The International Committee of the Red Cross, in collaboration with the Divisional Officer of Yaounde II, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Ministry of Public Health, launched a sensitisation programme against the novel coronavirus at the Mokolo market in Yaounde, Cameroon. The novel coronavirus pandemic has taken the lives of thousands worldwide, many have contracted it andthe disease is still spreading hence the awareness programme.

During the programme, people were told to always wash their hands with running water and soap, to cough or sneeze into the crease of their elbow or in a handkerchief, to maintain a distance of at least one meter from others, and in case of infection to call a hotline, 1510.

The representative of the Minister of Public Health, Dr Fanne Mahamat, said, ‘In the public squares, we will have 200 water points throughout the city of Yaounde to facilitate the practice of hygiene. Otherwise, your alcohol solution everywhere for hand cleaning. Or contact 1510 in case of illness or someone who may have symptoms’.

The President of the Cameroon Red Cross Society, Cecile Akame Mfoumou, also added that ‘a total of 52 information desks in the seven councils of Yaounde city and in the surrounding towns will be placed in all the places with high population density. This is in order to create a change of behaviour in the population, the washing of hands and the promotion of good hygiene practices’.

Source: Cameroon Tribune

Photo source: SuSanA Secretariat