President Goodluck Jonathan and U.S. Vice
President Joe Biden have agreed that Nigeria and
the United States would work together to urgently
curtail the outbreak of Ebola virus.
Messrs. Jonathan and Biden met in Washington
D.C on Tuesday on the side-line of the on- going
US-Africa African leader’s summit, according to a
‘readout’ issued by the White House, Office of the
Vice President.
Eight persons in Nigeria have come down with
symptoms of Ebola since a 40-year-old Liberian-
American, Patrick Sawyer, died of the disease in
Lagos.
The identity of a second victim of the deadly virus
has been withheld by government who revealed
the mentioned the victim as a nurse who had
contact with Mr. Sawyer at the hospital in Lagos.
According to the World Health Organisation, over
800 persons have died from the Ebola virus from
the three main hit West African countries of
Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
Meanwhile, in a White House statement, Mr.
Biden spoke about the U.S. partnership with
Nigeria in the fight against terrorism.
He was reported to have stressed the need to
pursue holistic approaches that respect and
protect human rights
“The Vice President also underscored the
importance of supporting Nigeria’s effort to
improve the socioeconomic and security
conditions in northern Nigeria,” the statement by
the White House said.
Further, Mr. Biden was quoted to have welcomed
Nigeria’s work to improve its business climate,
which continues to attract U.S. investors.
Both leaders were reported to have expressed
their commitments to trade and investment, and
the critical role that access to electricity plays in
supporting that goal.
President Barack Obama, on June 30, launched
Power Africa, an innovative private sector-led
initiative aimed at doubling electricity access in
sub-Saharan Africa.
It is believed that no fewer than 600 million
people currently lack access to electricity in the
region.
Mr. Obama used the occasion of the summit to
announce a renewed commitment to this
initiative and pledged a new level of $300 million
in assistance per year to expand the reach of
Power Africa.
He also announced $6 billion in new private
sector commitments, bringing the total private
sector commitments under Power Africa to date
to more than $20 billion
The U.S. government has set an ambitious
aggregate goal of 30,000 MW of additional
capacity to Africa and increasing electricity access
by at least 60 million households and business
connections.

http://m.premiumtimesng.com/news/166129-nigeria-u-s-partner-to-curtail-ebola-outbreak.html

more action and less talk pls