NMA opens endowment for Ebola

Nigerian Medical Association has opened an endowment fund as the country begins building up its preparedness for a probable re-emergence of Ebola virus disease.
The fund comes despite World Health Organisation certifying Nigeria Ebola-free after the disease was contained.
The fund is to pay for training and equipping healthworkers against Ebola, said NMA president Dr Kayode Obembe.
He spoke at the association's Physicians Week in Abuja, dedicated to "War Against Ebola".
Individual doctors will contribute to seed money for the endowment, kicked off on Tuesday with a N250,000 donation by Dr Ibrahim Wada.
"When you are fighting a war, you need finance. The believe will have to be diverted into fighting Ebola," said Obembe.
"There are so many areas we need the money for. We have to buy some of the personnel protective equipment, goggles, handgloves, boots we will be wearing. And when we donate these to some of the isolation centres, it will be creating awareness."
The fund adds to the NMA's N50m budget and will be at the recommendation of the association's special committee on Ebola.
The committee, set up at the start of Nigeria's Ebola outbreak, has proposed to expand preparedness to include other medical and health emergencies, including haemorrhagic fevers as Lassa, Yellow and Dengue fevers.
It proposes to produce and regulalry revise standard protocols for Ebola prevention at all relevant places and emergency preparation at national, state and council levels, according to Dr Michael Asuzu, professor of public health at University of Ibadan.
The committee also plans to press for a national system for emergency preparation and response.