There is no gainsaying, the fact that the global war against one common enemy called Coronavirus (Covid-19) disease has been hampered by such basic needs like the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Investigations have revealed that the PPE as important as they are for all the people in the frontline war against Covid-19 especially the nurses, medical doctors, laboratory technologists, ambulance drivers and many other staff working in the health facilities, are very scarce now.
Expectedly, frontline health workers in Nigeria have decried the continued scarcity of the PPE just as the Federal Government’s quasi-outfit, Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 Pandemic has also equally lamented non-availability of the essentials for the health workers at the moment.
Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire who is also a member of the PTF on Covid-19 pandemic has admitted this much and has also advised health workers to avoid misapplication of the stock in the health facilities across Nigeria.
This advice has been reiterated by the PTF on Covid-19 daily National Coordinator, Dr. Sani Aliyu and Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, member and Director General of Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) in different fora.
But as the scarcity continues, Nigeria’s number of Covid-19 positive cases have continued to rise astronomically with the NCDC putting the total number as at last night at 981 active cases.
Sadly, the scarcity of PPE hit all countries including China where the deadly virus started in the first place but many nations have overcome the challenge of those basic equipment meant for the use of the frontline health workers.
For example, both United States of America (USA) and some other nations hit hard by the pandemic have since activated several options to mass produce PPE and even the most difficult equipment to come by, the ventilators.
Governments and manufacturing companies have got smart and creative too in devising other ways of making PPE available for the frontline health workers in their countries.
Curiously, the case is different in Nigeria, ‘the giant of Africa’ as the scarcity of PPE has persisted with the authorities totally overwhelmed by the difficulty in procuring the equipment even with cash in hand.
With many nations struggling to meet the needs of their own frontline health workers and airports across the world closed, it becomes more difficult to bring in the equipment into Nigeria.
It is therefore very sad that government agencies, research institutions, scientists and multi national manufacturing companies in Nigeria have not taken proactive measures or necessary steps to find solution to the scarcity of PPE.
In USA, some automobile manufacturing companies have plunged into manufacturing of ventilators while other companies went into mass of production of essential consumables including Medical Face Masks, Hand gloves, etc.
Indeed, Covid-19 pandemic has thrown up some fundamental questions in the Health Sector as well as in the study of Science and Technology.
That Covid-19 has defiled all Scientific Know-how of men especially the Virologist, Epidemiologist, Pathologist, Microbiologist, etc is still a mystery.
By the time this unseen enemy of the world is defeated, the world including Nigeria will not be the same again just as the PTF on Covid-19 Chairman and the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha has alluded to the fact.
He has been saying it loud and clear at PTF on Covid-19 daily press briefing that with the new impetus to rehabilitate the country’s broken Health Sector by the Federal Government “our public health facilities will not be the same again”.
Let us believe him but there must be a quick fix for the non-availability of PPE if we are serious about the fight against Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria.
I rest my case.
Harry Awurumibe, is Prompt News Abuja Editor.
