News
KAS Print Rolls out Initiatives Using Canon Equipment & Training for COVID-19 Response in Nigeria
Canon Central and North Africa (CCNA) a leader in imaging solutions, is proud to support and highlight its partners making a special effort to support vulnerable people through the COVID-19 crisis. Today, CCNA would like to put a spotlight on KAS Print in Nigeria, as they find innovative ways to assist brave healthcare workers and public safety efforts in Africa’s most populous nation during the coronavirus pandemic.
Nigeria is home to over 200 million people, many without the financial means to protect themselves from the novel dangers of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the 27th of February 2020, Nigeria confirmed its first case and after one hundred days (June 6th), the country had officially registered 11,844 confirmed cases and 333 deaths on a curve that is still expected to rise, especially if the virus reaches the vulnerable refugee populations of the country’s northeast.
Stay-at-home orders have increased financial pressure on many, while the sharp drop in the oil price has put a strain on the Nigerian economy as a whole.
To fight the virus head-on, KAS Print have created protective face shields made of laser cut and shaped transparent acrylic. Covering the entire face, the shield protects the mouth, nose, and eyes from the droplets that carry the virus, while giving a full field of vision and adequate airflow for user comfort.
The design also offers personalised labels, printed on the Canon Colorado UV Gel Printer, to reinforce health and safety messages alongside company or sponsor branding.
KAS Print has already produced more than 100,000 protective face shields, which have received approval from the relevant regulatory authorities, and plans to produce more than one million by the end of 2020.
As the number of cases in Nigeria continues to rise, it is essential that this kind of personal protective equipment (PPE) is made available.
The protective face shield is just one of the three essential products in the COVID-19 PPE kit box. Produced by KAS Print, the kit is designed for distribution in hospitals, companies and government entities, to help reduce the spread of the virus between workers, customers, and visitors.
Every kit box contains a face shield, a face mask for additional protection of the mouth and nose, and liquid sanitiser for the hands, covering all four key areas of the body in one kit. The PPE kit box itself, is cut and creased using a flatbed cutter and personalised with instructions printed on the Canon C10000 and Colorado.
“COVID-19 is an unprecedented global crisis and personal protective equipment (PPE) is central to the solution in all affected nations. In order to slow the spread of the virus in Nigeria, it is essential that we make more PPE available through initiatives like those of KAS Print,” says Ben Gossage, B2B Sales and Marketing Director at CCNA.
“KAS Print has been a loyal customer of Canon and we are especially proud that our printing solutions can be used to support their worthy efforts. We will need many more stories like this to protect the vulnerable through these challenging times.”
The collaboration between Canon and KAS is based on multi-sector knowledge, secure data management, and value-added solutions that foster customer-focused innovation.
These skills have been influential in KAS Print’s crisis response for schools and public health campaigns.
Using the Canon Colorado and C10000, the company has produced awareness leaflets, signage, and floor instruction for retail, hospitals, government offices, and other public spaces. Educating and reminding the public to stay vigilant are fundamental elements of this health emergency and, in Nigeria, KAS Print is playing a key role in that space.
The nature of this pandemic is forcing us to re-think many aspects of our lives related to human contact and sharing of objects that could transmit the virus.
For schools in Nigeria, the sharing of textbooks between numerous children is commonplace and represents a key challenge in the efforts to maintain education while safely social distancing.
KAS Print has launched a campaign in several schools to print individual and personalised school books for every student, helping to protect the education process and entire neighbourhoods from the spread of the disease.
“We have found in Canon a trusted partner that shares our values and is committed to helping us successfully anticipate our customers’ needs. The equipment and training we have received from Canon certainly contributed to our various initiatives during the COVID-19 crisis in Nigeria,” says Ademola Kasumu, Managing Director and CEO at KAS Print.
“We hope for a quick resolution to the crisis in Nigeria and around the world, and appreciate the support of international partners like Canon in our local efforts to slow the spread of the virus here in Nigeria.”
Federal Executive Council has approved a group life insurance scheme for federal government officials, civil servants, and some other workers at the federal level.
The approval was given at the FEC meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Council Chamber of the State House, Abuja.
The Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, who briefed State House correspondents after the meeting, said the scheme covers key government officials, comprising the President, the Vice President, the Chief of Staff, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, ministers, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, permanent secretaries and employees of federal government ministries and treasury funded agencies.
The scheme also covers paramilitary agencies such as the Nigerian Immigration Service, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, the Nigeria Correctional Service, the Federal Fire Service, the Federal Road Safety Corps, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, and the Office of the National Security Adviser.
“The scheme underscores the importance that President Bola Tinubu’s Administration has placed welfare of staff, specifically the welfare of the federal public servant.
