A Nigerians in Diaspora group, the Nigerian Association of Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Scientists in the Americas (NAPPSA) has donated Diagnostics and Pharmaceutical Personal Protective Equipment worth millions of Naira to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
The equipment is expected to aid Nigeria’s war against the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
At the presentation in Abuja, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) Chairman/CEO, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, described the nation’s citizens living abroad as the country’s greatest assets.
Gabriel Odu, NiDCOM Spokesperson, in a statement, quoted Mrs Dabiri-Erewa as praising members of the association for always responding to calls, requests and demands from Nigeria “wherever you are and whatever you are doing.”
She noted that there is much to adopt from the Diaspora community as it did not matter what part of the country they come from because “home is the best.”
Responding, the Director-General, NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu said a country would be considered great when its citizens came together to work for the common good.
He commended Nigerians in America’s pharmaceutical group for always being on the forefront of helping to tackle national emergencies.
Ihekweazu promised to distribute the items donated judiciously, especially to the frontline workers, majority of whom are health workers.
President of NAPPSA, Dr Anthony Iheme, who was represented by Dr Ali Johnson Onoja, said: “Though in the United States, the hearts of NAPPSA members remain at home, in Nigeria.”
The items donated to NCDC consisted of 10,000 pieces of Nitrile Examination Gloves, 2,000 bottles of Hand Sanitiser Gel, 2, 000 pieces of Regular Face Mask, 1,000 pieces of KN95 Valved Face Mask with Respirator, 1,000 pieces of Face Shield (Anti-Fog, Anti-splash) and 100 pieces of Finger Pulse Oximeter with Lanyard.
Iheme described NAPPSA as an umbrella organisation of Nigerian Association of Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Scientists in the Americas founded in 2006 with headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
The association has more than 7,000 pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists working in government, industry, hospitals, universities and the community.
