From Billy Graham Abel, Yola
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has tasked the media to be committed to the verification of details before publication of news items.
WHO Coordinator, Ahemen Terseer, while addressing newsmen during an engagement in Yola, said the meeting was crucial to the organisation because the media is a critical component of public health.
Ahemen said the media has the power to make or mar any public health campaign, hence the need to form a synergy to deliver accurate, fact-based and reliable information that will enhance public health and provide a safe information space.
During the engagement, the Adamwwa State Epidemiologist, Kadabiyu Jones, disclosed 49 deaths have been recorded so far due to measles outbreak, and 143 cases of the 818 suspected cases confirmed positive.
“The affected persons are usually children, aged between 1 and 14 years and most of the affected persons are children who were not vaccinated.”
He confirmed the state has deployed surveillance personnel to track the outbreak and that it is working hard to ensure all vulnerable groups within the vaccination range will be captured within the ongoing vaccination exercise in the state.
Jones also affirms the state government’s closure of schools was designed to enable all children with the age bracket of vaccination to be reached in the ongoing exercise and to forestall further spread of the disease in schools and among children in the state.
He called on residents to take advantage of the ongoing vaccination to support the state government’s effort and forestall further spread of the disease.