BEVERLY HILLS, February 21 (THEWILL) – The European Union (EU) has pledged to assist Nigeria with N32 million humanitarian aid to curb the spread of Lassa fever.
This pledge was announced in a press statement on Thursday where it said the funds will be used to assist families affected by the current Lassa Fever outbreak in Nigeria.
According to the statement, the funding forms part of the EU’s overall contribution to the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
“In the two most affected states, Ondo and Edo, the main actions will focus on health education on signs and symptoms, prevention measure and behavioral change in food storage and handling; pest control activities, such as the distribution of rat traps/rat glues; and psychosocial support to affected people and their families.
“In another four states (Bauchi, Ebonyi, Taraba and Kano), awareness raising initiatives will be launched for the general public, including the distribution of educational material and informative radio messages,” it said.
THEWILL recalls that Nigeria, since the beginning of the year, has been battling the scourge of the Lassa fever outbreak with about 103 reported deaths from the disease.
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