The Rivers State government has released the sum of N300 million to encourage the fight against the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the state, a fortnight ago.
This is as governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and the country representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Mr Rui Vaz have pledged to work together and join hands in battling Ebola outbreak in the state.
Amaechi, who spoke yesterday, September in Port Harcourt, when Vaz paid him a visit, said, “Whatever it takes for us to overcome Ebola, please I will do it because it costs more if Ebola is on the loose than if it is contained. So we are happy that the World Health Organisation (WHO) is here to assist Rivers State. We are happy that the WHO appreciates the danger of Ebola to our communities.
“We need to contain Ebola. If there is no cure then there is containment, so that more persons don’t contract it. The Rivers State government is prepared to take all the responsibility. The citizens are ours.”
The governor cautioned politicians in the state against politicising the Ebola outbreak, saying that his resolve is to protect the lives of all Rivers people.
He said, “They cannot be talking about politics in the midst of Ebola; we are talking about lives. For me, I am the governor of Rivers State. I’m elected to protect the lives of Rivers people and to ensure that they are alive.”
The governor said, “I am impressed with the performance of the Commissioner for Health, Dr Sampson Parker on the level of work he is doing and the support we have being getting from everybody. Everybody is in now; the sixty persons we were looking for voluntarily came forward to surrender themselves to Government.
And we want everybody to know that it is not everybody that will break down with Ebola. They are under surveillance for 21 days, and if nothing happens, they are free. Like you are aware that out of the three persons that were primary contacts to the late Dr. Enemuo, two persons have been confirmed negative, while one is positive. I am not a medical doctor to tell you how the medical examination works, but that is the position currently.”
Earlier, the WHO Country representative, Mr Rui Vaz, who told Amaechi that the World Health body would render technical support to the state to fight the Ebola epidemic, said the WHO would also provide necessary support in areas of expertise, logistics, media, case management, surveillance among others.