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The Director-General, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Major General Shuaibu Ibrahim, has lauded the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) over its support for the Scheme.
He admitted that the support has led to the safe re-opening of Orientation Camps after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
The NYSC Chief Executive gave the commendation on Wednesday when he paid a courtesy visit to on the NCDC Director-General, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, in his office in Abuja.
General Ibrahim said the RDT kits, freely made available to Prospective Corps Members (PCMs) was one of the best methods of detecting and reducing the spread of COVID-19.
“We are grateful for the RDT test kits you provided for us; and I want to assure you of our commitment to this collaboration. On behalf of the management, staff and corps members nationwide, please accept our appreciation for all you have been doing for us,” Ibrahim commended.
The DG further disclosed that the Scheme has been providing free health services to the indigent rural populace through a programme known as Health Initiative for Rural Dwellers programme (HIRD).
He further revealed that reports emanating from the free medical programme assist government in tracking the prevalence of ailments in a particular area, to facilitate taking adequate preventive measures.
In his remarks, the NCDC Director-General, Adetifa, commended the NYSC/NCDC collaboration, describing it as a good template and remarkable achievement for the country. “Kudos to NYSC and NCDC teams for the excellent work,” Adetifa said.
In her presentation, the NCDC/NYSC Team Lead, Dr Ladun Okunromade, stated that the collaboration between the NYSC and NCDC facilitated the safe re-opening of NYSC Orientation Camps across the country.
She listed the measures adopted before the re-opening to include effective guidelines on NYSC Orientation activities, webinar interaction with Prospective Corps Members on COVID-19 preventive measures, formation of COVID-19 Vanguards within the camp environment, formation of surveillance teams among Corps Members, mandatory RDT screening for all Camp participants among others.
“Since the commencement of the NYSC Project in 2020, the Orientation Course has been going on without any interruption. So far, we have completed nineteen streams and we have reduced the number of Corps Members per batch and per camp.
“We used NYSC to validate the RDT, and it was used generally across the country” Okunromade said, adding that; “the measures adopted for safe re-opening of Orientation camps anchored on social distancing inside the hostels, lecture halls and other strategic places in the Orientation Camps.”
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She also said that since the reopening of Orientation Camps, the NCDC Teams have screened about 500,000 Corps Members with no single fatality.
“The guidelines were reviewed, based on global best practices as a result of new variants, and that saw the incorporation of COVID-19 vaccination for all PCMs,” she quipped.
