Nigeria has made a contribution of $3.5m
(574,874,061.52) to aid the fight against Ebola in West
Africa, Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu
said on Wednesday, October 8.
Chukwu also said that 591 health practitioners had
volunteered to go to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea
to contribute to efforts against the disease.
The minister reportedly disclosed this while speaking
to State House correspondents at a Federal Executive
Council meeting which had President Goodluck
Jonathan in attendance.
He said:
“I informed the United Nations General Assembly
that the President has already directed the Federal
Ministry of Health to train and send health personnel
to these three countries in the area of special
laboratory work to strengthen capacity in those
countries.
“I also informed them that as part of Nigeria’s
contributions to the international team that will be
set up to tackle Ebola Virus Disease in those
countries, already Nigeria volunteers from different
health professions have been registering with us,
willing to join the international force that will go to
Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea to help out with the
containment.
“As of now, 591 Nigerians have already registered
with us in three registries we opened in Lagos, Abuja
Port Harcourt.”
Nigeria has contained the Ebola outbreak and will
receive an official clearance from the World Health
Organization on October 20 if no new cases are
recorded before then.