The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Enugu, has petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari, over what it called embezzlement, misappropriation and abuse of office under the administration of the Medical Director, Dr. Jojo U. Onwukwe. Aside attaining the compulsory retirement age of 60 years on October 3, 2014, and still remaining in office as the medical director, Dr. Onwukwe embezzled about N254 million, according to the union. Addressing a press conference, officials of the JOHESU which comprises Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), Senior Staff Association (SSA) and National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNUM), said except the federal government investigates and removes the medical director, they would close down the hospital.

They insisted that the Medical Director was an obstacle to the progress of the establishment and workers’ welfare. Chairman of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNUM), Comrade Ejimadu Alozie, who alongside his colleagues in the union addressed journalists, alleged that the medical director embezzled N64,000,000 meant for arrears of staff conversion, N110,138,616.00 meant for completion and equipping of the multipurpose clinical services complex and owing more than N10,000,000 to drug suppliers in the Drug Revolving Fund (DRF).

A recent survey conducted by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration (NAFDAC) has warned Nigerians against abusing anti-malarial drugs.Director -General of the agency, Paul Orhii stated this yesterday in Abuja during the public presentation of the results of the survey titled: ‘Survey on the quality of antimalarial medicines in Nigeria 2014.’ While stating that malaria remains a huge health threat to countries in sub-saharan Africa including Nigeria, abuse of antimalarial drugs makes one develop resistant strains of malaria that maybe difficult to treat even with the right medicines.

The survey was funded by USAID through Promoting the Quality of Medicines (PQM) programme of the United States Pharmacopoeia Convention.The survey shows that the substandard anti-malarial drugs in circulation have now decreased to 3.6 percent. He said studies conducted by NAFDAC from 2001 to 2014 showed that there has been a positive trend, and progressive decrease in the incidence of counterfeit medicines in Nigeria.

The Kano state executive council of meeting held on 5th august 2015 has appraised the request for funds for the sponsorship of 5No. nurses to undergo post-basic psychiatric Nursing training (2015/2016) at the federal school of psychiatric Nurisng kware, sokoto state for the period of six months. the course would expose the officers to new trnds in psychiatriac nursing specialty.

Accordingly, council considered and approved the release of the sum of N1,543,000 to enable the 5No. officers attend the course at the federal school of psychiatric Nursing kware sokoto state.The council was requested to consider and approve also for the setting up of a committee to ensure the take off of the kano state model contributory healthcare scheme as amended which approval was granted.

Source:Medical World Nigeria

IF the Federal Government goes ahead with plans it has so far made, apex public health institutions like the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Enugu, University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) Zaria, among others, will be put up for sale or rather privatisation, soon.nBut health workers have rejected such plans. Last week, they, excluding medical doctors, petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari over the plans to privatise the health sector and vowed to resist what they have called “a version of reforms in healthcare that are self-serving in terms of their narrow commercial interests and those of foreign pay-masters.”

The plan by the Federal Government to ‘sell’ public health institutions was confirmed in a document prepared by the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) in November 2014 titled “Recommendations for a National Policy on Incentivising Healthcare Investments. ”Because of the success recorded by reforms in the telecom, energy and banking sectors, advocates of the sale option believe it will bring in additional private capital that will encourage better quality care at the lowest cost and improved benefits to all stakeholders in the sector.

This week’s guest blog comes from Robert Yates, an internationally recognized expert on progressive health financing. He works for Chatham House, the international affairs “Think-tank” based in London. He was one of the speakers at the Future of Health Conference held on June 18 in Abuja. Far from being a lame-duck, Barack Obama is having an extraordinarily successful second term as President of the United States, to the extent that he is being heralded as one of the most consequential Presidents in US history.

A number of domestic and foreign policy successes have been responsible for this transformation, but one triumph appears to have singled him out for greatness – his universal health reforms. “Obama Gains Vindication and Secures Legacy With Health Care Ruling” trumpeted the New York Times on June 25th after the US Supreme Court voted in favour of preserving the President’s pioneering health reforms. It is now widely recognized that President Obama will go down in history as a national hero for bringing healthcare to the uninsured in America.

