Schools in Lagos and Ogun states have benefited from the recently held “WASH”- a Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene seminar organized by Rotary International, District 9110 Nigeria.
The seminar which was held at the Rotary Centre in Ikeja, Lagos state on Thursday, March 5, 2020 was championed by the District Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Committee led by Past Assistant Governor Samson Okenyi of Rotary Club of Ewutuntun.
The seminar which had in attendance students and teachers from 18 schools across Lagos and Ogun states, came at a time when the country needed it more as the endemic Corona virus, one of the deadly viruses that found their way into Nigeria, calls for serious concern.
The Corona virus which was first identified in China on January 7, after the country had alerted the World Health Organization of several pneumonia cases in Wuhan, a city in Hubei province, China after which the first death caused by the virus was announced on January 11.
The Corona virus however extended to another part of Asia and on January 13, the World Health Organization identified a case of Corona virus in Thailand. Since then, the virus has continued to spread to other parts of the world, including Nigeria.
There are currently 37 countries that have been affected with this deadly virus with 95, 000 cases of infected persons, and 3, 254 cases of deaths. There are currently identified cases of the virus in four African countries namely; Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, and Morocco with Nigeria having recorded only 1 case of the virus with no death. Same as Algeria and Morocco, asides Egypt which has recorded 2 cases with no death.
With the statistics outlined above, there is however the urgent need to seek ways of preventing the spread of the virus in Nigeria and in the world at large. In view of this, the Nigerian government and organizations are however carrying out massive sensitization in different parts of the country and the Rotary club is not left out.
Hence, this year’s edition of the annual WASH programme centers on combating the spread of the Corona Virus and other endemic viruses such as Lassa fever and Ebola through proper hand washing and other measures. Hand-wash buckets, sanitizers, toilet papers, among other items were also donated to the schools present at the seminar.
The District Governor, Dr. Jide Akeredolu, while addressing the students and teachers at the seminar, noted that water, sanitation, and hygiene is one of the major areas of focus of Rotary and that members are all encouraged, as clubs and districts to focus as many of their projects as possible to address the issue of supply of clean water, sanitation, and hygiene in their communities.
In his speech, the DG said, “We are encouraged to help create healthier communities by supplying clean water and sanitation facilities which will help to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. When people have access to clean water and sanitation, waterborne diseases decrease, children stay healthier and attend school more regularly, and mothers can spend less time carrying water and more time helping their families.
“With the advent of the Corona Virus pandemic, the importance of hygiene habits like hand-washing cannot be over emphasized”, the DG added.
Rotarian Guest Speaker, Past District Governor, Dr. Deinde Shoga spoke to the participants on “Lassa fever” while Rotarian Guest Speaker, Dr. Femi Oloyede spoke to the participants on “Corona Virus”.
According to Dr. Oloyede, “Mid cases of the virus has risen to 80% while severe and critical cases has risen to 4.7%. He also revealed that the virus infection rates is declining in China and rising in other countries.”
He underscored some clinical recommendations on preventing the virus- Regular hand washing with soap & water for at least 20 secs, the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60%, as well as avoidance of close contact with the sick.
He also highlighted Public Health advises as follows:
- High Index of suspicion and immediate notification
- Visit restrictions (healthy and sick)
- Avoid touching eyes, nose, & mouth with unwashed hands
- Safe coughing habits: cover mouth & nose with flexed elbow or tissue, throw tissue away immediately and wash hands
- Avoid close contact with anyone with fever & cough
- Sharing of travel history with healthcare giver
- Avoid direct unprotected contact with live animals
- Avoid consumption of raw or undercooked animal products
Coined from Wuhan, the city where the Corona virus emanated from, Dr. Oloyede stated the following precautions:
- W-ash your hands often
- U-se masks properly and when necessary
- H-ave your temperature checked for fever
- A-void large crowds and stay home if you are sick
- N-ever touch your face with unclean hands