At least 300 vulnerable households in four  communities excluded from the distribution of the recent Federal Government palliatives in Abuja, Nigeria, have benefitted from food and non food items  distributed by Actionaid Nigeria in partnership with Centre for Information Technology and Development ( CITAD).

Actionaid Nigeria Local Rights Programme Advisor, Hajara Opaluwa-Adamu said the  COVI-19 palliatives worth N2.7 million was donated to complement the efforts of the Nigerian government  to cushion the effect of  hunger ocassioned by the lockdown in the country, following  the  global outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Nigerians, especially women, have been subjected to hardship in the past few weeks due to the closure of businesses, offices and restriction of movement to curtail spread of the disease.

The beneficiaries of the intervention in Tunga-Ashere, Tunga Nasara, Jiwa Tsofo and Gwalada communities in Abuja Municipal Area Councils of the FCT, each went home with a package containing food and non food items worth N9, 000.

The items included,  5kg of rice, 5kg of beans, 2kg of semovita, 4 packets(piece) of spaghetti, 25 piece of maggi star, 3 sachet of power oil, 5 pieces of noodles, 1 roll of milk sachet, 1 roll of Milo sachet, 1 roll of sachet tomato paste and 500g of salt.

Other contents of the package were a pack of sanitary pad, two tablets of washing soap and additional 20 packs of  sanitary pads for young girls.

Seventy five households each from the communities benefitted from the gesture which, Adamu said became necessary to augment the Federal Government’s palliatives earlier  distributed to some communities.

The Actionaid representative said in order to ensure  that the most vulnerable in the communities were identified for the intervention, the communities were involved in the selection process  in line with Actionaid human rights based approach.

She listed some of the criteria employed to ensure that the most vulnerable in the communities benefitted to include,  households with more than eight dependents, with four being under the age of 5, women headed households and households with terminally ill relatives.

Households with any child under 5 years  who is severely mal nourished or more than one child who is moderately mal nourished,  households with pregnant and lactating mothers that includes any of the other criteria as well as child-headed  households were considered, she added.

The Actionaid Local Rights Programme Advisor  said the intervention was Actionaid Nigeria’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic which has already affected no fewer than 4 million persons across the world with over 200,000 confirmed deaths.

She said the gesture will be replicated in three other states in Nigeria.

“Everyone is aware of the current situation  in the world, that is the Coronavirus pandemic and Actionaid is responding to that.
This is one of our communities where intervention is carried out. Currently, we are doing the food and non food distribution in about four states. FCT, Kaduna, Akwa Ibom and Lagos State.

“This is our day two of the distribution. All the communities we are doing this intervention is under AMAC, reasons being that we went round the five area councils where we work, we noticed that AMAC is very large, so most of our communities in the council did not get the  Federal Government palliatives distributed and  some communities where it get to, in some cases, it was only about 30 households  that got the items distributed and the 30 households were taken by men, so it means that they are  leaving the women suffering, ” she said.
“You know when you want to talk about the poorest of the poor, women and their children are more affected, so Actionaid thought it wise that in line with putting women first in all our interventions, with a little amount we can also reach some households. So in FCT currently, we are reaching about 300 households with food and non food material,” said Adamu.

Speaking on the criteria for selection of the beneficiaries, she explained: “We looked at the most vulnerables among all the communities. Even though we work in about 19 communities in the FCT, we looked at the most vulnerable and those that got less of the Federal Government palliatives with the participation of the community.”

She said sometimes in March  when the outbreak was first reported in Nigeria, Actionaid Nigeria rolled out its intervention  with sensitization  campaigns to educate the  communities where the organization is presently offering interventions, about Coronavirus, what to do to avoid infection and spread of the disease.

“Each of the 19 communities were supported with IEC materials, Microphones, sanitizers, demonstration of hand washing was done and the microphones are being switched on currently, morning and evening to play back audio recordings on the what to do, the don’ts and misconceptions of the Coronavirus around the communities in local dialect to keep the people abreast with what they are to do and what they should not do in the face of the pandemic.”

While addressing each communities during the exercise, CITAD Program Officer, Salma Abdulwaheed recalled the danger associated with not adhering strictly to the social distancing, hand washing and other guidelines to prevent infection and spread of the disease.

She advised members of the communities to take responsibility for their life and well being by avoiding gatherings and practise hygiene which is  even more  critical at this time.

Responding to the gesture, the village heads of the beneficiary communities commended the efforts of Actionaid Nigeria  and CITAD towards improving the lives of hard-to-reach communities in the FCT.

The community head of Tunga-Ashere, Sani Yakubu said his community was very grateful for receiving the aids.

