COVID-19: Yar’adua’s family donates palliatives to FCT

…as firms present artificial intelligence scanner The family of a former President of Nigeria, the late Umaru Musa Yar’adua, has donated food and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The donation which was made through the family’s charity organisation, Women and Youth […]

…as firms present artificial intelligence scanner

The family of a former President of Nigeria, the late Umaru Musa Yar’adua, has donated food and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The donation which was made through the family’s charity organisation, Women and Youth Empowerment Foundation (WYEF), included 1,000 pieces of face masks, 13,000 pieces of surgical masks, 1,800 bars of soap, 23,100 sachets of detergents, 100 cartons of macaroni, 100 bags of semolina and 100 bags of rice.

The family’s representative, Malam Abdullahi Umaru Yar’adua, while presenting the items to the FCTA, lauded the sacrifices of all health workers on the frontlines of containing the pandemic.

Malam Yar’Adua said, “My family’s, NGO, WYEF, and I extend our deepest respect and gratitude to the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Presidential Task Force on Control of COVID-19, FCT Ministerial Expert Advisory Committee on COVID-19, NCDC) and to all those working in the healthcare profession for their selfless commitment and diligence as they undertake important roles in our country’s fight against the ongoing pandemic.

“In difficult times, we often discover the best in ourselves: the dedication to service by doctors, nurses, lab technicians and other health workers, in these challenging times is an example to us all.”

While receiving the items, the FCT Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, commended the Yar’adua family for the kind gesture, stressing that the move would be exemplary to other notable families in the country.

Dr. Aliyu said, “We are happy to receive our former first family, eminently represented by three eminent sons. This donation will no doubt go a long way to cushion the effects of COVID-19 on the residents of the territory, and by extension, all Nigerians.”

In a related development, tow Abuja-based firms, Kougar Solutions & Allied Services Limited (KSAS) and Hikvision, have donated a thermal and artificial intelligence machine to the FCTA, to assist in curbing the spread of COVID-19 in the territory.

Presenting the machine to the FCTA in Abuja yesterday, the Group Managing Director (GMD) of Kougar, Mr. Rony Melhem, said the artificial intelligence system read temperatures when individuals walked through it.

In a statement, Mr. Austine Elemue, the Special Assistant (Media) to the FCT Minister of State, quoted Mr. Melhem, as saying that the thermal and facial recognition features that came with the machine also captured facial image, as well as detected those not wearing masks.

Melhem was quoted to have said, “Anyone with high fever passing through the machine or not wearing a face mask; there is a prompter pointing out those defects, thus making detection of symptoms of COVID-19 faster.”

He was also quoted to have expressed appreciation to the Federal Government, the Presidential Task Force (PTF), medical personnel and other frontline workers, stressing that their efforts had contributed to the recovery of many patients of COVID-19.

While unveiling the machine on behalf of the FCTA, the FCT Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, thanked the firms for donating the artificial intelligence system to assist the administration to contain the spread of the virus.

Dr. Aliyu assured that the machine would in no small measure assist the administration to detect the number of people that need to be tested for COVID-19, stressing that all hands must be on deck in the battle against the dreaded disease.