To prevent a third wave of COVID-19, international humanitarian group, Jose Foundation has embarked on sensitisation of women and girls on best protective practice against the dreaded disease in Abuja.
The Foundation kick-started the sensitisation program at the Durumi Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Camp, Area One Abuja where the project team conducted a needs assessment to examine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices with respect to COVID-19 awareness and prevention among the residents.
Speaking on the occasion, director of programs, Jose Foundation, Mr Greg Okonofua, said it has become paramount for other countries especially developing countries like Nigeria to borrow learning from occurrence of the pandemic to further strengthen actions aimed at curbing a rise in cases of infected persons.
“It is based on these realities that Jose Foundation in furtherance of its mandate to continue to improve the lives and wellbeing of the disadvantaged in the society that the organisation has embarked on a nationwide sensitisation campaign and distribution of Personal Protection Items in a bid to strengthen action in the fight against the pandemic.
“The COVID-19 pandemic poses a grave threat to these internally displaced persons as shown from the findings of the needs assessment by Jose Foundation, the recommendations for hand washing hygiene and physical distancing is very difficult to implement in the IDP camp. The use of facemasks was not also adhered to and none of the IDPs was seen using a facemask during the visit.
“Based on these observations, the objective of Jose Foundation was to contribute to the improvement of prevention strategies against COVID-19 in the IDP camp, with the endpoint targeting COVID-19 specific knowledge, improved Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) practices within the camp to ensure personal safety and hygiene to prevent an outbreak of any infectious diseases within the camp,” Okonofua said.
The Foundation team met with the Camp director Ibrahim Amadu, the Women leader Liyatu Ayuba, and provost of the camp, Umar Gola where issues affecting the residents were discussed.
After the sensitisation, the team distributed some of the Personal Protection Items which included reusable facemasks, antiseptic soaps, IEC materials among other items to the women and children in the camp.
The camp director, Ibrahim Amadu and Women leader Liyatu Ayuba appreciated Jose Foundation for the vital sensitisation and items distributed.
According to Amadu, they had been lacking facemasks, and other WASH items and “that the intervention by the foundation was indeed very timely and helpful as it would go a long way in alleviating the burden of the IDPs”.
Jose Foundation said in the coming weeks, it will be embarking on the COVID-19 sensitisation and distribution of Personal Protection Items within schools and communities in Northeast Nigeria to ensure that more children within these conflict affected areas are reached with the necessary information and items to stay safe in their schools and communities.