The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned on Monday that Nigeria risked falling short of achieving the goal of universal health coverage by 2030 due to the shortage of health workers. WHO said capacity building, safety concerns and poor welfare for health workers are key challenges in the nation’s health sector.

Nigeria, according to the United Nations agency, has one of the largest stocks of human resources for health in Africa but currently maintains densities of nurses, midwives, and doctors that are still too low to effectively deliver essential health services.

Interswitch Limited has announced that eClat Healthcare Limited, its subsidiary, has partnered Edo State to improve healthcare delivery through technology and innovation. The announcement followed the recent launch of the state’s compulsory healthcare insurance scheme, under the direction of Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki.

This followed the launch of the first phase of disbursement of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) to states through the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

Nurses in Plateau State say they are no longer safe working in the North-East. Boko Haram has wreaked havoc in the  North-East, particularly in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states since its inception in 2002.

Addressing a press conference in Jos on Monday,  the chairman of the Plateau State chapter of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Mrs Briskila Dabit, lamented that a number of nurses had either been killed or abducted by Boko Haram fighters.

The Abia State Government and the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, on Tuesday, confirmed the death of a Lassa fever patient in Umuahia. Addressing newsmen, the state government, however, said the people should not panic, saying the “government is on top of the situation.”

A conjoined set of twins that had one liver, a protruding tummy and a lower chest were successfully separated, in a 12-hour surgery involving 78 medical personnel, at the National Hospital in Abuja.

Speaking during a briefing held to announce the successful operation, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, said the feat was an indication that Nigerian hospitals were ready to compete with the best in the world. The twins were both delivered at the Federal Medical Hospital, Keffi, Nasarawa State before they were referred to the NHA.

Sickle Cell Hope Alive Foundation (SCHAF) is set to promote the use of a 10-minute point of care rapid test kit and Hemotypes kit to improve access and reduce the wrong diagnosis of sickle cell disease in the country. SCHAF’s President, Professor Adeyinka Falusi launches the kit at a workshop on knowing your genotype and empowerment programme for 10 caregivers and people living with sickle cell disease in Ibadan.

The occasion also had the launch of seven KYG (Know your genotype) school clubs, where schools like Abadina Secondary School, University of Ibadan, Christ the King College, Basorun, Lead City International and Urban Day Grammer School were present.

The $364m Nigeria is getting from the World Bank and others for malaria drug production is an unprecedented health initiative and a boost for local industry, the Buhari Media Organisation said on Wednesday. The group also described it as a further proof of global trust in the ability of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to judiciously utilise funds at its disposal. 

In a statement signed by its Chairman, Niyi Akinsiju, and Secretary, Cassidy Madueke, the BMO said the move would enhance local capacity in drug manufacturing. “It is a thing of joy that the National Malaria Elimination Programme has succeeded in securing a commitment of $364m from the World Bank

Osun government has called on caterers and food vendors in the state to stop using paracetamol to tenderise meat and also the use of ‘hypo’ a bleaching detergent for cassava processing to induce ‘whiteness of fufu and garri.’

The warning was issued in Osogbo during a joint press conference addressed by the Special Adviser on Public Health, Pharmacist Siji Olamiju and the state Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Mrs. Funke Egbemode on the harmful effect of the illicit acts on vital organs of the body such as the liver, kidneys, heart and the small intestines.

The Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria and the Association of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists of Nigeria have called for a health reform and industrial harmony. The Chairman of the Lagos State Chapter of AGPMPN, Dr Tunji Akintade, in an interview with our correspondent, said a reform of the health sector in Lagos State would address the challeges facing the state health insurance scheme.

 “We got a letter in November from the Lagos State Government, which said they wanted to review the Lagos State Health Law. I believe this is long overdue. There is a need for health reform in the state and we commend the government for thinking in this direction. “The content of the reform must come up with solutions that will address current issues relating to the state health insurance.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has said that more than half a million vulnerable and children orphaned by HIV have benefitted from its five-year activity. African Children USAID’s Mission Director, Mr. Steven Haykin, made this known in Abuja on Wednesday at the closing of a five-year Local Partners for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Project in Nigeria (LOPIN 3).

The $10 million USAID/LOPIN 3 programme was implemented by the Health Initiatives for Safety and Stability in Africa (HIFASS), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO). The programme was also aimed at building the capacity of beneficiaries to make them self-reliant.