By Hassan Zaggi
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has clarified that no part of the money paid to private COVID-19 testing facilities goes to its purse.
In a statement Monday, the NCDC said that the explanation was necessary following the rising concerns raise by many Nigerians about the Nigeria International Travel Portal (NITP).
It said that “while the NITP site is hosted on NCDC’s domain, all funds for testing purposes are paid through the bank to the accredited private laboratories. NO FUNDS from private testing are received by NCDC.”
The NCDC further noted that NITP portal was developed by the private sector and is managed by Nigerians in the public sector as one of several measures introduced to limit the risk of importation and spread of COVID-19 in the country.
Despite challenges in the functionalities of the site, mostly related to payments using foreign cards, the NCDC said, it has continued to work extremely hard on its improvement.
It, however, reiterated that “COVID-19 testing in government laboratories remains free of charge for public health purposes. Testing for personal purposes such as travel are paid for by individuals to be conducted in private laboratories.
“The current travel advisory and public health safety measures are under review by the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 and will be updated shortly.
“In the meantime, the NCDC continues to deliver on its mandate, including strong response to COVID-19 and other concurrent disease outbreaks in Nigeria.”
