The programme officer, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Malam Hamza Ibrahim, has disputed the claim that the outbreak of monkeypox virus in the country was an America-orchestrated conspiracy theory.
Ibrahim, therefore, called on rumour mongers to desist from the act.
Speaking to newsmen at a press conference in Kano Friday, he said the detection of the virus ought to be the alarm particularly for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control NCDC), stressing the need for the Centre to deploy active observatory mechanism across the federation with a view to containing further spread of the virus.
He, however, advised that the experience of the Covid-19 pandemic should not be forgotten;, as such confirmation of monkeypox confirmation should be treated with the urgency and expertise required to be able to contain it .
“And in doing so, CITAD has recommended that the NCDC should review its National Monkey Pox Public Health Response Guidelines of 2019,” he said.
“We equally urged the NCDC to collaborate with state governments to devise means of educating the public on symptoms of the virus and measures to take when they notice people or animals around them with symptoms of the virus. The public enlightenment and awareness on the virus should involve the use of indigenous languages and English to be able to appeal to all Nigerians.
“We also call on NCDC to step up the discharge of its mandate of monitoring, detection, confirmation and other roles regarding the virus. We want to end by calling on the federal government to develop and deploy relevant protocols across the land, sea, and air borders with a view to containing the transmission of the virus.”
