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COVID-19: Should Education Hit A Pause Or Are We Just Unprepared In Nigeria? By Olabisi Deji-Folutile

Olabisi Deji-Folutile

Olabisi Deji-Folutile

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The world is facing its most trying and unprecedented times as the last few weeks have been most challenging for almost everybody. What started in Wuhan, China, as an epidemic, has put the entire world in disarray. Major streets across the globes have become empty. Both the rich and the poor are being ravaged by the plague of COVID-19, which the World Health Organisation has rightly described as a pandemic. Work places have been shut; religious and social gatherings banned and many countries are on total lockdown, in a bid to curb the spread of this viral disease. Expectedly, schools are also affected across board. Every day people are being told to embrace social distancing and suddenly things like human contacts, hitherto considered as free gifts of life, are becoming very expensive.

No one knows when this whole chaos will end, so people are making different kinds of adjustments to cope with the situation while it lasts. Many companies have shifted their operations online. Likewise, many schools have opted for e-learning, making use of available technology for teaching and learning.

Universities around the world are making use of communication technology to ease the effects of the global pandemic on their academic calendars.   In China, universities are going for online teaching instead of in-class teaching; the ones in Australia have moved their classes online just as UK universities have suspended face-to-face teaching.  Turkey started its remote university classes on March 23. In Kenya, universities have activated communication between lecturers and students via social media platforms and emails while classes have gone totally online in the Philippines and Kyrgyzstan. Teachers in France have been working with their students on Zoom.

Just a few days ago, Ghana’s President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, directed the ministry of education to collaborate with the ministry of communications in rolling out open learning programmes in response to the closure of all educational institutions in the country. In the same vein, Mount Kenya University’s Vice-Chancellor Peter Wanderi, has announced the extension of online teaching platforms for regular students to facilitate the learning process. And to take care of the over six million students that have experienced disruption to their studies, ten North African and 12 Arab countries have begun work on an e-learning initiative to facilitate open and online education.

These are some of the steps being taken across the globe to bridge the gap created by school closure in the wake of COVID-19. Unfortunately, while all these activities are going on in other parts of the world, Nigerian government has not said anything about steps being taken to take care of its students’ community. Rather, the only message from the Federal Government was a total closure of all tertiary institutions and FG-owned unity schools till further notice. A statement issued by the National Universities Commission simply said universities would remain   shut   for one month while the Education Minister, Adamu Adamu, said tertiary institutions would remain shut indefinitely.

Assuming government has been overwhelmed by the burden of controlling the spread of COVID- 19, hence its silence on options for learning for its teeming student population, one would have expected the higher institutions themselves to at least say something, but as it is, they too are not helping matters. The silence in our universities has been deafening. To worsen the situation, the Academic Staff Union of Universities, decided to choose this time, of all times, to embark on an indefinite strike. One wonders how the academic body   manages to feel comfortable being on a strike at a time when researchers across the globe are busy looking for solution to a pandemic that is ravaging the entire world. This kind of action makes one query the essence of having Research and Development as a core component of tertiary education in Nigeria when researchers can be nowhere to be found at a critical time of societal needs.

By now, our researchers should be adding their voices to the various efforts being made towards developing a vaccine or cure for COVID-19. After all, universities are expected to proffer solutions to societal problems.  This is a wrong time for ASUU to embark on an indefinite strike. This should be a time of strategising and proffering solutions. This is really the time for everyone to get involved. Besides, I think Nigerian universities should also be more forthcoming on their responses to the challenges posed to their students by COVID-19.

As it is, religious organisations are doing far better in terms of their responses to the effects of this pandemic on their primary constituencies. Many of them have devised other means of getting the attention of   their members following several government directives prohibiting either gatherings or limiting the number of people allowed to congregate at a time. Almost all the churches have switched to online platforms for their services. How come religious organisations are working hard to keep their flocks and both government and higher institutions in Nigeria are just moving on as if all is well? No word on how to keep the students busy or keep them engaged using available online technology! Should teaching and learning be restricted to the classrooms alone in this 21st century?

