No cushion the effect of the lockdown occasioned by COVID-19 on the urban poor in Lagos State, the Victims Support Fund (VSF) on Thursday distributed thousands of relief items to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for distribution to the downtrodden population.
The relief items, packed in 5,100 50kgs sacs each contained 10kg rice, beans, garri, vegetable oil and salts, were handed over to 10 NGOs with a mandate to ensure the target population received the items in the next few days.
Established by former Defence Minister and business magnet Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd.) VSF is the first private sector-led humanitarian initiative in Nigeria with focus in the northeast region that has been ravaged by Boko Haram Terrorism.
Handing over the relief items to the selected NGOs at a warehouse at Sanya Bus Stop, on Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, VSF Chairperson, Mrs Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji said they were instructed by Danjuma to send palliative to Lagos following reports of unrest and hunger from those whose livelihoods have been affected as a result of the stay-home order.
Mrs Akerele-Ogunsiji said the organisation was also donating personal protective equipment (PPE), N95 masks, surgical masks, gloves, alcohol-based hands sanitisers, soap and liquid disinfectant to medical facilities in the state.
“Our work is basically in the northeast. This is our first time in Lagos and it is because the state is the epicentre of COVID-19 in Nigeria and we are here to support efforts if the Lagos State Government to effectively implement the lockdown order. We need to provide palliatives to poor families within the metropolis and rural communities to ensure people do not die.
“Beyond that, we do not want to see the brazen crime levels that have rented the air within the city in the past few weeks. So, VSF also targeted other frontline COVID-19 states and deployed resources to assist government and citizens there cope with the lockdown.”
