Nigeria Donates N230m To Fight Ebola In Africa

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday donated $1million (about N230 million) to support the fight against Ebola Virus Disease, EVD.

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The announcement came a year after Nigeria recorded its first Ebola case and death through Liberian- American, Patrick Sawyer, who brought the disease into the country.

Sawyer arrived in Nigeria on July 20, 2014, and died four days later after testing positive to the virus at the First Consultant Hospital, Lagos State, shortly after he took ill at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja.

Buhari said the fund was to underscore the importance of Africa ridding the continent of EVD.

Represented by Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Mr Linus Awute, the President said the grant was in addition to earlier contributions by Nigeria to stem the disease in the region.

The announcement came at the International Conference on Africa’s Fight Against Ebola in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, according to a press release made available by Director of Information in the ministry, Mrs. Ayo Adesugba.

The president pointed out that the recent flare-ups and upsurge of cases in Sierra Leone and Guinea and the reappearance of cases in Liberia, after being certified Ebola-free by the World Health Organisation, confirmed that Africa is dealing with a regional and international health security emergency of larger proportion.

Source: nationalmirroronline