As the number of cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria continues to increase, along with concerns around the need to drastically scale-up public health preparedness and response, the United Nations has announced that it received EUR 1.2 million from the European Union to support the fight of COVID-19 in Nigeria.
Disclosing this on Tuesday April 21, 2020, said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria said, “The humanitarian funding received will further improve the UN’s COVID-19 response in Nigeria.
“The union will engage with communities on how best it can protect Nigerians from the virus and provide essential health supplies where they are needed most.”
“With these critical funds from the EU, the UN as a whole in Nigeria is in a better position to do the important work of engaging with communities on how they can prevent the spread of this virus, and also complement the government’s efforts to ensure that healthcare workers can continue the critical work they are already doing to test and treat cases in the country,” he added.
“In these trying times, the European Union is maintaining its humanitarian support to the most vulnerable people in Nigeria, where we have funded close to €271.5 million (116 billion NGN) in emergency food aid, shelter, access to clean water, hygiene and sanitation, and basic primary healthcare since 2014,” said Thomas Conan, Head of the EU’s Humanitarian Aid Office in Nigeria.
With EU funding, UNICEF will be contributing to the efforts underway in the country to contain the spread of the virus and mitigate its effects.
The fund will also help with the emergency response to identified cases, as well as prevention and preparedness measures for possible future outbreaks in crowded cities and camps for internally displaced people in Nigeria’s north-east region.
