Frontpage News (3249)
Waste from coronavirus Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has become a new form of pollution as single-use plastic PPE floods drainages and oceans. In Nigeria, millions of used elastic gloves and masks are discarded daily.
Hand sanitiser bottles and other waste are already found on seabeds and washed up on beaches, joining the day-to-day litter in ocean ecosystems. Conservationists warn and urge governments to facilitate green recovery and its sustainability.
The leadership of the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) says it will commence a nationwide warning strike over Federal Government’s failure to meet the union’s outstanding demands with effect from September 13. Mr Biobelemoye Josiah, the JOHESU Chairman, said this during a news conference in Abuja on Monday.
Josiah listed the alleged shortchanging of the union in the payment of COVID-19 Special Inducement and Hazard Allowance (SIHA) to frontline health workers, as part of the union’s demands.
ICN Supports Order Of Nurses’ Appeal For Nurse Victims Of Catastrophic Explosion In Lebanon
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The International Council of Nurses (ICN) fully backs the Order of Nurses in Lebanon’s appeal to assist the nurses who suffered trauma, loss and injury because of the devasting explosion in Beirut last month. More than 250 people were killed and 5000 injured in the blast on August 4 which destroyed a huge part of the city, including four major hospitals. Six young nurses were among the dead and more than 200 were injured, some also lost their homes.
In the aftermath of the disaster, ICN contacted Dr Myrna Doumit, President of Order of Nurses in Lebanon and organized an international press conference in which she spoke movingly of the bravery and sacrifice of nurses and other healthcare workers who instead of running away from danger ran towards it to save the lives of those caught up in the blast.
Tribunal Sanctions Doctors Over Three-Month-Old Baby’s Death
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The Medical and Dental Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal has sanctioned two doctors; Joseph Iyoha and Mukaila Oladipo for their negligence which caused the death of a three-month-old baby, Peace Oluwole. The Tribunal said the doctors, who were arraigned on seven counts, were incompetent in the management of the three-month-old baby and failed to do all that was appropriate and reasonable for the treatment of the patient.
The chairman of the Tribunal, Abba Waziri, in the verdict obtained by THE PUNCH said Iyoha, who was found guilty of three counts, did not exhibit reasonable diligence.
International Council Of Nurses Welcomes New Members To Strengthen United Voice Of Nursing
Site AdminTwo new member associations have joined the International Council of Nurses (ICN), a federation of over 130 national nursing associations across the world. With the addition of the Somaliland Nursing and Midwifery Association and the South Sudan Nurses and Midwives Association, ICN strengthens the global voice of nursing.
Welcoming the new members to ICN’s family, ICN President Annette Kennedy said, “We are delighted to have two new members from Africa join ICN, especially while the world is battling the COVID-19 pandemic. With nurses working at the frontlines of disease, disaster, conflict, and everyday care, it is increasingly important for us to stand together in solidarity with nurses around the world to be heard and have impact.”
Resident Doctors Strike Ill-Timed, Ill-Advised, Says FG
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The Federal Government has described as ill-timed and ill-advised the ongoing strike by the Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) at a time that the country is battling with the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement in Abuja yesterday, Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, urged the doctors to return to work and engage the government in completing ongoing process of implementing its agreement with NARD. He also directed that routine services should be maintained with consultants and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) doctors,
NMA Rejects Directives By Nasarawa State Govt. Against Private Practice
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The Nasarawa State chapter of Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) has rejected the directive by the state government that doctors on the payroll of government should desist from private practice or face sanction. Dr Sabo Emmanuel, NMA Chairman in the state, stated this while briefing newsmen on Wednesday in Lafia.
The NMA chairman was reacting to the directive recently given by the Nasarawa State Government that doctors working with the state are not allowed to work or owned private health facilities. Emmanuel said the directive was not acceptable by the association as their members were not using official time for private practice.
Safety Paramount In Vaccine Trials, Suspensions ‘Not Unusual’ — WHO
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Safety is paramount in vaccine clinical trials and temporary suspensions are not unusual to evaluate any unexplained illness in a participant, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday regarding the pause in an AstraZeneca COVID-19 trial.
AstraZeneca has suspended global trials of its experimental coronavirus vaccine after an unexplained illness in a participant, knocking the British drugmaker’s shares on Wednesday as prospects for an early rollout dimmed.
Resident Doctors Strike: FG Approves Additional N8bn For Hazard, Inducement Allowances
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The Federal Government has approved additional N8 billion to be released immediately for the payment of special/hazard allowances to resident doctors. The Federal Government also set two weeks timeline for the payment of the N4 billion Medical Residency Training for 2020 to striking resident doctors.
Also, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, has been given the task to effect the quick payment of the money to the doctors.
The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Olorunnimbe Mamora, says the Federal Government has paid up to N20bn in COVID-19 inducement allowance to doctors and health workers in the country. The minister, who applauded all front-line health workers in the country amid the fight against the pandemic, made this known on Wednesday morning while featuring on Channels Television‘s programme, Sunrise Daily.
About 16,000 doctors have downed tools over the government’s inability to meet their demands including insurance package, payment of the outstanding COVID-19 inducement allowance as well as the payment of medical residency training funding.
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The Lagos State Aids Control Agency on Tuesday said it conducted HIV/AIDS test for 500 residents in the Epe Local Government Area of Lagos. A statement said the outreach was in collaboration with the Oloja of Epeland, Oba Kamorudeen Animashaun, Arolugbade II, on the premises of the Epe council secretariat.
The Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Dr Monsurat Adekele, said the programme was aimed at achieving global epidemic control of HIV/AIDS by the end of 2020.
UCH Nurses, Pharmacists, Lab Scientists, Other Health Workers Join JOHESU Nationwide Strike
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Healthcare workers at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, on Monday, joined the nationwide strike called by the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU). The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that many essential places in the hospital, including the pharmacy, the medical records section and two of the main gates into the hospital were locked.
The JOHESU Chairman, UCH Chapter, Mr Adeolu Alli, said the strike became imperative after “a long period” — three years of waiting on the Federal Government.
The Ekiti State Commissioner for Health, Dr Oyebanji Filani, has reiterated the state government’s commitment to improved health care indices as part of human capital development in the state.
Filani said the commitment was evident in the ongoing renovation of primary health care centres, the state government’s COVID-19 response and other interventions.
The Chief Medical Director, Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti, Prof Adekunle Ajayi, has called on philanthropists and groups to lend support to hospitals in form of cash, equipment and facilities donations to improve their services to humanity.
Ajayi, who said that FETHI had incorporated an indigent fund with which it intended to fund the health care needs of the poor patients