The reality of the Residency Card, otherwise called Kaadi Igbe Ayo, has dawned on Ondo State residents as they now need it to access key health care facilities. Particularly, pregnant women who want to enjoy free medical services at the Mother and Child Hospital and the Abiye Safe Motherhood Programme, among others, will now require the card to do so. Before the recent inauguration of the card by Governor Olusegun Mimiko administration, the government’s free medical services were said to be enjoyed mostly by non-residents and those who were not paying their taxes. But the new development would put a check to this.

In his speech at the event, Mimiko said the new initiative was to facilitate the identification of all residents of the state in a bid to deliver to them, the social and welfare programmes as contained in the 12-point agenda of his administration. According to him, it will serve as the ticket for the residents to access and benefit from many of the infrastructural facilities of the state government. The Adegbimile Cultural Centre Hall, Akure, venue of the ceremony, received people from all walks of life, who witnessed the inauguration, while learning more about the importance of the card.

WINIFRED OGBEBO writes on the turn of events around the imposter who paraded himself as a medical doctor in the Federal Ministry of Health for several years as justice gradually catches up with him The long arm of the law is gradually catching up with Martins Okpeh Ugwu, who reigned like a supremo in the Federal Ministry of Health where he functioned as a ‘medical doctor’ for more than nine years. The holy book’s admonition that the wicked will never go unpunished is being fulfilled right before his very eyes.

He was arraigned almost a month ago at an Abuja high court on a five-count charge bordering on fraud and deceit. That the 44-year old secondary school certificate holder paraded himself as a medical doctor for nine whole years and even rose to become the chairman of a branch of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA before he was detected remains a shock which many people are yet to recover from. An indigene of Ogbadibo Local Government Area of Benue State and father of five children, Ugwu had stolen the medical and academic credentials of his childhood friend, Dr. George Davidson, a medical doctor practising in Jos and used them to secure employment in the Federal Ministry of Health.

Sokoto State governor Aminu Tambwal has disclosed that his administration has conluded plans to introduce the state’s version of the National Health insurance Sheme (NHIS) to enable citizens of the state to enjoy healthcare services. But the governor said that until its formal introduction, wide consultations on the position of Islam on health insurance would be undertaken with religious scholars and legal experts. Tambuwal made this known at the weekend when he received in audience, the officials of the National Health Insurance Scheme(NHIS) in Sokoto.

He said the consultations became necessary so as to mobilise all stakeholders, and the people of the state, in order to ensure the success of the project. The governor disclosed that some aspects of the state’s laws would have to be amended to accommodate the scheme. He commended the NHIS for introducing the programme in the state pointing out that it would bring healthcare services closer to the people.To that end, Tambuwal pledged to allocate a plot of land in Sokoto town to the NHIS for the building of its model office as requested.

The Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) on Friday sealed 148 medicine shops in Cross River for unauthorised sale of drugs. Mr Stephen Esumobi, Deputy Director and Head of Enforcement, PCN, Abuja, made this known during a press conference in Calabar. He said the action was taken as part of measures to ensure that only quality drugs are sold to members of the public. According to him, the patent medicine shops were also closed for operating without the supervision of a pharmacist, poor storage conditions of drugs and low education of medicine vendors, among others.

Esumobi said that the enforcement was carried out after series of reports of the activities of unregistered premises, which engage in the illegal sale of medicines in the state. He added that some of the registered premises were selling beyond the approved list laid down by PCN. According to him, PCN is charged with the responsibility of regulating and controlling the education, training and practice of pharmacy in all ramifications as established by the PCN Act 2004.

The Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) on Friday renewed its commitment to eradicating illegal laboratories and improving service delivery. Prof. Anthony Emeribe, Registrar of the council, said this in an interview with the News agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. He said the council has established a National Corrective Action team to follow up on laboratories to ensure accurate lab result and quality service delivery. Emeribe explained that the measure was part of the council’s efforts to rid the system of illegal practices, among others.

He further said that the team was charged with the responsibility to follow up on laboratories that are not turning out accurate results. The registrar, who decried inaccurate laboratory results turn out from some laboratories, added that the measure would steer such lab to rise up to their responsibilities of quality result. He explained that quality healthcare services commenced from lab result, saying that when a laboratory produce inaccurate results it would deny the patients of efficient and quality healthcare services.