The Covid-19 pandemic has overwhelmed health systems around the world in an unprecedented manner. It has become a global health, economic and humanitarian challenge that governments alone cannot handle.
This has prompted a "charge to duty" response from the private sector, such that has never been witnessed in history.
Without a doubt, the pandemic poses a great threat to human existence, gravely challenging lives and businesses.
However, rather than gloom, business organisations have gone the extra mile beyond the commonly known corporate social responsibility initiatives to being more actively involved in the collective effort of preserving lives and livelihoods, either individually or collectively, to save humanity from a common enemy.
In
The partnership, under the umbrella of the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID), is said to be the brainchild of
The initiative is a practical demonstration of how an idea can translate into an unprecedented mobilisation of support across sectors for government's efforts at preserving the lives of Nigerians in the face of a global threat.
This is seen in some circles as running in the DNA of
The bank's role in the collaboration underscores its well-known visionary and exemplary leadership initiative in times of crises. This must be viewed against the background of the fact that the pandemic is a challenge like no other, and in no way comparable to Ebola that was successfully nipped in the bud before it could cause much havoc back in 2014.
Worthy of note is the fact that all the organizations that have signed on to the project have relegated business interests to the background, focusing on the safety and wellbeing of Nigerians.
The mission of CACOVID is to work with the government and other agencies to provide direct support to the country's health sector, both public and private, through provision of technical and operational support, as well as funding for the setting up of testing, isolation and treatment centres in the six geo-political zones for the management of COVID-19 cases.
It also seeks, through aggressive awareness campaigns, to educate the public and secure its buy-in for the fight in order to prevent the pandemic from getting out of control, as it is increasingly becoming the case in some parts of the world. It is doing this through advocacy for strict adherence to safety guidelines stipulated by the
The Coalition is working with the core values of humanity, integrity, transparency and professionalism, with activities targeted at making very significant and highly impactful social investments in the fight against COVID-19 in all its ramifications throughout the country, primarily focusing on saving lives and livelihoods. This is more so considering the fact that the fight against the pandemic is a long haul, with no end in sight.
The Coalition kick started its activities with mobilization of funds that run into billions of naira, domiciled in the
The intervention has led to significant scaling up of testing across the country, which partly accounts for the high positive cases that are recorded daily. This is a contrast to the low figures that were recorded long after the crisis began in
Because of the peculiar situation in
Nigerians believe the involvement of the private sector in the fight against COVID-19 will quicken the process of not only flattening the curve of the virus, but also the ultimate goal of eradicating it in the country.
This belief stems from the fact that the Coalition has taken from the government the huge burden of finding the required resources to fund a war which end is not foreseeable at the moment - in these difficult times when the government is cash strapped trying to fund other equally important developmental projects amid falling oil prices.
It has left to the government the responsibility to formulate policies and guidelines, and also provide the necessary political backing, while it mobilises the resources required to prosecute the war. The latter is perhaps the most critical component of the war.
With the COVID-19 partnership, Wigwe has once again demonstrated in practical terms
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