Health and Safety
COVID-19: NCDC holds workshop on Infodemic Management in Ogun state
As part of efforts to strengthen infodemic management systems in Nigeria, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), organised a workshop on Infodemic Management, in Abeokuta, Ogun state.
The Director-General (DG), NCDC, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, on Thursday in Abeokuta, at a three-day training, said the event was to support the state’s pandemic preparedness and mitigate misinformation and disinformation around the current COVID-19 pandemic and other infectious diseases.
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The newsmen report that the NCDC, as part of its plans to establish and strengthen Infodemic Management across the country, with support from the Global Fund country grant to Nigeria, is rolling out sub-national training on Infodemic management structures and systems for COVID-19, and other priority diseases, including Lassa Fever, Polio, Malaria, HIV/AIDS, Monkeypox, and Yellow fever across 12 states.
Adetifa, who was represented by Mr Micheal Okali, Health Education Officer at NCDC, said that the training revolved around building capacity to address misinformation and rumours that accompany public health events.
He noted that the state educators and health workers would also study the role of fact-checking tools to tackle fake news on infectious diseases.
An infodemic is too much information, including false or misleading information, in digital and physical environments during a disease outbreak.
“The participants, representing identified stakeholders from different Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and the media in Ogun state, will complete the highlighted modules of the training, to refine their skills and ensure they will be able to train others, according to the project’s specific objectives in recognition of the growing threats around misinformation in the country,“ he said.
The NCDC DG said there is a need for national coordination of the response to infodemics, particularly, around basic issues such as the coordinated and integrated methods to manage the flow of information for maximum positive impact.
“To fill these gaps, both an overview and a detailed understanding of the distribution and sharing of information are crucial, clarifying where it comes from; how it propagates; who receives and shares it; and how we can expect it to evolve as threats.”
Dr Festus Soyinka, Director of Public Health, Ogun State Ministry of Health, said that the training focused on how the state, communities and individuals were managing public health and social measures by maintaining what’s working while addressing challenges that still lie ahead on infectious diseases.
Soyinka said that the COVID-19 infodemic is having a significant impact on people’s everyday lives.
“By the end of this training, the health workers will be able to improve info-surveillance on COVID-19, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and malaria among other diseases; identify several Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) tactics for managing uncertainty.
“It identified several elements of public trust related to agencies responding to public health emergencies, and identified several mechanisms to use for listening and engaging stakeholders and communities,” he said.
Also speaking, Ms Racheal Abujah, Snr. Health Correspondent, newsmen said that as part of efforts to strengthen infodemic management systems in the country, newsmen has been supporting the NCDC national infodemic management team to review weekly trends reports.
Abujah said that the efforts have helped to focus the Media’s support for tackling health misinformation and building resilience to misinformation among the populace.
According to her, during the peek period of COVID-19, journalists discursively placed themselves in a responsible but vulnerable position within the communication ecology, not solely as a result of the pandemic but also of environmental conditions that long preceded it.
She said that Journalists found their reporting difficult during the pandemic and sought to mitigate the forces challenging their work as they sought to reverse the flow of misinformation.
She said that the Infodemic management team in Nigeria leverages the pivotal role of freedom of expression and access to information to address information needs in times of COVID-19 and to tackle the massive wave of disinformation which threatened to impact democracy, sustainable development and stability across the country.
Mr Onaeko Oluwawemimo, Director, Environmental Health and Management, Ogun State Ministry of Environment, said that Infodemic management is relatively a new trend in public health capacity building aimed at serving inaccurate information from accurate and needed relevant information on diseases to reduce its negative impact on health behaviour.
Oluwawemimo said that the training is worthwhile, and timely and should be supported for cascading for more rumour generation for effective government interventions and decisions.
“Our appreciation to developing partners, NCDC, stakeholders and other trainees for their efforts to build our capacity with esteemed facilitators and the entire trainees for our time and commitment.
We say a big thanks to you all,” he said.
Newsmen recall that the selected states at the workshop were, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Edo, Enugu, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Kwara, Ogun, Oyo, and Plateau.
The Ondo State Security Network Agency, Codenamed Amotekun Corps, says it is after criminal godfathers as part of efforts at combating crime in the state.
Mr Adetunji Adeleye, State Commander of Amotekun Corps, who said this while addressing newsmen on Tuesday in Akure, explained that the corps had gone beyond arresting criminals alone.