Nigeria has always been described as a religious society. Corona Virus has further exposed the smartness of our religious bodies and the dullness of those in charge of our public educational institutions. This is not an attempt to blame any religious organisation for having the foresight to deploy technology in reaching their audiences. Instead, it is a wakeup call to managers of our educational institutions to adopt and use available technology to help their students at a time like this.

Apart from the National Open University of Nigeria, which basically runs online, I doubt if there is any other public university in the country that has capacity for online teaching. This is in spite of the launch of the Nigerian Communication Satellite known as NIGCOMSAT by the Nigerian Government first in 2007 and then NIGCOMSAT-IR in December 2011, to provide critical ICT backbone infrastructure to support e-learning, among others in the country.

What is the essence of investing so much money in a communication satellite if it cannot be deployed at a time of need?   Those in charge of NIGCOMSAT, the commercial arm of Nigeria’s space centre, have consistently claimed that the technology has the capacity to cover the entire Africa. If that is the case, why is the country still struggling to deploy internet connectivity facilities to its schools to aide e-learning? If we are truly a serious country, by now, all the schools in urban and rural areas should have been connected to the e-learning services.

No doubt, COVID-19 has exposed Nigeria’s unpreparedness for e-learning. But, we can’t afford to remain where we are. That is why it is important for every institution to start thinking of how to deploy available technology in the world for the good of their students at this critical period. Universities should as a matter of urgency migrate online. This shouldn’t be another season of waiting and probably wasting for the Nigerian student. There is no reason why any higher institution worth its name should suspend all academic activities until the end of Corona Virus with all the available resources and technology in the world today. The minimum expected of them is to upload teaching resources online for students to have access to them. At least this will give the students the opportunity to learn on their own.

This is also an opportunity for telecommunications companies like Glo, MTN and the rest of them to make a difference in Nigeria’s educational institutions. They can as part of their corporate social responsibility decide to boost internet facilities in universities and other educational institutions; or provide data at cheaper rates to help poor students have access to the internet for online learning.

I know there are obvious stumbling blocks to digital learning in Nigeria. Many students don’t even have access to devices while the cost of buying data is still high. These challenges and others have provided   telecommunications companies a huge opportunity of making a difference in Nigerian higher institutions by providing e-learning solutions and broadband connectivity to universities and other higher institutions.

They can as part of their corporate social responsibility decide to boost internet facilities in universities and other higher institutions; or help poor students who have limited or poor internet access to enhance online learning.

Olabisi Deji-Folutile is the Editor-in-Chief of Franktalknow.com and member of the Nigerian Guild of Editors. Email: bisideji@yahoo.co.uk

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March 27, 2020
Penang rickshaw peddlers to receive three-month aid payout

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government will issue full payments for April to June to rickshaw peddlers affected by the Covid-19 outbreak next month.

State Tourism Development, Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said each rickshaw peddler would receive a sum of RM500, which included an allowance of RM300 and a one-off cash assistance of RM200.

“I have communicated with various sectors to understand the needs of the various parties and I have also conveyed the needs and recommendations to the state government to get the best help for them.

“The payout is expected to benefit about 318 peddlers,“ he said in a statement today.

The state government previously allocated RM100 a month to peddlers in the state to help those with no fixed income.

Yeoh said a total of 1,367 tour guides registered with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture would also receive a one-off cash assistance worth RM500 each.

“10,000 e-hailing drivers in Penang will also receive RM300 one-off assistance while 2,248 taxi drivers will benefit from an initial incentive payment of RM300 with an additional RM200 one-off.

“All of these assistance is part of the Penang People’s Aid Package announced by Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow yesterday. I will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that the people and sectors that need the most help will benefit, ” he said.

