Clarion Call: Abike Dabiri Rising To The Occasion In Perilous Times

The past few months have got to be the most debilitating for humans in contemporary history of mankind as the virulent COVID-19 infection wreaked havoc on every imaginable human endeavour, bringing the world to the brink.

Nigeria has not been left out by the effect of the pandemic as government tries to wade through the murky waters of economic downturn and social malaise occassioned by the concomitant effects of the pandemic on the country and the citizenry.

So excruciating is the effect of the pandemic that health workers in the frontline of the pandemic battle are now fighting an unseen army without protection.

For weeks on end, health workers, especially in Lagos — the epicenter of the pandemic in Nigeria — have complained bitterly about the dearth of equipment needed to better tackle and contain the COVID-19 infection.

Eko hot blog had, in an exclusive report, revealed how virtually all clinics and departments at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) were shut down after health workers became exposed and subsequently got infected with the COVID-19 disease due to lack of PPEs.

It also reported that health workers had to resort to using personal money to buy basic hospital equipment despite non-payment of allowance.

Eko Hot Blog had also reported that the Lagos chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives bemoaned a dearth of Personal Protective Equipment for nurses and other healthcare workers in the state.

 

They had alleged that in their collective efforts to curtail the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic, many nurses were exposed to unnecessary risks as the expected PPE was not forthcoming.

The chairman of the association, Blessing Israel, said the shortage of PPE was worrisome at Ikorodu General Hospital.

Describing the dire situation, Israel said, “Our members are overwhelmed at Ikorodu General Hospital. No PPE for them.

“There is a disparity in the kind of face masks they give the health workers.

They give three pairs of gloves to a nurse for a day at the Accident and Emergency Department. The three pairs can even be exhausted while attending to a patient. The situation is terrible.

“Some of the nurses work for 48 hours and they don’t have places to rest their heads and there is no food for them.

“We cannot accept nylon aprons that cannot protect them from this virus. This is sad.

“Even in developed countries where there are PPE, the health workers are dying. How many patients have we handled in Nigeria that we are already crying for PPE?”

Following their yearnings and persistent lamentation of lack of personal protective equipment (PPEs), amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the chairman of Nigeria in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa decided to come to the aid of the health care workers at Ikorodu general hospital.

The former house of representatives member in her sheer act of benevolence and altruism decided to donate a substantial amount of personal protective equipment to the Ikorodu General Hospital as part of the effort to address the shortage of PPEs at the hospital.

Dabiri who is also an Indigene of Ikorodu through her humanitarian gesture underscores the importance of giving back to the society, and contributing one’s quota to development of the society while at the same time advancing the cause of humanity.

She said the safety of the frontline workers must be of paramount interest to the government and other stakeholders because they are putting their lives on the line to save people and curtail the spread of the pandemic.

 

She implored members of the public “to comply with the advisories put in place by health experts to curtail the spread of the disease and not threat the the pandemic with levity”

She also called on other well-meaning Nigerians with the means to contribute to the fight against the pandemic.

For his part, Medical Director of the hospital, Adeniyi Odubiyi, expressed his gratitude to the NIDCOM chairman, saying the donation would not have come at a better time other than now as the hospital has been grappling with shortage of PPEs for a while now.

“on behalf of the hospital, I would like to express our profound gratitude to Mrs Dabiri for her thoughtfulness and support, we really appreciate the donation as it’s coming at the appropriate time, it will  give us needed motivation to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic head-on” he said

The equipment were, on Wednesday, presented to Abimbola Okudero, Deputy Medical Director and Dr Adeniyi Odubiyi, Medical Director, Ikorodu General hospital by Alhaji Ahmed Olalekan who represented the NIDCOM chairman.

 

Also read: COVID-19: Panic In Lagos As Over 40 Medical Personnel Test Positive In LUTH.