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Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The United Nations (UN), yesterday, announced that it received €1.2 million from the European Union (EU) for the provision of lifesaving preparedness and response activities for COVID-19 in Nigeria.
UNICEF country representative in Nigeria, Peter Hawkins, in a statement in Abuja, said, with EU funding, UNICEF would contribute to efforts in Nigeria to contain the spread of the virus and mitigate its effects on communities.
“With these critical funds from the EU, the UN agencies in Nigeria have been positioned to do the important work of engaging with communities on how they can prevent the spread of the virus, and also complement the government’s efforts to ensure that healthcare workers can continue the critical work they are already doing to test and treat cases in the country,” Hawkins said.
He also promised to help with emergency response to identified cases, as well as prevention and preparedness measures for possible future outbreaks in crowded cities and camps for internally displaced people in the North-East region.
Head of the EU’s Humanitarian Aid Office in Nigeria, Thomas Conan, said: “In these trying times, the European Union is maintaining its humanitarian support to the most vulnerable people in Nigeria, where we have funded close to €271.5 million (N116 billion) in emergency food aid, shelter, access to clean water, hygiene and sanitation, and basic primary healthcare since 2014.”
He encouraged Nigerians to follow the advice of the NCDC and other global health leaders, particularly social and physical distancing, regular hand-washing and staying at home, saying it would help significantly to halt the progress of the virus.
