The International Veterinary Students Association (IVSA), UniJos Chapter, has organised a one-week sensitisation and awareness campaign to help mitigate the challenges caused by indiscriminate use of drugs in the University of Jos. The program which commenced on Thursday, November 21st, 2024, opened with an outreach to the staff and secondary school students of Victory Academy, Tudun wada Jos.
Speaking on the programme, the Dean, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Jos, Prof. Pwaveno H. Bamaiyi, represented by his deputy Dr. Polycap Tanko, affirmed the awareness exercise as an initiative that was established last year by the faculty, and it is to be observed annually with the aim of reaching out to everyone in the University community.
Considering anti-microbial resistance as a global concern, he said, “For Instance, you are sick and being prescribed drugs for seven days, then you take for 3 days and leave the rest. What you are doing is that you are creating resistance. Next time you have the same infection, the drugs can not cure it. So, the more all of us know this, the better for us.”
IVSA also reached out to Victory Academy Tudun Wada Jos, carrying banners, placards and a public address system to aid effective communication. The IVSA students who were present expressed their views that the outreach was part of their corporate social responsibility to combat anti-microbial resistance among students. In an interactive session with the staff and students of the college, the facilitators highlighted the causes of anti- microbial resistance to include lack of proper vaccine against disease, taking anti- biotics without the doctor’s prescription and taking left-over antibiotics among others.
The president of IVSA University of Jos chapter, Jacinta Wandoo, reiterated her commitment to ensuring that students at this level are better informed about their need to maintain good health. According to her, “we chose the secondary school because we believe this awareness is very timely to them, as such, it would go a long way by widening their scope about health-related issues.”
Jacinta also asked the students to memorise the theme for this year’s anti-microbial resistance awareness, the students replied in a high tone, “Educate, Advocate, Act now.”
Renka Duben, the principal of the college applauded the IVSA students for embarking on this great exercise and enjoined his students to take their studies seriously, in order to also reach a greater height in their academic pursuit.
“We are thrilled to have you reach out to us. I am optimistic that this awareness would be widely extended to family members and beyond as these ones are too sharp to forget in a hurry. Therefore, this is highly commendable” he added.
Responding to IVSA members, Rotkang John, the head girl of the college, expressed her joy and understanding about anti- microbial resistance. “I learned that antibiotics lose their effectiveness through misuse and over- use of antibiotics on infections. Veterinary Medicine is not limited to animals but involves human beings and its environment.”
In a related development, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, through the deputy dean, employed the management of the University to support this initiative by releasing campaign equipment to better propel the process. He said the programme would continue for the next seven days as scheduled and UniJos remains their target audience.
Report by Godsave Taikop Naanmang (Vetinary Anatomy Correspondent) (3/5)
Photos by Godsave Taikop Naanmang
