Rivers releases N300m to fight Ebola

Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has said that his administration has released over N300m to fight the Ebola virus.

Amaechi disclosed this on Tuesday when the Country Director of the World Health Organisation in Nigeria, Mr. Rui Vaz, paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House in Port Harcourt.

The governor also pledged to work together with WHO to fight the Ebola virus in the state, even as he assured that his administration would do everything to contain the disease.

Amaechi said, “Whatever it takes for us to overcome Ebola, please, I will do it because it costs more if Ebola is on the loose than if it is contained.

“So, we are happy that the World Health Organisation is here to assist Rivers State. We are happy that the World Health Organisation appreciates the dangers of Ebola to our communities.

“We need to contain Ebola.  If there is no cure, then there is containment so that more persons don’t contract it. The Rivers State Government is prepared to take all the responsibility.  The citizens are ours.”

He, however, urged politicians in the state against politicising the Ebola outbreak and added that his resolve was to protect the lives of the people of the state.

According to him, “They cannot be talking about politics in the midst of Ebola. We are talking about lives. For me, I am the governor of Rivers State.

“I am elected to protect the lives of Rivers people and to ensure that they are alive.  That is my responsibility to the people of the State.”

He said his administration would concentrate on necessary measures to contain the spread of the disease in the state.

Amaechi thanked the WHO for coming to the state and promised to actively participate in the collaboration.

Earlier, the WHO representative in Nigeria told Amaechi that the global health body would render technical support to the state to fight the Ebola virus.

He said WHO would also provide necessary support in areas of expertise, logistics, media, case management, surveillance among others.

He said, “Our main role is to provide technical support in terms of our experts that are here in Lagos and in Port Harcourt, in surveillance, in laboratory capacity, support in terms of case management, how to deal with the case that we have, support in terms of logistics, the personal protection equipment, reagents for medicine.

“Also, support in terms of media, training people to know the key message to inform the community and that is a critical matter also. It is clear that we can contain the epidemic of Ebola in Port Harcourt and we have no doubt that already the structures are in place.”