Nigeria and the United States (US) have partnered on creating equality and the inclusion of persons living with disabilities (PwDs) into the workforce through the Reciprocal Exchange programme. The Inclusion works project took place on the 3rd of March 2022 at the Barack Obama American Corner, Victoria Island, Lagos State.

The program kicked off with the welcome Speech by Ms. Jennifer Foltz, the deputy public affairs officer of the United States Consulate Lagos.

The World Health Organisation has projected that one in five adults and one in 10 children and teenagers will be obese by December 2023 in 10 high-burden African countries if no robust measures are taken to reverse the trends.

The WHO analysis shows that the prevalence of obesity among adults in the 10 high-burden countries will range from 13.6 per cent to 31 per cent, while in children and adolescents it will range from five per cent to 16.5 per cent. 

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has warned the public of the risk involved in using Aluminum Phosphide 560TB pesticides. The warning is contained in a public alert with No. 009/2022 signed by the Director-General of the agency, Prof. Moji Adeyeye, and issued to newsmen on Monday.

She said that the warning followed the report of the death of three (3) children as announced by the Zimbabwean authorities, who said the death of the children was as a result of them inhaling the pesticides that had been applied to maize for storage.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has announced the outbreak of measles in eight states of the federation. The NCDC, in the latest measles report, announced the affected states as Jigawa, Anambra, Katsina, Rivers, Enugu, Delta, Osun and Sokoto, while 908 suspected cases had been reported so far.

The centre also stated that there was an ongoing outbreak of measles in Zamfara, which had not been confirmed due to a lack of testing reagents in the country, adding that 58.7 per cent of confirmed cases had not been vaccinated.

A Consultant Gynaecologist, Dr. Ekiniyi Destiny Ochete, has cautioned Nigerians against engaging in water birth, noting that the delivery method could be risky.

According to the gynaecologist, Nigerians should think twice before engaging in water birth because the nation lacks the required equipment that may be needed to deal with peculiar emergencies that may occur during the special delivery.

The World Health Organisation, says the antiviral drug molnupiravir has been conditionally recommended for patients with non-severe COVID-19 infection who are at the highest risk of hospitalisation. The statement was issued by a WHO Guideline Development Group of international experts according to the British Medical Journal.

The recommendation, it said was for patients who are at the highest risk of hospitalisation typically including those who are unvaccinated, older people, and those with weak immune systems or chronic diseases.

A medical doctor, Abel Obetta, has reportedly died of Lassa Fever after allegedly getting infected in a hospital. A colleague of Dr. Obetta, with the Twitter handle, @sports_doctor2 disclosed this on Monday and also lamented in his tweet that the amount medical doctors are paid as hazard allowance by the Federal Government is too small compared to the risk they are exposed to.

The post shared on his Twitter handle reads, “This is Dr. Abel. Dr. Abel is the second doctor dying from Lassa fever this year. Guess where he got it from? – Hospital. Guess how much he was paid as a hazard allowance? – 5k. The sacrifice is too much and it’s not worth it!!! Oh, I’m heartbroken. R.I.P Dr. Abel”

A breakthrough triple therapy for advanced prostate cancer can give patients a more healthy life and reduce the overall risk of death by a third.  The treatment involves two standard therapies alongside a powerful new hormone medication, darolutamide.

The new drug has already proved to be effective as a stand-alone treatment in the earlier stages of the disease when given to men who have stopped responding to other medications.  But a pivotal trial has now shown that when combined with standard therapies it also has a dramatic effect in patients whose cancer has spread throughout the body, DailyMail reports.

A health expert, Dr. Toluwani Binutu, has urged Nigerians to eat less red meat and chicken, noting that they have saturated fats that could cause serious health complications. Binutu, who is based in the United Kingdom, also cautioned against the consumption of fried and packaged foods, adding that they also contain trans fats.

Binutu explained that saturated fats and trans fats are unhealthy fats, stressing that studies have indicated that they are contributing to the increase in the incidence of heart diseases, stroke, and diabetes. He, however, clarified that while saturated fats aren’t as harmful as trans fat, they can also be harmful when consumed in large quantities.

Buruli Ulcer is the emerging and third most common mycobacterial disease in Nigeria after tuberculosis and leprosy, the National Tuberculosis, Buruli Ulcer, and Leprosy Control Programme says. The Deputy Director, Head of Leprosy And Buruli Ulcer, NTBLCP, Mr. Peter Adebayo said this at a two-day media engagement and sensitisation meeting, organised by NTBLCP in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria, reports that BU is a re-emerging neglected tropical disease characterised by extensive destruction of the skin and soft tissue, resulting in the formation of ulcers. According to Adebayo, without proper treatment, BU results in severe and permanent disability in more than a quarter of patients.