About six million people are said to die annually as a result of tobacco use, with most living in developing countries. Also, findings published in ‘The economics of tobacco and tobacco control’, revealed that around 80 per cent of the world’s smokers live in low and middle income countries (LMICs).

The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) assistant director-general for Non communicable Diseases (NCDs) and mental health, Dr Oleg Chestnov, stated that the economic impact of tobacco on countries, and the general public is huge, quoting a new landmark global report from WHO and the National Cancer Institute of the United States of America.

The FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has called for improvement in the quality of services being rendered to enrollees of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in FCT hospitals. The Minister made this call when the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Scheme, Professor Usman Yusuf paid him a visited in his office at Area 11, Garki I District, Abuja on Friday.

Malam Bello said the feedback he has been receiving from enrollees of the Scheme has not been encouraging, especially with regards to the quality of drugs being provided to them.

Nearly 53 out of all people internally displaced across the most affected states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa are women and girls—and 1.73 million of them are of child bearing age, the Fund said.

The United Nations Population Fund estimates there could be up to 276,000 pregnancies among in 2017 among women displaced in the north east by Boko Haram crisis, and has called for urgent protection of their reproductive health and rights.

Less than five percent of the N13.5 trillion combined budgets of the federal and state governments will be spent on public health this year.  This is despite the poor infrastructure in the sector and the avowal by the government to discourage medical tourism, Daily Trust investigations have shown.

Official data analysed by Daily Trust shows that the two tiers of governments have budgeted a total of N591.8 billion for health, representing 4.3 percent of their total spending this year.

At least sixty thousand pupils in Lagos State public primary schools are to partake in a de-worming exercise to assist in the healthy development and welfare of children in the state.

Flagging off the exercise yesterday at a ceremony organized by the State’ Ministry of Youth and Social Development, wife of the Governor of Lagos State, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode charged parents in the state to encourage hand-washing among their children. She urged them to maintain a clean and healthy environment so as to prevent the children from contracting worm infections.

The Zamfara Government on Sunday said over N200 million worth of drugs were destroyed in a recent fire outbreak at the State Central Medical Store in Samaru area of Gusau.

The state Commissioner for Health, Alhaji Sulaiman Gunmi, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gusau.

Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano has said that people who sell fake drugs should be killed. Obiano also described the sale of fake drugs as “the worst criminal act to humanity.”

The governor made the comments on Monday, January 23, during an accreditation ceremony in the Agulu area of the state.