Rita Dominic, others set up Ebola containment fund

Ebola outbreak in Nigeria came about and grew under unexpected circumstances. Although the Ministry of health says it has been contained efficiently, measures and caution still need to be taken to kill any chance of resurgence and avoid anything close to what has been witnessed in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

Such measure is one Nigerian movie star Rita Dominic thought would be necessary at a time like this. She took to Twitter recently to share details of an Ebola Containment Trust Fund with trustees such members as Dr. Alero Roberts, Christopher Kolade, Pastor Paul Adefarasin, Mr. Felix Ohiwerei and Mr. Gamaliel Onosode.

“Hey guys, we now have a legitimate Ebola Containment Trust Fund, a non-profit body created to galvanize necessary resources to contain Ebola,” she wrote.

“Let us get together and fight this problem and stop all the bickering. This is for those who have been looking for a way to help out.”

Auditor of the Ebola Containment Trust Fund is Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC), while the Bankers/Escrow Agents will be Guaranty Trust Bank.

Continuing her message, she tweeted: “We have been searching for something like this for a while and I am happy that some concerned people actually created this.”

The objectives of the fund are to collaborate with governments and its agencies in their efforts to contain the virus, and harness the creativity and enterprise of the private sector to execute the emergency purchase and deployment of necessary supplies and personnel in the support of the containment endeavour.

It is also to engage citizens on media and social platforms aimed at educating and informing Lagos residents, visitors and private hospitals about Ebola.

Dominic said the fund is currently working on its website and would make available a hotline for telephone enquiries.