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Apply for Nirsal Non Interest Loan

- By Ngozi Aima

Education Section at DHA's Public Health Protection Department, as well as representa­tives from the ADPHC, SEHA, DHA, and EHS. The target groups of the campaign include most of the community members, with priority being given to pregnant women, those aged 50 and older, patients with chronic diseases, children aged under 5, and healthcare workers. The communicat­ion campaign includes social media platforms, newspapers and websites, television and radio interviews, and visual materials to be published via satellite channels and news websites. "The annual seasonal flu awareness campaign is one of the most important events MoHAP is keen to organise in order to develop the health system’s response to respirator­y diseases, strengthen surveillan­ce mechanisms, and improve the results of the strategic indicator of the vaccinatio­n coverage rate in accordance with internatio­nal standards," Al Rand said. Recognisin­g the importance of health security and risk prevention and containmen­t as a national priority, the ministry of health provides vaccines at all its health facilities. Al Rand underlined that the ministry is bound by the implementa­tion of the precaution­ary and preventive measures at all health facilities throughout the campaign, describing the seasonal flu vaccine as necessary to mitigate the burdens on the health sector and give it the time to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. He mentioned that the UAE's success in the management and governance of the pandemic represents a cornerston­e in its efforts to immunise society from infectious diseases thanks to the integratio­n of health authoritie­s' performanc­e and the work under a national health system. The campaign aims to raise community awareness about seasonal influenza and ways to prevent it and provide the vaccine as widely as possible to achieve universal coverage, pointing to the readiness of health facilities to welcome those wishing to get the vaccine with the implementa­tion of the precaution­ary and preventive measures. The campaign is also meant to raise the level of vaccinatio­n coverage among health workers and enhance their efficiency with the latest internatio­nal recommenda­tions and scientific methods, through lectures, workshops, and training on the most important new methods of preventing seasonal influenza and avoiding its risks. This year's seasonal flu is coinciding with the coronaviru­s, something which poses great challenges for health staff and requires more community commitment to applying the necessary preventive measures to prevent the spread of the two viruses. Over the past 60 years, the seasonal flu vaccine has proven to be safe and effective, reduce hospital length of stay and complicati­ons and protect from common viruses. Therefore, authoritie­s recommend taking the seasonal influenza vaccine for health workers in the healthcare sector, especially in the first line of defence, in emergency department­s, outpatient clinics, primary healthcare centres, and intensive care units, to reduce the chances of transmitti­ng the disease to patients and family members. Dr. Lootah noted that the health authoritie­s have adopted a well-thought-out plan to deal with seasonal influenza by raising the readiness of hospitals and health centers to handle all cases efficientl­y. Although the campaign coincides with the COVID-19 pandemic, efforts have been intensifie­d, expanded, and diversifie­d to reach the wider community in order to help them differenti­ate between symptoms of seasonal influenza and coronaviru­s. The campaign also highlights the disease complicati­ons and risks, in addition to the importance of taking all the necessary precaution­s and getting vaccinated to reduce the spread of seasonal flu. She urged community members to take the vaccine and follow proper preventive practices to reduce the spread of seasonal influenza. For her part, Dr. Al Awadhi outlined the ongoing efforts being made by the Dubai

Health Authority to maintain and protect the health, security and safety of society against various diseases, including seasonal flu, lauding the cooperatio­n by all concerned authoritie­s to achieve the national goals of this campaign, which has remarkably been successful over the past years. Dr. Al Awadi stressed the importance and safety of the influenza vaccine and its effective role in reducing flu symptoms and its negative complicati­ons, especially for those at risk of contractin­g influenza complicati­ons, such as children under the age of 5, people over the age of 65, pregnant women, and people with chronic diseases such as asthma and heart, kidney, liver disease as well as those with diabetes, and health workers.

In line with the CBN’s decision to extend a non-interest window to businesses and households that have been impacted negatively by the Covid 19 pandemic, NIRSAL Microfinan­ce Bank’s portal is now live for applicants who are eligible under this scheme to apply. Who is Eligible? 1. MSME with 1 5 staff and verifiable evidence of business activities adversely affected as a result of the pandemic with evidence of job protection for its staff. 2. Hospitalit­y businesses, health (pharmaceut­icals and medical supplies) Airline service providers, manufactur­ing/value addition, trading, and any other income-generating activities as may be prescribed by CBN and are Shari’ah compliant. The financing limit for MSME’s is N2,500,000 while Household is N1,000,000. How to Apply for Nirsal Non Interest Loan

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