The Head, European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ketil Karlsen, stated on Tuesday that the N21bn (€50m) donated to Nigeria by the EU is mostly meant for the poor.
Karlsen, while responding to questions from journalists after announcing the donation at the Presidential Villa, also said part of the fund would be used for the provision of Personal Protection Equipment, kits, and to double the testing capacity for COVID-19 in the country.
“That is why part of the €50m we provide will also be for the relief and safety net for the most vulnerable people, internally displaced persons. The poor people that depend on the informal markets, they do day-to-day work to put food on their table; the elderly, IDPs. These particularly vulnerable people are the centre-stage of our intervention,” the EU Ambassador said.
Karlsen also noted that the fund, which would be administered by the United Nations would increase the capacity of COVID-19 treatment in the country.
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“The pandemic requires global responses and if we try to fix it country by country, we may not get it right and that is why we are adopting a multilateral approach.
“So, Team Europe came up with a significant package for Nigeria; we are mobilising €50m and another €1.2m that we already gave as part of humanitarian assistance through UUNICEF, he stated.
Karlsen said the EU was concerned about the health and economic impact of the pandemic, adding that Europe did not want Nigeria to experience what it was presently going through.
Earlier, the President, Muhammadu Buhari, while receiving the donation stated that it would go a long way in supporting Nigeria’s efforts at controlling and containing the virus.
He commended the EU for the donation.
