Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters (DHQ), on Monday, raised hope that experts in the nation’s military institutions- Army, Navy and Air force, as well as Nigerian Defence Academy, have given bright hope to the country’s healthcare infrastructure in the fight against the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic with the invention various kits, thereby boosting local content.
In a series of tweets, the Defence Headquarters announced that the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) has taken the lead in its response to addressing the shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the country to stem the spread of the ravaging Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
In a series of tweets, DHQ sad DICON successfully produced over 1500 dozens of DICSanz, now at the last stage of registration by the National Agency for Food Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in line with extant due diligence provisions.
The product, it assured, is “a high-quality hand sanitizer produced under very strict environmental conditions, requested by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt Gen Tukur Buratai for supply to troops of the Nigerian Army.”
Also, DICON under the leadership of Maj. Gen. Victor Ezugwu, it said, has responded to the directive by Minister of Defence, Maj Gen Bashir Magashi (rtd) “for the Armed Forces to support the indigenous capacity of Nigeria, to support Medical workers by producing thousands of high-quality non-permeable Personal Protective Equipment kit.”
Each unit of these kits, consisting of standardized gowns, face shield and nose masks are currently being mass-produced for use by the Kaduna State Government and other national stakeholders.
In addition to these, DICON engineers, consultants and medical teams have successfully produced a low-cost, simple digital mechanical ventilator known as DICOVENT. The product, it explained further, is capable of delivering positive pressured ventilation using a volume-controlled ventilation (VCV) system.
“The ventilator has undergone thorough scrutiny and assessment by specialists from top ranging hospitals and experts in the country including Cedar crest Hospital Abuja, 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital Kaduna amongst others.”
It, however, warned that although “DICOVENT may not be able to meet the high demands of critical patients, it can be used for Continuous Mandatory Ventilation (CMV) and Intermittent Positive Pressure Ventilation ( IPPV). It can also be used for invasive ventilation and non-invasive ventilation using an endotracheal tube and mask respectively.
DHQ noted the devastation already caused by the pandemic, including a lot of hardship, agony and pains across the globe, admitting that the national response has not been without challenges. It listed these as ranging from a thorough understanding of the disease to the astronomically high demand for personal protective equipment, mechanical ventilators and other materials to manage the Pandemic.
By this feat, it said DICON successfully diversified its human resources, equipment, machinery as well as research and development capacity, to support a much-needed strategic intervention to cushion the effects of the highly dreaded COVID 19 in the country. This achievement, it added, is in addition to its primary responsibility of producing defence equipment.