president, Dr. Francis A. Faduyile, gave this indication weekend, saying they fail to see how the 18-man team from Chinese would impact the current efforts in any significant way, and threatened to withdraw services if FG insisted on the 18-man Chinese invitation.

He described with great dismay and utter disappointment, the invitation to Chinese doctors and is embarrassment to member of medical practitioners who are giving their best in the fight against Chinese Virus-19 also known as Coronavirus (COVID-19).

They noted that lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), saying its grossly inadequate test kits and test centres across the country as well as absolute lack of any form of insurance for the workforce are primordial issues begging for attention at this time.

NMA maintained in its rejection of the invitation to the Chinese doctors, urging the Federal Government to review and approve better welfare incentives to the frontline medical personnel instead.

The provision of adequate personal protective equipment, opening and properly equipping more isolation centres and health facilities across the country is an excellent first step. Deploying more resources to facilitate testing as Nigerians are beginning to witness community transmission of COVID-19 is equally a better application of scarce resources.

The Government should declare a state of emergency in the health sector and use the opportunity to fix our health institutions as a matter of urgency 'in a bid to stem the rot.’

“It is a great disservice to the morale of the long-suffering frontline health workforce if the Government goes ahead to invite these Chinese doctors. The invitation demeans their sacrifices so far in this pandemic. We fail to see how the 18-man team would impact the current efforts in any significant way.

Isaac Oyimah/Editor

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Nigeria’s healthcare in the eye of Covid-19 - NaijaAgroNet

Opinion@NaijaAgroNet: 

Coronavirus (COVID-19) is here to teach us a lesson; I hope we learn. Nigeria’s healthcare is unhealthy. But instead of fixing it our rulers have been busy flying up and down to benefit from other country's productive health system.

With Coronavirus, reality is upon us. No more running overseas for medical vacation. Our rulers cannot travel to the United Kingdom, United States of America or India anymore for medical care. These countries are also hanging on their last breath, battling to survive the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2017, President Muhammadu Buhari spent 103 days in London receiving medical treatment for an undisclosed illness, spending taxpayers’ money instead of investing in the country’s healthcare. Thousands of Nigerians died in the same period from different illnesses. More than 3,000 women died of breast cancer, more than 2,000 women died of cervical cancer and more than 1,500 men died of prostate cancer, according to World Health Organization (WHO) figures on annual cancer mortality. 

I had hoped that on his return to Nigeria, President Buhari would declare a state of emergency in the country’s health sector. Painfully, nothing of such happened. Nigeria’s budget allocation to healthcare has remained less than 5% of the entire budget for the past five years. Simply put, in 2020 the federal government budgeted N2,000 (£4.2) for each Nigerian with a total of N427.3 billion as budget allocation to the health sector while the United Kingdom budgeted £2,159.6 for each citizen with a total health budget of £143.4billion. It is the same dismal story in the states across Nigeria. Healthcare is not a priority. In some states in Nigeria, a hospital is a 20-minute boat ride and an hour-long car ride. Because many poor Nigerians do not own boats, a woman in labour could bleed to death before she reaches the hospital.

On March 22, 2018, Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, criticized Nigerian government’s poor funding of healthcare in the country. In his words, “One in three children is chronically malnourished.” This tragedy has huge implications for the economy. According to the World Bank, addressing the stunting crisis in Nigeria would add almost $30 billion to Nigeria’s GDP. It is painful that despite Mr. Gates assertion, nothing has changed. Nigeria has remained one of the countries in the world with the worst healthcare system with over 60 deaths per 1000 live births. Nigeria has one of the worst cancer survival rates in the world, with only 2 to 3 cancer radiotherapy machines working at any time and less than 70 oncologists for a population of over 200 million. 

COVID-19 is exposing the insensitivity of our leaders to things that matter most to us. That Nigerians are disobeying the government’s safety advice on COVID-19 is a clear reflection of citizens’ mistrust for their leaders. Many Nigerians trust their religious leaders more than they trust our political leaders. Successive governments have failed the country, and it doesn’t look like thing will change anytime soon. 

Nigeria is a country where our rulers make laws today and break the same laws tomorrow. The Nigeria Centre for Diseases Control (NCDC) followed the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline and strongly encouraged all Nigerians coming from certain countries to self-isolate and monitor themselves, as a strategy to contain or to delay the spread of COVID-19. The president’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, returned from Germany and instead of isolating himself he was jumping from one state to another, attending events and meetings with different people, breaching the government’s own recommendation and placing the lives of other Nigerians at risk! 

Now that COVID-19 is in Nigeria we need to face it with all that we have. But can we? The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is now the country’s only perceived hope. Many Nigerians have been calling NCDC hot lines, criticizing NCDC for not testing enough people. But we should face the music and not the dancer. NCDC is crippled and not well equipped to protect Nigerians from the disease. 

In 2016, NCDC budgeted N3.7m for its recurrent and N248m for capital allocations. That is a total of N251.7m. Out of this, only N155m was released to the centre. In the same year, 1,166 Nigerians died of Cerebrospinal Meningitis. In 2017, the NCDC had a budget of N1.5b. Only N782m was released. In the same year, more than 120 Nigerians contracted Monkeypox and seven people died from the disease. That same year, the Presidency budgeted N77m for Aso Rock rent, N1b for trips and sitting allowances, and N94m for meals. In 2018, the NCDC had a budget of N1.9b. Only N654m was released. In the same year, N7.2b was proposed for Presidential Air Fleet. N440m was proposed for mandatory upgrade and installation of live TV and internet service in the presidential aircrafts, N375m for new cabin management, N418m for the landing gears. In total, over N1b was budgeted for the presidential aircrafts which is used for medical tourism and frequent trips abroad. 

