Coalescing To Cripple Covid 19

As the international community rallies efforts to combat the Covid 19
pandemic, the question that should border us in Nigeria is on our coping
capacity for containing the plague that is threatening the entire
humanity.

On Wednesday when President Muhammadu addressed the nation, he explained
that te Federal Government provided an initial intervention of fifteen
billion Naira (N15bn) to support the national response as Nigeria fight
to contain and control the spread, adding that the government recruited
hundreds of ad-hoc staff to man call centres and support tracing and
testing efforts in Lagos and Abuja, among other comprehensive measures
announced including total lockdown of Lagos, Ogun and the Federal
Capital Territory, Abuja.

Earlier in the week, The Nigerian Muslim community similarly announced
that it is mobilizing extensively to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in
the country and provide relief for the victims. Under the aegis of
Muslim Coalition against Covid-19, over 40 Islamic organizations are
pulling resources together to make impactful contributions to the
nation’s efforts in the fight against the pandemic.

The Executive Chairman of Muslim Public Affairs Centre, MPAC, and Disu
Kamor said MPAC initiated the idea of a nationwide coalition as a common
front for Nigerian Muslims to organize and focus their efforts in a
coordinated and integrated form.

The unfolding of the Muslim community initiative came on the heels of a
similar one by the organized private sector in Nigeria. Announcing the
OPS intervention, the Central Bank governor odwin Emefiele explained the
background of their collective effort:

_THE CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA, ON BEHALF OF THE BANKERS’ COMMITTEE AND
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR LED BY ALIKO DANGOTE FOUNDATION
AND ACCESS BANK HAVE COME TOGETHER TO FORM THE NIGERIAN PRIVATE SECTOR
COALITION AGAINST COVID-19. _

_THIS COALITION WAS CREATED OUT OF THE URGENT NEED TO COMBAT THE
UNFOLDING COVID-19 CRISIS IN NIGERIA. THE RATE AT WHICH THE VIRUS IS
SPREADING IS UNPRECEDENTED AND IT APPEARS WE ARE FIGHTING OUR MOST
LETHAL ADVERSARY TO DATE. SO FAR, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS MADE GIANT
STRIDES IN THE FIGHT BUT IT IS CLEAR THAT THE PRIVATE SECTOR NEEDS TO
STEP IN AND SUPPORT EFFORTS ALREADY BEING MADE. _

With the OPS intervention, the billions have being rolling in from the
corporate giants and drivers of the nation’s economy to support the
Federal government initiatives to overcome the pandemic.

  In my discourse today, I am surveying global efforts to contain the
plague, sourcing statements and releases from the United Nations and its
various humanitarian and development organs, to benchmark our coping
capacity in the battle against Covid 19 in the country.

The first:  To confront the unprecedented worldwide challenge posed by
the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic, top UN officials for instance on
Wednesday last week, launched a massive humanitarian appeal to mitigate
its impact, particularly on fragile countries with weak health systems.

At a joint virtual press briefing, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
[1], UN Humanitarian Coordinator Mark Lowcock, UN Children’s Fund
(UNICEF [2]) Executive Director Henrietta Fore and World Health
Organization (WHO [3]) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,
launched a $2 billion coordinated global humanitarian response plan, to
fight COVID-19 [4] in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries in
a bid to protect the millions most at risk.

Similarly, The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA [5]) is pledging
support for those suffering from invisible impacts of the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic, including women and girls whose access to life-saving
sexual and reproductive health care may be disrupted.

In a statement [6] on Friday, Executive Director of the UN sexual and
reproductive health agency, Natalia Kanem, said the Fund’s work is
ramping up even as the novel coronavirus [4] continues to test health
care systems around the world.

As we continue responding to the #coronavirus [7] outbreak, @UNFPA [8]
is calling for renewed action to provide life-saving sexual and
reproductive health for the world’s most vulnerable.

