The President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, has promised to send ventilators to support Nigeria in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the information minister, Lai Mohammed has disclosed.
He said Mr Trump also assured that the United States stands in solidarity with Nigeria in this difficult time.
Speaking at the daily Presidential Task Force (PTF) briefing on COVID-19 on Tuesday, Mr Mohammed said Mr Trump made these promises on Tuesday in a phone conversation with President Muhammadu Buhari.
The phone conversation which was said to be at the request of President Trump centred on Nigeria’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“President Buhari used the opportunity to brief the American President on the steps that Nigeria is taking to contain the spread of the disease.
“President Trump also extends his best regards to the people of Nigeria,” the minister said. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, there has been a global rush for ventilators.
The coronavirus pathogen particularly affects the respiratory organs, thus the need for ventilators to treat the critically sick.
The Nigerian government had earlier begged the founder of the electronic automobile company, Tesla Inc., Elon Musk, for ventilators.
The plea was made through the official handle of the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning in response to Mr Musk’s tweet to supply ventilators to hospitals worldwide.
The tweet was later deleted following backlash from Nigerians on social media.
With the rising number of confirmed cases in Nigeria, the country has barely 100 functional ventilators.
