By Ahmed Ubandoma
Abuja – The First Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari, has donated medical items to support the fight against the spread of the deadly Coronavirus (COVID-19) disease.
A statement made available to newsmen on Saturday in Abuja by her Special Assistant on Media, Mr Aliyu Abdullahi, said the first lady was represented by her Senior Special Assistant on Administration and Women Affairs, Dr Hajo Sani, during the distribution ceremony in Abuja.
Sani said Mrs Buhari has shown deep concern over the spread of the dreaded COVID-19 across Nigeria and has activated her Get Involved Initiative in order to gather donations to support the fight.
She expressed appreciation to those who donated to the course, saying the nation will benefit from their donations.
Mrs Buhari therefore called on Nigerians to stay safe and practice social distancing in order to defeat the pandemic.
She also urged the benefitting states to ensure that the items donated were used judiciously.
The items distributed include cartons of assorted hand sanitisers, pharmaceutical drugs, personal protection equipment including disposable gowns and overalls.
Other items include disposable and N95 surgical masks, gloves, protective goggles, regular and ICU beds with beddings, and automatic dispensers.
The statement indicated that the items were distributed to three states of Bauchi, Gombe and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Receiving the items on behalf of FCT, the Director, Special Duties, FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat, Dr Mathew Ashikeni, expressed gratitude to the first lady for the gesture.
Ashikeni said the donation would go a long way in supporting the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in the nation’s capital.
He assured the delegation that the items would be used judiciously.
He however appealed to wealthy individuals in Nigeria to redouble their efforts and support the federal government efforts towards ending the COVID-19 pandemic.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Get Involved Initiative is one of the many platforms initiated by the First Lady to generate donations from individuals and corporate organisations to address pervasive health challenges among women and children.
NAN also reports that the initiative was last activated to address the issue of nutrition among the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nigeria. (NAN)
