United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF) says it has embarked on community awareness creation activities to promote good personal hygiene habits to prevent the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.
Maulid Warfa, Chief of UNICEF Field Office, Kano, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Kano.
Warfa, who is the UNICEF Officer in charge of Kano, Jigawa and Katsina States, said the UN agency was working in collaboration with Federal and State Governments to enhance fight against the Coronavirus pandemic.
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He said the agency had sensitised and mobilised facilitators and community volunteers to educate the people on the dangers and preventive tips of the virus.
Warfa said: “UNICEF in Nigeria is working with the government, we have a team that has been supporting the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 pandemic in Abuja. We in Kano and other eight field offices are supporting the efforts of the states.
“I am grateful that in Kano, the Kano state government has already activated a task force on the pandemic and UNICEF is a member of the committee against Coronavirus.
“In all aspects, peace communication, social mobilisation, making sure people have access to handwashing facilities, sending accurate messages and also working with the state ministry of health, supporting the efforts is one of the key aspects we are working on in the past few weeks.
“Today, we have training for the UNICEF State Facilitators discussing the smartest and innovative ways to speed up the peace communication process.
“We also have large numbers of Volunteer Community Mobilisers (VCMs) in communities, Local Government Areas (LGAs) facilitators and other community platforms that are supporting malnutrition.
“Now we are using the same mechanism to get the message out to alert communities; mothers, fathers, children and the youths to understand the severity of the situation and to do the right thing to keep themselves and families safe.
“The message is very clear, we are saying wash your hands with soap and running water anytime you get contact with any object, do not touch your mouth and nose unless you wash your hands.
“Keep distance because social distancing is one key mechanism to prevent the spread of the virus,” he said.
According to him, UNICEF is also working in collaboration with federal and state governments to mitigate the effects of the pandemic in areas of education, malnutrition, water and sanitation, among others.
He lauded the efforts of the Federal and Kano state governments to prevent the spread of the virus and urged people to adhere to medical advice, practice handwashing and observe social distancing.