Yesterday, Chow announced a RM75 million People’s Aid Package to be distributed to 15 target groups involving over 400,000 recipients who are affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. – Bernama

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March 26, 2020
Justice For Sambo Abdullahi, Victory For Whistleblowers In Nigeria By Chido Onumah and Godwin Onyeacholem

Whistleblowers are the first line of defence against corruption, crime and cover-ups, according to a 2019 paper by the All–Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on whistleblowing in the UK.

For Sambo Abdullahi, head of internal audit at the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc, it has been one long tortuous journey. Over the past two years, he has been at the receiving end of the retaliation whistleblowers around the world, including in Nigeria, face for shining the light on malfeasance around them: denial of wages, job losses, expensive court cases, abuse, psychological trauma, blacklisting across their sector, and sometimes death.

Abdullahi has been denied his salary and other allowances since December 2017, threatened, blacklisted, arrested and sued. All of this for acting professionally and responding patriotically to the call of the Nigerian government asking citizens to join the fight against corruption by blowing the whistle on corrupt practices and other forms of wrongdoing in the country.

In two separate courts, in Ifo, Ogun State, and Okitipupa, Ondo State, where in a most brazen abuse of judicial process, Abdullahi was summoned to answer charges of defamation levelled against him by his boss, Dr. Marilyn Amobi, Managing Director of NBET, he easily walked through the doorway of victory. Both cases were struck out on account of Dr. Amobi’s lack of seriousness in prosecuting.

The crisis of corruption in NBET has been going on for almost three years and the government appears not to have any solution. The appointment of Dr Amobi as the second substantive MD/CEO of NBET signified doom not only for Abdullahi as head of internal audit but also for the entire staff of the company. The MD withheld Abdullahi’s salary and other emoluments just because he exercised the right to decline participation in her fraudulent activities and rejected an unwarranted deployment to a new department unilaterally created by the MD to continue to perpetrate fraud.

Abdullahi, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), graduated in Accounting from a reputable university and has over two decades of experience. He acquired experiences from both the private and public sectors before joining NBET. He was the pioneer Head of Internal Audit of NBET in 2012; a position he held till 2016 when Dr Amobi joined the company.

Within one month of Dr. Amobi’s assumption of office, Abdullahi discovered the illegal over-payment of N2 billion to two generating plants, Omotosho Power Plc and Olorunsogo Power Plc, both of which have no Gas Supply Agreement (GSA) and Gas Transportation Agreement (GTA) as required by industry agreement. The implication of this fraudulent transaction is that electricity consumers on a monthly basis pay N2billion in excess of what they ought to have paid if this fraud is averted. It is on record that the very first month the fraud was detected, Dr Amobi assumed the role of internal auditor by signing off the payment vouchers.

Her defence for this unlawful violation was that the mandatory GSA and GTA had been waived. The questions for her are, who approved the waiver? Why was the waiver not extended to other thermal plants? And why did the waiver idea come only after the head of internal audit had uncovered the fraud?

Other transactions that made Abdullahi to incur the wrath of Dr. Amobi was his refusal to endorse other payment vouchers for illegal procurement of alcohol using taxpayers’ money, proposed monthly payment of N2.5million to one Engr. Achinaya (an ex-staff of both NEPA and PHCN) without procurement process, procurement of legal advisory services of Azinge & Azinge and Aelex law firms in gross violation of the Procurement Act, and payment for return flight ticket from London for Dr Amobi to resume work in NBET in violation of the NBET Board-approved benefit compensation packages just to mention a few.

As a retaliation against Abdullahi for doing his job professionally, which to Dr Amobi connotes standing in her way, she colluded with the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to get rid of Abdullahi and his colleague Waziri Bintube. Both were removed from their duly appointed and NBET Board- approved functions as head of internal audit and Chief Finance Officer respectively. While Abdullahi’s salary was stopped, Bintube was sacked.