He said the items received will go a long way in sustaining the beneficiaries as they continue to observe the social distancing and lockdown order of the Federal Government.

The distribution of COVID-19 palliatives by Actionaid and CITAD in the FCT, which commenced on Thursday with Gwalada community, followed by Tunga-Ashere and Tunga-Nasara respectively on Friday, was completed today, Saturday, May 9, 2020 with the distribution of the palliatives to 75 households in Jiwa Tsofo.

 

 

The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has revealed that certain attitudes on the part of the government and people of Bauchi State are responsible for the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

The centre, in a statement on Sunday, said the committee established by the state government to coordinate the fight against the COVID pandemic has over-centralised its activities in the state capital.

The statement, signed by acting programmes coordinator, Isah Garba Azare, said “other critical parts of the state are neglected in some initiatives…of the three isolations centres, only the two in the state capital (ATBU and Bayara) are functional. The one that is in FMC Azare is yet to take off.”

CITAD was particularly worried that health facilities in the state are not fully equipped to meet the challenges of the pandemic “which limits the performance of the medical personnel and also expose them to risk.”

It said “we noticed empty cans of sanitizers at the entrance of some of the hospitals … More worrisome is the fact that hospitals outside the state capitals do not have PPEs for health workers.”

It also said there were “reported positive cases among the staff of the Federal Medical Centre, Azare which is now throwing fears in the minds of the people in the area on their safety in attending the hospitals.

“There have been reports that within one week, over one hundred people have died. Similar reports have been lodged from Jamaare were within five days, more 16 elderly people have dies, most of them following hospitalization at the FMC.

“People suspect not only a high level of infection among the hospital staff but that the whole environment of the hospital might have been contaminated.”

The centre pointed out that “the government ban on inter-state movement is mere pronouncement, without serious mechanisms to enforce it. As such, vehicles are seen loading in all the government recognized motor parks in Bauchi, Azare, Jamaare, Ningi to neighbouring states”, Kano inclusive.

CITAD lamented that “congregations prayers are being conducted which is contrary to the requirement of social distance initiative. For Example, Salatul Tarawih is performed in many mosques within the state capital and in all towns. Similarly, some churches also still organize programmes not on Sundays but on other days that generate many crowds.”

It said “in spite of the complains and suspicion about the possible link between the spike in the number of deaths in parts of the state and COVID-19 across the state, burials attract huge crowns as well as at condolence places where social distancing and other preventive measures are observed in the breach.

It recommended that the state government should “without further delay enforce a total lockdown in the state”, adding that “state government should work with the Council of Ulama to ensure that burial protocols as advised by both the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs and the NCDC are observed.”

May 9, 2020

The battle of covid19 has continues to stress and expose the lack of readiness and poor spending in the health sector all over the world. As of yesterday, the 8^th of May, 2020, the total confirmed cases worldwide stands at 4,013,666 with 2,76,337 fatalities while Nigeria as of yesterday has a 3912 confirmed cases with 117 fatalities. Health personnel has everyday being exposed to the danger of being contracted with virus due to inadequacies of the protective materials in our hospitals all over the country. It has been reported by many national dailies in the country on how health personnel are absconding and abandoning patients for fear of becoming victims of the virus, this has led many to lose their loved ones due to lack of access to health facilities and medical attention.

In its efforts to draw the attention of Government and advice where necessary, the Centre for Information Technology and Development has looked at how health personnel are struggling with lack of materials to discharge their duty effectively in Kano state. This has resulted in a number of those in the frontline to contracted the virus. In Kano alone, more than 30 health workers have been reported by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Kano state branch to have contracted the virus in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital and National Orthopedic Hospital Dala in the course of their duties. This has created fear in the minds of many.

Our investigation has revealed that few among the hospitals in the state are ready and supplied with necessary equipment. In the investigation we carried out only Malam Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, National Orthopedic Hospital Dala, Murtala Muhammad Specialist, Muhammad Abdullahi Wase Teaching Hospital and Sir Muhammad Sunusi Specialist have some of the covid19 protective materials and adhering to the preventive measures as advised by World Health Organization. Even in these hospitals, materials such as protective kits and oxygen therapy are grossly inadequate.

Though these materials are globally inadequate due to the high demands, but there is need for the state government to redouble its efforts in this fight. To ensure health personnel discharge their duty effectively and their own lives being protected we call on Kano state government to:

1. Provide all the major hospitals in the state with adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs). This will give the health workers more courage in discharging their duties
2. Train more health personnel and post them to all the major hospitals across the state. It will reduce the overcrowd of patients in the inner city
3. All their remuneration should be paid on time and need to be psychologically encourage in order not lose hope
4. Should quickly conclude negotiation with unions of health workers on enhanced hazards allowance to bring what they are paid to the same range as other states.
5. Expand quickly the available spaces for isolation of COVID positive and patients. As of yesterday, the state has over 400 confirmed cases while total isolation facilities in the state is just about 270 bed spaces.

