The private sector Coalition Against Covid-19, CACOVID, says it has begun the distribution of another round of assorted food items as Covid-19 palliatives to indigent and most vulnerable people Nationwide.
CACovid administrator and Chief Executive Officer of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, Ms Zouera Youssoufou who made this known at a news briefing in Lagos said that some States of the Federation had already taken delivery of the items which would be distributed to beneficiaries over the next six weeks.
Ms Youssoufou explained that CACovid had partnered the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to identify the targeted beneficiaries in the 36 States and the FCT.
According to her, 10 million people representing 1.67 million households in the 774 Local Governments would benefit from the food palliatives which is costing CACovid over 23 billion Naira.
“Each basket that the families will get include a 10kg of rice, 5kg of gaari or maize flour or Semolina depending on where the State is located, a carton of pasta with 20 satchets, 2 cartons of noodles, a 5kg of sugar and a 1kg of salt. Every single State has received an allocation that represents that 5% of the bottom of the pyramid of the population in the State” Ms Youssoufou explained.
She said to ensure transparency and accountability, CACovid had recommended the establishment of a team including all Local Government Chairmen and other key stakeholders at the grassroots level to ensure the just distribution of the items to the intended beneficiaries.
“The Food Relief Programme is being managed by the CACOVID Operations Centre in Lagos and we have procured the various food items from leading Nigerian Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies to achieve the necessary scale, speed, and quality assurance at carefully negotiated prices that reflect value for money without creating negative market distortions. Each pack or box is clearly identified and marked as “Not For Sale” She emphassised.
Buttressing this, another member of the Coalition, Mrs Osayi Alile explained that as a non-political body, CACovid had also engaged monitors, including reputable NGOs to ensure that the foods are not diverted.
In his remark, the Group Chief Corporate Communication Officer, Mr. Anthony Chiejina stated that Cacovid would also continue the sensitization of citizens on Covid-19 safety protocols, while the Group Head, Corporate Communication, Access Bank, Mr. Amaechi Okobi invited philanthropic individuals and organisations to join CACovid in its efforts aimed at combating Covid-19 and mitigating its economic impact on Nigerians
Since the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic in the Country, CACovid has been supporting Government efforts in ramping up testing capacities and through the establishment of isolation centres in all the States of the Federation and Abuja.
Yemisi Oreoluwa
