By Emmanuel Elebeke

To support the country’s COVID-19 response, PharmAccess Foundation, through funding support from Novartis Nigeria, has donated essential PPE and posters to 23 government hospitals with high patient volumes across the six geopolitical zones in the country.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) donated include N95 respirators and surgical masks.

The Country Director of PharmAccess Foundation, Njide Ndili while presenting the items expressed her appreciation of Novartis’ commitment towards the protection of frontline healthcare workers.

She reiterated that “PharmAccess is partnering with interested organizations to strengthen the Nigerian health system to improve access to basic healthcare services.”

The Cluster Head, English West Africa, Novartis Nigeria Limited, Mr Babatunde Ojo stated that, “Novartis is happy to fund initiatives that support continuity of healthcare services and prevent the spread of COVID-19 infections.

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“By providing essential PPEs to public hospitals, we hope to protect healthcare workers and encourage continued provision of healthcare services,” he said.

The initiative funded by Novartis is led by Dr. Ibironke Dada, Program Director, SafeCare, PharmAccess Foundation.

The COVID-19 pandemic poses an unprecedented challenge to health systems globally. Nigeria is witnessing an exponential rise in the number of COVID-19 positive cases because of community spread.

Care for COVID-19 patients remains the responsibility of government hospitals as private hospitals are restricted from providing care, except when accredited by State Ministries of Health.

According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, over 800 healthcare workers have tested positive for COVID-19 in Nigeria. When infection prevention protocols are not complied with, infection rates increase among both frontline health workers and the patients in their care, further affecting critical care capacity.

Recall that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for health workers is in high demand globally and expensive, hence the need for the donation by Foundation.

Vanguard