The United States government has pleaded with Nigeria to extend its
assistance to three other countries in the West African sub-region that
have been grappling with the Ebola Virus Disease.The American Under Secretary of State on African Affairs, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who stated this in an interview with journalists on Thursday during a courtesy visit to the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, said there was the need for Nigeria to assist Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia in the fight against the disease.
She was, however, evasive on why the President Barack Obama’s administration refused to assist Nigeria with Zmapp drugs.
She said the US was proud of the way Chukwu, the Federal Health Ministry members of staff and the Federal Government had effectively been working hard to deal with the EVD outbreak in Nigeria.
Thomas-Greenfield said, “They are taking all the right steps to control this. And they are having great success here. I appealed to the minister to assist neighbouring Liberia, Sierra-Leone (and Guinea) as they also grapple with this terrible outbreak.”
She however said it was not true that the US government had failed to assist Nigeria with Zmapp drugs.
“That is not correct; I think the Centre for Disease Control has proactively supported all the countries in the West African region in dealing with the situation. It is not about Zmapp.”
In his response, Chukwu said, “Nigeria has always been her brothers and sisters’ keeper. Nigeria helped and founded ECOWAS. You remember it was during Gen. Yakubu Gowon, when he was Head of States, that ECOWAS was established. Nigeria will continue to play that leading role in ECOWAS. We are going to assist our sister nations. Let me also reaffirm that the United States of America has fully been part of this battle; how to contain the Ebola Virus Disease in Nigeria. US CDC has done wonderfully well.
“Even if you go remotely, part of the infrastructure we have in Nigeria was because US CDC worked with Nigeria to get them established. So, we are grateful to the government of United States; and the support continues to come in. Even some of the hand-held infrared thermometers we are using were provided by the United States government.”