The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) said no fewer than 1.8 million people are newly infected by HIV, warning that HIV infections continue to rise.

Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, at the International AIDS Conference in the Netherlands, called on countries to boost prevention measures and continue facilitating access to treatment, according to UNAIDS statement.

Godwin Adama, the Consul-General of Nigeria in South Africa, says about 5,000 Nigerian medical practitioners are contributing to the development of the health sector in South Africa.

Mr Adama made this known in a statement issued by the Vice Consul, Information and Culture, David Abraham, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s health ministry on Tuesday declared an end to an Ebola outbreak believed to have killed 33 people, after 42 days with no new cases.

The outbreak, first detected in northwest Congo in April, was dealt with rapidly by the World Health Organisation and Congolese authorities, including the deployment of an experimental vaccine given to over 3,300 people.

Nigerians must be prepared for a disease outbreak anytime as global warming and ease of transportation have made it easy for an outbreak in any country to get to another fast.  The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, gave the advice in his remarks at the University of Lagos Pro-Chancellor’s Distinguished Public Annual Lecture Series, on Monday in Lagos.

The United Nations Fund Population (UNFPA) on Tuesday commenced surgical operations for at least 150 women who are currently suffering from vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) in Borno state. It also noted that the campaign and surgical operations will last for two weeks in Borno and adjoining states.

Teenagers, and particularly girls, are bearing the brunt of the global AIDS epidemic with around 30 adolescents becoming infected with HIV every hour, according to a report by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

UNICEF said out of those 30 new infections each hour among 15 to 19 year-olds in 2017, around 20 or two-thirds – were girls.

The THISDAY HEALTH POLICY DIALOGUE SERIES was co-created in partnership with the World Bank Group to bring to the fore key policy issues in the health sector. Following a successful inaugural edition in March 2018 which featured Nigerian born Director of Health Nutrition Population at the World Bank Group in DC – Dr Soji Adeyi, the second edition had as guest speaker the WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus.

Due to the calibre of speakers and the topical issues featured the health policy dialogue has firmly established itself as Nigeria’s leading public event on health policy. The two previous editions of the Health policy dialogue focused on the chronic underfunding of the health sector as a major cause of poor health outcomes with successful outcomes.

Anxiety is growing at the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) following the rejection of the 2018 budget of the agency by its Governing Council over alleged improprieties. The scheme’s Governing Council is empowered by law to review and approve the budget of the NHIS.

The budget was delayed by the protracted crisis at the agency that got to a climax last year when the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, sent the Executive Secretary, Usman Yusuf, on indefinite suspension over allegations of misconduct and corruption.

The Director-General of National Agency for Control of Aids (NACA), Sani Aliyu, has appealed to state governments to start providing money for treatment of their residents living with HIV/AIDS.

He made the appeal against the backdrop of a plan by the Nigerian government to take ownership of the fight against the disease in the country following a decline in foreign funding.

Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, Wednesday said tobacco use has been estimated to account for over 90 per cent of oral cancer cases recorded in the country annually.