The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Zamfara Command, has impounded a truck conveying 1,503.044kilogrammes of illicit drugs. The State Commander, Gabriel Adamu, stated this at a press conference in Tsafe town on Wednesday.

Adamu said that officers of the command in Tsafe, acting on intelligence reports, intercepted a Mercedes Benz truck with registration number Anambra XY 200 FGG, along Gusau-Zaria expressway. He said the illicit drugs contained in the truck include Cannabis sativa 185kgs, Hypnox 11.5kgs, Diazepam 14kgs, Valinex-5 22.7kgs, Exol-5 310kgs and Codeine syrup 59.844kgs among others.

Every year, 1.9 million people die from tobacco-induced heart disease, according to a new brief released today by the World Health Organization, World Heart Federation and the University of Newcastle Australia ahead of World Heart Day, marked on 29 September.

This equates to one in five of all deaths from heart disease, warn the report’s authors, who urge all tobacco users to quit and avoid a heart attack, stressing that smokers  are more likely to experience an acute cardiovascular event at a younger age than non-smokers. Just a few cigarettes a day, occasional smoking, or exposure to second-hand smoke increase the risk of heart disease.

Nigerian doctors are among the least paid worldwide. Doctors in 45 other African countries are better paid than their Nigerian counterparts.

The Guardian investigation revealed that, of all 55 African countries, Nigerian doctors (lowest salary of 320) are better paid than their counterparts only in Sudan (66), Cameroon (300), Egypt (157), Guinea Conakry (102), Zimbabwe (83), Uganda (300), Algeria (265), Burundi (100), Ethiopia (300).

The World Health Organization (WHO) together with the UN, specialised agencies and partners today called on countries to develop and implement action plans to promote the timely dissemination of science-based information and prevent the spread of false information while respecting freedom of expression. 

WHO, the UN, UNICEF, UNAIDS, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UNESCO, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN Global Pulse initiative and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies  (IFRC), together with the governments of Indonesia, Thailand and Uruguay held a webinar on the margins of the 75th UN General Assembly to draw attention to the harm being done by the spread of misinformation and disinformation, the latter being deliberate misinformation to advance an agenda.

An effective COVID-19 vaccine could help us emerge from isolation and end the social distancing required during this pandemic; but it will only work if people are willing to be vaccinated.

We conducted a survey in June 2020 that addressed whether people’s willingness to use a COVID-19 vaccine and adopt other preventive healthcare measures was associated with trust.  The survey was conducted in nine countries: China, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Africa, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. A thousand individuals were surveyed in each country, and the responses were weighted to the most recent census data.

The Medical Representative and Director, Bentoluene International Health Concept, Ogunleye Toluwalope, has called on singles to always check their genotype before getting into any marriage relationship to avoid the challenge of sickle cell disorder in their children.

He told newsmen, as the world celebrates Sickle Cell Awareness Month, that Nigeria has the highest population of people living with sickle cell disease, SCD, in the world and “over the years we have spoken to young ones that there is nothing like ‘love at first sight’.

As the world marks the 2020 World Patient Safety Day (WPSD),  with the theme: “Health Worker Safety: A Priority for Patient Safety.” the Commonwealth Medical Association, CMA, has called on governments and other stakeholders to make greater investments and sustained commitments to the working conditions, occupational health and safety of healthcare workers.  

In a message to mark the day in Nigeria, the President of CMA, who was former President of the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, Dr Osahon Enabulele maintained that health worker safety was essential

Nigeria can now reach its target of testing more than 10 million residents for coronavirus (COVID-19) with a World Health Organisation (WHO)-approved on-the-spot coronavirus test that costs $5 (N2,500) and gives results in 15 to 30 minutes.

The news of the breakthrough came just as it was gathered that the number of people killed worldwide by the COVID-19 pandemic had exceeded one million, with experts warning that it might double before a vaccine was found.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has announced 201 fresh Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases, with one death recorded in 12 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the last 24 hours.

The NCDC made this known on its official twitter handle on Wednesday. The health agency said that the new cases had brought the nation’s confirmed COVID-19 infections to 58,848. According to the NCDC, Lagos recorded the bulk of the new infections with 77 cases, while Rivers, Plateau and FCT had 37, 25 and 13 new cases respectively.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says it will totally ban production of alcohol drink in sachets by 2023/2024. Its Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday that banning of the product would come in phases.

Adeyeye said that alcohol drink in sachet would be phased out by 2023 ending or first week of 2024, when it would no longer exist in the society. NAN reports that Adeyeye, had earlier expressed worry over the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages in sachets and small volume glass and Poly-Ethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottles.