COVID-19: NCDC scales up its crisis response tool

Recently, the Director General of the NCDC, Chikwe Ihekweazu, had asked members of the public to show support for his team as they were overwhelmed with requests to identify suspected cases as well as track individuals they had contact with.

Following the request, Some notable brands across banking, telecom and FMCG among other sectors, have come together to make provision for top-notch isolation centers, surveillance tools, research facilities and medical experts.

Some notable brands across banking, telecom and FMCG among other sectors, have come together to make provision for top-notch isolation centers, surveillance tools, research facilities and medical experts. To strengthen this collaboration, the Central Bank of Nigeria, on behalf of the Bankers’ Committee and in partnership with the private sector led by Aliko Dangote Foundation and Access Bank have come together to form the Nigerian Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID).

This Coalition was created out of the urgent need to combat the unfolding COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria through the mobilization of players in the private sector in shaping public awareness among other critical contributions. Currently, brands’ actions towards providing support to NCDC are not entirely in isolation but part of the goals of the Coalition.

In line with this goal, GTBank set up a fully equipped 110-bed Intensive Care Centre at Onikan with all the necessary equipment including respirators and personnel to treat and care for those that may become infected. This was listed as part of the brand’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and its contribution towards addressing the health hazards caused by the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in Nigeria.

While receiving the Isolation Facility on behalf of the Lagos State Government, the Executive Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu expressed his appreciation to individuals and corporate bodies who have assisted the government to curb the spread of the deadly virus.

“My appreciation also goes to individuals and corporate bodies who have reached out and assisted us in different ways. We are all in this together, and together we shall prevail.” The Governor enthused.

In a recent tweet via its official Twitter handle, NCDC announced that it had received support from some telecommunication companies to ensure that mobile users are receiving verified information on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Further investigation revealed that MTN, as part of initial response under its Yello Hope Package, donated 1,200 SIM packs with N100,000 airtime and 3GB data monthly for an initial period of six months, 38 toll-free lines (premium numbers) and 38 MTN Smart feature phones for the toll-free lines, 10 MiFi devices and Daily COVID-19 prevention messages to all MTN subscribers from NCDC. All items are reportedly valued at over 700 million naira.

The support package is expected to enable the NCDC to deploy SORMAs, which will enhance the capacity of each state to strengthen preparedness and respond faster to curb the spread of the virus.

According to the Chief Corporate Services Officer, MTN Nigeria, Tobechukwu Okigbo, the company will continue to engage with the government and relevant stakeholders in pursuit of new ways to leverage their core expertise, technology and infrastructure to support the government's efforts to keep the citizens safe. ‘In the next few days, we believe that the various conversations around partnerships will start yielding visible results.” Mr. Okigbo added.

Consequently, General Muhammadu Buhari has directed a lockdown on all movements in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun states for a period of two weeks starting from Monday, March 30, 2020.

“Based on the advice of the Federal Ministry of Health and the NCDC, I am directing the cessation of all movements in Lagos and the FCT for an initial period of 14 days with effect from 11pm on Monday, 30th March 2020. This restriction will also apply to Ogun State due to its close proximity to Lagos and the high traffic between the two States. All citizens in these areas are to stay in their homes. Travel to or from other states should be postponed. All businesses and offices within these locations should be fully closed during this period.” President Buhari added.

Presently, there are a total of 151 infected persons in Nigeria, according to information from the NCDC. Lagos has the highest number of cases with 82, Abuja has 28, fourteen cases in Osun, eight cases in Oyo, four cases in Ogun and Edo while Kaduna has three cases. The states of Bauchi, Ekiti, and Enugu all have two respectively; while Rivers and Benue have one case each.

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