Frontpage News (3249)
The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday said it would investigate reports of 42 anti-malaria drugs banned by the European Union, EU but which are still in circulation in the country.
The EU reportedly banned these drugs as a result of their effect on health, including causing kidney failure. One of the banned drugs is Artesunate which is widely used in Nigerian households. The motion calling for the investigation was sponsored by Theodore Orji, representing Abia Central Senatorial district.
The Federal Government has declared its willingness to collaborate with traditional healers to develop the nation’s herbal medicine sub sector.
The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu stated this when he visited a traditional medicine practitioner, Pa Aliyu Giwa, who was renowned for using traditional medicines to treat cancer and other complicated terminal ailments at Adavieba community in Adavi Local Government of Kogi State.
The Plateau chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association(NMA) on Wednesday organised a one-day free medical outreach for inmates of Jos Prison, treating 800 inmates of various illnesses.
Dr Daniel Meshak, NMA chairman in Plateau, said that the outreach was to complement government’s effort in ensuring that inmates had access to comprehensive health services.
In Bauchi, Govt distributes malaria drugs, equipment to 222 health facilities
Bauchi State Government has commenced the distribution of 198, 345 doses of malaria drugs and equipment to 222 health facilities to reduce the burden of malaria in the state.
The Executive Secretary, Bauchi State Agency for the Control of HIV/AID, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, (BACATMA), Dr Mansur Dada, on Thursday said this in Bauchi at the inauguration of exercise.
World Hepatitis Day 2017: Nigeria Still Among Countries with Highest Burden
It’s that time of the year again when all efforts are geared towards stemming the tide of the deadly monster of viral hepatitis. A laudable initiative of the World Health Organisation, it is debateable if stakeholders across the globe are keying into the vision of the apex health institution, as many member countries are yet to reduce their burden.
One of those countries yet to significantly eliminate its load of the viral disease is Nigeria, which still emerged among the 11 countries with about 50% of the global weight of chronic hepatitis. Countries in this group are Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Uganda, and Viet Nam.
Hepatitis can be prevented if hospitals reduce unnecessary injections – WHO
WHO says many hepatitis cases could be prevented if hospitals reduced the vast number of unnecessary injections that help spread the disease. The UN agency launched a broad campaign against unnecessary injections on the eve of World Hepatitis Day, which is celebrated every year on July 28.
“Every year, contaminated needles and transfusion equipment cause nearly 2 million infections with the virus that causes chronic liver disease, as well as nearly 34,000 HIV infections.
The National Association of Resident Doctors has expressed its frustration over the inability of the federal government to train and ensure the welfare of its members.
The National President of the association, John Onyebueze, who said this during the National Executive Council meeting held in Calabar on Wednesday, added that federal government’s insincerity has often forced resident doctors to express indifference toward patients’ conditions.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has said that there are no “killer” antimalarial medicines in circulation in the country.
NAFDAC‘s Acting Director-General, Dr. Yetunde Oni, at a press briefing in Lagos on Tuesday, also urged Nigerians not to panic over the news of banned anti-malarial drugs been sold in the country.
WHO alerts countries to the increasing trend of resistance to HIV drugs detailed in a report based on national surveys conducted in several countries. The Organization warns that this growing threat could undermine global progress in treating and preventing HIV infection if early and effective action is not taken.More...
The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) came under focus in the last few weeks following allegations of fraud levelled against its Executive Secretary, Professor Usman Yusuf, and his eventual suspension with eight other officials by the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole. Already, a 14-member probe panel has been set up to investigate the allegations against Yusuf and to scrutinize the activities of the agency to expose the extent of rot in the scheme.
No country in the world fully meets recommended standards for breastfeeding, a new report by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the Global Breastfeeding Collective revealed.
The Global Breastfeeding Scorecard, which evaluated 194 nations, found that only 40 per cent of children younger than six months are breastfed exclusively (given nothing but breast milk) and only 23 countries have exclusive breastfeeding rates above 60 per cent.
lagos—The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, yesterday said that 80 percent of cancer cases in the country are curable even as he disclosed that the Ministry’s database shows that 50 percent of corpses flown into the country involve cancer-related deaths. Meanwhile, the Federal Government has put in place plans to address the menace of the disease, particularly, as it concerns six major cancers in the country, including breast, cervix, colorectal, prostrate, liver and lymphoma.
The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole has reiterated the commitment of Federal Government towards the elimination of viral hepatitis in Nigeria by 2021. Isaac-Adewole The Minister made this statement at a press briefing to commemorate the 2017 World Hepatitis Day with theme ‘’Eliminate Hepatitis’’, in Abuja. Adewole who noted that the First Global Health Sector Strategy on viral hepatitis for 2016-2021, which was approved during the Sixty- Ninth World Health Assembly in 2016, added that there was need for all stakeholders to take proactive steps of knowing their status by getting tested and finally seek for treatment to reduce needless deaths from this preventable and treatable infection.
