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UNITED NATIONS IN NIGERIAMonthly NewsletterContinued from page 9FAO in Fight Against Avian Influenza in NigeriaKaduna State on 8 February 2006 bythe Nigerian authorities triggered aplethora of events geared towards thecontrol and containment of theepidemic insurgence.FAO in collaboration with UNagencies (UNDP, UNICEF, WHO)and international developmentpartners conductedcourtesy/advocacy visits to theconcerned ministries with pledges offinancial and technical assistance togovernment of Nigeria on the controlof HPAI.Within the first ten days of theoutbreak, the FAO provided logisticsupport for the technical experts thatcame from outside the country toprovide assistant to the Governmentof Nigeria. So far, since the outbreakof the disease in 2006, AvianInfluenza was confirmed in 84 LGAs(local government areas) of 24 out ofthe 37 States in the country.”However, to curtail the disease,FAO Nigeria developed two donorfundedprojects to support theNigerian Government's efforts incontrolling the HPAI and otherserious epizootic diseases onsustainable long-term basis. Theprojects are being funded byEuropean Union and USAID/UNDP.The projects are jointly managedby FAO technical experts andNigerian counterparts in the FederalDepartment of Livestock and PestsControl Services (FDL&PCS) withthe overall objective of transferringskills and knowledge to the national10counterparts over the period of theproject implementation.Over 204 surveillance agentsdrawn from Federal and stategovernments, Veterinary TeachingHospitals (VTHs) and NationalVeterinary Research Institute (NVRI)have been trained on field samplingprocedures, sample handling andtransportation and mapping and georeferencingof surveillance sites.Additionally, ten visiting laboratoryscientists from 5 VTHs have alsobeen trained on AI diagnosis at NVRIVom.Most recently, FAO engaged theservices of Dr. Tesfai Tseggai as theChief Technical Adviser for theUSAID/UNDP projectGovernment Calls for More Efficient and Effective Enforcement of Ban ofSmoking in Public Placeson-smokers in Nigeria haveNbeen called upon to stand up fortheir right to smoke-freeenvironments and be part of theenforcement of the ban of smoking inpublic places. The PermanentSecretary, Federal Ministry of Health,Mallam Ibrahim Talba made the callduring a media briefing to mark thisyear's World No Tobacco Day on 31May 2007. Mallam Talbadescribed the theme, Smoke-freeEnvironment, as apt and timely asthere was convincing scientificevidence that there is no level oftobacco smoke permissible or smokelevel that is not a risk factor for chronicdiseases. According to him, “it isestimated that hundreds ofthousands of people who neversmoked but lived with smokers diedeach year of diseases caused bybreathing second hand tobaccosmoke”.Nigeria, by Decree No. 20 of 1990,put a ban on smoking in public placesbut its enforcement has been aproblem. It was in this regard thatMallam Talba called on all Nigeriansto form tobaccocontrol networksa n d p u l lresourcestogether toachieve the goalof smoke-freeenvironments.Noting thatNigeria ratified theWorld HealthOrganization( W H O )FrameworkConvention onTobacco Control(FCTC) inOctober 2005 and is therefore a partyto the Convention, Mallam Talba saidthat the Ministry in collaboration withits stakeholders is working hard todomesticate the FCTC, which hedescribed as a powerful tool tocombat tobacco and the challengingapproaches of its industry.Mallam Talba condemned theStudents and judges at the debate to markWorld No Tobacco Day 2007tobacco industry which he said had“continued to put profit before the lifeof the people, its own expansionbefore the health of the futuregeneration and its own gains aheadContinued from page 11
UNITED NATIONS IN NIGERIAMonthly NewsletterContinued from page 10Government Calls for More Efficient and Effective Enforcement of Ban ofSmoking in Public Placesof sustainable development ofcountries”.The WHO Regional Director forAfrica's statement on World NoTobacco Day 2007 was presented byDr. (Mrs.) Lola Sadiq, WHO NigeriaDisease Prevention and ControlOfficer, on behalf of Dr. Peter Eriki,the Country Representative.In the statement, the RegionalDirector, Dr. Luis Gomes Sambonoted that most of the countries in theAfrican Region have legislation thatprohibits smoking in public places butthat effective implementationremained a problem. He thereforecalled for concerted efforts to ensureeffective implementation of suchlegislations, as simply enacting a lawagainst smoking is not enough.Dr. Sambo also called onGovernments to take legal measuresto make all workplaces and enclosedpublic areas 100% smoke-free, asonly legislation guaranteeing overalland efficient protection for everyUNESCO, Nigeria Sign Special MoU in Area of Cultureworker and the general public isacceptable.The commemoration of World NoTobacco Day also involved theyouths, as it featured a debateamong secondary school students.The finale, held on 1 June 2007, wasbetween the Nigerian TurkishInternational School and the ReginaPacis Girls Secondary School, bothin Abuja, which debated on the topic,“Merits of tobacco use are more thanthe demerits”. Students of the ReginaPacis Girls Secondary School, whoopposed the motion, won the debateor the first time, UNESCO andF Nigeria have signed a SpecialAgreement on Culture. The signingof this agreement - a Memorandumof Understanding (MoU) - will providethe much needed financial andpolitical goodwill for the implementationof cultural activities in Nigeria.Announcing the official signing ofthe agreement to culture stakeholdersduring theWorldCultureD a ycelebrati o n sorganizedby theFederalMinistry ofDirector and CountryRep. of UNESCO in Nigeria, Culture,Mr. Abhimanyu Singh Tourismand National Orientation in Abuja on21 May 2007, the Director andCountry Representative of UNESCOin Nigeria, Mr. Abhimanyu Singh,stressed that UNESCO wouldundertake to provide assistance tothe Government through staff advise,support from the Abuja office and decentralizationof regular programmeresources by the UNESCO CultureSector as well as by assisting in themobilization of extra-budgetaryfunds from interested donors.The agreement was signed on 17May 2007 by the Director General ofUNESCO, Mr. Koichiro Matsuura,and both the incumbent and previousPresidents of Nigeria: PresidentUmaru Yar'Adua and Chief OlusegunObasanjo. It came with a selfbenefiting funding budget of threemillion US dollars by Nigeria to helpaccelerate the development ofactivities enumerated in the MoU.The agreement contains specificareas of collaboration envisaged tobe pursued between Nigeria andUNESCO in the domain of culture,thereby complementing the alreadyexisting provisions for education andnatural sciences.UNESCO will provide assistanceto the Nigerian Government in theconsolidation and finalise therevision of a national cultural policy.This policy shall build on the growingrecognition of the need for nationalpolicies, to give greater recognition tocultural diversity and interculturaldialogue, by firmly anchoring the role11of culture in sustainable developmentpolicies and activities atnational level, and provide appropriateand coherent linkages withrelevant initiatives at the sub regionaland regional levels in Africa.Specific areas for whichUNESCO will undertake to renderassistance to Nigeria including themobilization of requisite extrabudgetaryresources are as follows:A) Awareness-raising and CapacityBuilding -- This will include a widerange of activities involving stakeholders,local and national decisionmakers with regard to the culturaldiversity and its corollary,intercultural dialogue for socialcohesion in a pluralistic society likeNigeria. It will also include thecreation of a UNESCO Chair onCultural Dialogue.B) Collaboration with the SlaveRoute Project -- This activity will seekto reinforce knowledge on culturalinteraction and exchange havingoccurred within the slave trade.UNESCO will render support to theNigeria National Committee whichContinued from page 12
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