Ademola Adegbite takes a look at various challenges and actions taken by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to surmount the hurdles of the deadly COVID-19 virus in the past one year.
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states were the first few states in Nigeria to be hit by the deadly COVID-19 virus in March 2020. In the case of Lagos, an Italian who had come in from outside the country was said to have tested positive for the coronavirus. His contact in Ogun State which has very close proximity to Lagos also tested positive. This was followed by the FCT where a positive case was confirmed on March 21, 2020.
Following the advice of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 and to curtail the spread of the deadly virus, the Federal Government, through President Muhammadu Buhari, on March 29, 2020 declared a total lockdown in the FCT as well as Lagos and Ogun states. Schools, religious institutions, markets for non-essential services, recreational centres, among others were also shut down for an initial period of two weeks.
Drawing inspiration from the PTF, as well as having monitored the situation in China and the various measures adopted by other countries to tackle the pandemic, the FCT Administration, headed by the minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello and the Minister of State, Dr Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, set up internal mechanisms to contain and curtail the spread of the deadly virus.
Among the pragmatic steps taken by the FCTA was the setting up of the Ministerial Expert Advisory Task Team on COVID-19, made up of private sector stakeholders and headed by a former Minister of the FCT, Dr Aliyu Modibbo. The team was tasked with the responsibility of harnessing private sector support and efforts towards defeating the deadly virus. Specifically, the team was mandated to rally wealthy individuals and organisations to provide medical, financial and other material support in cushioning the effect of the pandemic in the FCT.
Working together with stakeholders like the China Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCECC), the elegant five-storey IDU train facility Training Centre was outfitted to accommodate an initial 300 beds and later expanded to 400, to be used as an isolation and treatment center. The Asokoro General Hospital and the Karu hospitals were also renovated and re-equipped for this purpose.
The Karu General Hospital in particular, was renovated to cater for three levels of patients; those coming for general testing and identification, those that require to be quarantined, those who will require intensive care, for which a 17-bed section was made available and equipped with all the needed facilities, including ventilators.
In addition to these isolation and treatment centres, the FCTA also worked very closely with the University Teaching Hospital at Gwagwalada to expand the capacity of the isolation and treatment centre at that location so that it would be able to accommodate more patients. The Zuba General Hospital was also set aside for possible conversion into an isolation and treatment centre to be able to accommodate more patients, should the need arise.
The advisory task team was also able to get on board several other private organisations, which include the FATE Foundation, Polaris Bank, Julius Berger Nigeria PLC and Binani Group. They were all rallied to provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), monitoring machines, cash donations, furniture, air conditioners and power generators at the IDU 400-bed facility.
Frontline health workers, including doctors and nurses were trained and deployed to man the isolation and treatment centres.
However, database from the FCT Social Development Secretariat (SDS) as well as the religious and traditional institutions showed at that time, that the FCT had a huge number of poor and vulnerable persons within its communities.
It was against this backdrop that the administration, in partnership with the relevant federal agencies, was able to establish a robust mechanism to cater for vulnerable people within the city and the Area councils.
Working together with these bodies, the FCT Palliative Committee was set up, headed by the Minister of State, Dr Aliyu, and supported by the chairmen of the six Area Councils and other stakeholder groups, including traditional and religious authorities. NGOs were also part of the community wide initiative to ensure that vulnerable members of the society were catered for.
To ensure that nobody was left behind, the administration adopted the use of live supervision and video coverage, in case there is need also to revisit the process.
In the end, a reasonable number of the vulnerable people in the territory were identified and given palliatives.
With the support of the security personnel and private individuals, who volunteered their vehicles, these palliatives were escorted and delivered to various locations across the FCT.
To improve the process of interphase with the residents, the administration also converted the regular FCT Call Centre in Area 11 to the COVID-19 Situation Room and deployed very dedicated young men and women to man the centre on a 24-hours basis, with each having a work station.
On a daily basis, the situation room took hundreds of calls from residents as well as communicated with them via Whatsapp messages and emails where answers to their questions were provided.
By September, 2020, there had been a significant decrease in COVID-19 infection and death rates in the FCT in particular and other parts of the country with many of the tests done returning negative. The number of patients in the various isolation and treatment centres across the nation’s capital had also decreased massively compared to the number during the peak of the infections. This led to the relaxation of the lockdown measures as well as the reopening of markets, schools and places of worship and recreation centres.
The FCTA’s effective handling of the COVID-19 pandemic attracted commendations from various quarters and reputable institutions, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), the National Assembly, religious organisations among others.
Speaking during his visit to the country, the WHO Country Representative, Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo acknowledged the effectiveness of the actions of the FCTA in the fight against the virus.
Meanwhile, a mild set back in the fight against the pandemic was witnessed sometimes in December, 2020 and early January, 2021 when a deadlier and more virulent strain of the virus was confirmed in the UK and other parts of the world, Nigeria inclusive. This becomes the second wave of the pandemic.
The second wave also came with the challenge of increased demand for oxygen by patients. The administration immediately stepped up to the challenge by increasing the oxygen supply at the Idu isolation and treatment centre. There was marked improvement on the available bed spaces that have piped oxygen.
With close cooperation with the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 and the Federal Ministry of Health, the FCTA was able to upgrade an entire floor of the Idu Isolation centre to have hundred beds that are well piped with oxygen for patients on a 24/7 basis.
With the discovery and arrival of vaccines, there is no doubt that there is a ray of hope in the fight against COVID-19. Efforts are now concentrated on getting the residents to be vaccinated against the virus. The Minister and Minister of State have since taken the lead in this campaign by getting vaccinated, while several vaccination centres are being set up in the territory, including the National Hospital, among others.
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