Nigeria to spend N620 million to checkmate Coronavirus – Ehanire

The Federal Government said that it would spend N620 million special intervention fund to monitor, detect and contain the deadly Coronavirus.

Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, stated this when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Health.

He briefed the Senate panel on the level of his ministry’s preparedness to proactively contain the Coronavirus outbreak in the country.

He said the fund would come directly from the service-wide vote.

His appearance was sequel to a resolution of the Senate following a motion by Senator Ifeanyi Uba, on the need to summon the minister over the issue.

Ehanire said the ministry, on Thursday, submitted a memo proposing for the release of the sum of N620 million to take proactive measures to contain the virus.

The Director, Port Health Services, Dr. Morenike Alex-Okoh and the Director-General National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, accompanied the minister on his Senate committee appearance.

READ: Coronavirus: Anxiety in Nigeria over returning Chinese

Ehanire said already, N71m was released to the port health services for its operations, adding that the ministry had a multi-stakeholder meeting to deploy port health services there to screen all passengers.

He said the national intervention on containing the Lassa fever outbreak enjoyed timely release of N313 million intervention fund from the Federal Government to manage the outbreak.

Meanwhile, the Senate expressed concerns over the non-screening of the chattered flight passengers wing of the local flight arrivals at the airports.

The senators expressed fears that it may be a loose end to import the Coronavirus.

Chairman Senate Committee on Health, Ibrahim Oloriegbe, said the absence of health services at the private terminal could make for easy movement of infected bodies into the country.

The Senate, therefore, ordered the Minister to deploy health officials to the private tarmac and conduct screening of VIPs on chartered flight stressing Coronavirus was both a national and global health emergency.