Godwin Emefiele, the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has announced that the apex bank is ready to support researchers, science-based institutions, and biotechnology firms with an N100 billion grant in the quest for a homegrown vaccine to fight Corona Virus (COVID-19) in Nigeria.
The apex bank governor, who spoke on Tuesday, May 12, 2020, at the commissioning of ThisDay Dome Testing, Treating, Tracing, and Isolation Centre in Abuja, said the pandemic has had an unprecedented effect on the global economy, impacting all nations big and small.
According to him, so far, the Coalition Against COVID-19, CACOVID, has raised over N27 billion to fund this initiative. He said the donation received so far is being used to build well-equipped isolation centres across the 36 states of the federation.
Emefiele stated: ‘’’The ThisDay Dome Testing, Treating, Tracing and Isolation Centre being launched today, represents a part of the support being provided by the CACOVID alliance.
So far, CACOVID has equipped and handed over isolation centres in Rivers, Enugu, Kwara, Ondo, and Borno.
’It is expected that other isolation centres will be handed over in the other states of the country including FCT, by May 23rd, 2020.
As part of measures put in place to cushion the effect of the COVID-19, CACOVID has provided food items to poor and Indigents Nigerians’’.
He said Nigeria’s economy is exposed to triple shock following the spread of the disease.
Osagie Ehanire, the minister of health, who also spoke at the event said it takes all hands on deck to tackle the worst single public health emergency of our generation.
‘’The nature of this virus makes the identification and isolation of infected persons and their contacts a public health imperative and the importance cannot be over-emphasized’’ he said.
