The minister of health,prof Onyebuchi Chukwu, on
Wednesday said Nigeria had already donated
$3.5m as part of its intervention in the affected
countries.
Chukwu said the sum was made up of $500,000
to each of the countries and the balance to the
common ECOWAS Fund for the disease.
He also said 591 health practitioners had
volunteered to join the international force that
would go to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea to
help in the containment of the Ebola Virus
Disease.
He said the volunteers registered with his ministry
at three points in Lagos, Abuja and Port-
Harcourt.
Chukwu said this while speaking with State
House correspondents at the end of the weekly
Federal Executive Council meeting presided over
by President Goodluck Jonathan.
He said that he had already told a recent meeting
of the United Nations General Assembly on EVD of
Nigeria’s readiness to help the three countries.
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, 591Nigerians have already registered
with us in three registries we opened in Lagos,
Abuja Port Harcourt.”
The minister however said there were certain
conditions to be met before the volunteers would
be allowed to leave the country.
He said the first step was for President Goodluck
Jonathan to approve their journey and mission
and that the volunteers would be properly trained
according to Nigeria’s standards, which, he said,
was fairly high.
Chukwu said he also told the meeting, which was
called to review the global situation on the
disease that Nigeria is now Ebola-free. He said
the country had had 19 cases with seven deaths
contrary to the 20 cases being reported by the
foreign media.
“Presently there is no single case of active Ebola
Virus Disease in Nigeria, no single contact that is
presently under surveillance in any part of the
country,” he declared.
He said the ban on repatriation of corpses as well
as inter-state movement of corpses was still in
force, adding that the ban remained except where
approval had been granted by the Minister of
Health.