Ali Sabo

Campaigns and Communication Officer

 

In continuation of its enlightening program amidst the coronavirus pandemic, the centre for information technology and development (CITAD) has today , the 6th of May,  2020 held its 11th twitter chat with a senior act British council civil society strenthning program in Nigeeria Mrs Hafsat Mustapha.

The twitter chat is part of the Centre for Information Technology and Development efforts in helping the fight against the deadly coronavirus virus in the country which is being held twice every week. In the twitter chat, CITAD uses to invite great personalities from different professions to come and interact with people in the hope of finding solutions to many problems associated with pandemic.

This week the chat focuses on the capacity building of CSOs for a better response to covid 19 Pandemic.

She started the chat by stating that “the Covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global emergency, at least in our time, therefore it is expected that institutions will be overwhelmed and under enormous pressure to deliver on protecting lives and delivering services.

Therefore protection of human rights will always be of extreme importance either in emergency or otherwise. CSOS will always have a role to play”

She further explain that ” In this situation, CSOs though may not have had a readiness and response plan in anticipation of the emergency have so far done extremely well to support government on the emergency”

In responding to a question about the capacity Civil Society Organizations need in order to help in the fight against Covid19?

Her response was “for  this situation, it is basically the capacity to raise funds and leverage on technology. We have been marginally innovative in that aspect but post covid, I expect that things will change and we have to re evaluate how we work”

Another question raised was  On  the issue of deportation of Almajaris by some state governors to their states of origins. Constitutionally this is wrong and by implications it helps in spreading the virus to many areas. My question is why do the CSOs’ voice not being heard enough?

Her replied was ” I belive that there are CSOs working on these issues. The challenge in this period is visibility for the work that we do because  there are multitude of issues being tackled everyday during this emergency. Also challenge for CSOs to leverage on technology to increase their voic.

During the interaction, the guest took her time to explain the role of civil Society in the fight against Covid19,the challenges face by CSOs and the role of government in supporting civil society to achieving the fight and the role of technology in fighting the pandemic , she also responded to questions asked by the participants.

Below are some of the questions and comments from the chat:

Good afternoon everyone.We want to thank you all for joining us in today’s chat.This is the 11th time @ICTAdvocates are holding Twitter chat with experts and professionals from different fields. It is an intervention to support the fight the #COVID19 pandemic in #Nigeria@YZYau

Today and at this time we are hosting Hafsat Mustapha (@haffymusty05), a social development  consultant leading strategic development interventions to  strengthen civil society ecosystem and social accountability.@YZYau@a_sabo12@Mairo_Ado@HariraWakili@nissimase @kamalkano

 

Mustafa Haffysa @haffymusty05 Replying to @ICTAdvocates@YZYau and 5 others Good afternoon and it is my pleasure to be here.Thank you for hosting me.

@ICTAdvocates Hafsat Mustapha (@haffymusty05), is also the Lead country evaluator of Open Government Partnership (OGP) in Nigeria/Senior Consultant on ACT-British Council Civil Society Strenghtening Program in Nigeria.You are welcome to the chat Ma, @YZYau@a_sabo12@ChiromaHope@HariraWakili

 

@haffymusty05 Replying to @ICTAdvocates @YZYauand 3 others Thank you very much. I hope my contributions will benefit the audience.

@ICTAdvocates Replying to @haffymusty05 @YZYau and 3 othersSure, we are glad you find the time to be here.

@haffymusty05 Replying to @ICTAdvocates @YZYau and 3 others The Covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global emergency, at least in our time, therefore it is expected that institutions will be overwhelmed and under enormous pressure to deliver on protecting lives and delivering services.

 

@ICTAdvocates Different actors are doing different things to make sure the #COVID19 pandemic in #Nigeria is addressed, specifically, what roles are the civil society organizations supposed to play in this time of National tragedy, @haffymusty05 ? @YZYau@a_sabo12@isahcitad@HariraWakili

 

@haffymusty05 Replying to @haffymusty05 @ICTAdvocates and 4 others In this situation, CSOs though may not have had a readiness and response plan in anticipation of the emergency have so far done extremely well to support government on the emergency.

