President Joe Biden have agreed that
Nigeria and the United States would
work together to urgently curtail the
outbreak of Ebola virus. Jonathan and
Biden met in Washington D.C. on
Tuesday on the side-line of the on-
going US-Africa leader’s summit,
according to a ‘readout’ issued by the
White House, Office of the Vice
President. Ebola virus has claimed
two
lives in Nigeria since a 40-year
old Liberian and American citizen
Patrick Sawyer died of the disease in
Lagos.
The identity of the second victim of
the deadly virus has been withheld by
government but it is believed to be a
medical worker who had contact with
Sawyer at the hospital in Lagos.
According to the World Health
Organisation, over 800 persons have
died from the Ebola virus from the
three main hit West African countries
of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
Meanwhile, the White House
statement said Biden reiterated U.S.
partnership in the fight against
terrorism in Nigeria. He was reported
to have stressed the need to pursue
holistic approaches that respect and
protect human rights “The Vice
President also underscored the
importance of supporting Nigeria’s
effort to improve the socioeconomic
and security conditions in northern
Nigeria,’’ the statement by the White
House said.
Further, Biden was quoted to have
welcomed Nigeria’s work to improve
its business climate, which continues
to attract U.S. investors. Both leaders
were reported to have expressed their
commitments to trade and
investment, and the critical role that
access to electricity plays in
supporting that goal. The News
Agency of Nigeria recalls that
President Barack Obama, on June 30,
launched Power Africa, an innovative
private sector-led initiative aimed at
doubling electricity access in sub-
Saharan Africa. It is believed that no
fewer than 600 million people
currently lacked access to electricity
in the region. Obama used the
occasion of the summit to announce a
renewed commitment to this initiative
and pledged a new level of $300
million in assistance per year to
expand the reach of Power Africa. He
also announced $6 billion in new
private sector commitments, bringing
the total private sector commitments
under Power Africa to date to more
than $20 billion.
The U.S government has set an
ambitious aggregate goal of 30,000
MW of additional capacity to Africa
and increasing electricity access by at
least 60 million households and
business connections.
www.punchng.com/news/nigeria-us-
agree-on-partnership-to-fight-ebola/
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