5th September, 2014
As part of measures to curtail the spread of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, among students in the state, Lagos State Government has directed the Lagos State Water Corporation to commence the connection of 600 public secondary schools to its mains for the supply of pipe borne water .
The State Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, disclosed this Thursday in Lagos at a sensitization exercise on the Ebola virus for principals and head teachers of public secondary and primary schools as well as proprietors of private schools in the state.
Oladunjoye, who spoke through her Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Omolara Erogbogbo, reiterated the need for stakeholders in education sector to be proactive in safeguarding the human resources in their care against the outbreak of the EVD that has ravaged some West African Countries.
She advised them to inculcate in the students the basic universal precaution of frequently washing their hands in the fight against the virus.
“As a responsive and responsible government, the state government deemed it fit to put together this sensitization exercise in order to guard against the spread of the virus, particularly among our pupils and students. For us to achieve overall success in containing the virus, it becomes imperative for us to organise this sensitization programme to educate ourselves so that whatever knowledge we garner can be used to stop the spread,” she said.
The commissioner pointed out that adhering strictly to the health tips from its public health experts such as maintenance of personal and environmental hygiene at all times and regular hand washing with soap and water by pupils and students, would go a long way in reducing the risk of infection and transmission of the disease from person to person.
“Our experts in the health sector are here to educate us on what Ebola virus is, how it spreads and how we can prevent it. I therefore charge you to take advantage of this exercise in order to strengthen your knowledge base about the dreaded disease and assist us in taking care of the children under our care,” she said. The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, noted that the importance of thesuch a sensitive sensitization exercise for key relevant stakeholders in school health management could not be over emphasized bearing in mind that school children remained very vulnerable though they are not a most-at-risk group with theEVD containment strategy.
“By their nature, children, especially the young ones, are very social beings that exhibit unhindered, innocent and almost carefree social interactions among one another such that limitations in contacts prescribed as a pillar of the EVD containment strategy are observed more in breach rather than compliance in these ones. It is for this reason that I align with the State Ministry of Education for organizing this sensitization meeting involving the key relevant stakeholders in school health management,” Idris said.
Idris noted that the severity of the EVD had necessitated extreme and aggressive measures to halt the spread of the virus and had led countries heavily affected by the outbreak to enforce measures such as declaring state of public emergency, restricting public gathering including closure of schools.