Frontpage News (3254)
A new strain of the Avian Influenza virus, popularly known as bird flu, has entered Nigeria, the Federal Government has said. The disease has also spread to 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and more than 3.5 million birds have been affected.
This was disclosed by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh on Tuesday, January 10, at a stakeholders meeting in Abuja, Punch reports. “Recently, a new strain of the bird flu virus (H5N8) was reported in Kano. The new strain is believed to be very pathogenic and more devastating to poultry species and, therefore, it may further add to the burden of the H5N1 strain that is currently circulating in the country,” Ogbeh said.
Nigeria’s health minister, Prof Isaac Adewole, has described the country’s healthcare system as unfavorable to the poor. According to him, only the rich are enjoying qualitative healthcare in the country. He made the remark yesterday in Abuja at the official flag off of a scheme to revitalise over 10,000 healthcare centers across Nigeria.
The scheme which is an initiative of the federal health ministry is aimed at offering poor Nigerians access to qualitative and affordable health services, the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, said on Tuesday at the commissioning of the Model Primary Health Care Centre, Kuchigoro in Abuja, to begin the scheme.
Resident doctors at University of Abuja Teaching Hospital staged a protest on Tuesday calling for quick implementation of the National Health Act.The 2017 Lagos state budget which was tagged the “The Golden Jubilee Budget” because it coincides with the state’s 50th anniversary, has indeed attracted a lot of praises as well as condemnation.
Though, the 2017 budget was increased by N150 billion from the 2016 budget and it is the biggest budget ever for any state of the federation according to some Lagosians who expressed shock over the drastic reduction in the amount appropriated for the health sector.
FG Confirms Lassa Fever In 7 States, Cautions Nigerians, Health Workers On Hygiene
Following increasing cases of Lassa fever in the country, the Federal Government has called on Nigerians to maintain high food and personal hygiene. The Federal Government made the call in a statement issued by the Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC), yesterday.
NCDC, while advising Nigerians to keep their foods from rats and other house rodents, urged that suspected Lassa cases be quickly reported to ensure treatment commences on time. “Lassa fever is curable when there is rapid laboratory testing to confirm the disease, leading to early commencement of treatment”, it said.
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.
The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osibajo has called for public private partnership (PPP) for effective healthcare delivery in Nigeria.
Teaching, tertiary or specialised hospitals are supposed to be the apex health institutions where the most complicated medical conditions can be handled, where researches are churned out on regular basis, and where medical practitioners such as doctors, pharmacists, nurses, physiotherapists are trained.Tertiary care is specialised consultative health care, usually for inpatients and on referral from a primary or secondary health professional, in a facility that has personnel and facilities for advanced medical investigation and treatment, such as a tertiary referral hospital.
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.
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The South-East caucus of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has called for a declaration of state of emergency in Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH), Aba, according to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN. 
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.
