Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
The Taraba office of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on Wednesday presented 100 hospital beds and other items to the state Task Force on COVID-19 as part of efforts to combat the spread of the disease in the state.
Presenting the items at the premises of the SDGs office in Jalingo, the Special Adviser to Gov. Darius Ishaku on SDGs, Dr Alfred Kobiba said the items included 100 hospital beds; 100 mattresses; 100 pillows; 100 bed side lockers; 12,000 face masks and 7,950 textbooks for primary four and primary six pupils.
Kobiba said that all the items were donated by the Office of the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on SDGs in Abuja to compliment goals number 3 and 4 respectively for quality health and quality education.
He said that the books would be distributed to about 53 selected primary schools across the state.
While commending president Buhari for the commitment of the Federal Government to the fight against COVID-19, Kobiba said that the items would be handed over to the Chairman, Technical Committee on COVID-19, Dr Innocent Vakkai, who is also the State Commissioner of Health.
“He will in turn hand over some of the items to the State Primary Education Board (UBEC), the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jalingo, the State Specialists Hospital and the Hope Afresh Foundation, an NGO run by Mrs Anna Ishaku, wife of the state governor, to cater for the needs of the vulnerable,” he said.
Responding on behalf of the recipients of the items, Vakkai thanked the federal government and office of the Sustainable Development Goals for its contributions, especially to the health and education sectors.
He said that the combined efforts of the Taraba Government and the federal government had made it possible to control the spread of COVID-19 in the state.
“We have not recorded a single fatality in Taraba since the beginning of the pandemic early this year. The second wave of the pandemic is threatening the entire world but we trust that the combined efforts of all stakeholders will make us succeed in containing the scourge in the state,” he said.
The commissioner urged all citizens to continue to observe the non pharmaceutical protocols of wearing the face mask, maintaining social distance and regular hand washing in order to remain safe.
