The Ekiti government has taken delivery of multimillion naira medical equipment and health facilities from the Federal Government to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the items were received through office of the Special Adviser to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Receiving the items in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday, Gov. Kayode Fayemi said that his administration was ready to fight the pandemic to a standstill, especially as the second wave of the pandemic loomed.
He expressed gratitude to President Muhamnadu Buhari for the gesture which, he noted, was not the first in the series of items received by the state.
NAN reports that the items included 12,000 KN95 nose masks, 12 tricycle ambulances, 100 mattresses, beddings and pillows as well as bedside lockers, among others.
According to him, the state is already preparing for the next wave of the pandemic, saying that everything humanly possible will be deployed to achieve the virus out of the state.
He said that the president’s continued interest in making sure the state was always not left out of programmes targeted at making life bearable for residents was outstanding and would be reciprocated with the judicious use of the items.
He also thanked the SDGs office for considering the state for the items.
“The pandemic is still very much with us, and we are not leaving anything unturned to put the next wave under firm control.
“I can assure you that we are committed to full implementation of the SDGs in the state.
“We will fight to a standstill any resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic in any part of the state by ensuring that all the items are distributed to every critical area of the state’s health sector,’’ he said.
Also speaking, Mr Biodun Omoleye, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, who also doubles as the Chairman of the state Implementation on SDGs, said that the state had become a reference point in health care delivery in Nigeria.
He said that Fayemi’s goodwill and cooperation with the Federal Government had, in the past, attracted tremendous policy transformation via a grant of over N500 million for the turnaround of the health sector in the state.
The chief of staff, who bemoaned what he called the poor maintenance culture among some Nigerians, called for judicious use and regular maintenance of the items.
The state Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Oyebanji Filani, said that surveillance had been stepped up to prevent and control, not only COVID-19, but other diseases, such as yellow fever, Lassa fever and malaria.
“We are trying to reduce all preventable deaths to zero,’’ he said.
Earlier, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Development Partnership and SDGs, Mrs Margaret Fagboyo, had alerted that the second wave of COVID-19 was almost here with the people.
She, however, said that the proactive steps being taken by the state, in conjunction with the Federal Government, were enough to allay all fears.
Fagboyo enjoined members of the public to team up with government, saying “it will require collective efforts to combat the scourge’’.
In her closing remark, the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor on SDGs, Mrs Abimbola Solanke, expressed appreciation the governor for enhancing the performances of the office of SDGs in the state. (NAN)
