DRASA ADMIN

DRASA ADMIN

  • Joined: October 16, 2025
  • Articles: 210

What’s Our Role in the Fight Against Resistant Organisms?

The Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC) hosted a workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 13-14 December 2018 to bring together civil society organisations (CSOs) from multiple sectors, including human, animal health and environment. DRASA participated in the workshop which aimed to explore the role that CSOs play in the fight against antimicrobial resistant (AMR) organisms. Note: CSOs are charities, development NGOs, community groups, women’s organizations, faith-based organizations, professional associations, trade unions, social movements, coalitions and advocacy groups What’s the fight against resistant organisms? Resistant organisms are bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites that have become resistant to the treatments (antimicrobials) used to destroy them. These kinds of resistant organisms are increasing all over the world and threatening to make existing treatments ineffective, thus increasing fatality and the risk of major outbreaks. In Africa, AMR has already been documented to be a problem for HIV (the virus is becoming resisntant to the drugs used to treat it) and also for the organisms that cause malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid, cholera, meningitis, gonorrhoea, and dysentery. Imagine if all our treatments stopped working for all these diseases! Scary. In response, the Africa CDC developed a framework that identifies antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as an urgent public health threat for its Member States. Why focus on civil society organizations (CSOs)? CSOs like DRASA can increase awareness, advocate for effective control policies, and increase demand for high-quality data to promote and strengthen a multidisciplinary response to complex health problems such as AMR organisms. In fact, the global HIV response was triggered by civil society advocacy, and much of the successes in the fight against HIV/AIDS came from civil society. For this reason, the fight against AMR is likely to fail if CSOs do not step into an active role to ensure that no lives are unnecessarily lost. What […]

Lagos Gets Prepared with a State of the Art Biobank

The room was full of top professionals ranging from medical doctors, nurses, biomedical and mechanical engineers to nurses, veterinary doctors, laboratory technologists and pharmacists, as we attended the Civic Engagement and Stakeholders’ Meeting on the Lagos State Biosecurity Initiative which was organized by the Lagos State Ministry of Health. So what is the Lagos State Biosecurity Initiative? It’s a plan to strengthen the state’s capacity to contain and respond to all biological threats – from infectious disease outbreaks to biological terrorist attacks (bioterrorism). It all centers on the newly-commissioned $4.5 million biobank laboratory – the first of it’s kind in Lagos – which Governor Akinwunmi Ambode commissioned in October in partnership with the Canadian government. What is a biobank? A biobank is a containment laboratory and secure storage facility for biological samples. In other words, it’s a place where human elements (blood, tissue, urine, cells, etc.) and their data are stored or preserved, to support research, the development of vaccines and treatments, personalized medicine, and more. The Lagos biobank facility, located in Mainland Hospital in Yaba, was designed to ensure effective management of infectious disease outbreaks with a special focus on containing and strengthening the state’s capacity to prevent, detect and respond to all biological threats. What happened during the event? In his opening remarks, Honourable Commissioner for Health Dr. Jide Idris said that the project intends to mitigate all future outbreaks, not just for Ebola, and will also serve to improve and expand the state’s health infrastructure. In his lecture on Lagos in the Eye of Global Health, Biosecurity Preparedness, Professor Akin Abayomi mentioned that the biobank was equipped with laboratories such as the biosafety level (BSL) 1 for normal laboratory procedures, BSL 2 for dangerous pathogens, and BSL 3 for very dangerous pathogens such as Ebola, Lassa, Zika. He also […]

