The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has alerted the public and especially healthcare providers of the circulation of falsified versions of the  drugs Amoxverse and Ampiverse in Democratic Republic of Congo.According to the agency’s website, the notification was received from the World Health Organization three days ago and after careful Laboratory analysis of the products, they discovered it did not contain any active ingredient. The purported manufacturer (UNIVERSE Ltd Kenya) stated on the label explained that they do not manufacture any Penicillin.

The falsified versions of the antibiotics labeled as manufactured by UNIVERSE Ltd Kenya are being circulated in plastic containers of 1000 capsules and have been reportedly found in private health care facilities in DRC. NAFDAC gave more details of the the falsified products and urged health care providers and the general public to be vigilant and ensure that any information in respect of importation, distribution or sale of the falsified Amoxverse and Ampiverse capsules is reported to the nearest NAFDAC

The Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug, Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Paul Orhii received a prestigious honorary award from the Black Caucus of the United States Congress under the auspices of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP), Georgian Bureau for his global leadership in the fight against counterfeit regulated products. The leader of the delegation who led two other congressmen to present the award to the NAFDAC boss in Abuja, Rep. Dee Dawkins Haigler said Dr. Orhii and his team have worked tirelessly in fighting the menace of counterfeiting of medicines and other regulated products.

Responding, the highly elated Director General of NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii said the honour shows the increasing international awareness and concern about the global menace of drug counterfeiting and a common resolve to combat the problem frontally. While dedicating the US special congressional award to the staff of NAFDAC and the hapless victims of drug counterfeiting, Dr. Orhii thanked the Black Caucus of the US Congress for the inspiring honour

The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) has disclosed that a law which would prescribe stiffer sanctions and penalties for doctors found guilty of gross misconduct, is currently undergoing review. Speaking to journalists yesterday on the council’s activities, the registrar, Dr Abdulmunin Ibrahim, said the act setting up the council was obsolete and weak as it cannot mete out strong punishment for doctors found wanting in the discharge of their duties. He noted that the review became necessary following the magnitude of cases of negligence against doctors practicing in the country, especially cases that have to do with life.

The registrar also disclosed that the tribunal has disciplined about 10 doctors within a year from June 2014 to July 2015 from about 30 cases. He said the doctors were sanctioned based on the magnitude of their offences ranging from three to six months withdrawal of licenses. He added that the council has over 78,000 registered doctors from 1963 till date though it does not translate to the doctors currently practicing in the country. “We have to note that this does not mean that these are the number of doctors practicing in the country as some have left. But, tentatively, we have less than 40,000 now practicing in Nigeria while over 10,000 are outside the country practicing.”

The federal government of Nigeria has stopped all medical doctors from participating in the mandatoryNational Youth Service. The resolution was made public at a press briefing yesterday by the Registrar/Chief Executive of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), Dr. Abdulmumini Ibrahim. According to him, the decision was made in order to abolish quackery and sub-standard practices in the country’s health sector. He said they can only commence with the service after they have been qualified as medical doctors and have secured practice licence from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.

The registrar also disclosed that the decision was necessitated by several complaints of incompetence exhibited by some of the Youth Corps members posted to rural communities to deliver health services and cases of individuals presenting themselves as health professionals when they are not. “There has been increasing number of personal non-grata people who are not trained impersonating as medical doctors. The NYSC has inundated us with complaints. Those who have completed their one year internship have been given certificates. Most corpers are sent to rural areas.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that the introduction of MenAfriVac vaccine for treating meningococcal A meningitis -a bacterial infection of the lining of the brain and spinal cord- is bringing Africa close to wiping the disease. The disease is highly feared on the continent as it can kill or cause severe brain damage within hours while disabling young people every year. “The use of MenAfriVac has led to the control and near elimination of deadly meningitis A disease in the African “meningitis belt.”

In 2013, only 4 laboratory-confirmed cases of meningitis A were reported by the 26 countries in the belt, which stretches across the continent from Senegal to Ethiopia,” the WHO said in a statement yesterday. The meningitis A vaccine for Africa, MenAfriVac, was developed in response to a plea for help from ministers of health in sub-Saharan Africa after an outbreak of meningitis A in 1996 infected over 250 000 people and killed over 25 000 in just a few months.

