HEALTH NEWS

WHO and partners charge journalists on credible COVID-19 reportage

As part of the nationwide response to contain the spread of COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria, the Government with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) conducted a sensitization meeting with journalists; charging them with the responsibility of producing impactful stories to ensure information sharing that can drive home the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic. Already, WHO has supported the training of over 500 journalists in selected high-risk states, including Kano, Kaduna, Borno, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Sokoto. "When I received the invitation for a workshop on impactful reporting for COVID-19 prevention being organized by WHO and FCT public health unit, I was hesitant to attend. My reason? I thought I already have enough information and knew where to look up for more if I needed to cover press briefings, interviews and any other COVID-19 related events.

Community informants employ mobile data collection tools to strengthen COVID-19 surveillance

With the second wave of COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria, WHO is supporting government to leverage on the existing Auto-Visual Acute Flaccid Paralysis Detection and Reporting (AVADAR) system to strengthen community-based surveillance for the disease. In 731 wards across eleven (11) COVID-19 high risk states, WHO is supporting engagement of more than 670 AVADAR informants to conduct house-to-house COVID-19 surveillance and reporting of suspected COVID-19 cases, sensitize and support contact tracing in the communities. So far, the informants have provided more than 85 000 households with COVID 19 preventive messages in Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Bauchi, Taraba, Borno and Yobe states.

WHO pledges to support Kebbi State towards elimination of cervical cancer

The World Health Organization is strengthening collaboration with the office of Kebbi State Governor's wife to champion early cancer detection, improvement of the chances of successful treatment and create awareness for the purpose of eliminating the deadly disease. The WHO Country Representative (WR), Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo in a recent virtual meeting with Dr Zainab Bagudu, Kebbi state's First Lady agreed to leverage on the established advocacy work by Dr Bagudu to empower populations at risk, to make informed and positive choices about promoting their health.

Ghana, Ivory Coast get COVID-19 vaccine ahead of Nigeria

As government officials in Nigeria continue to promise citizens that doses of COVID-19 vaccines will soon become available in the country, Ghana has become the first to receive COVID-19 vaccine on the continent through the Gavi and WHO-led COVAX platform. The vaccines arrived on a flight from Mumbai, via Dubai, where the flight also collected a shipment of syringes from a Gavi-funded stockpile at UNICEF's regional Supply Hub. In a statement, COVAX today announced that 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine licensed to Serum Institute of India have arrived in Accra, Ghana; it added that further deliveries to Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire are expected this week.