Government says it has put necessary measures in place, including setting up of an Inter-Ministerial Collaboration Committee to ensure that no case of Coronavirus is recorded in any part of the state.
The state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Pastor Paulinus Nsirim, stated this during a meeting with general managers of state-owned media organizations at his office in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
Nsirim explained that with the outbreak of Coronavirus in many countries of the world and the first confirmed case of the virus in Lagos, last week, the state government has begun an aggressive enlightenment campaign to create awareness on the virus.
He said, “This meeting is designed to set up inter-ministerial collaboration with the Ministry of Health. Let me also say that the Rivers State Government places a lot of emphasis on the healthcare of our citizens and His Excellency, the Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, has always placed priority on healthcare and public health safety.
“That is why you can see the robust infrastructural development that is going on in the three senatorial districts and the upgrade of the Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital (BMSH) to a Teaching Hospital now known as the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH). You will also note the kind of equipment that has been put in the teaching hospital now.
“The Radiology Department there is second to none in the country now. This is a pragmatic effort being made by His Excellency to ensure that the citizens of Rivers State enjoy better healthcare. So, as a state, it is important that we also take our destiny in our hands to begin to enlighten various stakeholder groups, especially health workers, those who work at the airports, seaports, transport workers and even the average market woman.
“They say prevention is better than cure. That is why this meeting is convened to set up this inter-ministerial committee to begin to strengthen the enlightenment that the Ministry of Health is already doing. They cannot do it alone. That is why the general managers of the state media houses are all here,” Nsirim stated.
He further said that “going forward, the Ministry of Health will provide content for the various media houses, who will in turn begin to set up strategic platforms to reach out to the various stakeholder groups across the state”, saying, “This is a Corporate Social Responsibility and everyone seated around this table must understand that we owe our state the duty to take this very seriously.”
He recalled that when the Ebola crisis broke out in the country, the response that was set up by the state (Rivers) received widespread commendation, noting that “As a state, we need to show that leadership, we need to show our people in the state here that we understand what is going on, and then, give them the right information.
“Going forward, the various media houses need to create strategic time at their prime news hours and spaces in their newspapers, to give information on this Coronavirus. We can’t afford as a state to record any incident. That is why all hands must be on deck, and this enlightenment is key.
“As you go back to your various media houses, we need to put the machinery in motion. Get all those who are supposed to be part of the enlightenment together and kick start. We have what it takes to do this, and I believe strongly that if we all work collectively, our state will be very safe,” he assured.
In her remark, Acting Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Chinwe Tonye-Atata explained that containment of any pathogenic disease requires multi-sectoral approach, noting that the meeting convened by the Information and Communications commissioner was a step in the right direction to ensure that everybody was on board.

By: Dennis Naku & Precious Nwiuwbari