Nigeria Donates N574M To Affected Countries

The Nigerian Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu has said that the country has donated $3.5m (N574,874,061.52) and will send 591 volunteers to aid efforts against Ebola in the affected West African countries

Nigeria has made a contribution of $3.5m (574,874,061.52) to aid the fight against Ebola in West Africa, Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu said on Wednesday, October 8.

Chukwu also said that 591 health practitioners had volunteered to go to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea to contribute to efforts against the disease.

The minister reportedly disclosed this while speaking to State House correspondents at a Federal Executive Council meeting which had President Goodluck Jonathan in attendance.

He said:

“I informed the United Nations General Assembly that the President has already directed the Federal Ministry of Health to train and send health personnel to these three countries in the area of special laboratory work to strengthen capacity in those countries.

“I also informed them that as part of Nigeria’s contributions to the international team that will be set up to tackle Ebola Virus Disease in those countries, already Nigeria volunteers from different health professions have been registering with us, willing to join the international force that will go to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea to help out with the containment.

“As of now, 591 Nigerians have already registered with us in three registries we opened in Lagos, Abuja Port Harcourt.”

 Nigeria has contained the Ebola outbreak and will receive an official clearance from the World Health Organization on October 20 if no new cases are recorded before then.