Impact of COVID-19 In Nigeria and the Women Enterprise Alliance Intervention Efforts

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, which started in the Hubei province of China in 2019, has now spread to all continents, affecting 209 countries as of April 7, 2020. Whether warmer temperatures will slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, has been a point of much speculation.

Observations

The first confirmed COVID-19 cases occurred late in West Africa than in Europe and specifically in Nigeria on the 27th of February 2020. Nigeria has poorly resourced health systems, rendering it unable to quickly scale up an epidemic response. The country has fewer than five hospital beds per 10 000 of the population, two medical doctors per 10 000 of the population (based on WHO global health observatory data), and per capita health expenditures lower than US$50 (based on WHO global health expenditure data.

Women Enterprise Alliance (WenA) response:

In light of this, several organizations (local and international), and individuals have been contributing and making donations to help Nigeria combat this outbreak. Measures have been put in place by the government to contain the spread of the virus, and these measures include “stay at home” policies and media campaigns aimed at reducing the rapid spread of the virus.

Women Enterprise Alliance, (WenA) mission is to produce world-class and diverse entrepreneurs that meet the needs of an ever-changing marketplace in Nigeria and across Africa. In these peculiar times in Nigeria, where businesses and organizations have been shut down in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19, WenA has stepped up to contribute its quota to alleviate any hardships as a result of the pandemic.

WenA has set up a relief project as an intervention for low-income households and daily income earners. Through this project, WenA aims to distribute relief packs (non-perishable food, personal care and hygiene items) to 5,000 Low-Income Households across various communities within Abuja. WenA will also be working to extend this project outside Abuja where possible.

WenA sees this as a great opportunity for unity of purpose between individuals and corporate bodies to intervene by providing support and succour for low-income households across communities at this time.