Health
THE National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has donated Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the Nigeria Police Force, for its frontline health workers to curb the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) .
The PPE included disposable face masks, hand gloves, protective clothing and spraying pumps among others
The Executive Secretary of NHIS, Prof. Mohammed Sambo, at delivery of the PPE on Thursday in Abuja said the health workers were the frontline in the fight against COVID-19.
“Health workers are endangered by COVID-19 pandemic and we have seen reports that some of the heath care facilities were deserted.
“NHIS, as part of its response, is to ensure protection of all the health workers in all the working places.
“If we protect the health care workers, we are therefore assured of continuous provision of service delivery which is the main function of NHIS,” he said.
According to him, the mandate of NHIS is to ensure access of health care to all Nigerians.
“NHIS has business relationship with all sectors.
“In fact, in the NHIS eco system, police force has Health Maintenance Organisation; all police are registered members of the Police Health Maintenance Organisation,” he said.
Receiving the consignments on behalf of Inspector- General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, AIG Austin Agbolahor in-charge of Federal Operations, Force Headquarters, thanked the NHIS for the support.
“On behalf of the I-G, I want to say a big thank you. I want to assure you that we will make judicious use of these materials.
“Nigeria police force is also frontline in the fight against COVID-19. We are calling for more donations and support for the police; we have hospitals in 36 states and FCT,’’ he said.
Also speaking, the National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Dr Sani Aliyu, said the pandemic had impacted on the health and livelihood of the people globally.
The coordinator said that responding to COVID- 19 was most challenging health emergency the world was facing.
“You can see globally that it has impacted on lives and livelihood of people.
“As part of our mandate, PTF is expected to coordinate the delivery of resources that ensures that all health care workers in the country are protected.
“The Nigeria police force has contributed immensely to the workforce. We cannot enforce our guidelines or safety advisory without them.
“We know the provision of PPE is essential for protecting healthcare workers,” he said.
According to him, in Nigeria, 10 per cent of total number of infected persons with COVID-19 is health workers.
“We welcome the initiative by NHIS to contribute to COVID-19 pandemic, providing PPE to the police and we are grateful; it will boost the morale of the health workers.
“I will encourage other government agencies to do same, in the spirit of transparency, we prefer that you give equipment rather than money,’’ he said.
NAN
– May 28, 2020 @ 18:25 GMT /
Tags: COVID-19: NHIS donates PPE to Police
