The Victims Support Fund (VSF), a foundation for supporting victims of terrorism has announced that the launch of a N3.3 billion COVID-19 intervention fund, targeting one million households most affected by the pandemic in Nigeria.
This was disclosed by Mrs. Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsuji, Chairperson, VSF Task Force on COVID-19, on Saturday in Kano.
Mrs. Akerele-Ogunsuji disclosed on Saturday that VSF has already spent N1.8 billion in the first phase of its COVID-19 intervention through the provision of food and other relief materials, adding that N832 million was spent under the second phase of the programme.
She added that for the 3rd phase of the scheme, N1.3 billion will be spent until the end of the year.
“The total amount will be around N3.3 billion. It includes the money spent on the provision of 54 solar powered boreholes installed in schools across 18 states in the six geo-political zones of the county.
“The VSF is also donating 60, 000 pieces of COVID-19 rapid test kits to support opening of the orientation camps of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in the coming weeks.
“We are targeting indigent and vulnerables households in the country, that is very important to us, and by the time we have done this intervention we will have over one million individuals who have been touched by the VSF interventions,” she said.
She also revealed that the fund has also provided medical items and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to healthcare workers, in 16 of the 30 states in the six geo-political zones of the country.
Victims Support Fund, joins other private and public sector initiatives including the Coalition Alliance Against COVID-19 CACOVID which the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed has so far incurred an expenditure of N43.27billion on the acquisition of, not only medical equipment and supplies but also food palliatives for vulnerable Nigerians.
Sources reported that CACOVID announced plans to deploy over N150 billion towards the setting up and implementation of a youth development programme. It also announced they have budgeted nothing less than N250 billion to rehabilitate damaged police stations across the country and solve the issue of unemployment.
