Covid-19: In Enugu, there’s no room for error

With over one million infections and a daily surge in fatalities (53,000 deaths as at April 3), there is no doubt that Covid-19 pandemic is truly the most devastating human catastrophe since the Second World War. And the projections remain anything but cheery. So, the measures – from the moderate to extreme – introduced by governments to curb the spread of the virus seems guided by the wisdom in choosing to err on the side of caution. This is seen even in countries and regions where the impact has not been as severe as it has been in places like Italy, Spain, United States, France, United Kingdom, Iran, and Covid-19’s country of origin, China.

In Enugu State, the steps so far taken by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi shows he is leaving no room for error. There is presently three isolation and treatment facilities for Covid-19 patients in the state, comprising the Enugu Medical Diagnostic Centre, a newly-built state hospital in Nsukka to serve residents of Enugu North Senatorial Zone, and a facility within the premises of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology Teaching Hospital, Parklane. Although these centres have been equipped with the requisite facilities, that has not decreased the governor’s level of alertness. The state government has taken over the former Colliery Hospital, Enugu, and commenced extensive rehabilitation and reconstruction to further expand the state’s capacity to isolate and treat Covid-19 patients.

This is particularly instructive, as it says a lot about his work philosophy. For him, proactivity is not a fleeting inclination; it is a continuing state of mind that fully understands the dangers of complacency. The ongoing disinfection and fumigation of markets across the state as well as major locations in the Enugu metropolis and its environs is reflective of that conviction. The recent procurement of some fully equipped ambulances and incidence vehicle for the state’s Emergency Response Service, to enable its team to sufficiently respond to every exigencies that may arise from the Covid-19 outbreak, is another example.

That same inclination had also informed his commitment towards the completion of the Enugu Medical Diagnostic Centre, a largely unfinished project of the preceding administration. Built with cutting edge technology, the Enugu Medical Diagnostic Centre was on the cusp of being operationalized before the outbreak of the pandemic. Its current deployment as isolation and treatment facility for Covid-19 shows the governor is not blinkered by the typical narrow-mindedness that characterize Nigeria’s politics. Such sour grapes politics often result in incumbents jettisoning predecessors’ projects, regardless of their viability and cost to government. It is kudos to Ugwuanyi that he is nurturing the facility to its intended use.

In a move that further underscored his unrelenting fervour to secure an improved public health for the Enugu people and eliminate any threat to that goal, the governor had convened an emergency meeting of the State Executive Council at the onset of the pandemic’s spread to Nigeria. The Council approved the sum N330m to strengthen Enugu’s preparedness and response plan coordinated by the State Multi-Sectoral Rapid Response Team, which had been created by Gov. Ugwuanyi. The funds were also used to procure personal protective equipment and essential drugs and consumables to replenish the depleted stock of the State Central Medical Stores.

The funds also helped in the procurement of substantial quantities of sundry infection control materials like hand sanitizers and face masks which have been distributed across the state. It’s worth stressing that the intensive training of general health workers and extensive awareness campaign, particularly at the grassroots, have helped curb the spread of the virus and kept the populace well informed with regard to the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control’s social distancing and personal hygiene protocol.

Although the state has recorded two confirmed cases, the wide range measures so far implemented by the Gov. Ugwuanyi administration have instilled confidence among Enugu residents and look, to all intents and purposes, to be a sufficient bulwark against the further spread of the virus. The government’s containment strategy has been implemented scrupulously, but with a human face. This has earned the people’s trust and support, two vital elements in challenging times such as this. And this is in spite of the closure of bars, night clubs, entry points into and out of the state, as well as suspension of socio-cultural gatherings such as marriage and burial ceremonies.

A long absence of disasters often tends to lull governments and their agencies into a false sense of security. Not so for Gov. Ugwuanyi who understands it is always expedient to take actions to curb possible future disasters even when the risk of one occurring is minimal. It is this conviction coupled with the resolve to enthrone a reliable and affordable public healthcare system that underpin his administration’s sustained investment in growing the capacity of health institutions. This is exemplified as well in the launch of Universal Health Coverage in the state. The result is that Enugu State today has the country’s third best doctor-to-patient ratio profile and ranks among states with the least maternal and child mortality rate.

The approval and implementation of the Consolidated Health Workers Salary Scale (CONHESS) for health workers in the state also highlights Gov. Ugwuanyi’s vision for a robust public health system. That gesture brought a significant rise in the earnings of nurses, midwives, laboratory scientists, radiographers and a host of other health workers under the Allied Union of Health Workers. Indeed, resident doctors in Enugu State had long been on the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale (CONMESS) even while their counterparts in many other states were yet to commence negotiations with their employers.

A common refrain that mirrors the frustration of health workers at the forefront of the fight to end Coronavirus is the complaint over insufficient personal protective equipment and absence of insurance policies that mitigate the risk they face. Ugwuanyi fully grasps the enormity of the challenge. He has ensured the provision of the necessary safety equipment and adoption of group life assurance policy for the doctors. To avoid the difficulty that could arise in the event of some unforeseen public health challenge, he had also approved that N100m be set aside as Special Emergency Fund. Such prescient thinking is the sort of mindset required to defeat the Covid-19 scourge.

* Ani, former editor of ThisDay – The Saturday Newspaper, and Saturday Telegraph, is a senior communications aide to the governor of Enugu State.

Sent from my iPad