Thirty-six states of the Federation expressed their disapproval fund specifically allocated to combat COVID-19 in Nigeria.
As reported by The Punch, the states governments stated their opposition towards sharing the fund in a meeting of state commissioners of health and federal health officers.
On August 7, 2020, the World Bank Board of Directors had approved an $11.5bn fund to support Nigeria in handling the threat posed by COVID-19, particularly on state-level responses.
The fund would then be transferred to 36 states, each to receive N1bn and the Federal Capital Territory through the COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Project. However, the amount received was far lesser than N800m, and states implored the Federal Government to investigate.
“…It is not commensurate with things we want to do. We have resolved that they (the Federal Government) should look into that and add to it” said Ngbea, the Benue State Commissioner for Health and Human Resources.
Mr Ngbea also disclosed that the meeting concluded with health commissioners across the country to get ready for emergencies. The international fund would be very helpful in the process, especially to make isolation and treatment centres more functional.
Preparation is essential as the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday the Omicron variant of COVID-19 had reached 57 countries across the globe. Countries need to look out for the increase of hospitalisation, even though patients are asymptomatic.
