The Coalition Alliance Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) has said that during the lockdown that followed incursion of Coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria, it spent a total of N43,272,562,831 on medicals, food palliatives for vulnerable Nigerians during the lockdown.
It said in a press statement that its ultimate objective was to partner government in providing support in areas that would improve health with testing capability, and management of positive cases of COVID-19 in the country.
Specifically, it said kind donations and funds totaling N39,646,100,039were received in support of the fight against COVID-19, from over 200 well-meaning Nigerians and corporate organizations, without saying how the difference was sourced.
To judicious utilization of the funds, CACOVID said a transparent and accountable framework was put in place, with the appointment of KPMG Professional Services as book keepers and Messrs Enrst and Young as Auditors the promise of open and transparent utilization of the funds donated.
It explained that the funds were spent in support of three priority areas such as medical facilities and equipment; building isolation centres, food relief programmes, and communication plan
Specifically, the statement said a total of N4,194,262,899 was spent on building and equipping 39 isolation centres across the 36 States of the country and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT); while medical equipments like PCR test kits for suspected cases of COVID-19, among others at N9,017,561,723.
In other to cushion the effects of the lockdown on vulnerable Nigerians affected by the restrictions in movement, CACOVID said it provided palliatives in the form of essential food items to 1.7m households, equivalent to supporting eight million Nigerians at N28,767,590,517 and disbursed by various state governments.
Continuing, the coalition said it “worked to improve awareness in rural communities on the COVID-19 virus, and the measures community health workers and other members of society should take when someone in the community is suspected of having symptoms similar to that of COVID-19. Print, TV, radio and social media were leveraged as part of CACOVID communication plans.
The statement noted the resolve by CACOVID and the Bankers’ Committee, comprising management of the CBN and Chief Executives of banks in the country and critical stakeholders in the private sector, to support government’s confidence rebuilding efforts in the economy.
