The Coalition Against Covid-19 (CACOVID-19), a private sector-led initiative against the Coronavirus pandemic, will spend more than N21 billion in providing isolation centres, testing, palliatives, enlightenment campaign and other medical and non-medical supports to complement governments’ efforts aimed at containing the pandemic.
CACOVID-19 at the weekend reiterated that its mission to mobilise private sector leadership and resources to support health facilities to respond to the crisis and use the extensive reach of the businesses and prominent individuals to increase awareness about the pandemic throughout the country.
CACOVID-19 is led by Alhaji Aliko Dangote through his Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) and Herbert Wigwe of Access Bank. It is also backed by Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), among others.
Speaking on the coalition and its activities, Chief Executive Officer, Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) Zouera Youssoufou, said the coalition has been working on how to effectively support the government in many areas, including building isolation centres.
She explained that the coalition has been working with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Presidential Task Force (PTF) of the Federal Government while it has also set up various committees in order to ensure that better results are achieved.
She added that PWC is offering the coalition project management expertise and KPMG is offering audit services to ensure transparent execution of the project and judicious use of the funds being pooled together by CACOVID-19.
According to her, apart from helping to build isolation centres across the country the coalition will also assist in the training of medical personnel for in areas of testing and other actions, assuring that Nigerians would be getting regular update on the coalition’s activities.
Head, Corporate Communications, Access Bank Plc, Mr. Amaechi Okobi said Nigeria has been very lucky not to have seen what happened in China, Italy, United States and other places, calling for concerted efforts by all stakeholders to stop the pandemic.
According to him, it is now that the country has to work and ensure that necessary efforts are made to prevent the situation from worsening, hence CACOVID-19 is supporting the Federal Government to win the fight against Coronavirus.
“We should help ourselves as quickly as possible and be prepared and ready, and let everybody knows that it is real. It involves everybody and it is a fight of our lives. So we must spread the news and tell people what to do and what not to do in the fight against this virus. Money is important, but no other effort is too small to help fight this fight,” Okobi said.
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