Ebola: FG sends 250 health workers to Guinea, others

About 250 health workers trained by the Federal
Government in collaboration with the African Union
Commission would be leaving for Ebola-stricken countries
on Thursday.
The Director- General, Nigerian Centre for Diseases
Control, Abuja, Prof. Abdulsalamin Nasidi, who spoke
at the opening ceremony of the two-day departure
training for the volunteers in Lagos on Monday, said the
Federal Government would dispatch a second batch of
250 health workers in January.
Nasidi stated that the health team consists of doctors,
nurses, pharmacists and other health professionals from
Lagos, Rivers and the Federal Capital Territory.
He stated that the AUC in a Memorandum of
Understanding with the Federal Government would be
providing life insurance coverage, allowances, repatriation
and evacuation services for the health volunteers while
working in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
He said,” The first batch of health workers would be
going on Thursday. The next batch would be leaving in
January. All together we will be sending 504 volunteers
to help contain Ebola in Guinea, Sierra Leone and
Liberia. Lagos also volunteered 28 experts. Almost 98 per
cent of them were part of the team that helped contain
Ebola in Nigeria, so we are prepared.
“The Federal Government and the AU have a MoU
on this mission. Their allowances, life insurance and
disabilities’ would be covered by the AU. The Federal
Government has also opened up Ebola Treatment Centres
in Lagos, Port-Harcourt and Abuja for any worker
that may need to be evacuated back to Nigeria. However,
we are hoping for zero casualty.”
Also at the training for the volunteers were the Lagos and
Rivers State Commissioners for Health who implored the
volunteers to cooperate with experts that are already
working in those countries.
According to the Rivers State Commissioner For
Health, Dr. Tamuno Parker , not less than 100
volunteers were drawn from Rivers and the state
government has also donated 5,000 Personal Protective
Equipment to assist the Federal Government on the
mission.
Parker said, “We urge them to use the same strategy that
we used in Nigeria. They must not get too complacent or
overconfident. They will be working closely with the
AUC and their experts and to achieve much, they must
subject themselves to their command. The world is looking
at what Nigeria would do in these countries to contain
Ebola in West Africa.”
He noted that federal and state government would be
stepping up surveillance at the air and land borders as
upcoming festivities may attract more visitors into the
country.
Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Medical Association,
West African Region has said that the Federal
Government should ensure that all necessary conditions that
would guarantee safety and motivate as well as empower
volunteers are provided.