Nigeria Receives N26 Billion COVID-19 Medical Supplies As NCDC Announces Fresh 462 Infections

The fight against the rampaging COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria is being boosted by the United Nations and the European Union (EU).

Nigeria has taken delivery of its second batch of medical supplies worth N26 billion. They were purchased with UN Basket Fund for COVID-19 response, aimed at strengthening the national response by further providing the much-needed protection, especially for frontline health workers.

The news is coming as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) reports that the country recorded 462 new confirmed cases of the virus and one death on Friday.

‘’Till date, 43151 cases have been confirmed, 19565 cases have been discharged and 879 deaths have been recorded in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja’’, NCDC says.

The 462 new cases, according to it, are reported from 16 states- Abuja (93), Lagos (78), Plateau (64), Kaduna (54), Oyo (47), Ondo (32), Adamawa (23), Bauchi (19), Rivers (9), Ogun (9), Delta (9), Edo (7), Kano (6), Enugu (6), Nasarawa (5), and Osun (1).

However, the package of medical supplies from UN and EU include: 500,000 face shields; 200,000 goggles; 100 oro-pharyngeal airways; 10,000 bio-hazard bags; and 14,000 safety boxes, a statement from the Federal Ministry of Health said

The Federal Ministry of Health’s Director of Information, Media and Public Relations, Olujimi Oyetomi, in a statement says Health Minister, Dr. Osagie Ehanire and National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force (PTF), Dr. Sani Aliyu received the supplies at the cargo section of Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport in Abuja.

According to him, the minister on Friday, July 31, 2020, joined Aliyu at the Cargo Section of Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja to receive medical supplies from EU contributions worth N26 billion.

“Mr. Alexander Borges – Gomes, the Charge d’Affaires a.i. of the EU Delegation to Nigeria, who coordinated the handing over of the medical supplies, disclosed that the items were procured through the One UN COVID-19 Basket Fund from a significant contribution from the EU of €50 million (N26 billion)”, the statement says.

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