New Telegraph

COVID-19: 32 states now have molecular labs –Govs

Thirty-two of the 36 states in Nigeria now have molecular laboratories to ramp up testing of citizens for Coronavirus and other infectious diseases. Also, 29 states have received funding from the Regional Disease Surveillance Systems Enhancement (REDISSE) project to strengthen their public health response to COVID-19.

These were disclosed at the 15th virtual meeting of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) held on Wednesday. NGF Chairman, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, in a communiqué at the end of the meeting, said testing remains the number one priority for the government, adding that efforts were being made to ensure that the four remaining states get molecular laboratories. “Data from COVID-19 tests conducted in the country show that 20 local government areas in the country account for 50 per cent of the COVID-19 cases recorded.

“In the light of this, all state governments will be required to scale up risk communications campaigns in these areas through state and local structures,” the governor stated. The strategy, he added, is to provide necessary impetus on communicating with the public to curtail the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

“State governments will also be able to identify and engage with all the relevant multi-sectoral partners as the success of this strategy. Commissioners for Information are to head this exercise nationwide,” he said. The Ekiti State governor further disclosed that discussions were ongoing with the Federal Government to facilitate access to unrealised funds from the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Fund. He also stated that the NGF is awaiting an advisory from the Attorney General of the Federation on the call for a waiver on counterpart funds from states in the light of the impact of the COVID-19 on state finances.

“The forum will continue to engage with the Federal Government on the suspension of state counterpart funds required for accessing the UBE fund and the Basic Health Care Provision Fund based on the recommendations of the National Economic Council ad-hoc Committee on COVID-19 chaired by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo,” Fayemi said. He assured that state governments would continue to provide support to the independent verification teams from the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation (OAuGF) currently in states to conduct the 2019 Annual Performance Assessment for the SFTAS programme. According to him, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal-led committee interfacing with the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation on the implementation of Executive Order 10 is working on a template that would be acceptable to all parties for the implementation of financial autonomy for state legislature and judiciary. The governor stated that NGF, in collaboration with the Word Bank, “has negotiated a flexible payment term for the acquisition of a Software as a Service (SaaS) e-procurement solution for all states in the country.”

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