By Onche Odeh
(Lagos),
Hassan Zaggi (Abuja) and Dan Abia
(P/Harcourt)

The N1.9 billion announce by
President Goodluck Jonathan as
special intervention Fund to curb the
outbreak of the Ebola Virus Decease
in Nigeria continues to generate
controversies, following insinuations
that the Federal Ministry of Health
(FMoH) may have diverted it to other
uses.

In August, when the president
announced approval for the fund, he
was emphatic about its use.
In a statement by Jonathan’s Senior
Special Adviser on Media and
Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, it was
clearly stated that the fund is to
strengthen efforts to contain the
virus, including the establishment of
additional isolation centres, case
management, contact tracing,
deployment of additional personnel,
screening at borders, and the
procurement of required items and
facilities, among others. This
generated so much applause for the
president who was hailed for taking
the right decision at the right time.
But, recent information from the
FMOH showed that the fund would be
used, within the next few weeks, to
acquire equipment for tertiary
hospitals.

This is happening at a time when
other revelations have suggested the
contrary. Sunday Independent was
reliably informed that the federal
ministry officials at a meeting of the
World Health Organisation (WHO) on
Ebola in Geneva, a fortnight ago, in a
presentation showed how the N1.9b
was spent, a situation that aroused
the curiosity of Nigerians
representing other institutions at the
meeting.
“What we hear is that the fund was
yet to be released. But at a meeting
in Geneva, there was a presentation
by a representative of the Nigerian
government, in which a slide showed
how the N1.9b was spent,” our source
said.

Meanwhile, a reliable source at the
health ministry in Abuja anonymously
told Sunday Independent, in Abuja
that the ministry has since placed
order for the equipment.
Permanent Secretary, Federal
Ministry of Health, Linus Awute, also
made clarifications on this at a
meeting with heads of tertiary
hospitals in the country in Abuja, on
Wednesday.

Awute explained that the fund was
the capital budget submitted to
President Goodluck Jonathan which
was approved, leading to the release
of N1.9 billion which was meant to
purchase equipments for
decontamination, PPEs and vehicles.
Few weeks ago, the Minister of
Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, said:
“We did say that the N1.9billion that
the President approved was for the
Federal Ministry of Health; those
ones that the Federal Ministry of
Health should champion. That fund
was provided based on the budget
that the Federal Ministry of Health
submitted to Mr. President. It was
not termed an Ebola Fund.”

Emphasising this, the minister said, “I
repeat, because now I hear that in
some places, even village heads are
asking for their own share. Nigeria is
always thinking of sharing money. It
is money for the Federal Ministry of
Health to use in working. They are
going to use it to procure more
vehicles; which have already been
ordered.
“It is a budget for the Federal
Ministry of Health and its agencies as
submitted by the Federal Ministry of
Health to Mr. President.
“What I am saying is that there will
still be other funds that will still be
released in various ways depending
on what any of the cognate agencies
is requesting from Mr. President that
must be done.”

In a sharp response to this, President,
National Union of Allied Health
Professionals, Felix Faniran, said the
sudden change in what the Fund is to
be used for, shows lack of
transparency.
Faniran, however, said using the
money to strengthen the health
system, if Nigeria successfully
contains the current Ebola outbreak
is a welcome idea, but only if it would
be judiciously used.

He said: “When Mr President
announced the fund, the public
believed it was meant to address the
Ebola virus disease. It would have
been better used for that purpose in
order to increase awareness on the
killer disease and adopt further
measures to prevent the disease from
gaining secondary entry into the
country.”

Faniran who is also the Vice
President of Joint Health Sector
Union (JOHESU), further said,
“however, if the money is to be
diverted to Health System Equipment
based on the current situation that
Ebola disease has been successfully
contained, one would not unduly
frown on the idea, provided the fund
is truly spent to procure high quality,
durable and necessary equipment.”

Meanwhile, Lagos and Rivers, two
states hit by the current outbreak,
have confirmed receipt of N200
million assistance each from the FG
to fight the Ebola outbreak.
As at Thursday Lagos State
announced that, of the 366 persons
that were initially followed, there are
no more persons to follow up on,
bringing hope of a successful
containment. In Rivers, the
Commissioner for Health, Sampson
Parker, disclosed on Wednesday that
there were 340 Ebola Virus disease
(EVD) cases under surveillance in the
state.


dailyindependentnig.com/2014/09/health-ministry-diverts-n1-9b-ebola-fund/

Smh if the love between married couples were as strong as the love between naija and corruption, experts in divorce would have ran out of clients.