On November 12, 2018, the NCDC establishment bill was signed by President Muhammadu Buhari, thanks to the efforts of Senator Mao Ohuabunwa, the then Chair, Senate Committee on Primary Healthcare and Communicable Diseases. On this premise, the NCDC was empowered with a legislation for its work in preventing and preparing for outbreaks of infectious diseases. Interestingly, the NCDC got the worst budget in 2019, the year following the passage of the NCDC Act. The Centre had a budget of N1.4b, but only N224m was released. In the same year, over 472 Nigerians were diagnosed with Lassa fever and over 110 people died from this viral hemorrhagic fever. Clearly, NCDC cannot perform magic. They need help. Nigeria is grossly under-testing for COVID-19, the laboratories are not enough, and NCDC and its affiliate agencies do not have enough manpower and resources. 

Months ago, being unwell evoked empathy; today being unwell evokes fear. The fear of COVID-19? No! It is the fear of not having access to the care that you need, the fear of absence of ventilators, the fear of a broken health system. It is the fear of death. Our political leaders have stolen from the sick through corruption. Many Nigerian governors build non-functional hospitals in their states. Usually, after the commissioning of these hospitals, all the CT Scan, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and other medical machines—some of them fake—are returned to where they were purchased or left to rot. 

Hospitals in Nigeria are some of the worst in the world. Our teaching hospitals are now museums where less than 5% of clinical trial and research is going on because of poor laboratory. Medical tourism has therefore become the norm. Dubai hospitals, Saudi Arabian hospitals, etc., are advertising in Abuja and Lagos for Nigerian patients. They are recruiting Nigerian doctors, including consultants. Nigeria is not only facing “brain drain,” we are also facing “patient drain.” Our doctors and nurses work in the worst conditions. Hazard allowance for health workers is about N5,000 while wardrobe allowance for members of the National Assembly runs into millions. 

Now is the time for Nigeria to confront its healthcare crisis. The Nigerian government must accept its failure. Our political leaders must brace up to their responsibility and seriously reflect on the problem their greed has brought to Nigeria. This is the time to invest in a result-oriented healthcare system. Health is wealth as the saying goes. A good healthcare system is the foundation of any nation. 

If we survive COVID-19, we need to consider a law to restrict all public officials from seeking medical care abroad. It may be perceived as strict, but it will save future generations since we don’t know which pandemic would come next and when. 

Let’s give every Nigerian a space to live and a not chance to die. 

*Contributed by Runcie C.W. Chidebe, the Executive Director, Project PINK BLUE. He is currently a Commonwealth Scholar on Transforming and Leading in Health Care at Birmingham City University, United Kingdom. He tweets @runciecwc 

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#LagosCovidGang2020 prays for health workers - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet: 

Members of the raving #LagosCovidgang2020 have urged Nigerians to stay at home and remain safe, whilst praying for health workers, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The gang in a debut musical track which has been trending online from their isolation centre at the Mainland Hospital Onikan Lagos, declared that the ChineseVirus-19 pandemic also known as Coronavirus or Covid-19, is real.

The gang, NaijaAgroNet gathered comprised some health workers and male victims of Covid-19, using their placards to send messages in the one-minute musical video.

According to the footnote left on the video, the individuals featured in the video had COVID-19 and are receiving treatment.

They said, the video was done by them to inform the public about the virus and to “show us that COVID-19 is not a death sentence.”

For them, who danced to the rthyme on the video, Covid-19 does not know colour, sex, religion or age and urged people to follow simple advisory as has been given by the Incident Commander and other health experts. Some of the messages appeared in Hausa and English respectively.

“Together we can kick Coronavirus virus out of Lagos State and Nigeria,” they declared.

The one-minute video making wave online, saw them carrying various messages on a placard made up of torn cartons, some white A4 papers, urging Nigerians to stay home that Covid-19 is real.

The Lagos Covid gang numbering about 12 included some Nigerians and foreigners saw them united in this battle against this pandemic.

Some of the placards displayed very inspiring messages such as "Health workers also have families but they can't stay home. Please stay home, stay alive." #lagoscovidgang2020.

2. "Its as real as it gets people!!. We are living through this, but we are confident we will overcome together!!! Kudos to Lagos and its amazing team. #lagoscovidgang2020.

3."Hey people. We are foreigners here and we are begging you to stay home for your relatives sake." #lagoscovidgang2020.

4. "Many thanks to all the health workers. They have been a blessing. #lagoscovidgang2020.

5. "Please stay home!!! It's Real!!! WE are in it and by His Grace we shall be out soon!!! Many thanks to the teams of Mainland Hospital and a big well-done to the Lagos Government. #lagoscovidgang2020.

6. "Lagos Mun Gode, Da Taimako, Kowa ya Zauna a Gida saboda Covid-19. Longlive Nigeria! #lagoscovidgang2020.

7. "Please stay home. Thanks to the doctors, nurses, cleaners and all the health workers. We appreciate you. #lagoscovidgang2020.

8. "Covid-19 is real. Save your loved ones. Save our health workers. Stay at home. #lagoscovidgang2020.

9. "Please stay home. Thanks to the doctors, nurses, cleaners and all the health workers. We appreciate you. #lagoscovidgang2020.

10. "Many thanks to all the Health Workers. They have been a blessing. #lagoscovidgang2020.

11. “Hey people. We are foreigners here and we are begging you to stay home for your relatives’ sake. #lagoscovidgang2020.

12. "Shout out to the Doctors, Nurses, Cleaners, Potters and the entire Lagos State government!!!! God bless Nigeria!!! Stay home and stay safe. #lagoscovidgang2020


Isaac Oyimah/Editor with additional reports from ITREALMS

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