For citizens to heed health advisories on COVID-19 management, Dr. Ehanire recommends that Government and Citizens must renew pact.
For many persons seeking to know why many Nigerians are not adhering to many of the public health advisories issued to curb the increasing spread of COVID-19, the Honourable Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire has suggested what can be done, especially that pharmaceutical solution is not yet in sight. In a press release signed by Blessing Egbo
For: Director, Information, Media & Public Relations said:
“The Honourable Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire has recommended that there is a need for both the government and the citizens to renew pact for the citizens to heed the health advisories issued to prevent the increasing spread of COVID-19.
He made this recommendation in his concluding remarks of the lecture delivered to participants of the Executive Intelligence Management Course (EIMC) 13 of the Department of State Services (DSS).
The Honourable Minister of Health’s words: “COVID-19 reveals that collaboration and cooperation between the governed and governing is vital and has never been so important and desirable as with this outbreak. It appears that there is a relationship between infection and fatality rates on the one hand and the level of collaboration between state and population on the other hand, looking at the global picture. Therefore, we need to intensify this relationship so that the population takes ownership of the response. “
Dr. Ehanire said this on 13th July, 2020, at the National Institute of Security Studies (NISS), Abuja where he made presentation as a Guest Lecturer delivering a lecture entitled ‘The corona virus pandemic: How prepared was Nigeria?’
The Minister admitted that although Nigeria has a well written influenza pandemic response plan, we were not prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic just as no other country in the world was prepared for it, as global events have shown. “We were not prepared… no one knew what to expect,” he added.
On the level of the country’s preparedness to handle the pandemic now, Dr. Ehanire stated that Nigeria is much better prepared and is still preparing and that the present situation is not out of hand. “COVID-19 is still an unfolding global pandemic and Nigeria has not reached its peak of transmission. Our high population and population density, along with previous mentioned conditions and challenges, give reasons for apprehension but also make accurate predictions difficult.”
Dr. Ehanire who expressed delight at the level of compliance to the non-pharmaceutical measures of social distancing and wearing of masks among the participants called for intensified efforts at curbing the virus as health is a national security issue.
The event which is an annual event organised by the Department of State Services (DSS) and the National Institute for Security Studies (NISS) had the theme: Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea: Issues and challenges for international trade, national security and sustainable development of member states. Participants were drawn from Military, Para-Military, Law Enforcement, Security and Intelligence as well as other federal government agencies strategic to the security infrastructure of the nation.(outlook media).