 

@haffymusty05 Replying to @ICTAdvocates @YZYau and 3 others Advocacy especially on procurement of emergency relief materials, sensitization, awareness creation, debunking myths and community engagement on behaviour change. It is a long list

@haffymusty05 Replying to @haffymusty05 @ICTAdvocates and 4 others But what is important is that Civil society can better than anyone, relay messages in languages that communities will identify with, monitor perceptions, rumour and disinformation and also create channels to address  behaviour change issues.

 

@a_sabo12 Replying to @haffymusty05 @ICTAdvocates and 3 others Ma’m, the major issue at hand now is lack of transparency from the committees constituted by both states and FG on Covid19 especially with regard to the donations they receiving, how can CSOs ensure these committees are accountable and transparent in their activities?

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May 6

Different actors are doing different things to make sure the #COVID19 pandemic in #Nigeria is addressed, specifically, what roles are the civil society organizations supposed to play in this time of National tragedy,

@haffymusty05

?

@YZYau

 

@a_sabo12

 

@isahcitad

 

@HariraWakili

Mustafa Haffysa

@haffymusty05

May 6

Advocacy especially on procurement of emergency relief materials, sensitization, awareness creation, debunking myths and community engagement on behaviour change. It is a long list

Mustafa Haffysa

@haffymusty05

May 6

But what is important is that Civil society can better than anyone, relay messages in languages that communities will identify with, monitor perceptions, rumour and disinformation and also create channels to address  behaviour change issues.

@a_sabo12 Ma’m, the major issue at hand now is lack of transparency from the committees constituted by both states and FG on Covid19 especially with regard to the donations they receiving, how can CSOs ensure these committees are accountable and transparent in their activities.

@haffymusty05 Replying to @a_sabo12 @ICTAdvocates and 3 others Also we can’t as CSOs assume lack of transparency without evidence. That is why it is important to call on government to include CSOs in planning and decision making.

@haffymusty05 Replying to @a_sabo12 @ICTAdvocates and 3 others It is dicey, considering that there are restrictions placed through lockdown policies, but CSOs can continue to insist on government opening space for discussions using technology. That has been happening in some quarters, but more CSOs need to push for open information.

@joseph_ochogwu Replying to @haffymusty05 @ICTAdvocates and 4 others The missing link in the Covid19 interventions in Nigeria is the infrastructural deficits and the disconnect between the government and the citizens at all levels. Most CSOs are equally disconnected from the people they are to help.

 

@haffymusty05 Replying to @joseph_ochogwu @ICTAdvocates and 4 others Exactly, this emergency puts to question the legitimacy of Civil society, emerging from this emergency we should begin to question how we work, what the gaps are and how we can be more representative of our constituencies.

 

@joseph_ochogwu Replying to @haffymusty05 @ICTAdvocates and 4 others Precisely, the civil society must effectively feel the vacuum created by the state.

@ICTAdvocates Replying to @joseph_ochogwu @haffymusty05 and 4 others Which vacuum sir?

@joseph_ochogwu Replying to @ICTAdvocates @haffymusty05 and 4 others Vacuum of engaging with the people. Nigerian state is elitist and disconnected from the citizen except during elections. CSOs can ill afford to be elitist with the way most NGOs are currently.

@ICTAdvocates@a_sabo12 Replying to @ICTAdvocates @haffymusty05 and 5 others @haffymusty05 what capacity does the Civil Society Organizations need in order to help in the fight against Covid19?

@haffymusty05 Replying to @a_sabo12 @ICTAdvocates and 5 others For this situation, it is basically the capacity to raise funds and leverage on technology. We have been marginally innovative in that aspect but post covid, I expect that things will change and we have to re evaluate how we work.

@a_sabo12 @haffymusty05 let’s look at the issue of deportation of Almajaris by some state governors to their states of origins. Constitutionally this is wrong and by implications it helps in spreading the virus to many areas. My question is why do the CSOs’ voice not being heard enough?

@haffymusty05 Replying to @a_sabo12 @ICTAdvocates and 5 others Civil society will do no less than advocate as usual, but we have seen CS thinking outside the box, creating joint plans, leveraging on each other’s capacity, leveraging on technology etc.

 

@joseph_ochogwu Replying to @haffymusty05 @ICTAdvocates and 4 others Covid 19 present opportunity for CSOs to work directly with the people to change the disconnection in order to strike a transformative partnership between CSOs and the people.

@a_sabo12 Replying to @haffymusty05 @ICTAdvocates and 3 others @haffymusty05 do you think CSOs need to be co-opted in the PTF committee, if yes, what role do you think they are going to play in curtailing the situation?