“The Group Life Insurance Scheme is a scheme whereby the Federal Government has taken out a life policy on each public servant. And this means that if the unfortunate incident of death occurs, the deceased public servants’ next of kin stands to have a benefit to help the family cushion the family at that time of loss,” Walson-Jack said.
The scheme is an annual one, and today’s approval was for the 2025/2026 policy year, which would commence from the date of payment of premium to underwriters in line with the no-premium, no cover policy.
However, she said the insurance scheme would expire at the end of 2026.
“The approval for today was for the appointment of 17 insurance underwriters for the group life insurance cover and the year 2025/2026. The premium is paid to the insurance companies for a duration of 12 months.
“So, this policy will expire next year. I just like to say that in as much as this policy has existed throughout this administration and even previous administrations, we find that not too many people know about the policy, and so we have, from my office, even planned to carry out a sensitisation, which will be coming up very soon,” she added.
Federal executive council (FEC) has approved the creation of MediPool, a group purchasing organisation aimed at reducing the cost of essential medicines and healthcare products across Nigeria. Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, said MediPool would operate as a public-private partnership, leveraging the government’s purchasing power to negotiate better prices from suppliers.
Muhammad Ali Pate
“So it’s using the monopsony power of government as a large buyer of those commodities to negotiate lower prices and then channel those commodities,” Pate said.
According to him, the scope of MediPool includes “procurement planning, distribution monitoring, supply chain, logistics management, quality assurance, regulatory compliance, as well as ensuring that local manufacturers are supported.” He added that the initiative would also address “import substitution, financial management and payment systems, capacity building and training, and contingency planning to ensure steady availability of essential drugs through public-private partnership.”
Pate said the project had been vetted through the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission and benchmarked against other group purchasing organisations in Kenya, South Africa, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia. “We believe that this is a major intervention that will shape the domestic market, so that the demand for quality pharmaceuticals can be channelled in a way that lowers cost and also improves quality and stimulates local manufacturing,” he said.
He noted that the government had been exploring multiple strategies to lower pharmaceutical costs for more than a year. “Nigerians are hurting from rising costs,” he said. “It’s not limited to Nigeria. As you may be aware, even countries as far as the United States are placing executive orders to reduce the cost of pharmaceuticals.”
Pate warned that global shifts could impact medicine availability in Nigeria. If pharmaceutical companies respond to U.S. price caps by limiting supply or increasing prices elsewhere, he said, this “could disrupt the availability or affordability of certain drugs in Nigeria, particularly branded or speciality medicines.”
Meanwhile, the FEC also approved a contract worth N2.3 billion for the procurement and installation of a cardiac catheterisation machine at the Usman Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital in Sokoto state. Pate said the advanced medical equipment would enhance the hospital’s ability to diagnose and treat complex heart conditions, including heart attacks and irregular heart rhythms.
British High Commission in Nigeria has reiterated the strong, long-standing relationship between the United Kingdom and Nigeria following the release of the UK Immigration White Paper earlier today.
A spokesperson for the High Commission stated that the UK remains a top destination for Nigerians seeking opportunities to work, study, visit, and settle, acknowledging the valuable contributions Nigerians make to the UK economy and society.
The White Paper outlines reforms to legal migration, aimed at restoring order, control, and fairness to the system while promoting economic growth.
The spokesperson assured that changes would be gradual, with further engagement between the UK and Nigerian government officials once implementation details are finalized.
“The UK has a proud tradition as an outward-looking nation, investing and trading abroad, and welcoming the creativity, ideas, and diversity of those who come to contribute here,” the spokesperson said.
The UK government has pledged to work closely with Nigerian authorities to ensure a smooth transition as the new immigration policies take effect
Nigerians May Pay More for Calls, Data as Senate Okays 5 Percent Excise Duty
W’Bank Says Cash Transfer Missed Millions of Needy Nigerians
EFCC Tells Nigerians to Shun Ponzi Schemes Like CBEX, Others
NIMC Launches NINAuth Digital Identity Verification App for Govt Services
NCC to Checkmate $3Bn Digital Piracy Market
E-Business2 days agoNIN: FG Increases DoB Update Fee by 75Percent to N28,574
Broadcasting3 days agoAfreximbank Unveils Third Edition of Short Film Competition ‘Creative Africa Nexus’
General News3 days agoNIMASA Embraces Technology to Strengthen Regulatory Mandate
E-Business2 days ago10 Percent of Nigerians Affected by Data Breaches since 2004
Telecom2 days agoMTN Commits $10Bn to Nigeria’s Digital Infrastructure
E-Financial2 days agoSEC Intensifies Fight Against Ponzi Schemes With Market
News3 days agoSERAP Challenges CBN to Publish Local Government Allocations
Telecom1 day agoLegend Internet Debuts Nigeria’s First Fibre-to-the-room Service