The Publisher of OnePage Africa, Dr. Hope Orivri, has been conferred a doctorate degree at the prestigious University of Lagos (UNILAG), having fully completed the requirements in Mass Communication where she specialised in Communication for Development.
Orivri, who is also the Chairperson, Media and Publicity Committee of the Nigerian Ports Consultative Council (NPCC), was one of the ten (10) PhD graduates from the UNILAG Mass Communication department celebrated at the recent 55th UNILAG convocation ceremony on Thursday.
As a PhD candidate in UNILAG, she won the 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition for doctorate students across African institutions organised by the Institute of African and Diaspora Studies (IADS) as part of activities to mark 2023 Nelson Mandela Week in partnership with the South African Consulate in Lagos.
Speaking with journalists at the Convocation ceremony, Orivri stated that her thesis “Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Behaviour Change Message Utilisation among Mothers of Under-5 Children in Lagos Slums” provided the most satisfaction in the doctorate degree programme.
Her words: “With my research work, I joined the Network for Behavioural Research for Child Survival in Nigeria (NETBRECSIN), which is supported by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The body is interested in studies that have to do with the health of children, particularly those under 5 years. I was able to present my work to the panel and it was highly commended. I was advised to ensure that the solutions proffered get to impact the lives of people.
“I got special commendation because I was able to show that I had engagements with the respective communities. I had three different engagements with the communities in Abete, which is located in Ijora-Badia; Maracana community in Ajegunle; and the Ago-Egun community in Ilaje-Bariga. The engagements in all these locations were for behavioural change as I was able to address mothers who have children under the age of 5.
“The satisfaction I got from the experience was to get feedback from some of these mothers affirming that they have seen positive changes in the health of their children after effecting my recommendations. Their children are no longer falling sick as they were before these engagements and the women have learned to frequently wash their hands using soap and water. They have also learned the need for home water governance by storing water in clean containers that have lids to prevent contamination. Also important is the need to use containers that have a thistle funnel rather than containers that children have to scoop by dipping their hands into to get water.”
She explained her journey to becoming a Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) expert while pursuing the doctorate degree; “I had to take courses being organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in WASH. This made me read further and ignited the desire to do further research in other areas in WASH including proper and safe storage of water, washing of hands with soap and water, water treatment and sanitation. The diet for that WASH programme gave me a better understanding of sanitation.”
Meanwhile, the Vice Chairperson of the NPCC, Mrs Jean Chiazor Anishere SAN, has congratulated Dr. Hope Orivri, stating that she wasn’t surprised at Orivri’s academic prowess culminating in PhD in Communication for Development at the University of Lagos.
