By Lesley Muosowo Otu
Kaduna-based Defence Industry Corporation of Nigeria, DICON has manufactured ventilators and Personal Protective Equipment,PPE and other related materials to aid the fight against COVID-19, Nigeria’s military has said.
The move was in response to the Chief of General Staff, Gen. Gabriel A. Olonisakin’s directives for the Armed Forces of Nigeria to articulate strategic intervention in support of the Federal Government’s fight against Coronavirus.
Towards this goal, DICON seized the initiative by providing a local content response in addressing the shortage of Ventilators, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other materials.
The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. John Enenche disclosed this to newsmen on Monday during an event to unveil these products at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja.
Enenche said that in addition to its responsibility to produce Defence equipment and machinery, DICON under the visionary and result oriented leadership of Maj. Gen. Victor Ezugwu has succeeded in diversifying from its human, equipment, machinery as well as research and development capacity to support a much-needed strategic intervention to cushion the effects of the highly dreaded COVID-19 in the country.
According to him, this was achievable by the mobilisation of DICON’s management and staff to research, develop and produce several COVID-19 essential and life saving equipment.
He said, “DICON in response to the directives of the Honourable Minister of Defence , Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi (rtd), the Armed Forces of Nigeria in its indigenous capacity is supporting medical workers by providing thousands of high quality non permeable PPE kits.
“Each unit of these kits consists of standardised gown, face shield and nose masks which are currently being produced in large quantity for use by the Kaduna State Government and other national stakeholders”
Enenche also told the media of the over 1500 dozens of Dicsanz, a high quality hand sanitiser produced under very strict environmental conditions by DICON.
He further said that the Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. TY Buratai has even requested for supply to troops the Nigerian Army, while adding that the product is at the last stage of NAFDAC registration in line with the extant due diligence provisions.
In addition to these, DICON engineers, consultants and medical team have also successfully produced a brand of digital mechanical ventilator known as DICOVENT.
Unveiling these products to newsmen, the MD, Defence Industry of Nigeria, Maj. General Ezugwu said the newly designed low-cost machine is a simple mechanical ventilator that can deliver positively even in rural communities.
Among the DICON official present was Dr. Olufemi Aremu who said that DICOVENT is a 100% local content that can be used where power supply is not stable due to its long lasting rechargeable battery life of 5hrs.
Aremu also mentioned that DICOVENT works without compressor and does have an application that can be found installed on your phone to control and monitor a patient’s condition.
Another team member, Col. Iweke told journalists DICON took a cursory note of the low standard of some hand sanitisers in the market and was able to come out with one that maintains the alcoholic content and PH balance.
And in response to a question by a journalist, Iweke said “DICON has the capacity to produce and deliver any quantity to (meet the) market the need of the people”, while adding that they have already produced over 18,000 bottles of high quality sanitisers at affordable prices.
Meanwhile, as more progress is made in the fight against the deadly Coronavirus, the High Command of the Armed Forces of Nigeria has continued to encourage the general public to practice the rules of social distancing and personal hygiene in line with advice of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and the Federal Ministry of Health.
