Posted on: Sat 27-06-2020

Borno State Deputy Governor, Usman Kadafur, has said there is an urgent need to demystify COVID-19 and de-stigmatise those affected by the pandemic in order to win the battle against the disease.

Kadafur said this on Friday while explaining the reason for the recent collaboration of the Borno State Government with the World Health Organisation to launch a campaign tagged ‘COVID-19 Heroes Campaign’ launched on May 29 in Borno State.

The deputy governor noted that the campaign was aimed at demystifying COVID-19 and putting a stop to the stigmatisation of those affected by the pandemic, adding that sufferers of the disease should be celebrated by all rather than stigmatised.

Kadafur, who is also the Chairman of the State Task Force on COVID-19 Response, explained that the campaign would declare survivors as heroes and heroines of the disease that had claimed 25 lives in the state as of the campaign launch.

He said, “In Borno, where insurgency has caused enormous internal displacements for many people and loss of jobs and lives for others, it is only heroes and heroines that can survive a combination of these life-threatening conditions, coupled with COVID-19 infection. This is the reason the government recognises the COVID-19 survivors as heroes and heroines.”

Source: Punch

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