COVID-19: RCCE Coordinator Wants EOCs In Rivers LGAs

Towards ensuring easy communication and information access on COVID-19 in Rivers State, the Lead Coordinator, Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE), Mr Mordecai Olowole, has called for the establishment of Emergency Operation Centres (EOCs) in all local government areas of the State.
Making the call during the flag-off of the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) Community Sensitisation and Engagement programme at the headquarters of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area (OBALGA), Mr Olowole emphasised the importance of domesticating EOCs up to the community level.
He stated that primarily, UNICEF, through the RCCE, has been canvassing the domestication of the State EOC. “The operations Centre is at the State level, but there’s nothing that stops every local government area from having its own under the leadership of the LGA”, he stated.
Addressing the OBALGA Chairman, Hon Solomon Eke, the RCCE Coordinator expressed the need for the Chairman to establish EOC in his domain to enhance communication on COVID-19.
He further urged the Chairman to also establish the LGA version of Risk Communication team “which will be doing advocacy continuously to support these ones (RCCE), so that at the end of the day, everything will be collaborating and complementing each other”.
Earlier in his address, the leader of the RCCE team to the LGA boss, Mr Napoleon Adah, had called for the support of the council in terms of security for members of CSOs assigned to carry out community sensitisation and engagement in the LGA.
“We want to crave your indulgence to assure us that as the teams go to their different locations, to carry out the sensitisation, you will be there to provide adequate security and necessary support”, he said.
In his response, Hon Eke assured the support of the LGA in all efforts to check the trend of COVID-19 in the LGA, noting that the security of members of CSOs carrying out their legitimate assigned duties are already in place.
While using the opportunity to state various efforts that have been put in place at the LGA in the fight against the pandemic, Eke urged the CSOs to explore the existing security and COVID-19 protocols to carry out their various responsibilities.
He said: “As the NGOs go round their jobs, the first point of call should be the paramount ruler of the community. He will call his executives,the CDC, youth bodies and women” to make it easier for them to carry out their functions.
The second port of call, he said, should be the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the area.

Sogbeba Dokubo