As economic activities in Nigeria resume after the easing of the nationwide lockdown, a group of civil society organisations has urged the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and state governments to introduce anti-body testing to further control the spread of Covid-19.
The members of the Covid-19 Nigeria Security Support Group noted in a report, after conducting a nationwide study, that many Nigerians no longer adhere to physical distancing measures just as some reluctantly use face mask.
Development Diaries understands that with Nigeria’s population estimated to be over 200 million, lapses in enforcing preventive measures and seeking innovative ways to stay ahead of the Covid-19 crisis could prove to be costly to Nigeria’s health system which is already being stretched to its maximum.
‘Our observers in different parts of the country reported that Nigerians have become tired with the non-pharmaceutical methods of preventing the spread of the virus through wearing of face masks and adhering to physical and social distancing’, the report signed by the Executive Director at CLEEN Foundation, Dr Benson Olugbuo, read.
‘It seems also that the stigma associated with the [Covid-19] has made it difficult for citizens to go for testing unless it is by compulsion or they have become very ill.
‘From the foregoing, it may be necessary for the government to complement the current testing procedure with anti-body testing which is progressive in nature and will overcome the stigma associated with testing positive to corona virus in Nigeria’.
Members of the Covid-19 Nigeria Security Support Group, according to the report, used a mixed method approach involving collection of primary and secondary data from reliable official sources of information and received a total of 13,353 primary data reports across the 774 LGAs in Nigeria.
The report noted that some Nigerians do not trust the NCDC as they doubt the accuracy of the number of cases updated daily by the health agency.
‘There is need for the federal and state governments and key stakeholders to intensify efforts at sensitising rural communities about the Covid-19 pandemic as many still believe it is an elitist disease that infects only the high-class of the society’, the report added.
‘The federal and state governments should ensure massive community sensitisation and awareness in light of the increase in Covid-19 community transmission and infections rates at the community level…
‘Security officers should focus on enforcement of the Covid-19 prevention guidelines rather than using the enforcement as legalised means of public extortion’.
The National Human Rights Commission and other human rights organisations were urged by the group to ensure that human rights abuses are documented regularly, adding that security operatives found guilty of extortion and violation of human rights during curfew hours should be disciplined appropriately to serve as a deterrent to other operatives.
The NCDC has so far recorded 53,317 cases of Covid-19 in the West African country, and more than 1,000 deaths have been reported.
Source: CLEEN Foundation
Photo source: International Labour Organisation