Adeleye, who disclosed that 28 suspects were arrested for different crimes in the state, said the criminal world was evolving, hence, Amotekun would also evolve.
“Amotekun always strives to be ahead of them. We are now after their godfathers and backbones, and the reason is simple.
“We don’t want to relent. Hence, our fight is not against the criminals alone, but against their sponsors.
“So, we are saying that until we uproot them, we won’t have total peace.
“The chain of criminality has to be broken and uprooted. We need the socio-economic growth of the state to continue to increase.
“By the intervention of Amotekun, the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of Ondo State increased by over 500 per cent in 2023.
“The directive of Gov. Lucky Aiyedatiwa is to create an enabling environment for investors to bombard the state.
“The security architecture of Ondo State is firm, and the best criminals can do is to run away from this state. The joint patrol team in some parts of the state is still ongoing,” he stated.
The commander also said Amotekun had dominated the forests, which was no longer a safe place for criminals, saying farmers can go back to their farms.
“What we are saying is that when you see something, quickly say something and let us intervene because if you delay, the delay might be dangerous,” he said.
The Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) Search and Rescue team says another body from the Third Mainland Bridge accident of Aug. 23 has been recovered.
LASWA General Manager, Mr Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Lagos.
Emmanuel confirmed that the recovered body had since been released to the victim’s family.
He said while early reports suggested only one victim, investigations later confirmed a second passenger, identified as 31-year-old Chado Daniel Danladi of Oremeta Street, Ikeja.
Danladi was identified as a colleague of the first victim.
Emmanuel said the incident occurred in the early hours of Aug. 23, when a Toyota Camry plunged into the Lagos Lagoon from the Third Mainland Bridge.
He noted that LASWA’s rescue team responded immediately after receiving the distress call.
“The vehicle carried a female passenger, identified as Aisha, aged between 25 and 35. Her body was quickly recovered by divers and handed to her family,” he said.
He added that emergency units from LASWA, Marine Police, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) worked seamlessly with support from local fishermen.
“This incident demonstrates the efficiency of our coordinated emergency response and the strong community support that strengthens Lagos State’s capacity to manage waterway emergencies.
“We remain committed to ensuring safety and rapid response in all such cases,” Emmanuel said.
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has warned Nigerian youths to beware of the tricks and intrigues used by smugglers and traffickers to lure victims into irregular migration.
Mr Kazeem Otitoloju, Chief Superintendent of Immigration (CSI), gave the warning on Wednesday in Abuja at the screening of an infomercial on the smuggling of migrants organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Otitoloju said that experience had shown that perpetrators of migrant smuggling and trafficking always devised new routes and methods whenever one pathway was blocked.
According to him, with youths making up about 60 per cent of Nigeria’s population, young people have become the prime target of smugglers and traffickers.
“Youths are the targets now, and we know information flies very fast among you.
“That is why we are here to sensitise you on the dangers, the threats and the tricks they use to capture young people, ” he said.
Otitoloju noted that many Nigerians aspired to travel abroad, popularly referred to as “japa,” and stressed the importance of recognising warning signs and ensuring that migration was done legally.
He, however, expressed hope that by the end of the programme, participants would be fully equipped with the right information to guide their travel decisions and also cascade the knowledge to their peers.
“For you to travel, make sure you are going through the safe, regular and orderly path, not the crooked ways. By doing so, we will be able to further strengthen our fight against this threat,” he added.
In his goodwill message, the Executive Director and Founder, iLEAD Africa, Mr Yusuf Abiodun, urged Nigerian youths to leverage digital technology and social media platforms to advocate for safe and legal migration.
Abiodun said that young people, being the most active users of digital platforms, could play a vital role in spreading information that promotes safe migration pathways.
“We believe in the potential of young people. They not only have access to digital technology, but also the voice, the power and the network to create a positive impact,” he said
Abiodun explained that the training would not only enlighten participants in the room but also enable them to share knowledge with their peers, colleagues and workplaces.
According to him, research has shown that many irregular migrants are not necessarily without resources, but often lack proper information about migration requirements.
“Some people just believe that once you have a passport or visa, you are cleared, whereas some countries require more than just a visa. Someone needs to inform them, and that is the purpose of this training,” he said.
Abiodun expressed confidence that the knowledge shared at the workshop would have a long-term impact and contribute to collective efforts in addressing the smuggling of migrants.
The project was being implemented in partnership with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), iLEAD Africa, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and WOTCLEF.
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