In response, the duo wrote a petition to the Ministry of Power in 2017. The ministerial committee report was released in March 2018 and vindicated them, while indicting Dr. Amobi. But despite the minister’s (Babatunde Fashola) directives that Abdullahi’s salary should be restored and Bintube reinstated immediately, and in fact that both workers should enjoy the rights of NBET staff, Dr. Amobi refused to comply with the directives.

Till date, she denies Abdullahi his salaries and Bintube has not been called back. Dr. Amobi heads a government agency supervised by a Ministry, but her insolent defiance of a Ministerial order is unprecedented in the history of public sector administration in Nigeria. And it is strange that this is happening under a government that claims to prioritize due process and accountability in the public sector.

As if the stoppage of salaries and sacking were not enough, Dr Amobi got Abdullahi and Bintube detained in the facility of the State Security Services (SSS) for more than twenty-four hours. Several directives by Babatunde Fashola, then Minister of Power, were rebuffed by Dr Amobi who insisted that as an appointee of President Muhammadu Buhari she would only take directives from the president.

While the issue of salary suspension remained unresolved in spite of interventions from the Ministry of Power, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the office of the Vice President, among others, Abdullahi approached the National Industrial Court in December 2018, twelve months after the unlawful stoppage of his salaries, with Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, Dr Marilyn Amobi (MD/CEO), Hon Minister of Power and the Ministry of Power as defendants.

On March 11, 2020, Abdullahi (the claimant) once again walked the path of victory with the court delivering judgement in his favour. According to Hon Justice O. O. Oyewumi, the act of the suspension of the claimant’s salaries from December 2017 till date was wrongful; the denial of the claimant’s 2017 and 2018 leave was wrongful; the 1st and 2nd defendants, contrary to its terms and conditions of service, withheld the claimant’s salary and other emoluments wrongfully. The judge ordered the payment of Abdullahi’s salaries and other allowances, noting, “All sums awarded in the judgement is to be paid within 30days of the judgement, failure upon which it attracts 21% interest thereon per annum.”

While the case lasted in court, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Auditor General of the Federation and the Bureau of Public Procurement all issued reports indicting Dr Amobi while recommending her immediate prosecution. Sadly, some higher powers are preventing this from happening.

Governance problems are commonly found in federal government agencies due to either lack of a Board or total collapse of the governance structure. The Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Alex Akoh, noted in a letter to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, dated January 7, 2020, that “for the past 14 months, no Board meeting of the company (NBET) was held, a situation which has serious consequences on the corporate governance of the company”. Truth is, no Board meeting of NBET has held since August 2018 when Professor Yemi Osinbajo, then Acting President, ratified the reconstitution of the NBET Board of Directors recommended by Kemi Adeosun, the immediate past Minister of Finance.

The governance collapse in NBET has entrusted the fate of about 80 million electricity consumers in Nigeria in the hands of Dr Amobi who sees herself as not only untouchable, but also a sort of “Alfa and Omega.” She formulates and executes policies at will, such as changing the company organogram whenever she sees any staff as standing in her way. The entire senior management has passed a vote of no confidence in Dr Amobi but despite this and other fraudulent activities traceable to her, no action was taken by the government to ameliorate the problem in the power sector and curb the continuous fraud being perpetrated in NBET.

The Minister of Power of Power Engr. Sale Mamman, in December 2019, made a daring move to respond to the situation by suspending Dr. Amobi from office indefinitely. But curiously, he was overruled by President Muhammadu Buhari in less than two weeks and Dr. Amobi was returned to office.

This forced the Minister to fire a letter dated January 8, 2020, to Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, detailing investigations by the ICPC, EFCC and the reports of the Auditor General of the Federation which implicated the NBET boss “for breach of due process in the award of contracts and several financial wrongdoings.” In that letter copied to President Buhari, the Minister reminded the SGF of “the additional baggage which the suspended MD carries in the light of the anti-corruption stance of the Federal Government.”

