Centre for InformationTechnology and Development (CITAD) presented gifts to its COVID-19 champions who took responsibilities of sensitising the public on the positive impact of COVID-19 Vaccine and also educate public to shun away misconceptions, fake news and enhance uptake of the Vaccine.
The program was implemented by CITAD under the project ‘Public Education on COVID-19 Vaccine Project’ with support from MacArthur Foundation.
The project aims to sensitize the public on the importance of COVID-19 vaccine and the need to take it with a view to promoting uptake of the vaccine.
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CITAD sets to implement Public Education on COVID-19 Vaccine Project
The project also enlightens people on fake news, misinformation and false narratives around the vaccine.
CITAD works with 18 partner organizations and social influencers to enlighten the public about the vaccine through various activities and programmes.
The center has also trained 18 COVID-19 vaccine champions on identifying, tracking and countering COVID-19 related fake news on social media.
However, during the application process CITAD received 93 applications from young people who wanted to be champions and 18 of them were selected and trained for two days.
The project is implemented in 6 states, Kogi, Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, Kogi and Bauchi.
After the two days sessions the beneficiaries embarked on daily campaigns on the vaccine on social media, in which they submit reports of their campaigns at the end of every month and the reports are shared with a panel of judges who review and assess and subsequently select the best three.
Hamza Ibrahi, Coordinator, Public Education on COVID-19, CITAD, said “there is competition among the vaccine champions every month and the best three winners are selected and rewarded with gifts.
“Therefore this month the best three winners are presented with gifts such as refrigerator (1st position), plasma television (2nd position) and mini laptop for (3rd position).
However the winners emerged from Kano Kaduna and Bauchi, the first Hadiza Aliyu (Kano) has 93 points, Ashafa Abdulkadir (Bauchi) claimed 60 points and Hauwa Shatima Gidaji (Kaduna) won with 53 points
Malam Haruna Adamu represented the Executive Director of the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), who presented gifts to the winners, appreciated the winners, said “COVID-19 is real and said God interventions and the isolation center helped.
He added that “the best way to sensitize the public is through the media and congratulate the winner”.
In an interview with the winners expressed their thanks to CITAD towards its effort to strengthen COVID-19 vacation by giving them the necessary support to sensitize the general public.
They tasked people to embrace COVID-19 Vaccine and shun misinformation and ignore mischief markers.
