The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday spelt out the need to step up cancer services in low and middle-income countries. WHO warned that, if current trends continue, the world will see a 60 per cent increase in cancer cases over the next two decades.

The greatest increase (an estimated 81 per cent) in new cases will occur in low- and middle-income countries, where survival rates are currently lowest. This is largely because these countries have had to focus limited health resources on combating infectious diseases

The Africa Centre for Disease Control (ACDC), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other partners have Nigeria and other African countries of adequate international support to check and prevent coronavirus.

Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director-Genera, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN), on Thursday in Abuja. Ihekweazu said that the support was geared towards ensuring that Nigeria was better prepared to respond, in the event of an outbreak of 2019-nCoV.

With the spread of the new coronavirus not showing any signs of slowing down, the World Health Organisation said about $675 million would be needed to stop further spread of the outbreak globally. 

This call was made on Wednesday at a press conference in Geneva where the WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, briefed the world on the current status of the disease. As at the time of the briefing, 25 countries have reported confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, including China, where 24,363 people had contracted

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the coronavirus outbreak is not yet pandemic, but a global public health emergency. Coronavirus has claimed 425 lives, with more than 20,000 reported cases in China and 158 cases outside that country.

WHO, which stated this at a news conference on Tuesday in Geneva, said the agency was hopeful that that the virus would be contained. The UN agency acknowledged that it was challenging to contain the virus because of global mass movement.

In its bid to ensure the rapid detection of the novel Coronavirus, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that plans are underway to ship reagent test kits to about 20 African countries. This is just as the organization is maintaining that the risk assessment of Nigeria remains high following the high travel between Nigeria and China.

Speaking during a sensitisation meeting with journalists in Abuja, the WHO Technical Officer for Health Emergency, Dr. Dhamari Naidoo said that one of the main priorities of the WHO is to pay close attention to the major nine ports of entry into the country. While calling for more collaborative efforts and need for early detection of the infection, she said that already about 28, 000 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed globally.

The Minister of Health, Prof. Osagie Ehanire, says Lagos State, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, is well prepared and ready to contain the novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infectious disease, if eventually it breaks out in Nigeria.

Ehanire gave this assurance on Sunday, while briefing newsmen after inspecting facilities at the Emergency Response Readiness designated for the Coronavirus victims at the Mainland Hospital, Yaba in Lagos. “I can say that Lagos State is well prepared; there is high level of readiness here, and also the awareness is there,” he said.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has charged Nigerian Nurses and Mid-wives to be professional in their conduct and services. This is coming as the Nigerian medical practitioners in Diaspora and the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH), Gwagwalada disclosed it plans to train about 200 nurses in the area of capacity building, knowledge sharing and professionalism.

The Minister of State for Health, Dr Olorunnibe Mamora at the flag off of ceremony with capacity building programme for Nurses and Midwives Leaders with the theme, “Nigerian Nurses and Midwives:

Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire and the Lagos State Commissioner of Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, have disclosed that the state is being closely monitored over possible outbreak of Coronavirus in the country.

Dismissing rumour of a suspected case at Gowon Estate in Egbeda, Alimosho Council Area, they maintained that Nigeria has learnt a lot of lessons from the Ebola outbreak of 2014. They, therefore, said the surveillance and level of readiness to tackle the virus was high at the airport and seaports,

MINISTER of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has facilitated the correctional service drug production for inmates on behalf of the government of Nigeria. The Correctional Services drug production through Nipripharm Drugs and Research Centre has the capacity to produce medical supplies and it has the dynamics of positive change for the health of inmates.

Aregbesola said humane consideration and compassion must be the watchword of our custodial officials even as they effectively discharge their duties just as the Nigerian Correctional Service has said it has begun the production of drugs to meet the health demands of inmates across the country.

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, on Tuesday in Kano, confirmed that three laboratories had been established at strategic points in the country to diagnose cases of coronavirus. Ehanire made the disclosure while declaring open the Kano 2020 Primary Health Care Summit at Coronation Hall, Kano Government House. 

The minister said nobody had been diagnosed of coronavirus in the country, saying those tested so far for the virus proved negative. He said, “This, however, does not mean the Federal Government will fold its arms as it is taking all the required measures to keep the virus at bay.”