The United States Government has donated equipment worth $500,000
to boost screening of the Ebola Virus Disease at the Murtala Muhammed
International Airport so as to contain its spread in Nigeria.
The US Consul General in Nigeria, Mr. John Hawkins, made the
donation at the airport on Friday, August 22, at the airport.
“The donation of the equipment is a symbol of willingness on
the part of the American Government to assist Nigeria in any way possible to
combat the scourge,” he said.
Known as infrared thermometers or non-contact thermometers,
the portable handheld equipment has the ability to measure body temperature of
in-bound and out- bound passengers for possible Ebola symptoms from a distance.
Hawkins, who expressed satisfaction with the timely response
of the Nigerian Government to the contagious disease since its importation into
the country by a Liberian-American, Patrick Sawyer, a month ago, commended the
measures already put in place at the Lagos airport.
According to Punch report, Hawkins pointed out that the
deadly virus neither a Nigerian nor West-African problem but a problem to
humanity as a whole.
He also applauded the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria
(FAAN) for providing the necessary infrastructure for the Port Health Services
and collaborating agencies to effectively discharge their duties in the face of
the threat posed by the Ebola virus.
After the first case of Ebola was reported in Nigeria which
came into the country through Sawyer who flew in from Liberia, in-bound and
out-bound passengers especially from West African countries where the virus is
spreading have been undergoing screening at the airport.
The African Union (AU) Commission recently decided to deploy
a joint military medical personnel and civilian humanitarian mission to help
with the Ebola virus outbreak in parts of West Africa.
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