US evacuates 997 from Nigeria, pledges $7m assistance

The United States Mission in Nigeria has repatriated 997 Americans back to their homeland to reunite with family and friends during this time of COVID-19 pandemic.

A statement yesterday from the US consulate in Lagos noted that from the 6th-8th of April, chartered flights operated by Delta Air Lines and Ethiopian Airlines repatriated 850 American citizens from the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos to the United States.

“This is in addition to the 147 U.S. citizens who departed Abuja on April 4”, it said. The statement said the U.S. government had pledged more than $7m in health and humanitarian funding to Nigeria in response to the pandemic that will go toward risk communication, water and sanitation activities, infection prevention, and coordination.

The assistance, according to the statement, joins more than $5.2bn in health assistance and more than $8.1bn in total assistance for Nigeria over the past 20 years.

The statement further said that the US would be providing nearly $274m to help dozens of countries to combat the novel coronavirus, furthering America’s commitment to humanitarian assistance and global health.

The statement added that as of April 8, the Department of State had coordinated the repatriation of 50,339 Americans from 94 countries since January 29, 2020.

– Dailytrust