Oil companies operating in Nigeria have donated N11 billion ($30 million) to the fight against the Coronavirus in the country.
With reported cases in Nigeria rising to 70 on Friday, the companies led by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), International Oil Companies (IOCs) as well as Independent Oil Companies in the Upstream and Downstream Sectors, made the donation to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, said in Abuja that the gesture was in recognition of the impact of Coronavirus (COVID -19) pandemic on the Nigerian population and the economy, the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry embarked on an Industry-wide collaborative initiative to support the effort to combat the pandemic and its attendant impact.
According to him, “The intervention initiative is in alignment with the ongoing Federal Government’s efforts and in collaboration with the NCDC to curb the pandemic. It is aimed at supporting our national healthcare delivery facilities and covers three key thematic areas: Provision of medical consumables; Deployment of logistics and in-patient support system; and Delivery of medical infrastructure. The three thematic support initiatives amount to $30 million (N11 bilion) and will be delivered in phases, starting today”.
He noted that the increasing demand for medical services, medical consumables covering testing kits, medical protective suits and ambulances to the highly impacted areas across the federation informed the intervention of the Oil Industry.
The NNPC helmsman added that as a responsive and responsible Industry, the Oil and Gas Industry is taking this action to strengthen the collective national resolve to stem the pandemic.
He stated that the effort was a collaboration between the NNPC and its partners in the Upstream and Downstream Sector of the nation’s oil and gas value chain.
The NNPC GMD stressed that as a National Oil Company, the corporation on its own, would equip the intensive care unit of the University of Abuja Teaching hospital with 16 beds; provide ventilators and a dedicated laboratory, declaring that the medical infrastructure would be made available to the hospital immediately.
Mallam Kyari said Nigeria needed the Oil and Gas Industry now and always, saying the Industry was prepared to make further contributions to the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.
In a related development, NNPC says it has donated medical equipment to the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, where the isolation and treatment centre is located in the nation’s capital.
Some of the medical items to be donated to the NCDC include 200 ambulances, 86 ventilators, 2,000 test kits, over 4,000 coveralls and laboratory equipment.
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