Frontpage News (3249)
14-Month Salaries: Commissioner Feigns Ignorance As Abia Health Workers Protest
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The Abia State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Joe Osuji, has said he was not aware that workers of the state Hospital Management Board were owed 14-month salary arrears.
Osuji, who was reacting to a protest embarked upon by the state HMB staff, explained that the state government would meet with the leadership of the unions with a view to resolving the matter. On the unpaid salaries, the commissioner said, “I don’t know about that.
COVID-19: 3,442 Recovery, 126 New Infections For Wednesday
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The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has said that 3,442 patients have been successfully treated and recovered from Coronavirus (COVID-19) within the last 24 hours, as it recorded 126 new infections in the country. The NCDC made this known on its official twitter handle on Wednesday. According to it, the figure takes the number of successfully treated cases in the country to 47,872.
The public health agency noted that the 3,070 of the recoveries recorded were patients treated under its community case management guidelines. It disclosed that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) accounted for 2,967 of the recoveries, while Kwara State had 103 of the cases.
BOF-PSN Calls for Policy Framework for Drug Development
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The Board of Fellows (BOF), Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has recommended a policy framework that will ensure development of drugs and health security are put in place in Nigeria.
This is even as the board is set to hold a virtual public lecture on Saturday September 19. Speaking during its mid-year meeting in Lagos recently, the Chairperson, BOF-PSN, Prof. Mbang Femi-Oyewo noted that the lecture will be addressing the need for policy framework for drugs and health security, among others via zoom.
PCN Seals 439 Drug Shops in Akwa Ibom for Illegal Activities
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The Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) has sealed 439 drug shops in Akwa Ibom State for various offences including dispensing unethical products, poor storage and sanitary conditions.
The Registrar of PCN, Pharm. Elijah Mohammed who disclosed this at a press briefing held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital weekend; said a total of 42 Pharmacies and 397 Patent Medicine Shops were affected in the exercise.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has advised that the world should prepare for the next pandemic together and now. The advice is part of the WHO’s three messages to an unprecedented virtual session of the 75th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA75), which opened on Tuesday, September 15, in New York, United States.
The global health body said: “COVID-19 has shown us that the world was woefully unprepared – despite the many warning signs and warnings.
NIGERIANS have expressed fears following confirmation by the Presidential Taskforce on COVID19 on Tuesday that some incoming air travellers presented fake COVID- 19 test certificates and that about 40 per cent of arriving passengers tested positive for the virus.
Some experts are afraid the situation may become like the yellow fever card scam that went on for years. They said the situation could get worse unless the PTF and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control ( NCDC) increase the test sites to include public laboratories for passengers travelling outside the country.
The National Industrial Court in Abuja on Wednesday ordered the members of the National Association of Resident Doctors to immediately end their industrial action which started on September 7 2020.
Justice Galadima issued the order in a ruling on an ex parte application filed by two civil society groups, the Citizens Advocacy for Social and Economic Rights, and Association of Women in Trade and Agriculture. Joined as respondents in the suit marked, NICN/ABJ/124/2020, are NARD, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, and the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chris Ngige.
The President, Nigerian Association of Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Scientists in the Americas, Dr Anthony Ikeme, has called on the Federal Government to develop and execute a blueprint for the economic development of the pharmaceutical industry in the country.
Ikeme said this on Wednesday in Kano while delivering his keynote address on ‘Advancing Industrial Pharmacy Sector in a Volatile Economy,’ at the 23rd Annual National Conference of the Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria. He said a long overdue blueprint has become more pressing following the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic, which had further exposed the inherent weaknesses in the nation’s health care system.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has reported 111 new cases of COVID-19 in the country. NCDC made this known on its official twitter handle on Wednesday. According to the agency, with the new infections, the total number of confirmed cases in the country is now 57, 724.
It disclosed that 149 persons were discharged after being successfully treated and had recovered from the coronavirus. The public health agency said two deaths were recorded in the country in the last 24 hours from the deadly virus.
Lagos State Ministry of Health Taskforce on Counterfeit, Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods has been shut down 21 pharmacies, patent medicine stores for offences bordering on illegal operations and operating beyond scope of practice.
Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi disclosed on Wednesday while reviewing the report of the enforcement exercise carried out by the Task Force. He stated that the sealing of the affected pharmacies and patent medicine stores was in accordance with the provisions of Section C34 of the Counterfeit, Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods Miscellaneous Provision Act of 1999.
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The National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has sealed two counterfeit animal drug factories in Bichi Local Government Area of Kano State. Shaba Muhammad, the state Coordinator of the agency, said this during a raid conducted by the operatives of the agency on Wednesday in Bichi.
Muhammad said that the raid was sequel to the discovery of a large quantity of the counterfeit animal drugs in circulation at Sabon Gari and other major markets in Kano metropolis.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Zamfara Command, has impounded a truck conveying 1,503.044kilogrammes of illicit drugs. The State Commander, Gabriel Adamu, stated this at a press conference in Tsafe town on Wednesday.
Adamu said that officers of the command in Tsafe, acting on intelligence reports, intercepted a Mercedes Benz truck with registration number Anambra XY 200 FGG, along Gusau-Zaria expressway. He said the illicit drugs contained in the truck include Cannabis sativa 185kgs, Hypnox 11.5kgs, Diazepam 14kgs, Valinex-5 22.7kgs, Exol-5 310kgs and Codeine syrup 59.844kgs among others.
WHO: Tobacco Responsible For 20% Of Deaths From Coronary Heart Disease
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Every year, 1.9 million people die from tobacco-induced heart disease, according to a new brief released today by the World Health Organization, World Heart Federation and the University of Newcastle Australia ahead of World Heart Day, marked on 29 September.
This equates to one in five of all deaths from heart disease, warn the report’s authors, who urge all tobacco users to quit and avoid a heart attack, stressing that smokers are more likely to experience an acute cardiovascular event at a younger age than non-smokers. Just a few cigarettes a day, occasional smoking, or exposure to second-hand smoke increase the risk of heart disease.
Nigerian doctors are among the least paid worldwide. Doctors in 45 other African countries are better paid than their Nigerian counterparts.
The Guardian investigation revealed that, of all 55 African countries, Nigerian doctors (lowest salary of 320) are better paid than their counterparts only in Sudan (66), Cameroon (300), Egypt (157), Guinea Conakry (102), Zimbabwe (83), Uganda (300), Algeria (265), Burundi (100), Ethiopia (300).
