Erbil, Iraq on 8 November 2020: The World Health Organization (WHO), in partnership with the Ministry of Health of Kurdistan Region of Iraq launched a COVID 19 prevention and awarenessraising campaign to halt the recent surge in numbers of COVID-19 cases in the Region governorates of Erbil and Duhok.
The campaign, the 5th in Iraq, targets a community of approximately 4 million people in the two mentioned governorates with prevention and infection control messages stressing the importance of mask-wearing, proper hand hygiene, and physical distancing among individuals in all settings.
“The community has to be aware of its responsibility and capability to contain the spread of the virus and control the level of infection in their towns and cities to protect their families and loved ones,” said Dr. Adham Ismail WHO Representative and Head of Mission in Iraq.
“WHO and local health authorities are now more concerned than before as the recent resurgence of the virus worldwide requires quick actions towards raising the community awareness and educating them to change certain behavioral practices that negatively impact their health and expose them to infection” Dr. Ismail added.
The campaign will start its one-week activities in Erbil Governorate and proceed to Duhok afterward for another week of activities. Over 20 carefully selected sites s including refugees and internally displaced population camps in both governorates will also be covered.
Moreover, more than 150 volunteers were trained and mobilized to deliver a package of supplies containing masks, educational items like flyers, banners, posters, and other visuals of a wide variety of preventive messages on home and hospital care measures, MythBusters, and many others.
Mobile booths at public places entrances, mobile medical clinics touring markets and heavily populated areas, in addition to movable screens showing WHO educational videos have also been utilized to ensure reaching all target populations in pre-identified areas.
The World Health Organization in Iraq would like to extend its gratitude to donors' contributions which supported the organization to implement a broad scale of awareness activities in almost all Iraqi governorates. This 5th COVID 19 prevention and awareness-raising campaign has been implemented with support from the People and Government of Germany.
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For more information, pls contact:
- Ajyal Sultany, WHO Communications Officer, sultanya@who.int, +964 7740 892 878
- Mohamed Lashkri, WHO Communication Officer, lashkrim@who.int; +964 7740 892 797
- Pauline Ajello, WHO Communications Officer, ajellopa@who.int, +964 7729 877 288
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