NLC sensitises on Ebola
Posted by admin | 10 years ago | 1,166 times
The National Vice President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Issa Aremu, in a one day sensitization workshop, organised for the National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN), on prevention of Ebola in work places, held at the Textile Labour House, in Lagos, yesterday explained that the sensitization is put together to address what he called the three Ws of Ebola virus disease.
He explained by asking some critical questions: “what is it, i.e. who can contact it and where can it be transmitted, how can it be contained and which measures can be taken to prevent and manage it”.
He noted that many workers were at risk, but that prevention remained the best strategy to be employed in combating it and HIV.
His words: “We can see that the first victims of this Ebola were workers. Thus, Ebola is not just an international epidemic, it an organizational health problem. The first sets of workers at risk are air transport workers, port workers and all the border workers who are the first contact with visitors coming into Nigeria”.
He said that in the current circumstance in the country, there was serious need to monitor people coming into the country. He iterated the NLC expectation that employers as well as governments should provide proper security and safety for their workers.
He called for safety guides and disinfectant for all workers, and above all, proper remuneration, “God forbid if anything happens, there will be enough resources to attend to their health and take care of them” he said.
Aremu went on to demand of concerned Nigerian authorities to promote discipline within the ECOWAS sub-region to avoid another case of the recent diplomatic indiscipline, for which Nigerians some Nigerians have already paid the price.
He accused Liberia government of having inadvertently engaged in medical terrorism by clearing Patrick Sawyer to travel to Nigeria for an ECOWAS summit.
He also lauded the Federal and Lagos State governments’ efforts for how far they tried to confront the virus. He went on to advise that the country’s struggle against the virus would only be seen to be genuine when other diseases like malaria, cholera, measles, typhoid, etc, are meaningfully. He explained that though the diseases have cure, but that they were still killing people.
Confirming Aremu’s speech was Omowunmi Bakare, representing the Lagos State Ministry of Health who said “when it comes to health, safety and the environment that the Lagos State government is always on stand to wade in”.
She also stated that the governments have set up committees and international agencies to monitor and contain the disease. She however used the forum to disclose Ebola help lines such as 080326524357, adding that the governor has been at the forefront of raising Ebola awareness “because information they say is power”.
Speaking also was the resource person, Biodun Ogunbiyi from the Centre for Disease Control, who made it clear while intimating the various representatives on the symptoms, transmission process and preventive measures to be taken said
“It is not enough to conclude that a suspect is an Ebola carrier until a test is conducted as there are other diseases that also manifest some of the Ebola symptoms. But to care for a carrier, he advised that the care giver must protect himself as unprotected contact causes exposure to the disease, rather than sneeze or cough into the palms, it would be wiser to do so with the elbow, not just for Ebola virus alone, but all other infectious diseases and always wash your hands constantly.” He stated.
Source: Eberechi Obinagwam
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