The United Nations, UN, has expressed uncertainty over the impacts and true nature of the spread of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Nigeria, saying it is yet unclear, and therefore the quality of response to the disease must match the scale of the crisis. Mr Edward Kallon, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria made this clear this Monday in Abuja during the launch of the Nigeria/UN COVID-19 Basket Fund.
“From preliminary macro and micro social-economic analysis, the COVID 19 Pandemic is expected to place immense pressure on Nigeria’s healthcare system and will result in a serious economic and fiscal pressure with a risk of a negative social impact if proactive measures are not taken to prevent, prepare, respond and cushion the economic impact of the Pandemic.
“The International Monetary Fund has reassessed the global prospect for growth for 2020 and 2021, declaring that we have entered a recession – as bad as or worse than in 2009. We must respond decisively, innovatively and together to suppress the spread of the virus and address the socio-economic devastation that COVID-19 is causing in our world today. “The magnitude of the response must match the scale of the crisis — large-scale, coordinated and comprehensive, with the country and international responses being guided by the World Health Organization. And it must be multilateral, with countries showing solidarity to the most vulnerable communities and nations.
He said; “This is a trying moment for all of us as our shared humanity is under threat of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Societies around the globe are in turmoil and economies are in a nose-dive. It is still unclear what the true magnitude of the spread and impact of the virus will look like in Nigeria. The available emerging evidence is however clear, the only effective response to the COVID-19 Pandemic is testing, isolation and contact tracing.
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He said; “This is a trying moment for all of us as our shared humanity is under threat of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Societies around the globe are in turmoil and economies are in a nose-dive. It is still unclear what the true magnitude of the spread and impact of the virus will look like in Nigeria. The available emerging evidence is however clear, the only effective response to the COVID-19 Pandemic is testing, isolation and contact tracing. “From preliminary macro and micro social-economic analysis, the COVID 19 Pandemic is expected to place immense pressure on Nigeria’s healthcare system and will result in a serious economic and fiscal pressure with a risk of a negative social impact if proactive measures are not taken to prevent, prepare, respond and cushion the economic impact of the Pandemic.
“The International Monetary Fund has reassessed the global prospect for growth for 2020 and 2021, declaring that we have entered a recession – as bad as or worse than in 2009. We must respond decisively, innovatively and together to suppress the spread of the virus and address the socio-economic devastation that COVID-19 is causing in our world today. “The magnitude of the response must match the scale of the crisis — large-scale, coordinated and comprehensive, with the country and international responses being guided by the World Health Organization. And it must be multilateral, with countries showing solidarity to “The recovery from the COVID-19 crisis must lead to a different economy.
Everything we do during and after this crisis must be with a strong focus on building resilience, ensuring equal access to social services through systems strengthening, in particular, health systems strengthening, and investments in building more equal, inclusive and sustainable economies and societies that are more resilient in the face of pandemics, climate change, and the many other global challenges we face,” Kallon added. Launching the “One COVID-19 Basket Fund for Nigeria”, Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation SGF, Mr Boss Mustapha described it as a monumental joint initiative that signals the togetherness that humanity desires at all times.
According to him, the “basket fund” which will serve as the only ‘Financing and Investment Platform’, through which different multisectoral stakeholders can channel their financial contributions to the multisectoral efforts of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 Response. The Nigeria/UN COVID-19 Basket Fund will also enhance coordination, technical and financial support to the Presidential Task Force to prevent, prepare and respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic. He said; “On 23rd March 2020, the national COVID-19 leadership of Nigeria met with the UN leadership and key bilateral donors to discuss the unfolding emergency. Both parties agreed to adopt the ‘Four Ones’ guiding principles of engagement for national authorities and partners to respond to the pandemic:
