NMA, Red Cross donate protective equipment worth N2.5M to Zik Varsity isolation center

The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Anambra Chapter on Tuesday delivered a batch of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) N2.5 million to Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU) Medical Services Centre.

The batch of protective equipments handed over was part of the donations from the International Committee of the Red Cross Committee (ICRC) to the Anambra NMA under its COVID-19 Infection Prevention Control (IPC) partnership.

Dr Jide Onyekwelu, chairman of the association in Anambra said the donation was part of the main task of the NMA taskforce on COVID-19 which included IPC training and procurement of PPE for health workers in the state.

Onyekwelu said NMA was worried about the number of doctors and other health workers who had been infected and died as a result of covid-19 scourge in the country.

The chairman who was with Dr Jane Ezeonu, Chairman of Anambra NMA Taskforce said PPEs would help curb spread of infections between doctors and patients in the isolation centre.

The chairman said the association would continue to promote the safety of members and work with the government of Anambra to combat the pandemic to standstill.

The items donated include 460 units of hand disinfection gel, 1,000 units of plastic apron, 900 units of non-woven surgical cap, 3,000 units of latex surgical gloves, and 3,000 units of nitrile surgical gloves.

Others were 600 units of protection gown, 300 single use respiratory protection masks and 3,000 single use surgical mask.

According to him, we are formally presenting these PPEs to Unizik Medical Centre, the health workers in this isolation centre will use them to protect themselves against COVID- 19.

“NMA has plans of extending similar donations to other isolation centre including Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Awka and Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi.

“NMA in Anambra will continue to do our best by partnering government and other strategic partners to fight the scourge to a standstill and consign COVID- 19 to cosign it to dustbin of history,” he said.

Onyekwelu decided the high cost of PPEs and called on government to get more involved in the availability and accessibility of the safety equipments to health workers.

He said there was need to help private doctors who were more exposed to infections because they treat all category of patients in the society.

“Of particular mention is the private health sector, the doctor in the private healthcare facility is the most exposed because he is the primary care physician who attends to the differentiated patients.

“Before he starts suspecting that a case may be COVID-19, he is already exposed, he therefore needs the most protection, however, the sponsors of this project ICRC specifically what these PPEs to go to isolation centres only,” he said.

Receiving the equipments, Prof. Lasbery Asomugha, Director, Unizik Medical Services thanked the NMA for their kind gesture.
Onwuaso said the donations further enhances the readiness of NAU for school reopening whenever it it is announced.

“On behalf of the Vice Chancellor, Prof Charles Esimone I want to thank the NMA for donating these items and like Oliver Twist, we will always ask for more,” he said.

Dr Vincent Okpala, Commissioner of Health in Anambra was represented by Dr Uche Onyejinbe, Director of Public Health in the ministry.

It could be recalled that Anambra NMA on Aug.18 and Aug. 19 conducted an IPC training for 25 doctors in a train the trainers programme.