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| Adedavoh |
Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh, one of the medical
personnel who treated Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian-American who exported the
dreaded Ebola Virus into Nigeria, finally lost the battle to stay alive. She
was 58 years old.
Adadevoh was one
of the physicians at First Consultants Medical Centre, a Lagos-based hospital,
where Patrick Sawyer, was admitted; she died on Tuesday evening after all
efforts to revive her from coma by medical experts failed.
Her passing
brings the total number of casualties in Nigerian from the Ebola virus to
five since it first broke in July.
The Presidency
also commended the medical personnel that have been battling to curtail the
virus at the 2014 World Humanitarian Day held in Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Represented by
Vice-President Namadi Sambo, Jonathan said, “I want to use this occasion to salute the
courage of these medical personnel and condole with the families of those that
lost their lives.”
According to
him, government was doing everything possible to ensure that
those still
alive get the best medical attention while praying to God to save their lives.
Jonathan expressed
concern over increasing cases of violent attacks on
humanitarian
personnel across the World.
He lamented that, in
spite of their passion to save lives, humanitarian
workers had become
targets of hostilities in the cause of discharging their
duty.
He
said, ”Humanitarian workers have no other agenda than saving lives
and delivering the
basic necessities of life which include food, water,
shelter, medical care
and protection for the most vulnerable.
“In spite of their
passion to save lives, humanitarian workers have
sometimes become
targets of hostilities in the cause of discharging their
duty.
“Violent attacks on
humanitarian personnel are increasingly becoming more
frequent and brutal.
“In the last decade,
the number of attacks on them has tripled, resulting
in more than 100
deaths annually.”
Jonathan, therefore,
enjoined Nigerians to be advocate for humanity as
the country
remembered millions of people affected by wars, natural
disasters,
insurgency, sickness and famine.
“Those in need
desperately require our help but our ability to reach out
to them is sadly
increasingly challenging and at risk.”
He noted that
humanitarian workers had no other agenda than saving lives
and delivering the
basic necessities of life which include food, water,
shelter, medical care
and protection for the most vulnerable.
Jonathan noted that
Nigeria had been credited as the first country to have
started the
commemoration of the World Humanitarian Day, particularly in
the West-African
sub-region.
“This feat was
achieved in 2013, when the country marked the World
Humanitarian Day.”
He congratulated the
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the National Commission for
Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons
(NCFRMI) as well as
other stakeholders for their collaborative effort in
institutionalising
the commemoration of World Humanitarian Day in Nigeria.
“I want to assure you
that government will continue to support policies and
programmes that
promote humanitarian activities in the country and we are
very proud of your
achievements by excelling to one of the best organised
organisations in
Africa.
“As you are aware,
the theme of this year’s event is “More People than
Ever before Need Our
Help.
“Therefore, we are
all enjoined to become messengers of humanity.
“I wish to state
further that honouring humanitarian workers today provides
the government the
unique opportunity to recognise, encourage and inspire
others in delivering
selfless service to humanity and bring succour to the
families of those who
may have lost their lives or suffered severe injuries
due to their exposure
to life threatening situations.”
The Minister of
Special Duties, Alhaji Kabiru Turaki, lamented the increasing numbers of those
affected by various natural disasters, wars and
insurgency across the
World.
He, therefore, urged
all Nigerians to continue to show concern and support
for humanitarian
course to make the World a better place.
In his remark, the
Director-General of the National Emergency Management
Agency (NEMA), Alhaji
Sani Sidi, stated that the World humanitarian Day was
dedicated to the
commemoration of persons who had lost their lives in the
cause of active
humanitarian duty in Nigeria and across the World.
He stressed that
commemorating the day had become imperative in view of the upsurge of growing
threats, attacks, kidnapping, maiming, injury and loss
of lives of
humanitarian aid workers during both local and international
operations.
“Under the grim
scenarios of conflicts and natural disasters, humanitarians
have committed their
lives, worked with their hearts, sweat and blood to
save lives and bring
succor to the distressed in times when the major
concern of everyone
is self-preservation.
“There is no doubt
that without the various governmental and non-governmental humanitarian service
providers, the ICRC, the National Red Cross Societies, the UN system and indeed
local volunteers, the human toll in these hot spots could have been most
devastating.”
Sidi assured that
NEMA would explore the outcome of the programmes and
activities of the
2014 World Humanitarian Day to improve public awareness
on safe and
sustainable humanitarianism.
He commended
President Goodluck Jonathan for his unflinching support and
intervention to the
distress calls by NEMA.
The Federal
Commissioner for Refugees, Hajiya Hadiza Kangiwa, presented the
Humanitarian Heroes
Register to Vice-President Namadi Sambo, at the event.
She explained that
the register was intended to be an official record where
humanitarian workers
both in government and non-governmental sectors were
listed for
demonstrating exceptional qualities, perseverance and courage
beyond the call of
duty.
“We are tempted to
ask the questions: What are those qualities? And who are
humanitarians?
“The qualities of
compassion and selflessness spring to mind. People who
help the whole
of human kind especially those less fortunate than
themselves, with
no thought of profit or personal gain.
“Such humanitarian activities include natural or other
kinds of disaster
relief, evacuation of
non-combatants from a hostile area, humanitarian
support to
refugees or internally displaced persons and aid delivery to
persons in-need
delivered along the line of principle of humanity,
neutrality and
independence,” she said
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