The federal government has urged the House of Representatives to develop a legislative framework to tackle current challenges posed by covid-19, and prepare Nigeria for any future pandemic.
It also called on the Legislature to develop a legislative framework that will reform the country’s healthcare systems as well as strengthen economic growth.
The Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 made the appeal while appearing before the House on Tuesday alongside members of his team.
Mustapha who called on the National Assembly to deepen the legislative oversight during the pandemic and after, also urged the lawmakers to pass legislations that will ease the ability of the Executive to cushion the impact occassioned by the outbreak.
He noted that his team upon inauguration “developed a multisectoral Response Action Plan to guide our national response through”
“High level engagement with the organized private sector for better coordination of their core competencies and expertise.
“Mobilization of the States and Local Government areas resources in preparation for the possible spread of the disease into communities”, he said, citing other strategies brought up for ease of execution, which he said include:
“Encouraging our indigenous researchers to develop appropriate solutions for our environment”.
Speaking on the situation in Kano, the PTF chairman said: “Kano is fast emerging as the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic in the North, which necessitated Mr. President’s specific directives in his broadcast of Monday, 27th April, 2020”.
“The PTF has been working closely with the Kano State Government and key stakeholders to identify the issues and seek immediate solutions. We have deployed a technical team of 41 staff from NCDC supported by 17 staff from WHO to provide technical assistance to the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC). A team of clinicians and public health experts under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Health is also in Kano to provide training on case management and strengthen the capacity of the State to handle emergencies.
“A key weakness of the Kano COVID-19 response is the lack of adequate manpower for surveillance and contact tracing. The PTF has mobilised resources from across the health sector including multilaterals, bilaterals, MDAs and the private sector to push through an accelerated expansion of the rapid response teams (RRTs) from 21 to 50.
“This required the provision of 30 additional vehicles from INEC and 15 ambulances from the PTF and private sector. A further 10 hilux vehicles and 10 ambulances have also been pledged by the private sector.
“Working with partners, we are establishing at least one sample collection centre and two facilitators per LGA. In addition to a 7-day motorised campaign across major urban areas in Kano. We have mobilised about 3300 informants through the WHO/polio programme for house-to-house search and reporting of suspected cases.
“The Federal government will in due course announce significant additional material and technical resources to complement the State government’s efforts in combating the COVID-19 pandemic in Kano”, Mustapha said.
He added saying that, based on the committee’s assessment, an additional Lockdown of Kano for two weeks, Manpower Support, with a team of experts sent to review the response structure and assess the situation –working closely with the political and professional authorities.
“Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, these activities carried out by the PTF are applicable nationwide but more emphasis has been placed on the epicenters where community spread has commenced with a threat to family transmission on the increase.
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