If this government wants to be seen as genuinely fighting corruption, the NBET case is a golden opportunity to faithfully demonstrate that conviction. Dr. Amobi has been indicted for corruption by government anti-corruption agencies. The place for her, therefore, is the courtroom, not a cushioned seat of a government agency.

Meanwhile, before Dr. Amobi’s prosecution, government should direct her to obey without delay the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction in the suit filed by a whistleblower, Sambo Abdullahi, the head of internal audit of NBET.

In addition, government should realize that all whistleblowers deserve full and effective protection from all kinds of retaliation, without which its whistleblowing policy will not succeed as an instrument for reducing corruption in the country.

Onumah and Onyeacholem are with the African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL)

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March 26, 2020
Water bill exemption, electricity bill discount in Sabah beginning April

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah people will be exempted from paying their water bills and will be given a 30% discount on electricity bills for three months beginning April, according to Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.

He said the exemption and discount were part of the initiatives introduced under the Sabah Covid-19 aid package in an effort to ease the burden and cost of living of affected people in the state following the virus outbreak.

“It will benefit 335,000 domestic water users. In addition, the state will give a 28% discount on electricity bills for three months starting April, on top of the 2% provided by the federal government.

“The discount will involve the state government allocation of RM11.5 million a month or RM35.65 million over the three-month period, and it is expected that 512,000 consumers will benefit from this or equivalent to about 98% of electricity users in Sabah and Labuan,“ he told a press conference, here today.

Earlier, Mohd Shafie announced the RM670 million Sabah Covid-19 aid package comprising three categories namely assistance to frontliners and affected people as well as efforts to strengthen businesses and improve the quality of rural basic infrastructure.

Mohd Shafie said residents of the People’s Housing Programme in Sabah will also be exempted from paying rent for six months starting April, which involved an allocation of about RM21.1 million.

A total of 20,080 households or 110,400 people will benefit from it, he said.

Also included in the package is a 30% discount on quit rent collections for this year, which will benefit 232,774 individuals and 9,184 companies, among others.

However, Mohd Shafie said those who had paid the tax this year would be given rebates next year.

Hawkers are exempted from paying a licence fee by all district councils for this year, which will benefit 26,227 hawkers statewide and rebates will be given for 2021 to those who have paid for the licences this year, he added.

Mohd Shafie said RM30 million would be allocated for allowance payments of 10 months to Village Community Management Councils (MPKK), which will benefit 2,315 MPKK in Sabah. – Bernama

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March 25, 2020
MCO: Unemployed man gets three-month jail for obstructing officers on duty

KUALA LUMPUR: An unemployed man was sentenced to three-month jail by the magistrates’ court here today for obstructing members of the People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela) from carrying out their duties during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period.

Magistrate Mohamed Aizat Abdul Rahim sentenced the accused, Hew Foo Keang, 35, after he pleaded guilty to the charge read out to him.

He was charged with intentionally obstructing Rela members, Seow Kok Keong and Zaman Huri Bontak from carrying out their duties under Section 186 of the Penal Code which provides for a maximum jail term of two years, or a maximum fine of RM10,000, or both.

The offence was committed at Jalan Silang, near the Pekan Kepong People’s Housing Project here, at 11.10pm yesterday.

Deputy public prosecutor Ellyna Nor Azmal asked the court to impose a deterrent sentence as the offence was committed during the MCO, which required the public to fully cooperate with all civil servants who were on duty.

The accused, who was represented by a lawyer from the National Legal Aid Foundation, pleaded for a lighter sentence on the grounds it was his first offence and apologised for his actions.

The court also sentenced Hew to a month in jail after he pleaded guilty to failing to produce his identity card or any other identification document during a police inspection on the same date, place, and time.

He committed the offence during an inspection carried out by Corporal Mohd Faisal Abd Razak in accordance with Rule 25 (1) (n) of the National Registration Regulations 1990.

