Towards ensuring easy communication and information assessment on COVID-19 in Rivers State, the lead coordinator, Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE), Mr Mordecai Olowole, has called for the establishment of emergency operation centres (EOCs) in all local government areas of the state.
Making the call during the flag-off of the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) Community Sensitization and Engagement programme at the headquarters of Obio/Akpor LGA (OBALGA), Olowole emphasized on the importance of domesticating EOCs up to the community level.
He stated that “primarily, UNICEF, through the RCCE, has been canvassing for the domestication of the State EOC. The operations centre is at the state level, but there’s nothing that stops every LGA from having their own under the leadership of the LGA”.
Addressing the OBALGA chairman, Hon Solomon Eke, the RCCE coordinator expressed the need for the chairman to establish EOC in his domain to enhance communication on COVID-19.
He further urged the chairman to also establish the LGA version of Risk Communication team “who will be doing advocacy continuously to support these ones (RCCE), so at the end of the day everything will be collaborating and complementing each other”.
Earlier in his address, the leader of the RCCE team to the LG boss, Mr Napoleon Adah, had called for the support of the council in terms of security for members of civil society organisations (CSOs) assigned to carry out community sensitization and engagement in the LGA.
“We want to crave your indulgence to assure us that as the teams go to their different locations to carry out the sensitization, you will be there to provide adequate security and necessary support”, he said.
In his response, Hon Eke assured on the support of the LGA in all efforts to check the trend of COVID-19 in the LGA, noting that the security of members of CSOs carrying out their legitimate assigned duties are already in place.
While using the opportunity to state various efforts that have been put in place at the LGA in the fight against the pandemic, Eke urged the CSOs on how to explore the existing security and COVID-19 protocols to carry out their various responsibilities.
He said: “As the NGOs go round their jobs, the first point of call should be the paramount ruler of the community. He will call his executive, the CDC, youth bodies and women” to make it easier for them to carry out their functions.
The second port of call, he said, should be the divisional police officer (DPO) of the area.
