By Laide Akinboade, Abuja 

Worried that only 2.9% Nigerians have been fully vaccinated in eight months,   the World Health Organization, WHO, has challenged the media to rise  to the test of the COVID-19 hesitancy by educating, mobilizing, and creating awareness amongst the populace.

The WHO  country representative,  Walter  Mulombo, stated this at a 2 day conference of Association of Nigeria Health Journalists, ANHEJ, in Keffi.

With the theme, ‘Improving confidence in Covid-19 vaccine in Nigeria beyond 2021: The role of the media’

Mulombo who was represented by Charity Warigon, the Head of Communication Units of WHO, he said although the COVID-19 pandemic, unlike any pandemic in history, has affected everyone and every country in a manner unexpected, there was no sufficient knowledge to inform development of vaccines initially, and was  exploited by mischief makers.

 
According to him, “The theme is timely and apt, as it not only speaks to the present, but also to the future of making Nigerians healthier.
” The COVID-19 pandemic, unlike any pandemic in history, has affected everyone and every country in a manner unexpected, although there had been calls and available support to nations to build their health systems and security in preparation for future outbreaks. In the earlier phases of the pandemic, there was absence of sufficient knowledge to inform development of vaccines as the sciences were limited, which were exploited by mischief makers, through what we call, infodemics. 
” If we are to build and/or maintain trust, this noble group and profession is one out of a few that have historically been proven to be trusted to provide information that shape the behavior and lives of generations of peoples the world over”.
He continued, “The media and journalists are the bridge between scientists and the public. It behoves on every member of the Fourth Realm of the Estate to, as social responsibility, ensure the provision of accurate, timely, credible, understandable, relevant, and actionable information through various communication channels.
“The challenges that the Nigerian media and journalists face notwithstanding this cohort of journalists have proven to be highly professional by rising to the test of the COVID-19 hesitancy by educating, mobilizing, and creating awareness amongst the populace.
“In this regard, journalists covering health beats proved their capability and have done an invaluable work over the years and made the difference in helping people make informed decisions and positive choices to promote their health.
“We can only improve on what we have achieved so far and even do better, as there is so much to attain in driving confidence in the vaccination effort by building trust and continuously being a trusted and reliable source.
“Our messaging must continue to remind the public that, for the foreseeable future, we must continue to wear masks, physically distance, and avoid crowd. Being vaccinated doesn’t mean that we can throw caution to the wind and put ourselves and others at risk: relaxing public health and social measures interventions should be done cautiously and with careful attention paid to those who remain unvaccinated”.
He therefore reiterated the commitment of WHO in  promoting health and wellbeing, keeping the world safe and serving the vulnerable, to achieve Universal Health Coverage and ensure that no one is left behind.
The President of ANHEJ, Hassan Zaggi, in his welcome address, decried the fact that a lots of educated and enlightened Nigerians are not coming out to be vaccinated. Which according to him is unacceptable and the media is really worried. 
He commended the Federal Government for rolling out the mass vaccination campaign,through church, schools and health facilities.  
The Chairman of Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Emmanuel Ogbeche, in his goodwill message condemned the absence of some relevant Government agencies, like Ministry of Health, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, at the conference.  He also urged journalists to work the talk and be seen as believers of what we preach by coming out to be vaccinated. 
He also tasked journalists to make all public office holders in Nigeria accountable. 

A group has raised alarm over low number of educated, enlightening Nigerians taking the coronavirus, Covid-19 vaccination in Nigeria.
It would be recalled that The executive director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, recently revealed that 5,891,305 eligible persons have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, representing 5.3 per cent of the eligible population.
He said this represents only 5.3 per cent of the overall eligible population while 3,252,067 have received their second dose and are fully vaccinated, thereby representing only 2.9 per cent of the overall population of eligible persons.