Global pandemics are not as rare an occurrence as we are inclined to believe. Historically, they have been a constant companion through humanity’s journey, staying close by and marching with us through history step by step. We have been able to, for the most part, contain them and march on with a relative sense of order restored. The AIDS pandemic, for instance, has been a steady fixture in the world since the 1970s, we have only been able to develop a promising cure in 2020. In this same year, an extremely virulent strain of the Sars-COV virus family, COVID-19, has forced the world into a very costly holiday.
At every point that human societies have had to face a great upheaval like this ravaging pandemic, which has infected over 2.5million globally and killed more than 200,000 of that number, the only way we have overcome is by coming together in solidarity to fight our invisible but powerful adversary. This coming together, that history has shown us is necessary for humanity to win against any universal threat, is at the core of what inspired the formation of the private sector Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID).
Combating COVID-19
Nigeria reported its index coronavirus case on February 27, 2020. In the time since, over 1500 confirmed cases have been documented, with about 40 fatalities and 255 recoveries. The numbers are projected to rise, then flatten, as more testing and treatment centres are made available across the country.
With some of the country’s major cities implementing total lockdowns in a bid to halt new infections, tens of millions of Nigerians have been forced to stay indoors for the collective good of all. This enforcement raises the question, ‘What does this mean for the most vulnerable in Nigeria?’
CACOVID is addressing this question with action.
Launched with a singular mission to fast track the end of COVID-19 in Nigeria, CACOVID has gone ahead to collaborate with government at all levels, providing direct support to the health ministry’s ability to adequately respond to the pandemic. CACOVID has thus far, raised over N25 billion and has begun erecting isolation and treatment centres in all the geo-political zones in Nigeria. Furthermore, the Coalition has been undertaking aggressive awareness and education campaigns to get buy-in and ultimately, prevent the spread of the virus among individuals.
While speaking in an interview earlier in the month, a representative of the Coalition and CEO of Access Bank PLC, Herbert Wigwe mentioned that “CACOVID’s primary goal is to save lives and minimise fatalities as much as is humanly possible. In line with this mission, CACOVID has begun to face the pressing concerns of an increasingly restless public. As some of the country’s major cities round up a fourth week of lockdown, about 1.7 million vulnerable people stand to get relief in the form of food items distributed by CACOVID’s operations committee.
At a recent press briefing, Wigwe laid out CACOVID’s approach to combating the virus, saying, “It was clear from the beginning that no institution can do it alone, so we solicit everybody’s cooperation in tackling this scourge. While several measures are being taken to stop the spread, including lockdowns and, social and physical distancing, there is the need to address the hunger. How do we cater for the feeding needs of the people if the measures put in place are to be effective?” Wigwe also touched on the thought leadership aspect of the plan which is to tackle the post-pandemic impact of COVID-19.
1.7million, door to door
Scepticism is a healthy part of human nature, and Nigerians have a very keen sense of it. The question of ‘how’ in any case is a more than natural response to the generous offer from the coalition. How will one organization reach 1.7 million homes across a country of more than 200million people?
Wigwe explained the modalities to be adopted in getting the relief materials to the targeted households, pointing out that distribution will take a bottom-up approach. The Coalition will leverage on its network to reach all 774 local government areas and will assign its partners to oversee the delivery of these materials. There is valid reason to believe that the palliatives would reach all intended beneficiaries, as one of the members of the Coalition, The Aliko Dangote Foundation, has a proven track record of food distribution in several vulnerable states in Nigeria and indeed, Africa.
The convener of the Coalition, Aliko Dangote, in an interview with Arise News expressed concern about the lack of funding, as an estimated N23 billion will be needed to adequately cater to the feeding needs of Nigerians through the projected containment period. With the amount of money already committed to the construction of isolation centres and procurement of various medical equipment, indeed, there remains a huge funding gap if the needs of Nigerians are to be met.
In addition to providing isolation centres across the country, and training of medical personnel for speedy testing, the Private sector-led Coalition Against COVID-19 has ordered for 250,000 supplies for tests and another 150,000 extraction kits to fast-track molecular testing for the deadly coronavirus.
The coalition’s communication team has also been at the forefront of the development and deployment of aggressive communication and behaviour change campaigns, to aid fast-track public buy-in of the measures like lockdown, social and physical distancing necessary to curb the spread of the deadly disease.
Beyond COVID-19
Speaking about the future, post-pandemic, and the recovery path from these difficult times, Wigwe acknowledged that, “a lot of businesses have been badly affected and economies have been disrupted.” How then do we get them back to life after we might have defeated the coronavirus?
Banks and lending institutions are key to a successful come back from this devastation. Stimulus packages will be necessary to inject life back into ailing businesses as the world recovers from the impact of this tragedy. The commendable work done by the Coalition thus far coupled with the fact that several members of CACOVID are key players in the Nigerian financial sector means that the country as a collective will be keen to see what post-pandemic packages would be unveiled to jumpstart the economy and restore normalcy to business operations.
The country’s collective experience with the coalition so far invites confidence. The hope is that this confidence will be rightly rewarded.
