Dangote Group fights coronavirus with US$549,078 donation
The Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF), donates a total of US$549,078 to support the Nigerian government's efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Since Nigeria's first recorded case in Lagos in February, Dangote’s donation is considered the single largest donation by a corporate organisation to help contain the spread of the virus.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Aliko Dangote Foundation Ms. Zouera Youssoufou highlighted, the donation comes as part of the foundations cardinal objectives to partner with the government at all levels to combat the disease.
Breaking down the contribution, ADF will donate US$340,428 to help provide the facilities to prevent, assess and respond to health events at point of entry to ensure national health security, while US$98,834 will help with surveillance and epidemiology facilities, and US$131,778 will contribute to case management training for health workers.
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Speaking at the Donor Coordinating Meeting in Abuja, The Country Director, represented by Operations Manager Ms. Kathleen Whimp identified four key areas that need to be addressed to tackle the spread: regular communication with the public, contact tracing, training of volunteers and international cooperation.
The Director, Health Emergency Preparedness and Response of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Dr. John Oladejo - who also attended the meeting - agreed with the challenges highlighted by Whimp, adding that a lack of enough isolation centres, fake news and panic, also need to be addressed.
ADF was commended by Mr. Noel Chisaka of the Regional Disease Surveillance System Enhancement Project for the contributions the foundation has made, and encourages others to join in the fight against the virus.
Coronavirus in facts and figures:
Confirmed cases: 90,936
Total recovered: 47,995 of 90,936
Death toll: 3,117
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