After Ebola, don’t stop campaigns for personal hygiene and sanitation
In the midst of the gloomy news that Nigeria is often associated with comes a ray of hope that the country can indeed get things right when its officials and people put their hearts to work. This is the story emerging from the handling of Ebola outbreak in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy with over 168 million people, following the successful containment of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) by the federal and state governments.
This piece of good news has attracted commendations from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United States Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and the international community. The World Health Organisation (WHO) on its part commended Nigeria for identifying and following up between 94 and 98 percent of contacts of EVD.
The ongoing Ebola outbreak which began in Guinea and later spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, is unprecedented – the outbreak first began in Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976. Since March 2014 1, 427 deaths and 2,615 cases of EVD have been recorded. Its impact has been enormous in terms of economic activities and negative socio-economic effects within the sub-region.
Prevention remains very crucial in breaking transmission of the disease. To prevent an epidemic public health professionals advocated avoiding direct and indirect contact with bodily fluids and tissue of infected persons. Frequent hand washing, using hand sanitizers, as well as the avoiding unnecessary handshakes and hugging, at least for now, were urged as the way to go. In addition, the practice of “barrier nursing” i.e. quarantine for patients in hospitals was effective.
No doubt the advent of the deadly contagious disease into Nigeria through Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian-American on July 20, 2014 has changed the lifestyles and socio-economic landscape. Out of fear of Ebola, people’s sense of personal hygiene has heightened many have adopted preventive measures, some even to the level of sheer absurdity.
Caution has become the order of the day as people avoid handshakes, opting instead for clenched fist salute. The days of warm embraces and jocular back-slaps are gradually fading; it’s obvious that we are in a season of minimal contact with sick people or anybody you are not sure of. Hand sanitizers, have turned gold. They no longer need any form of advertisement as they have become so popular to the extent that demand for them far outweighs the supply. It can be said to be one of the fastest selling items in Lagos and major cities across the country now.
While most Nigerians trust that the Ebola containment is a laudable achievement for the country, there are concerns over what will become of the fate of hand sanitizers, observing personal hygiene and sanitation after the Ebola plague.
This is because once Nigerians have overcome a challenge they forget about it until it resurfaces. We believe that institutionalizing personal and domestic hygiene practices would be the best way to approach things when the Ebola fight is over.
Hence, we urge the federal ministry of health as well as all the states ministries of health and the media to continue the personal hygiene awareness campaign not only for Ebola, but also for other various contagious diseases. Nigeria should move away from reactionary measures to be being proactive in all facets of our life.