Politics
A group under the aegis of Plateau Initiative for Development and Advancement of the Natives (PIDAN) has called on the Plateau Government to intensify efforts at sensitising rural dwellers on the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Prof. Aboi Madaki, PIDAN President, said on Monday that the awareness creation and advocacy on the disease had been intense, but concentrated in the urban centres of the State.
Madaki, however, noted that recently the Association of Local Government in Nigeria ( ALGON) had come in to strengthen the State Government efforts, thus increasing the extent of awareness creation at the grassroots.
He commended ALGON’s effort and called for its sustenance till the pandemic was over.
“However, our interactions with some development association leaders and sampling of views of persons at village market levels, showed that the message has not adequately reached this segment of the population.
“This may largely be due to the limited access of such segment of the population to both print and electronic media.
“We wish to appeal to the state administration to mobilise the development association leaders and other grassroots level organisations in the various LGAs.
“The leaders will carry out a more extensive sensitisation, including door-to -door campaign with messages in the various dialects at the rural and village level to contain the disease.
“This is essential to consolidate the current efforts at seeing that we reduce infections especially in the month of April, which is likely to show more cases of the disease than what has been recorded,” he said.
Madaki also appealed to development association leaders to courageously and aggressively step up their efforts to educate their people on the disease.
He pointed out that the leaders have been doing so, despite being handicapped by low level of logistics, including inadequacy of appropriate information, education and communication material.
“We wish to appeal to well spirited individuals to team up and partner with community development associations to effectively educate the people at the grassroots level so as to augment government efforts in containing the disease.
“We wish to appreciate the people of Plateau for their cooperation and compliance with the COVID-19 preventive measures so far.
“We further appeal to them to increase their commitment to ensure that we contain this pandemic on the Plateau,” he appealed.
Madaki also commended the Federal and Plateau state Government on their combined efforts to tame the Coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria.
He, however, noted that the global pandemic had shown progressive infection of Nigerians since the diagnosis of its first case in Lagos, Feb. 27. (NAN)
– Mar. 31, 2020 @ 8:05 GMT |
Tags: COVID-19: Group advocates for more sensitisation of rural dwellers in Plateau
