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Tuesday, September 09, 2014

Ahh Mr Justice If na You Nko.... A Must Read.


Two persons among the survivors of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease EVD in Lagos State have petitioned the state government over stigmatisation from members of the public. The Nation reports that the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, who made this known on Tuesday at a press briefing in Alausa, warned residents to desist from such behavior as the victims have been issued a clean bill of health. Idris, who stated that such act constitutes a violation of the fundamental human rights of the affected victims, revealed that the state government has already directed the Ministry of Justice to take up the case on their behalf. He condemned the fact that some of the affected victims were being evicted from their accommodation and termination of employment in their places of work. The health commissioner further disclosed that there have been cases were some employers terminate the employment of their staff who were just mere contacts, and not even suspected cases of the deadly Ebola virus. He described the development as unfair, and urged residents to stop stigmatising cases and contacts that have been given a clean bill of health, insisting that they should be reintegrated into the society. Dr Idris explained that if the habit of stigmatisation is not stopped, contacts and suspects might go underground and then reverse the gains so far made in the containment and management of EVD outbreak in the state. He said if people feel stigmatised, they would not come out for medical attention, which will in turn jeopardize not only their lives, but that of their family members as well as other people they might come in contact with. He said it was very imperative people stop stigmatising affected people and implore the victims whether a discharged patient or a contact followed up who feels stigmatized to petition the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General of Lagos State who will take the matter up on their behalf. Dr Idris dispelled rumours that a new Ebola case has been recorded in the state, saying; “the only case currently being treated was a contact that was brought in from Port Harcourt, Rivers State.” It would be recalled that the deadly disease which the Nigerian government is now battling with was imported into the country on July 20, 2014, by a late the Liberian-American, Patrick Sawyer. Meanwhile, the apex health body, World Health Organization (WHO) last week warned Nigerian government that Ebola virus outbreak in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, could spread faster than what was experienced in Lagos State. However, there is good news as the experiments held by the US National Institutes of Health showed that vaccination from Ebola virus can develop a “long-term” immunity, which can last at least for 10 months.

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