The Federal Government on Tuesday said it would ensure the mass production of Nigerian-made ventilators and disinfectant spraying devices made by the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure.
Prototypes of the facilities were unveiled by the Minister of State for Science and Technology, Mohammed Abdullahi, at NASENI’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.
NASENI, an agency under the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, said it came up with the equipment in line with its desire to deploy local engineering resources in the campaign against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ventilator is a vital facility in the treatment of coronavirus patients, particularly those that present severe breathing difficulties.
The local manufacture of ventilators by NASENI is expected to address the country’s need for the facility, if adequate funding and the capacity for mass production, are available.
The prototypes of ventilators unveiled on Tuesday include three different models, one of which was said to be a model from the World Health Organisation.
One of the prototypes is a mobile model, which could be used to administer oxygen on patients outside the hospital environment.
NASENI engineers also explained that the ventilators had the capacity to monitor a patient’s health condition, including online display of the heartbeat.
Different prototypes of disinfectant spraying devices were also unveiled.
One of the prototypes, the NASENI safety tunnel ‘O’ shape, was designed for disinfecting persons at the entrances of public places such as offices, shopping malls, schools and churches, and has the capacity to disinfect approximately 450 persons in an hour.
Speaking while unveiling the devices, the minister said the local manufacture of the facilities was in line with the Federal Government’s quest to use Nigerian resources to address the country’s challenges.
“The Federal Government will ensure adequate funding for the mass production of the ventilators and disinfectant spraying devices,” he said.
He urged the state governments to place their orders.
“I hope the states will also take advantage of this and put in their job orders.
“As it is now, NASENI is going to be under tremendous pressure to produce and deliver and it is going to be on first come first serve basis,” the minister added.
Director General of NASENI, Prof. Mohammed Haruna, said the agency could mass-produce the ventilators and disinfectant spraying devices within 10 days of demand.
According to him, the agency spent a total of N27m to come up with the prototypes.
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