The Federal Ministry of Information and Culture in collaboration with UNICEF have successfully trained 63 journalists to increase awareness on routine immunisation and COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria.
Elizabeth Onitolo, Communication for Development (C4D) Specialist, UNICEF, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday at the end of the training.
NAN reports that the participants were drawn from Abuja, Adamawa, Borno, Lagos and Yobe States for a three-day Media Dialogue on “Routine Immunisation, Post-Polio Certification and COVID-19 Vaccination”.
Onitolo said that the objectives of the programme were to provide the media with additional source of information on COVID-19 vaccination, counter disinformation, misinformation and rumours.
“Increase knowledge of key media practitioners on risk of low routine immunisation coverage due to COVID-19 lockdown.
“To develop sustainable media work plan to increase demand for COVID-19 vaccine and promote pharmaceutical/non pharmaceutical prevention measure for COVID-19,’’ she said.
Onitolo thanked partners and participants for their sacrifice in attending the meeting.
She reiterated the commitment of UNICEF to continue to partner with the media to strengthen immunisations and COVID-19 vaccination in the country.
The development specialist urged the participants to put the knowledge acquired into use to increase awareness for people to understand the benefits of immunisation and that of COVID-19 vaccination.
Some of the participants thanked and appreciated the resource persons for their presentations and promised to ensure the knowledge acquired was put into use in order to realise objective of the meeting.
(NAN)