No, CACOVID, no

Editorial

One of the more heart-warming developments in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic is the emergence of Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID), the private sector task force set up in partnership with the Federal Government, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to combat the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Thanks to their powerful network, organisational savvy and hefty war chest, the coalition has, in a matter of few weeks, raised billions in furtherance of their advertised intervention of raising public awareness, galvanizing support for healthcare professionals, institutions and governments and in mobilising private sector leadership and resources in the wake of the pandemic.

Of the interventions, the coalition had stated, when it set out, to provide and equip medical facilities in the six geopolitical zones to cover broad areas of testing, isolation and treatment, and provision of Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and molecular testing laboratories.

These are Lagos (1,000 beds), Kano (500 beds), Rivers (210 beds), Abuja (200 beds), Enugu (200 beds) and Borno (200 beds). The plan also covers the setting up of facilities in Katsina, Ogun, Bayelsa, Anambra, Bauchi and Plateau states.

Little wonder that Nigerians heartily welcomed the interventions seen as being at sync with their desires to see the private sector play a more active role in changing the face of the healthcare infrastructure, and now deemed an imperative given the dire infrastructural situation, particularly at this time.

Which is why the report that the coalition is planning on spending N23 billion out of the N25 billion already in the kitty to purchase food items for some 10 million vulnerable Nigerians comes as a disappointment.

The report, quoting a member, Femi Otedola, says that the distribution of the food items will be done over the next few days to reach at least 1.67 million households in all 774 local government areas in the country.

In fact, business mogul, Aliko Dangote, a leading member of the group, puts the target to be served as 10 million Nigerians – some five percent of the population. He disclosed that the logistics and planning had been worked out to make the most of available funds.

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Ordinarily, the gesture would be deemed well-meaning since any gesture, no matter how little or seemingly insignificant, to alleviate the plight of the poor during the lockdown period, will pass for efforts well directed.

Despite reports of interventions being marred by issues of logistics, ineptitude and corruption, our understanding is that the states are not letting off.

Rather than seek to duplicate their efforts, they should be encouraged to smoothen the logistics, eliminate the red tapes, while ensuring that those who need the intervention gets it.

Apart from the difficulty in appreciating the difference that the coalition can make given that it still has to work with the same structures to deliver the palliatives, the move by CACOVID can only lead to a derogation from its primary goal of enhancing the capacity of the health sector at the different tiers to deliver on their mandates.

We urge that the business of palliatives be left to the individual corporates, religious bodies and other non-governmental organisations.

We are aware that a good number are already doing a lot of this under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives and could be encouraged to do more.

CACOVID, being a child of necessity, should seek to make a difference in areas that truly matter. This should be in the areas of enduring investment in training and capacity building and provision of world-class infrastructure for the health sector.

Aside being the surest way to convert the current gloom into opportunity, it is something that accords with CACOVID”s mission to “provide direct support to private and public healthcare’s ability to respond to the crisis by providing funds to set up several testing, isolation and treatment centres in all geo-political zones”.