Chairperson and Founder of HERpol Africa, Dr Osman Dufailu has called on policymakers to begin looking at investing in research into Covid-19 treatment.

He said there is the need to have data on the side effect of people who have been vaccinated.

Dr Dufailu said this will help with information and adequate data to demystify the myth surrounding the Covid vaccine.

Speaking at the launch of the phase two of the Covid-19 Interventions and Awareness Outreach (CIAO) Project in Tamale Dr Dufailu said data is crucial if the country wants to make an impact in demystifying the myth in order to increase the number of people taking the jab.

“So the policy makers need to take data seriously, need to take research seriously and should be able to close the information gap between the elite and the rural communities,” he said.

HERpol Africa an NGO in the Northern Region is implementing Phase Two of the CIAO Project after the successful implementation of the Phase One.

The three months project is being implemented in partnership with Mastercard Foundation through Sratcom Africa in 36 communities in the Northern Region.

In the phase one the NGO distributed face mask to communities they work in, empowered women to produce soap and face mask and also had sensitisations in these communities.

The 36 communities are expected to receive more skills training to empowerment under this phase.

Dr Dufailu said the fight against Covid-19 is a fight for all and not an individual fight therefore the need for all to reach out to people in rural areas.

“If I protect myself and you don’t protect yourself I will be infected and so if we don’t protect the people in the rural areas they will come and infect us,” he said.

Dr Dufailu said the pandemic has reiterated the need for the world to be seen as one community.