COVID-19: Delta partners W/Bank, inaugurates c’ttee on Co-PREP

The Delta State government says it is partnering with the World Bank to fight the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa stated this when he inaugurated the Delta State Project Steering Committee of the Nigeria COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Project (Co-PREP), at the Government House, Asaba.

Okowa, represented by Kingsley Otuaro, his deputy, said the committee would oversee the implementation of Co-PREP projects at the state level.

According to him, the steering committee headed by Mordi Ononye, the commissioner for health, would also review progress reports and oversee the State Coordinating Unit (SCU) to ensure timely implementation of the project.

He said the state government would continue to collaborate with NCDC and development partners to ensure the availability of adequate infrastructure for timely case detection and management, and to build capacity of the healthcare workforce.

“The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in the early part of 2020 was an ill-wind that blew the world no good.

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“As a state, we did all in our power to respond accordingly to the pandemic in terms of what we were meant to do as directed by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

“We are thankful to God almighty that the pandemic from all indication even though not completely gone is subsiding, it is our prayer that it should go completely in no distant time.

“It requires us to remain alert, keep our guards and respond adequately giving the information and knowledge that the COVID-19 has different variants and various ways it could be contracted,”

He said the inauguration of the committee was in pursuant of the state government’s partnership with the World Bank to fight the pandemic.

“This is world bank assisted project meant to be implemented by the collaboration of the various states in the country and the NCDC to be able to access the grant made available by the World Bank.

“This grant is only accessible on the condition that certain criteria are met and so the inauguration of the committee is an integral part of the requirements by the World Bank,” Otuaro stated.

Other members of the committee are Fidelis Tilije, commissioner for finance; Barry Pere-Gbe, commissioner for economic planning; Charles Aniagwu, commissioner for information; Evelyn Oboro, commissioner for water resources; Ejiro Ogheneaga, permanent secretary, ministry of health, among others.

Chairman of the committee, Ononye thanked Governor Okowa for finding them worthy to contribute their quota towards limiting the spread of pandemic in Delta State.