Yesterday, the Senior Humanitarian Advisor to the UN Special Envoy [9]
to Syria warned [10] that the risk of the COVID-19 pandemic having a
devastating impact on war-torn Syria is intensifying, where six million
are displaced, living in conditions that make them particularly
vulnerable to the deadly virus,

“The current situation is new and unlike any we have dealt with in
Syria for the last nine years.  All Syrians – and all those who
provide (humanitarian) assistance – are at risk,” Nejat Rochdi told
the International Syria Support Group Humanitarian Task Force,
headquartered in Geneva, which met via video-teleconference.

She urged members of the Group – which brings together the United
Nations, the European Union, the Arab League and several Member States –
to do all they can to ensure that help reaches Syrians across the
country as soon as possible.

At the country level in the Asia Pacific, the United Nations is stepping
up various efforts to contain the spread of Covid 19 in the region.

For instance in Fiji: UNICEF provided tents to be used as fever clinics
to treat patients wile in Micronesia, it Implemented community hand
washing campaign and is working with partners to build 100 handwashing
stations as part of a hygiene promotion campaign.

In Solomon Islands: UNICEF Distributed Water, Sanitation and Health
dignity kits and developing training for Social Welfare officers on
managing stress and self-care during the pandemic just as in Vanuatu
where it provided tents to treat patients and training, for community
awareness outreach.

In Kiribati, UNICEF as Developed SMS platform for COVID-19 text
messaging, installed handwashing facilities at two hospitals and
launched a community campaign on proper hand washing.

On Wednesday, the Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund
(UNICEF)  warned  that Given how quickly the COVID-19 pandemic is
spreading, an outbreak is “looking imminent” in the world’s
refugee camps, crowded reception centres or detention facilities where
migrant families are sheltering.

According to UNCR THE BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY HAS DISPLACED NEARLY 2.4
MILLION PEOPLE IN THE LAKE CHAD BASIN. Now the refugee crisis is in its
seventh year and as UNCR observed last year, the Lake Chad Basin region
is grappling with a complex humanitarian emergency.

The agency is alarmed that Over 3.3 million people have been displaced,
including over 2.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in
north-eastern Nigeria, over 550,000 IDPs in Cameroon, Chad and Niger and
240,000 refugees in the four countries.

The UNCR explained that refugee crisis has been exacerbated by
conflict-induced food insecurity and severe malnutrition, which have
risen to critical levels in all four countries. Despite the efforts of
Governments and humanitarian aid in 2019, some 3.5 million people remain
food insecure in the Lake Chad Basin region and will depend on
assistance.

It reasoned that the challenges of protecting the displaced are
compounded by the deteriorating security situation as well as
socio-economic fragility, with communities in the Sahel region facing
chronic poverty, a harsh climatic conditions, recurrent epidemics, poor
infrastructure and limited access to basic services.

 From Cote DIvoire comes tis alarm:  Food insecurity levels in the Sahel
region are “spiralling out of control”, the World Food Programme
(WFP) said on Thursday, as it expressed concerns about the potential
impact on humanitarian supply chains because of restrictions imposed in
response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Across the Central Sahel in Africa – encompassing Burkina Faso, Mali
and Niger – more than five million people face severe food insecurity
ahead of the coming lean season, according to data released by WFP [11]
and other humanitarian partners. The number of food-insecure people in
#Burkina Faso [12] is expected to triple in the next lean season. And
with #COVID19 [13] reaching Central Sahel, Burkina Faso has seen the
largest number of deaths anywhere in sub-Saharan Africa.

Fortunately, in Nigeria, one can say we are perfectly in control of the
situation with the myriad of efforts at the state and national levels.
 From Sokoto in the Northwest to Rivers in the South – South and from
Borno in the North East to the South West particularly Lagos State
accounting for majority of reported cases, the emerging story is of
Unity of purpose, sacrifice, care, concern and caution we are showing
from all fronts.

  Kudos to all in our country as we combine efforts to cripple Covid 19.
We will win Inshaa Allah.

_ABDULWAREES IS AN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, STRATEGIC PLANNING & CORPORATE
DEVELOPMENT AT VOICE OF NIGERIA_