Ministry develops strategy to prevent, treat COVID-19

The Ministry of Science and Technology has developed a strategy for prevention, tracking, testing and treatment (PT3), on medium and long term basis to adequately respond to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, Minister of Science and Technology, made the disclosure in his address at the opening ceremony of the technology and innovation expo on Monday in Abuja.

Onu said that the response was done as part of efforts to safeguard the health of Nigerians.
He said that his ministry had not rested since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and was working tirelessly to provide home grown solutions to minimise adverse effects on the healthcare system.

“This resulted in the constitution of an Inter-Ministerial Committee on COVID-19 herbal remedies and natural compounds to authenticate claims of anti-COVID-19 products produced in the country by scientists.
“As I speak, the submissions made by the claimants are undergoing review and some of them may even be on display at the expo,’’ the minister said.

Onu noted that for 30 years, the Science Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy of Nigeria could not be fully implemented because its lead organ, the National Research and Innovation Council (NRIC), never met.
According to him, it was on Jan. 7, 2016, that the NRIC met for the first time in 30 years with President Muhammadu Buhari as Chairman.

“It is also important to mention that since we achieved political independence on Oct.1, 1960, it was absent in the several development plans to guide economic growth and development of the nation. “It was only the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), 2017-2020, under this administration, that for the first time, it correctly recognised STI as being at the centre of all economic activities,’’ he said.

Onu further said that his ministry has continued to make progress in leading the way to move the economy from depending entirely on commodities, to depend on innovation driven knowledge.
He said the expo had shown that Nigeria had the capacity to attain greater achievements that could help accelerate economic growth and development.

“This way we can create more jobs, wealth, reduce poverty, strengthen the Naira and stimulate growth in the economy.
“This is the challenge which the expo seeks to confront in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic,’’ Onu said.
Mr Mohammed Abdullahi, Minister of State for Science and Technology, also said that the theme of the 2021 expo is “Science, Technology and Innovation for Economic Recovery and Sustainability Amidst COVID-19 Challenges’’.

Abdullahi appealed to President Buhari to key-in the science and technology sector in the Economic Sustainability Programme (ESP) of the Federal Government.
He added that this would support the informal engineering and technology activities that required Federal Government’s intervention for survival during and post COVID-19 pandemic.