COVID-19 Lockdown: 18.6 billion hours lost to school closure globally – UNICEF

COVID-19 Lockdown: 18.6 billion hours lost to school closure globally – UNICEF

Story from Rabi’atu, Lokoja

The United Nations Children’s Fund, (UNICEF) says about 18.6 billion hours have been lost to the Education sector world over as a result of the lockdown occasioned by the Covid-19 Pandemic.

A Communication Specialist with UNICEF, Mr Geoffrey Njoku made this known at the Media Dialogue on the Covid-19 vaccine campaign in Enugu.

Geoffrey Njoku, Communication Specialist, UNICEF Abuja, maintained that the closure of schools across the world affected the Education sector, hence the setback in the sector.

According to him, the time lost to the lockdown cannot be easily recovered, hence the need for all hands to be on deck to contain the virus and advised Nigerians to discard in totality, every conspiracy theory against Coronavirus and the Vaccines, describing it as false.

The Communication Specialist stated that the meeting was organized to create demand for generation for uptake of Covid-19 Vaccine and solicit the support of Government at all levels to ensure a successful vaccination campaign.

Earlier, the Health Specialist and Officer in Charge of UNICEF Enugu Field Office, Dr Olufemi Adeyemi says the Agency is committed to partnering with the Nigerian Government towards containing the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He explained that the Federal Government and UNICEF have made remarkable progress to control the spread of the Virus but the challenges of vaccine hesitancy were still high.

“UNICEF and partners recognize the active role media has continued to play right from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring correct and timely messages about the pandemic is disseminated to the public while at the same time, enabling rapid and widespread reach of public health information.

“We have continued to see an upward trend for the promotion of health and hygiene practices by media in Nigeria, by daily communication to the public of protocols enforced by the government to prevent the spread of COVID-19, reinforcement of useful messages on safe health practices such as increased hand washing, use of face coverings, and social distancing.”

Doctor Adeyemi added that UNICEF and partners will continue to respond to the four COVID-19 response pillars adopted by the Nigerian government in line with NCDC’s guidelines by emphasizing the imperative role of the mass media in the fight against Coronavirus.

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