Ebola: Rivers Govt Finally Receives FG’s N200m Grant

MINISTER OF HEALTH, ONYEBUCHI CHUKWU AND RIVERS COMMISIONER FOR HEALTH, SAMPSON PARER
MINISTER OF HEALTH, ONYEBUCHI CHUKWU AND RIVERS COMMISIONER FOR HEALTH, SAMPSON PARER

The Rivers State Government on Friday confirmed receipt of N200 million grant from the Federal Government to assist in the fight against the Ebola Virus Disease.

The state recorded its first case of Ebola virus disease in August when a medical doctor, Ikye Enemuo, died after he secretly treated an ECOWAS diplomat, who had contact with the index case, late Patrick Sawyer, in a Port Harcourt hotel.

Enemuo became the first victim of the virus in the state and the 3rd doctor to die of the disease in Nigeria.

The Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, had announced the approval of N200 million to the state’s government to check the spread of the virus in the state.

The same amount was also released to Lagos State, which recorded the first case of Ebola in Nigeria, to curtail the spread of the virus disease.

The Rivers State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Sampson Parker, while confirming on Friday that the state has received the money, thanked President Goodluck Jonathan for fulfilling his promise and appealed to the general public in the state to continue to observe their personal hygiene to sustain the fight against the disease.

“Let me use this opportunity to thank the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, he promised to release the sum of N200 million to the Rivers State government to assist in the fight against EVD, that has been done and we have received it”, the commissioner stated.