The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control launches its website today in Abuja. The web address is www.ncdc.gov.ng
The website which will be at the centre of the digital channels to be deployed by the NCDC for its communications functions and will serve as the primary source of health information to Nigerian citizens, journalists and health workers for information on how to protect themselves from health threats.
At the launch, the CEO of the NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu spoke about the role communications and technology will be playing in the overall fulfilment of the mandate of the centre. He said, “We are not deploying a back office for communications at the NCDC, we are picking the best hands possible and we are placing the function at the level it deserves to be. The website we are launching today is core to all our activities and we hope it goes ahead to fulfil our intentions in the Nigerian health space.”
Dr. Ihekweazu also shared his appreciation for the role its partner, the University of Maryland, MGIC-Nigeria project played in the implementation of this project. The Country Representative of MGIC-Nigeria at the conference, Mrs. Mercy Nyiang, spoke about the commitment of the institution to working with the NCDC in implementing activities towards strengthening surveillance in Nigeria.
The website was launched at about 1:30pm on Wednesday. Immediately after, Dr. Lawal Bakare, the Technical Assistant to the CEO on Communications, spoke about what Nigerians can expect from website. He highlighted that an integrated system which allows the NCDC to focus on two communications functions is being pursued. Lawal said, “The NCDC hopes to showcase a strong corporate brand and fulfill NCDC’s responsibility in risk communication. These dual communication goals require that we focus on the minutiae elements of brand building and communication for mitigating and responding to disease threats. This website allows us to deploy web technology for both functions at once.”
Nigerians can now visit www.ncdc.gov.ng, navigate to know more about their NCDC and learn how to protect themselves now and in the future. The centre’s social channels on Twitter (@NCDCgov) and Facebook.com/NCDCgov are active and are always open for engagement. The centre’s messenger account, m.me/ncdcgov, is also open for especially journalists engagement.
For more information visit www.ncdc.gov.ng
