Kayode Oyero
Germany has announced another financial intervention to assist Nigeria in its response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Announcing in a statement via Twitter on Tuesday, the country said it is providing €5.5 million this time to support vulnerable people in Nigeria’s North-Eastern states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.
The statement read, “Germany provides an additional €5.5 million (c. 2.2bn Naira) to the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund managed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Nigeria to continue life-saving aid in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States in the context of the COVID-19 crisis.
“Ongoing activities include drilling of wells, construction of sanitation facilities, rehabilitation of buildings or construction of shelters for internally displaced persons and other victims of insecurity in the North East.
“This brings Germany’s contribution to the NHF to a tota of €29 million since it became operational in May 2017, making Germany a major donor to the NHF over the past three years.”
The country also pledged €12 million to West Africa Health Organisation and Economic Community of West Africa States for the purchase of vital medical supplies and laboratory equipment, training measures, amongst other response to the pandemic in the region.
It added that it was providing the Nigeria Police Force with €20,000 worth personal protective equipment including hand disinfectant, protective clothing, surface disinfectant, face masks, clinical thermometers and gloves, adding that the materials would be handed over in Abuja shortly.
According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, 41 confirmed cases of COVID-19 has been recorded in Borno, one in Adamawa while Yobe has no reported case yet.
Source: Punch Newspaper