The court ordered Hew to serve both jail sentences concurrently from the date of his arrest yesterday. – Bernama

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March 25, 2020
Penang govt allocates RM75m to disbursed as aid

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government will allocate up to RM75 million under an initiative to rejuvenate the economy that has been ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow (pix) said the money, in the form of financial incentives, will be disbursed in three components.

The first is directed at those considered most vulnerable. They include hawkers, petty traders, taxi drivers, trishaw peddlers e-hailing drivers, the disabled and those among the low income, or B40, group.

The second group to benefit from the incentive are the blue collar workers. Chow said the money is meant to help them survive and take care of their families.

The third component is to help ensure business continuity when the country gets through the crisis.

Chow, who made the announcement at his daily social media update to the public, said the state government would give a one-off payment of RM500 each to registered petty traders, hawkers, food truck vendors, tour guides, taxi drivers and trishaw peddlers.

E-hailing drivers will be given RM300 each.

Those who live in state public housing units will be exempted from paying rent for two months while those who lease lots at the wet markets, food courts and other similar facilities will not have to pay a month’s rent.

A total of RM3 million from zakat contributions has been set aside to help families of those who have contracted Covid-19.

Chow said the frontliners from the state’s two city councils will each get RM300 in recognition of their role in helping to curb the spread of the virus.

Others who will also benefit from the RM300 payout are uniformed personnel serving under the movement control order (MCO) initiative aimed to curtail the growth rate of Covid-19 infections.

A total of RM10 million has been set aside for the purchase of equipment such as protective suits, surgical masks, hand sanitizers and thermometers.

Entrepreneurs whose businesses have incurred losses as a result of the MCO will be given interest-free loans under the Penang Business Continuity plan. A total of RM30 million has been allocated for this purpose.

The 40 state assemblymen will be provided RM30,000 each to finance relief efforts for their constituents affected by the MCO.

The state will also defer payments for trading lots used by small-scale businesses.

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March 25, 2020
EXCLUSIVE: Presidential Intensive Care Unit Activated As Buhari Self-isolates After Abba Kyari Tests Positive For Coronavirus

The Presidential Intensive Care Unit inside Aso Villa has been activated and placed on standby after President Muhammadu Buhari went into self-isolation on Tuesday evening.

A top government source told SaharaReporters that persistent coughing by the President raised fears in Aso Villa on Tuesday despite him earlier testing negative to Coronavirus.

Since it emerged that Abba Kyari, Buhari’s Chief of Staff, tested positive for the deadly virus, all had not been the same in the Presidential Villa.

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Already activities had been suspended at the place while all those, who came in contact with Kyari since his return into the country after a trip to Germany earlier this month, had been asked to self-isolate.

Germany has 29,056 confirmed cases of Coronavirus and 123 recorded deaths.

On Tuesday, SaharaReporters broke the story of how three of Kyari’s staff had tested positive for the virus.

This was after the online publication had exclusively reported on Monday that Kyari was gravely ill and may had contacted Coronavirus after his latest trip abroad.

According to SaharaReporters source, the Presidency was doing everything possible to protect Buhari and his immediate family hence the preparation of the Presidential ICU in case of an emergency.

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The source also said that Kyari was earlier denied the usage of the facility after Ministry of Health officials pointed out that crisis could arise should an emergency come up around Buhari.

Since returning from the trip abroad, Kyari has had contacts with several prominent persons including Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to President Buhari, Babagana Kingibe, a prominent member of the ‘cabal’ and Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello.

Aliko Dangote, Governor Bello Masari of Katsina and Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, are among others that Kyari came in contact with after returning to Nigeria.

PHOTONEWS: Kyari Had Contact With Kogi Governor, @GovBello, @GarShehu, Others After Coronavirus Infection#CoronaVirusUpdate #COVID19 #COVIDã¼19 @NCDCgov pic.twitter.com/Z7Ml4ZtSsv

— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) March 24, 2020

Nigeria so far has 44 confirmed cases of Coronavirus with one death recorded.

