OPS to sustain fight against pandemic at grassroots level

The organised private sector, under the umbrella of Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID), which had helped to complement the government’s efforts to fight the outbreak of the Coronavirus, has commenced grassroots awareness campaign to help forestall further spread of the disease to suburbs and other rural communities in Lagos and Rivers states as well as in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

The awareness campaign, according to the private sector, is to further strengthen the efforts of the government in the fight against community spread of COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, through inter-personal and sustained enlightenment campaign that will help to educate people in communities on the recommended hygiene protocols to keep individuals and families safe.

The pilot phase of the campaign in local government areas across Lagos, Rivers and Abuja will address the fragmented understanding in our more remote areas of how the disease spreads in community and how to prevent it.

Speaking on the importance of the grassroots campaign at the flag-off event, one of CACOVID-19 Communications coordinators, Tony Chiejina, said: “The realization that our communications efforts so far have not successfully reached our semi-urban and rural communities, triggered the CACOVID grassroots awareness and mobilisation campaign to directly engage and address all of the misconceptions about COVID-19 and its transmission, as well as to encourage immediate adoption of safe personal hygiene practices”.

He noted further that the grassroots awareness and mobilization campaign is starting at an auspicious time when the Federal government is re-opening the economy, adding that it is especially important at this time to reinforce basic information in order to forestall the possibility of more community outbreak of the disease.