Public health emergency multi-sectoral response plan and the early fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria

Abstract

This study interrogates the obstacles in the implementation of National COVID-19 Multi-Sectoral Response Plan and its impact on the fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria. It shows that Nigeria’s reaction to the pandemic exhibits important issues related to lack of capacity to fund growing COVID-19 public health emergency expenditures and welfare policies arising from shrinking fiscal space. The study highlights some fundamental problems of limited COVID-19 testing capacity, shortage in medical equipments and logistics such as ventilators, personal protective equipment etc., and links these problems to the increase in the number of newly infected cases. Also, there are poor welfare policies and lack of effective economic stimulus measures to cushion the economic effects of the pandemic on the people. Hence, there is need for home-grown economic diversification approaches targeted at deepening and strengthening the Nigeria’s fiscal base necessary to putting to a stop the ravaging impacts of COVID-19 in the country.