Buhari: We must empower our scientists to find COVID-19 cure

President Muhammadu Buhari says only a collective international effort will mitigate the devastating effect of COVID-19 on the world.

The president, who spoke at a virtual summit of heads of state and government of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) on Monday, in Abuja, said the coronavirus pandemic has ravaged humanity and caused unprecedented devastation to the well-being of people, their livelihoods and global economy.

According to Femi Adesina, special adviser to the president on media and publicity, the president said his administration has provided relief materials to 3.6 million vulnerable households affected by the stay-at-home order.

“Two weeks ago, we in West Africa came together to work out a common sub-regional response to the crisis. The summit appointed me the Champion to lead our efforts on fighting the pandemic in our region,” the president said.

“It is now clearly evident that no nation can independently and singlehandedly tackle a pandemic of this nature which is no respecter of borders, regions or status.

“Invariably, enhancing multilateral cooperation through exchange and sharing of best practices is imperative to overcome the disease. We must, therefore, form a united front against this common enemy by being coordinated and timely in our responses.

“Furthermore, we must all encourage and empower our scientists and medical experts to join the quest for a vaccine and cure to this universal plague.

“It is, therefore, essential to fully collaborate and support their initiatives in coordinating the international fight against the pandemic. Such efforts should include the protection of our medical workers, provision of medical supplies, especially test kits and ultimately, finding a vaccine to cure the disease.”

Buhari stated that the number of cases keeps rising across the country as a result of community transmission, but there are ongoing efforts to contain the disease.

“We have closed our land borders and airports and reduced seaport activities in a bid to curb imported cases from entering the country. Unfortunately, the number of confirmed cases continues to rise as a result of community transmission of the disease,” the president said.

“Accordingly, we have increased our efforts to monitor trends of the disease, established more isolation centres and stepped up testing at the community level and of potentially vulnerable groups.”