Airtel begins renovation of LUTH’s Infectious Disease Centre
Airtel Nigeria has commenced the refurbishing and equipping of the Infectious Disease Centre and admission facility of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).
Airtel disclosed in a statement that the fund for the project was the final part of the N1.9 billion it promised in April, at the early stages of the pandemic. The company had earlier announced in July, that as part of activities marking a decade of doing successful business in Nigeria, N300 million will be spent to support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Segun Ogunsanya, said: “N200 million will be invested in refurbishing and equipping the center. N50 million will be disbursed to the Lagos State Government to procure Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) for Lagos State Health Workers, and N50 million will be invested on the procurement of a Molecular Laboratory to be provided by 54 Gene with the capacity for 300 tests per day for Ogun State.”
Ogunsanya explained that the company had exercised constant support by covering donations to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Federal Ministry of Health and Port Health Authority as well as free Short Message Service (SMS) to its customers.
Chief Medical Director at LUTH, Prof Chris Bode, expressed his heartfelt gratitude, stating “Airtel has further demonstrated its altruistic nature through this commitment, as this will not only help us combat the virus effectively but also give us a cutting-edge medical infrastructure post COVID-19. The ward that Airtel is currently renovating was commissioned 58 years ago under the directive of the Federal Government of Nigeria and this marks a momentous occasion in the hospital’s history.
“I would like to say a huge thank you to the management of Airtel and its stakeholders for this laudable project and I’m positive this will significantly reinforce Nigeria’s efforts in tackling the pandemic and ultimately defeating it,” he concluded.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, acknowledged Airtel’s contribution, recalling that the company’s employees were the first group to make a donation of N20 million from their personal contributions which, to him, was a highly thoughtful and commendable gesture, worthy of emulation.
In the same vein, Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun said: “it is widely believed that the war against the pandemic could only be fought and won with “aggressive testing. I wish to express our profound appreciation to your organization for magnanimously offering to support the efforts of Ogun State Government to contain the spread of COVID-19 with the procurement of a State-owned Molecular Laboratory.
“Your support will go a long way in ensuring that the state can provide continued testing for its citizenry while also building our capacity for a sustainable testing regime,” he said.
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