COVID-19: NIMASA donates N50m, others to fight pandemic

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has donated 20 ventilators to fight COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.

NIMASA Director-General, Dr Bashir Jamoh, said this in a statement in Lagos on Monday.

Jamoh announced the donation of N50 million to fight the virus scourge in the country with N30 million going to the Federal Government Committee on COVID-19 Intervention.

The DG said that N20 million of the total money was meant to aid the Lagos State Government’s efforts to control the spread of the virus.

NIMASA has also volunteered its six fast intervention vessels to facilitate transportation of logistics support in the maritime sector.

Jamoh said that volunteers from the agency would be deployed to join first responses from the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in Lagos and other states in managing the spread of COVID-19.

He described the ventilators as equipment that assist patients in breathing, a process sometimes referred to as artificial respiration basically needed at this time to help fight the disease. The fight against the coronavirus pandemic is our collective battle.

The COVID-19 pandemic is upon humanity. It came suddenly upon a virtually unprepared world and demands drastic actions from all and sundry to contain the virus and salvage our common humanity.

We are concerned about the effect of the pandemic on the socio-economic life of the country, especially at a time NIMASA, Nigeria’s maritime industry regulator, is driving a Blue Economy campaign.

According to him, the campaign is meant to make maritime a key part of President Muhammadu Buhari’s economic diversification agenda.

Jamoh said that the agency had also volunteered four fully equipped brand new ambulances, four Hilux trucks and four 36-seater Coaster buses.

He said the vehicles were meant to support and facilitate land-based logistics in the Federal Capital Territory, Delta, Rivers, Cross River, Lagos and Kaduna states.

The DGl listed other medical equipment donated by NIMASA to fight the COVID-19 in Nigeria to include 60 beds, 20-Patient ICU Monitors, 20 Oxygen concentration and 10 Infusion pumps.

Others are 10 syringe pumps, 20 oxygen giving sets, 10 suction machines and 100 set of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

This is our little contribution to aid the robust efforts of the Federal and State Governments, to fight the virus.

It is our token of love, concern for Nigerians and a gesture of appreciation to the authorities’ proactive measures in this collective fight against a common enemy,” the director-general said.