From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi
In a bid to reduce the high rate of Lassa Fever across the country, the National Orientation Agency, NOA, has commenced nationwide sensitization.
Flagging off the enlightenment at a press conference in Makurdi on Tuesday, the Director-General, NOA Lanre Isah said not more than 100 to 300 individuals are infected yearly with 5,000 deaths recorded in Africa even as he intimated that 1,025 infection rate as at October 2024 was recorded in 28 states in Nigeria.
Lanre said the agency identified 8 high risk states including Benue State to interven.
Represented by Simon Idoko, Deputy Director Health and Social Care Department, the NOA DG stressed the urgent need to mobilize Nigerians to take proactive steps to safeguard themselves against the virus.
According to him, ‘the dry season is a period of heightened vulnerability hence, there is need for collective action to prevent the disease.
“NOA is partnering with the Federal Ministry of Health as well as the National Center for Disease Control, NCDC to carry out this nationwide campaign in the area of risk, prevention and control measures to combat Lassa Fever.
“ Lassa Fever is preventable if we maintain good hygiene, store food in rodent proof containers and avoid contact with infected persons.
“We will deploy our state officers nationwide, engage community leaders, influencers, campaign in schools and carry out road shows in rural areas to stem the rate of Lassa Fever”, he said.
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