By Juliet Umeh
As part of its contribution to help Nigeria fight the coronavirus with state-of-the-art medical infrastructure, the telecommunications service provider, Airtel Nigeria, has begun the refurbishment and equipping of a four-story infectious disease center and intake center. for the use of specialized units in the Department. of Medicine at the University Hospital of Lagos, LUTH, Idi-Araba.
Airtel Nigeria had announced in July that, as part of the activities that marked a decade of doing successful business in Nigeria, it would spend N300m to support the fight against COVID-19, being the final part of the N1.9b it promised last April. in the early stages of the pandemic.
According to the CEO and CEO of the telecommunications company, According Ogunsanya, N200m would be invested in renovating and equipping the infectious disease center at LUTH; N50m to the government of the state of Lagos to acquire personal protective equipment, PPE for the health workers of the state of Lagos and N50m for the acquisition of a molecular laboratory that will be provided by 54 Gene with capacity for 300 tests per day for the state of Ogun.
Additionally, LUTH Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Bode expressed his sincere appreciation to the telecommunications company for its kind gesture, citing it as a significant contribution from the private sector to bolster efforts to reduce the spread of disease. infectious such as the coronavirus in the country. country.
He said: “Airtel has further demonstrated its altruistic nature through this commitment, as this will not only help us fight the virus effectively, but will also give us a state-of-the-art post-COVID-19 medical infrastructure.
“The room that Airtel is currently renovating was commissioned 58 years ago under the leadership of the Nigerian Federal Government and this marks a momentous occasion in the history of the hospital. I would like to greatly thank Airtel management and its stakeholders for this commendable project. I am confident that this will significantly strengthen Nigeria’s efforts to address the pandemic and ultimately defeat it, ”he said.
Also recognizing Airtel’s contribution to the provision of personal protective equipment, PPE, for health workers in Lagos, the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, expressed his appreciation to Airtel Nigeria for being counted during this period. uncertain and critical like him, he reiterated his administration’s commitment to combat the pandemic and mitigate the impact on the population of Lagos state.
Sanwo-Olu recalled that Airtel Nigeria employees were the first group of employees to make a donation of N20m of their personal contributions, which for him was a very thoughtful and commendable gesture worthy of emulation.
Commending Airtel for its support of Ogun State, State Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun said: “I wish to express our deep appreciation to your organization for magnanimously offering its support to the efforts of the Ogun State Government to contain the spread of the COVID-19 with the acquisition of a state-owned Molecular Laboratory.
“It is widely believed that the war on coronavirus can only be fought and won through aggressive testing, therefore your support will go a long way toward ensuring that the State can provide continuous testing for its citizenship while at the same time developing our capacity to a sustainable test. regime, “he said.
