Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has disclosed that the Apex bank has given the sum of N83.9 billion to pharmaceutical companies and healthcare practitioners nationwide to contain the ravaging Covid-19 pandemic.

Emefiele disclosed this at the premiere of ‘Unmasked’, a documentary on Nigeria’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic in Lagos at the weekend.

He said: “Building a robust healthcare infrastructure was also vital from a security perspective, as some nations had imposed restrictions on the exports of vital medical drugs as well as the use of drug patents that could aid in containing the spread of the pandemic.

“In this regard, we disbursed over N83.9 billion in loans to pharmaceutical companies and healthcare practitioners, which is supporting 26 pharmaceutical and 56 medical projects across the country. “

He disclosed that the apex bank was able to mobilise key stakeholders in the Nigerian economy through the CACOVID alliance, which led to the provision of over N25bn in relief materials to affected households, and the set-up of 39 isolation centres across the country.

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