Mitigating the effects of COVID-19 by distributing hand sanitizers

An initiative gathers professors of Omdurman Islamic University in Sudan for COVID-19 pandemic mitigation.

Originally written in Arabic by Dr. Maher Al-Sharif:  oiu.edu.sd/news/1409

Images gallery: oiu.edu.sd/gallery/142

Editors:
Dr. Wishah Mohammednour Ahmed Mohammednour, Medical Laboratory Technologist at the Faculty of Medical Laboratory Science, Omdurman Islamic University; contact: wishah215@gmail.com
Fayza Eid Mohammad, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Egypt

We distributed more than 6500 hand sanitizers for free; locally produced based on the formulations included in the WHO (World Health Organization) guide https://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/Guide_to_Local_Production.pdf, to the  Civilians of the villages around the University and also to many rural areas.

In the middle of March, after the news of some infections among the Sudanese with the new Coronavirus began to come and after the possibilities for transmission and the spread of this virus grew among the masses of the Sudanese people, the gathering of professors at Omdurman Islamic University called for the need to organize and coordinate efforts to establish an initiative to confront this dangerous virus. Immediately, after the announcement of this initiative, donations were made from their own money despite their precarious conditions. Efforts began to bear fruit and for coordination, follow up and implementation, a field committee of the following members was formed:

1. Dr. Mohammed Hussein Arkidi, Faculty of Arabic Language

2. Dr. Intisar Othman, Faculty of Arabic Language

3. Dr. Maher Muhammad Al-Sharif, Faculty of Computer Science

4. Dr. Heba Rabie Sayed Ahmed, Faculty of Media

5. Dr. Heba Muhammad, Faculty of Media

6. Dr. Habiba Othman, Faculty of Media

7. Dr. Mahdi Yahya Adam, Faculty of Media

8. Dr. Hatem Idris Al-Tayyeb, Faculty of Media

9. Mr.  Adam Hafiz, Faculty of Agriculture

10. Dr. Abdul Qadir Ahmed, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences

11. Mr. Ahmed Jaafar Abedon, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences

12. Dr. Mostafa Hassan, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences

13. Dr. Wishah Mohammednour, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences

14. Dr. Fayeza Rahmatullah,  Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences

15. Dr. Hashem Dafaa Allah, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences

16. Mr. Fathi Zulnoun,  Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences

17. Dr. Abdul Azim, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences

18. Dr. Azmi Al-Aidarous, Faculty of Agriculture

19. Mr. Omar Alnaema Arbab, Faculty of Science and Technology

20. Dr. Adam Muhammad Ahmed Bashir, Faculty of Science and Technology.

21. Dr. Salah Ahmed Mohamed, Faculty of Science and Technology

22. Dr. Fatima Adam, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences

23. Dr. Bashir Saeed Jah ElRasoul, Faculty of Education

24. Dr. Mohammed Abdul Rahman Al-Tayeb, Faculty of Education

25. Ms. Mishkah Rakza, Faculty of Nursing

26. Mr. Ahmed Hamed Mahdi, Faculty of Arts

27. Dr. Ibrahim Sadiq, Faculty of Engineering

The aforementioned, with the assistance of some of the members of the General Assembly, supervised the operations of advocacy and donations from colleagues and some philanthropists, bringing in and preparation of the materials required for manufacturing of sanitizers of various uses and capacities and its distribution to different regions in the city of Omdurman and outside the state of Khartoum as AlAbbasiyya tagli region in the state of South Kordofan and some regions in the Northern state.

Initiative outputs

This initiative led to the manufacturing of 6520 sanitizers of two types (gel + sprays) of different capacities (30, 50, 70, 100, 500 ml) through four rounds:

• First round: 2780
• Second round: 1600
• Third round: 1000
• Fourth round: 1140
• Total number: 6520

In addition to organizing a major awareness campaign that included:

Awareness through loudspeakers and mass communication, provided with posters and flyers from the Federal Ministry of Health, concomitantly with the campaign of distribution of the first sanitizers to the regions surrounding the campus:

• Al-Ashra neighborhood
• Zarkan
• Al-Shaqla East
• Al-Hafyan 
• Al-Shaqla West
• Fattasha junction
• Al-Futihab Station 8
• Siraj Station
• Student Compound in Althawra and its surrounding areas
• In addition to the various departments of the university

A major media campaign was launched in all the media platforms, by hosting some members of the Field Committee in radio and television programs, call-in and newscasts on each of the following:

• Omdurman Islamic University Radio
• Omdurman National Radio
• Sports Radio
• Medical Radio
• Hawas Radio
• Sudan National TV
• Sudanese channel 24
• Several newspapers

This initiative embodied the spirit of solidarity and cooperation possessed by the Sudanese people based on the noble values ​​and teachings of our true religion, as well as the great societal role of the university professor and his degree of interaction with the community around him.

By presenting this report to document this great initiative, we hope that everyone adheres to the directives of the Ministry of Health to ensure the safety of all so that this ordeal passes peacefully.

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