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March 25, 2020
New WHO recommendations to prevent tuberculosis aim to save millions of lives
Geneva – New World Health Organization (WHO) guidance will help countries accelerate efforts to stop people with tuberculosis (TB) infection becoming sick with TB by giving them preventive treatment.

A quarter of the world‘s population is estimated to be infected with TB bacteria. These people are neither sick nor contagious. However, they are at greater risk of developing TB disease, especially those with weakened immunity. Offering them TB
preventive treatment will not only protect them from becoming sick but also cut down on the risk of transmission in the community.

As we mark World TB Day 2020, the disease remains the world’s top infectious killer. In 2018, 10 million people fell ill with TB worldwide and 1.5 million people lost their lives to this disease.

“COVID-19 is highlighting just how vulnerable people with lung diseases and weakened immune systems can be,“ said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “The world committed to end TB by 2030; improving prevention is key
to making this happen. Millions of people need to be able to take TB preventive treatment to stop the onset of disease, avert suffering and save lives”.

Dr Tedros highlighted the importance to continue efforts to tackle longstanding health problems, including TB during global outbreaks such as COVID-19. At the same time, programmes already in place to combat TB and other major infectious diseases
can be leveraged to make the response to COVID-19 more effective and rapid.

Although some progress has been made towards targets set at the UN high-level Meeting on TB in 2018, TB preventive treatment has been largely neglected. Global leaders committed to ensuring access to TB preventive treatment to at least 24 million contacts
of people with active TB and 6 million people living with HIV by 2022. To date only a fraction of that target has been reached, with countries putting less than 430,000 contacts and 1.8 million people on TB preventive treatment in 2018.

TB remains the top cause of death among people with HIV. TB preventive treatment works synergistically with antiretroviral therapy to prevent TB and save lives. Reinvigorated efforts by governments, health services, partners, donors and civil society
will be needed to increase access to TB preventive treatment to the levels targeted.

The new consolidated guidelines recommend a range of innovative approaches to scale up access to TB preventive treatment:
- WHO recommends a scale-up of TB preventive treatment among populations at highest risk including household contacts of TB patients, people living with HIV and other people at risk with lowered” immunity or living in crowded settings.
- WHO recommends an integration of TB preventive treatment services into ongoing case finding efforts for active TB. All household contacts of TB patients and people living with HIV are recommended to be screened
  for active TB. If active TB is ruled out, they should be initiated on TB preventive treatment.
- WHO recommends that either a tuberculin skin test or interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) be used to test for TB infection. Both tests are helpful to find people more likely to benefit from TB preventive treatment
  but should not become a barrier to scale-up access. Testing for TB infection is not required before starting TB preventive treatment in people living with HIV, and children under 5 years who are contacts of people with active TB.
- WHO recommends new shorter options for preventive treatment in addition to the widely used 6 months of daily isoniazid. The shorter options that are now recommended range from a 1 month daily regimen of rifapentine plus isoniazid
  to 3 months weekly rifapentine plus isoniazid, 3 months daily rifampicin plus isoniazid, or 4 months of daily rifampicin alone.
“As people around the globe come together to commemorate World TB Day, WHO is calling on governments, affected communities, civil society organizations, health-care providers, donors, partners and the industry to unite forces and step up
the TB response – notably for TB preventive treatment – to ensure no one is left behind,” said Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director of WHO’s Global TB Programme. “The new WHO guidance shows the way forward for millions to rapidly
access new tools and shorter, safer options for preventive treatment. The time for action is now.”

TB preventive treatment is an affordable intervention that can prevent families from sliding into poverty and preserve the health and economy of whole communities. WHO anticipates that as new and safer drugs come onto the markets, and as prices
fall, it will become a highly-cost effective way to save millions of lives.

