By Hassan Zaggi
The European Union has supported the United Nations (UN) with 1.2 million Euro for the provision of lifesaving preparedness and response activities for COVID-19 in Nigeria.
A statement made available to Journalists on Tuesday, disclosed that the funding will boost the UN’s COVID-19 response in Nigeria through robust engagement with communities on how best to protect themselves from the virus and providing essential health supplies where they are needed most.
The statement quoted the United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF) Representative in Nigeria, Peter Hawkins, as saying: “ With these critical funds from the EU, the UN as a whole in Nigeria is in a better position to do the important work of engaging with communities on how they can prevent the spread of this 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.”
On his part, the 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.”
The statement further noted that with EU funding, UNICEF will be contributing to the efforts underway in the country to contain the spread of the virus and mitigate its effects.
The funding will also help with the 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 Nigeria’s north-east region.
