[afro-nets] Pandemic Preparedness

[Eluemuno Blyden <eluem_blyden@yahoo.com>]

A Role for Nolliwood and the Mobile Company's in Pandemic
Preparedness
---------------------------------------------------------

The consequences of an avian flu outbreak for West African
nations could be catastrophic, with dramatic impact on food
security and nutrition which are highly dependent on healthy
farmers, transport workers, public markets, etc. In addition,
the threat is of unknown dimensions in this context in which
both rural and urban populations are directly exposed to
'backyard' poultry and migratory birds. Sierra Leone and other
coastal nations were some of the worst affected countries during
the 1918 Influenza Pandemic with disastrous consequences for
agriculture and civil stability that lasted well beyond the
period of the epidemic itself. Getting involved in the fight
against this pandemic is therefore an important investment that
must be made immediately at the personal, community, national,
and international level.

The Global reality of the emerging flu pandemic is that if it
does make serious in-roads into the human population, there will
be few resources to go around even in developed countries.
Simply following the WHO guidelines will not be enough, because
most of them are based on necessary assumptions that may not
apply locally or are at best a poor fit. We have already seen
and heard some of the ramifications of this in Nigeria's
outbreaks.

What resources do African nations have to contribute to the
global challenge of emerging pandemic? It is not just about
"Africans must do for themselves " but about what responsibility
we have in an interconnected world -- the world can simply not
afford to lose another 30 million Africans in their prime to
pandemic flu given, 33 million we are already losing to
HIV/AIDS. And flu does not waste time -- if you look at the
pattern of most cases including the Nigerian ones it is the same
-- a week or so and you're dead.

In the absence of effective infrastructure and capacity to
protect national populations, governments and indeed all
responsible sectors of society -- need to join efforts into
HELPING PEOPLE TO HELP THEMSELVES. For the vast majority of
people there will be no Tamiflu, no vaccine. And it's not about
money either-- consider that 1. bona fide pharmaceutical
medications only work in about 30-40% of people who take them,
and 2. that 30-40% of the pharmaceuticals available on the world
market are counterfeit and you will recognise that protecting
populations by administering drugs will not get us far. Timely
and carefully (or even not so carefully) thought out INFORMATION
is our best defence against the terrible threat this pandemic
poses. The longer rumours are allowed to fly the harder it will
be to benefit from any opportunities there are in the truth.

The response demanded is now more immediate and a regional
effort that reaches down to the level of the village. A very
powerful available resource in this regard is Nolliwood -- the
Nigerian Film Industry, which has a global public education
reach directly to Africans. Newsreels or advertising trailers
are an excellent medium for educating African populations in a
graphic way that transcends language and cultural barriers.
Movie stars have the potential to educate threatened populations
all the way down to the village level -- explaining to them what
they can do to protect themselves.

Another important player is the mobile telecommunications
industry. Do you know an SMS text number to dial to if your
phone card malfunctions? Probably yes, but if all your chickens
or God forbid, your children fall ill? Millions of Africans have
mobile phones that can be reached in the remotest of places and
that can call back making them effective tools for surveillance!
Mobile companies could work with Government health organizations
to send and receive free SMS messages for bird flu alerts. Radio
and television can instruct people how to send responsible
reports and a computer can be used to quickly locate clusters of
flu related reports on a map -- the most critical thing in
identifying pandemic outbreaks. In a situation where resources
are limited, being able to pinpoint an outbreak at an early
stage is critical for maximising the effectiveness of the tools
in hand.

So between Nolliwood, the Mobile telecommunications companies,
governments and aware populations, we have the power to overcome
this pandemic.

--
Eluemuno Blyden
mailto:eluem_blyden@yahoo.com