Katsina State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has issued a 21- day ultimatum to the state government to address deplorable infrastructures in health centres and welfare of personnel or risk industrial action. Addressing newsmen yesterday, the NMA chairman, Dr Kabir Suleiman said a health care service in the state was riddled with lack of adequate health personnel and dearth of basic equipments. “Most of the hospitals are underfunded and many lack basic x-ray services, emergency drugs, oxygen and dressing materials,” Usman said, adding, “Workers’ welfare is yet to receive serious attention”

Suleiman said the association had made several efforts to ensure that the state government addresses deplorable state of health sector but the APC government has failed to heed the association’s demands. “Government has failed to create conducive environment in which the state health workers can deliver efficient and effective health care services to the good people of the state”. The NMA hinted that due to the poor working condition as is currently obtained in the state, most of the consultants in the state have perfected plans to leave by January.

The newly inaugurated minister of health, Professor Isaac Adewole Folorunsho has expressed shock over his appointment to head the ministry while setting a target of reducing medical tourism in Nigeria to at least 20 percent in five years. Adewole stated this in Abuja Wednesday at a grand reception in his honour at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja adding that as a team, they have set high goals for themselves.

He said “I believe by the end of our first year, we should be able to reduce medical tourism such that in five years time, less than 20 per cent of Nigerians will go abroad for treatment. We will make our teaching hospitals work, and do public-private partnerships so that we can have the healthcare we deserve.” “I’m extremely delighted to be here because for me it is home coming. Even when I must admit that I wasn’t expecting to be posted to health. But being posted to health has a significance, it is like the President saying ‘go back to your terrain and sort things out.”

Women are twice as likely to die from causes related to pregnancy or childbirth in the United States than in Canada, a new global survey of maternal mortality published by the United Nations and the World Bank showed on Thursday. The United States was also one of only 13 countries to have worse rates of maternal mortality in 2015 than in 1990 – a group that also includes North Korea, Zimbabwe and Venezuela.

The survey, led by the World Health Organization, aims to track progress against the U.N. Millennium Development Goals. It estimated there would be 303,000 maternal deaths globally this year, down from 532,000 in 1990. The U.N. target is to get the global average number of maternal deaths below 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030, with no country averaging worse than 140. The United States and other developed countries are already far ahead of the target, but the U.S. average has slipped from 12 deaths to 14 per 100,000 live births over the past 25 years, while Canada’s is where it was in 1990, at seven.

Scientists working in Nigeria have developed a new laser test that can detect malaria in humans within minutes with a simple urine test without drawing blood. Current malaria testing methods requires piecing with a needle to draw blood but the new urine malaria test (UMT), developed by Fyodor Biotechnologies, doesn’t require use of blood. The fast, non-invasive test can detect malaria in both humans and mosquitoes. It has advantages over current techniques because it does not depend on blood sampling, reagents, facilities or trained personnel.

The simplicity – it can be operated by non-medical personnel – and sensitivity of the test mean it could be a low-cost, safe and universal tool for clinical and field diagnoses. Speaking at the launch of UMT in Abuja, Dr Victoria Enwemadu, Fyodor’s global head of projects, said “There are some challenges with adopting that [national malaria testing] guideline mainstream because of the invasiveness of trying to get blood for testing. Now we have made it easier by just using urine to test for malaria.”

THE Federal Government has said that  it is working  hard to achieve the Universal Health Care (UHC) in Nigeria by 2020 using ICT to save one Million Lives (SOMLs) in Nigeria. The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Communications Technology, Dr. Tunji  Olaopa made the assertion at the preparatory technical meeting to Africa eHealth Summit 2016, held at the Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja. Dr. Olaopa, said  work was going on so that this goal can be attained on this laudable initiative and make it faster and in a more cost efficient manner.

“The Government is looking at a situation whereby the strategic part of the effort of the SOMLs initiative and the ministry of health and communication technology will help in the direction of having the UHC in the country in 2020.” Recalled that ministry of health and Communication Technology came together in 2012 with the support of the United Nations Foundation (UNF) to form what was called using ICT to Save One Million Lives (SOMLs),which both ministries have been working hand in hand on and have achieved a lot in that direction.