Chairman/CEO of the commission Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa made the description in a statement by Gabriel Odu of the commission’s Media, Public Relations and Protocol Unit.
According to Odu, the NiDCOM chief gave the description at the presentation of Diagnostics and Pharmaceutical Personal Protective Equipment worth millions of Naira by the Nigerian Association of Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Scientists in the Americas (NAPPSA).
The items were presented to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in Abuja.
The NiDCOM chief praised the members of the association for always responding to calls, requests and demands from Nigeria “wherever you are and whatever you are doing.”
She said it did not matter what part of the country Diasporas came from because “home is the best.”
Responding, the Director-General, NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu said a country would be considered great when its citizens came together to work for the common good.
He commended NAPPSA for always being on the forefront in times of tackling national emergencies.
The DG promised to distribute the items donated judiciously, especially to the frontline workers, majority of whom are health workers.
The President of NAPPSA, Dr Anthony Iheme, who was represented by Dr Ali Johnson Onoja said: “Though in the United States, the hearts of NAPPSA members remain at home – in Nigeria.”
The items donated to NCDC consisted of 10,000 pieces of Nitrile Examination Gloves, 2,000 bottles of Hand Sanitiser Gel, and 2, 000 pieces of Regular Face Mask.
Others were 1,000 pieces of KN95 Valved Face Mask with Respirator, 1,000 pieces of Face Shield (Anti-Fog, Anti-splash), and 100 pieces of Finger Pulse Oximeter with Lanyard.
Iheme described NAPPSA as an umbrella organisation of Nigerian Association of Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Scientists in the Americas founded in 2006 with headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
The association has more than 7,000 pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists working in government, industry, hospitals, universities, and the community.