• Friday, March 29, 2024
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WAHO reiterates support for ECOWAS to tackle COVID-19

WAHO reiterates support for ECOWAS to tackle COVID-19

West African Health Organisation (WAHO) has reaffirmed its commitment to support Member States of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the fight against the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic bedevilling its Member States.

As the institution designated by the highest authorities of ECOWAS to lead the coordination, collaboration and communication in the region with regards to COVID-19, WAHO in a statement said the institution had distributed over 30,000 diagnostic test kits, 50,000 specimen transportation kits and 10,000 personal protective equipment (PPE), and some medications to the Member States supplementing what individual countries are doing by themselves.

“WAHO has been very active in bringing together Member State to adopt a regional approach to the pandemic and to support them as necessary. As at February 2020, a few days after the declaration by World Health Organization (WHO) of COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, WAHO convened an emergency meeting of the Ministers of Health across ECOWAS on preparedness and response to the outbreak of COVID-19, and the meeting agreed on a unified regional approach to the pandemic,” the statement said.

The statement noted further that “WAHO immediately strengthened the capacity of all 15 member states to test for COVID-19 through a regional laboratory training and distribution of the first batch of diagnostic kits to all member states. In all the 15 ECOWAS Member States, several actors including health workers are being mobilized to save lives.

“However, there continues to be the challenge of securing sufficient materials given the disruption in global supply chains, this is something WAHO is tackling through its partnership with other agencies and bodies to ensure the Member States do not run out of stock” the statement disclosed.

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Similarly, the statement emphasised that the most important tool in the struggle is the behaviour of every citizen, highlighting that it is of utmost importance that the citizens heed to the information on how to protect themselves and their loved ones.

WAHO said ECOWAS states can tackle the menace by “regularly and thoroughly washing of hands with soap and water or the use of alcoholic based hand sanitizer.”

It also said that the virus can be contained by “reducing physical contact to the minimum by maintaining at least 1.5-meter distance between yourself and anyone, avoiding touching of the eyes, nose, and mouth as well as avoiding social gatherings among other measures.”