 

@haffymusty05 Replying to @a_sabo12 @ICTAdvocates and 3 others For inclusion, Civil society should be the voice of the people on government’s decision making platforms. What is important for CS inclusion is to take quality issues to the table. They should also monitor government’s responses to the situation and take feedback to govt.

@AkintundeAkanni Replying to @a_sabo12@YZYau and 4 othersSure, all donors are private persons, so CSOs should have been co-opted to reassure us that what govt people have been doing with govt money will not happen this time. #UnitedAgainstCorruption @larryk371@ICTAdvocates@PremiumTimesng@SERAPNigeria@officialEFCC @ICPC_PE@TrackaNG

@a_sabo12 Replying to @haffymusty05@ICTAdvocates and 5 others@haffymusty05 let’s look at the issue of deportation of Almajaris by some state governors to their states of origins. Constitutionally this is wrong and by implications it helps in spreading the virus to many areas. My question is why do the CSOs’ voice not being heard enough?

@haffymusty05 Replying to @a_sabo12 @ICTAdvocates and 5 others I belive that there are CSOs working on these issues. The challenge in this period is visibility for the work that we do because  there are multitude of issues being tackled everyday during this emergency. Also challenge for CSOs to leverage on technology to increase their voice .

@a_sabo12 Replying to @haffymusty05 @ICTAdvocates and 5 others You have been talking about the use of technology at this critical time, how important can you say is technology in this fight?

@haffymusty05 Replying to @a_sabo12 @ICTAdvocates and 5 others Technology is the most important. We have been able to get things going only through technology, capacities are being built online, meeting held on various virtual platforms, government organizing and engaging citizen’s through such platforms, information sharing also done on.

 

@haffymusty05 Replying to @a_sabo12 @ICTAdvocates and 5 others…the platforms. So technology is the future of Civil society engagement. Post- covid, we must re evaluate how we intensify CSO capacity on use of technology to deliver their mandates.

@mukhtars_s Salam, @haffymusty05 There are significant corruption risks during times of crisis. Can u pls shed more light on the roles CSOs play in ensuring funds to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic reach their destination. @ICTAdvocates

@haffymusty05 Replying to @mukhtars_s and @ICTAdvocates Yes agreed. During pandemics there are risks of repression and increased corruption, CS needs to keep emphasising on open and inclusive governance.

@a_sabo12 Replying to @haffymusty05 @ICTAdvocates and @mukhtars_s @haffymusty05 what advice do you have for CS who are fully engaged on physical sensitization in communities most especially looking at how easily people contract or transmit the virus?

@haffymusty05 Replying to @a_sabo12 @ICTAdvocates and @mukhtars_s CSOs should observe all interpersonal safety regulations. Where necessary we should use alternative means of communicating our messages, radio, especially in some areas.

@ICTAdvocates Replying to @haffymusty05 @YZYau and 3 others Does this also involve community and faith-based organizations?

@haffymusty05 Replying to @ICTAdvocates @YZYau and 3 others Yes especially in a country like Nigeria. We may not have given enough attention to CBOs, in terms of building their capacity, but their closeness to and acceptability by communities can never be denied. It would be disastrous to not include them in this campaign.

@joseph_ochogwu More bridge building between NGOs and CBOs is important.

@mukhtars_s Thank.Hajiya @haffymusty05 Pls, what challenges do CSOs facing currently? @ICTAdvocates

@haffymusty05 Replying to @mukhtars_s and @ICTAdvocates We also know as a challenge that CSOs should as a matter of urgency learn how to mainstream inclusion of PWD and vulnerable persons in their plans and decisions. They are most affected by this situation. These are some of d capacity areas with challenge.

@haffymusty05 Replying to @mukhtars_s and @ICTAdvocates Capacity. The utmost being funding and their ability to utilise technology in such emergency situation. Emerging learning from what we know now, means we will have to develop readiness plans ahead of unforseen situations which means we have to move with time and think globally.

@mukhtars_s Replying to @haffymusty05 and @ICTAdvocates I`m really grateful

@ICTAdvocates We would like to at this juncture and on behalf our Executive Director, Engr. @YZYau immensely thank Hafsat Mustapha (@haffymusty05) for the very resourceful discussion, thank you once again and #staysafe. We are also grateful to you all for participating. See you next time.

@haffymusty05 Replying to @ICTAdvocates and @YZYau Thank you for having me and thanks to everyone who took the time to join. For further questions, those who wish to can @my handle.

@ICTAdvocates Replying to @haffymusty05 and @YZYau Thanks for the generosity @haffymusty05. Feel free to ask more questions should you have them, her handle is @haffymusty05, direct your questions to her.