By: Gbenga Akingbule
As part of measures to combat the ongoing cholera epidemic in Borno State, the Rotary Club of Maiduguri, District 9127, on Monday donated significant consignment of essential medical items and drugs to the the State Ministry of Health.
Gatekepers News reports that the donation, according to the Club is valued at over a million naira and its aimed at supporting effotrs to contain the spread of cholera and provide urgent healthcare assistance to affected communities across the state.
The President, Rotary Club of Maiduguri,, Rotarian Abdulkareem Haruna made the disclosure when he other Rotarians presented the medical supplies to officials of the state government .
According to Mr Haruna, the initiative underscores Rotary Club’s core mandate of humanitarian service above self, as the club backs the government during “this trying period of cholera epidemics that have claimed dozens of lives and affected thousands of residents.”
Receiving the items, the Borno State Commissioner of Health, Professor Baba Malam Gana, lauded the Rotary Club for leading the non-governmental sector in providing critical support.
“This is such a wonderful gesture that the government and the ministry commends and appreciates,” the Commissioner remarked. He further emphasized the importance of these supplies, noting that “the items donated form part of the critical medical drugs and consumables needed at the various Cholera Treatment Centers to save lives”.
Addressing the path forward, Professor Gana expressed the need for continued partnership: “In terms of support, you’ve done that before, but I thought, you know, I will be a leverage by asking for more help. You have brought us help; we are asking for more so your team can participate in terms of cholera vaccination which will commence shortly, and also in terms of educating the public—washing hands, which can extend to even schools”.
The Commissioner highlighted that while the peak of the current outbreak is among adults aged 21 to 51, the state is prioritizing a comprehensive strategy to decentralize treatment centers and ramp up public awareness. “We are going to count on Rotary Club to help us to ensure that the people who are supposed to get the vaccination are well-informed and well-vaccinated,” Professor Gana added.
The Health Commissioner confirmed that the donated items would be immediately deployed: “Immediately these items will be transferred to our vehicles and this will be taken to the cholera control center, one in Djemtilo, the other one is at MSF center, Ngarannam, where we will be able to make use of them immediately”.
A former health commissioner and the Permanent Secretary at Borno state ministry of environment, who doubles as the Club’s Foundation and Head of the Health committee, Rotarian Dr Juliana Bitrus, informed that the donated medical consumables include:
30 cartons of Ringer’s Lactate.,.2 cartons of Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS). 1.5 cartons of giving sets. 6 boxes of cannula of different sizes.1 carton of hand sanitizer.
2 rolls of spirit. 5 packets of Neogloves.
4 rolls of cotton wool. One customized cholera bed.
