WHO praises Nigerian Govt for swiftness, transparency on Coronavirus

By AKINOLA AJIBOLA 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has commended the Nigerian Government on measures taken to contain the spread of coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, in the country.

The Director-General of the United Nations health agency, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, recognised the government’s effort in a tweet on Saturday.

He also thanked the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for its efforts since the index case of the virus was reported late February.

Ghebreyesus noted that Nigeria was swift and transparent in the manner it shared the sequence of coronavirus from the country’s first case.

“This a true act of solidarity and an important step in stopping the coronavirus from spreading further,” he said.

The remarks by the health agency’s director-general was in reaction to an earlier tweet by the NCDC that Nigeria has published the first African SARS-CoV-2 genome sequence, from coronavirus.

His tweet did not go unnoticed as the Director-General of NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, thanked the Ethiopian for recognising the efforts of the Federal Government and others fighting the virus in the country.

Ihekweazu, however, noted that the nation still has “a long journey ahead” in ensuring that the people of the country were protected from the virus and similar diseases.

Thank you @NCDCgov & the Government of #Nigeria for the swift & transparent way you have shared the #COVID19 sequence from the country’s first case. This a true act of solidarity and an important step in stopping the #coronavirus from spreading further —Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) on March 7, 2020.

Thank you @DrTedros for recognising the collaborative efforts of Nigeria – @ProfAkinAbayomi of @LSMOH, @LawalSalako of @nimrnigeria, Prof Omilabu of @LUTHofficial, @christian_happi of @acegid_lab and our #NCDCTeam. (Channels TV)