COVID-19
By Douglas Okoro
The National Orientation Agency (NOA) says it has embarked on enlightenment and advocacy campaigns on the prevention of community spread of COVID-19 in some local government areas of Ebonyi.
The Director of NOA in the state, Dr Emma Abah, who stated this on Thursday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abakaliki, said the exercise was aimed at sensitising the rural dwellers.
He said that the sensitisation campaign, tagged: Increased Risk Communication and Community Engagement on COVID-19, was aimed at engaging people at the grassroots on the need to be committed in the fight against community spread of the virus.
According to him, the statewide advocary/sensitisation programme would afford the traditional rulers, town union leaders and stakeholders of the various communities in the state in-depth knowledge and understanding of COVID-19 preventive measures.
The NOA director said that the exercise, which was grassroots-oriented, was also aimed at emphasising need to observe restrictions on burial and other social gatherings in order to stay safe.
He added that the initiative was equally geared towards addressing the dangers associated with open defecation and enlightening the rural dwellers, most of whom still lived in ignorance and doubt about the existence of the virus.
Abah urged the people of the state to increase their level of personal hygiene by maintaining regular hand washing and obeying all government approved restrictions and protocols in their various communities and villages to prevent community spread of the virus.
Our advocacy/sensitisation campaign is aimed at stopping community spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic ravaging the global community.
We believe that rural dwellers will listen and believe their traditional or community leaders when they educate and advise them on the necessary safety measures to take to avoid contracting the disease.
We want the traditional rulers and stakeholders to assist us to extend the crusade to hard-to-reach areas, especially the vulnerable people and those who are above 50 years of age.
The Federal Government has always made efforts through well-conceived and articulated programmes to address challenges, such as COVID-19 and we know that this engagement will assist in passing the message across, Abah said.
He appealed to traditional rulers, town union leaders, religious leaders and stakeholders in Ebonyi communities to spur the people to adhere strictly to the COVID-19 protocols.
Abah commended state and federal governments for their commitment to tackling the spread of the virus, adding that collective efforts were required to effectively combat the disease.
The director said that the agency was engaging traditional rulers, town union leaders and other critical stakeholders in various communities to shore up support in the fight against the deadly novel coronavirus.
NAN reports that the team visited three local government areas, namely: Afikpo North, Ezza North and Ebonyi, in Ebonyi South, Ebonyi central and Ebonyi North zones respectively.
Source: NAN News