Humans of DRASA: Funmi Issa

Meet Funmi Issa. One of DRASA’s Youth Trainers. I always say that humanity is my race and humanitarian service is my watchword. My passion for humanitarian services started from childhood. I was raised by a widow who lost her husband at an early stage, when my siblings and I were very young. Most of the time, our mother would go off to work and come back late. One day, my younger brother and I were doing our school assignments and our mom wasn’t yet back from work, so without realizing it, we slept off and the candle we were using to do our work melted. Our books and several other things caught fire. I was woken up suddenly by the fumes, so I shouted for help and thankfully people around our house came to our rescue. Every time I remember that event, I tell myself that I have no reason not to give back to society in whatever capacity I can. This memory fueled my passion for nursing and my urge to offer help to the needy (the sick, elderly, and the most vulnerable groups: youth and women). I’ve learned that it shouldn’t always be about money all the time, but rather lifting people up when they’re down. I’ve always believed that if you’re privileged enough to have knowledge/prosperity then you must not hoard it, but share, because we all have a duty to serve those around us, not only ourselves. Most youth who end up as drug abusers and victims of sexual abuse are often victims of misinformation and not having someone to listen to them or confide in. Imparting knowledge, teaching, and guiding young people is what I love to do. And I’ve found that for most young people, having someone to confide in: that’s enough. My journey […]

Celebrating World Antibiotic Awareness Week

This year, to celebrate World Antibiotic Awareness Week (WAAW), we taught our Youth Ambassadors about antibiotics – what they are, proper use, misuse and abuse, as well as the risk of antibiotic resistance. Who are our Youth Ambassadors?These are members of the DRASA Health and Hygiene Clubs which we have established and are managing in select secondary schools. We meet with these students every 2 weeks to teach them and engage in activities related to personal health and hygiene, food safety, environmental sanitation, and more. We are equipping and training them to become drivers of positive health and hygiene-related behavior change within their schools, families, and wider communities. How did we celebrate World Antibiotic Awareness Week?Due to the sensitivity and importance of the topic of antibiotic resistance, we decided to celebrate it all month long! So throughout November we covered several related topics and engaged our Ambassadors with fun activities. On Wednesday 14th November, we surprised Ambassadors in 2 schools with some special guests: nurses! Nurse Doris and Nurse Irabor from the Nigeria Infection Control Association (NICA) accompanied us to meet with the students for their weekly Club meeting. The nurses shared some true life experiences of what they’ve seen in their patients and in hospitals when antibiotics are abused or misused. They also supported our Ambassadors as they worked on their assignment for the month: creating a “supergerm” or “superbug” comic character that tells the story of antibiotic abuse and antibiotic resistance. It was exciting to see our Ambassadors ask questions about antibiotics and learn about how their actions can lead to antibiotic resistance. Overall, it was a great month of learning for our Ambassadors. As one of them said: “I have learnt about what antibiotics are, what bacteria is, types of bacteria, types of antibiotics, when to use […]

We’re on the Google Homepage Today: Google Doodle

Have you checked Google today?They’re celebrating Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh’s birthday with an illustration on the Google homepage! Today she would have been 62 years old. Thanks to the Google Doodle team for this honor. Visit www.google.com to check it out (for those outside Nigeria, you have to change your location settings to “Nigeria” in Google) and click here to learn more about her life and the work we’re doing to continue her legacy.

Humans of DRASA: Abiola Ayoola

Meet Abiola Ayoola. One of DRASA’s Youth Trainers. It all started with a visit to my father’s boss. I had used the toilet and couldn’t find a bucket to flush. As I stood there confused, his youngest daughter walked in on me and simply used the toilet handle to flush. I started dreaming in that room that night. The fact that life could be so easy and beautiful and there was no need to wait in long queues to get water was surreal to me. After finishing university, I had to wait 9 months to get an internship and another 8 months to begin my national youth service. But these delays were simply a reality check for me. The images from my early childhood would flash through my eyes everytime I got weak and wanted to quit, but I couldn’t, so I kept at it. I knew I couldn’t just sit at home and do nothing, so I began to speak to people about volunteering and offering my time. I figured this would help boost my Curriculum Vitae (CV), while also helping others. One of my friends showed me the Whatsapp status of another friend about a Public Health Trust that was seeking extra hands for its secondary school program. I didn’t know when the project was going to kick start, or if I stood a chance to be selected, but I sent in my CV notwithstanding. And guess who got called? Me! So far, it’s been a great experience with the students, especially because sometimes I see myself in them. I want to encourage them by sharing my story and telling them to dream with their eyes wide open. I hope that I can spark something in them that would keep them lit up for a long time. But to […]