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

WORK BY WHO AND PARTNERS

WHO works closely with Member States including the US Government and technical and funding partners such as UNITAID to enhance access to shorter TB preventive treatment regimens. UNITAID-supported projects such as IMPAACT4TB and Cap-TB projects
enabled by WHO with partners in Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania and
Zimbabwe are leading the way. The new treatment options are also now more affordable, thanks to the significant price drop of rifapentine – a key drug – facilitated recently by UNITAID, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
and global biopharmaceutical company Sanofi, along with forthcoming arrangements underway with generic manufacturers.

MORE ABOUT THE GUIDELINES

The new consolidated WHO guidelines come with an operational handbook to help guide countries step-by-step as they take TB preventive treatment to scale. This includes guidance on how to prioritize and invest from demand creation for TB prevention
to supervision and monitoring of the programme.

The guidelines and operational handbook are also accompanied by an innovative mobile application – Prevent TB –to help health-care workers manage TB preventive treatment in their communities. Its online dashboard allows programme
managers to visualize and monitor data in real time. The application can be customized by countries to suit their specific settings and is currently being adopted in India and Philippines.

WORLD TB DAY

The new guidelines and tools are being released ahead of World TB Day. World TB Day is observed on March 24 each year to raise public awareness and understanding about the world’s deadliest infectious killer – TB and its devastating
health, social and economic impact on people around the world. Under the theme “It’s Time”, the spotlight this year is on urgently accelerating the TB response to save lives and end suffering.

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https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/24-03-2020-new-who-recommendations-to-prevent-tuberculosis-aim-to-save-millions-of-lives

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March 24, 2020
Selangor Zakat Board allocates RM15m aid for hawkers and small traders

PETALING JAYA: The Selangor Zakat Board (LZS) has allocated RM15 million in emergency aid for the welfare for hawkers and small traders in the B40 category.

“The special allocation is for traders and who are affected by the Movement Control Order (MCO) so they can continue to survive under the measure,“ the board’s CEO, Saipol Yazan M. Yusop said in a statement.

He added that the allocation would also be channelled to meet medical equipment needs in hospitals handling Covid-19 patients as well food aid for Institute of Higher learning students.

Affected parties can apply for the aid begining March 25 by contacting the LZS hotline at 1-300-88-4343 on working days 10am to 3pm.

In the same development, Saipol that the board would bring forward payout date of its Monthly Financial Assistance to March 23 for existing recipients

“Monthly financial aid will usually come in on the 25th day of the month, but this month, it will be brought forward to the 23rd day,“ Saipol said, further clarifying that other forms of assistance would be paid on the usual date.

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https://www.thesundaily.my/local/selangor-zakat-board-allocates-rm15m-aid-for-hawkers-and-small-traders-HA2165854

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March 21, 2020
Malacca hospital appeal for blood donors

MALACCA: The Transfusion Medicine Department of the Malacca hospital is urging members of the public to donate blood, to ensure sufficient daily supply, especially with Ramadan approaching next month.

In a statement on its Facebook page, the department said on average 80 to 90 blood bags are needed every day, and due to the Covid-19 outbreak, many of its blood donation campaigns had to be cancelled.

“Although we are dealing with a pandemic currently, there are patients in the hospital who need blood transfusion every day for their survival.

“Therefore, we called out healthy and non-risky individuals, to come to the Malacca hospital blood bank to donate blood, since in this situation, transfusions can only be done there,” according to the statement.

The Transfusion Medicine Department is now also open during lunch break on Mondays to Thursdays (1-2pm), and Fridays (12.15-2.45pm), effective yesterday.

Operation time has also been extended which are Mondays to Fridays (8am to 9pm) and Saturdays and Sundays (11am to 4pm).

For further information, members of the public can refer to the department’s official Facebook page ‘melakabloodbank’ or call 06-2892873/2871. – Bernama

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https://www.thesundaily.my/local/malacca-hospital-appeal-for-blood-donors-XE2152624

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March 19, 2020