OAU, UNILAG Sensitize Students On Ebola

•Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, Nigeria’s Minister of Health

•Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, Nigeria's Minister of Health

Akintola Lukman & Charles Agu

The management of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, has held a sensitization campaign to enlighten students about Ebola Virus Disease.

The event, organised by OAU Ebola Disease Surveillance Committee, was held at the University’s Amphi theatre on Monday, 1 September.

It was well attended by members of the university community including the academic and non-academic staff of the institution.

P.M.NEWS Campus Square gathered that for the effectiveness of  the programme, all lectures scheduled to hold during the campaign were suspended by the school management.

•Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, Nigeria's Minister of Health
•Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, Nigeria’s Minister of Health

Speaking at the  event, Dr. Mabel Ogunlusi, a renowned medical practitioner, described the symptoms of the  virus and enjoined everyone not to panic but avoid all forms of contact with  carriers of the virus.

“The deadly virus of Ebola is known to be paramount in West Africa, which has a high death toll in countries like Liberia and Sierra Leone.

“Endeavour to wash your hands at all times, prevent body contact with carriers of the virus either through fluids, blood or body discharges. Report any suspicious case immediately at the university’s health centre. But do not panic because it (panic) kills faster than the virus itself,” she urged.

In the same vein the student affairs unit of the University of Lagos, UNILAG, in collaboration with the medical unit of the school, on Tuesday, 2 September, 2014, convened an enlightenment forum on Ebola Virus prevention across the school.

It was a five day- initiative. On its second day, it reached the Mass Communication department and Centre of Information and Technology Services.

Mrs. Adeyemi, a senior nursing officer of the medical unit, addressed the audience at the Mass communication department on the dire effects, and preventive measures against the virus.

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She encouraged the audience (comprising students and staff) to always seek medical check up in cases of an ensuing ailment as Ebola symptoms are not exclusively peculiar to the disease itself.

The nurse called for a permissive obsession with regular hand washing, and avoidance of unnecessarily tactile contact with the inner parts of one’s body.

She called for a refrain from indiscriminate body contacts with individuals harbouring visible sweat secretions and sharing of hand towels.

The medical practitioner also appealed to the audience to be cautious in their contacts with the sick and their secretion.

On this note, she hinted that the school, in response to the epidemic, has deployed a plethora of hand gloves to the various hostels of the school.

Subsequently, in conformity, the participants voiced their scepticism over the effectiveness of hand sanitisers, and need of the emergency numbers of the medical unit. Affirmative responses were given to these.

In response to the initiative, Lanre Akinpelu, a 300 level student of the department opined that it is a good one as the health crisis, and oratory reactions to it have made people cognizant of other more baneful varieties of viral infections (like Hepatitis B), and how to fight them.

He intends to further propagate the message through interpersonal interactions with his peers when opportune to do so.

Lanre, who is also the General Secretary of one of the biggest halls of the school, Sodeinde Hall, expressed his intention to aid in spreading the anti-Ebola campaign to his hall of residence.

“When we practice what we preach, people will learn from what we are actually doing. Some of us are opinion leaders; whatever we do, other people tend to emulate,” he added.

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