Frontpage News (3249)
COVID-19 deaths in many nations exceed official figures –Study
Written by Super User
Deaths directly or indirectly attributable to the first wave of COVID-19 infections across 21 wealthy nations earlier this year exceeded government tallies by 20 per cent on average, according to a study published on Wednesday. Looking at the period from mid-February through May 2020, researchers reported 206,000 more deaths than would have been expected without the pandemic.
But only 167,148 were officially attributed to the coronavirus that has swept the globe since the start of the year, infecting tens of millions. Many of the roughly 40,000 unaccounted-for deaths were due to COVID-19
UCH CMD Advocates Public-Private Partnership in Health Sector
Written by Super User
The Chief Medical Director, University College, Hospital, Ibadan, Prof. Jesse Otegbayo, has stressed the need for public-private partnerships in delivering quality health services to Nigerians. Otegbayo said this while receiving medical consumables and equipment from the Lead Generation Initiative, a non-governmental organisation chaired by Mr Shina Peller. Other items donated by the NGO include two sets of rechargeable pulse odometers, 50 pieces of personal protective gowns and 10 pieces of nebulizers.
Otegbayo said apart from the subventions being received from the Federal Government, the ability of UCH to fulfil its mission as a public tertiary medical institution lies in the support given by donors. According to him, as a public hospital, UCH gives, at least, N100m worth of free medical services to indigent patients who could not afford the cost of treatments annually.
The National Chairman, Association of Community Pharmacists’ of Nigeria, Mr Samuel Adekola, has urged the Federal Government to curb quackery in the country’s health sector. Adekola, in a statement on Thursday, said the ACPN frowned at the idea of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors Licence holders handling family planning services.
He said, “In recent times, the ACPN has been fed with information from grapevine sources that the Federal Ministry of Health, in league with some international non-governmental organisations have concluded that Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors Licence (PPMVL) holders should be allowed to handle fresh dimensions of family planning services which will include sales and dispensing of both oral and injectable contraceptives in Nigeria.
The Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), has announced 179 new COVID-19 infections in the country. The NCDC made this known on its official twitter handle on Wednesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that a total of 13 states have recorded 179 new infections in the country in the last 24 hours. The agency said that the new infections have brought the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 60,834. According to the agency, 137 COVID-19 patients were discharged across the country in the last 24 hours with the total number of successfully treated cases rising to 52,143.
NIPRD, NIMR Rapid Test Kits Yet To Be Validated, Says MLSCN
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The Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) has stated the test kits recently developed by the Nigeria Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) and the Nigeria Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) cannot be deployed for COVID-19 test as they were yet to be validated.
It further stated it was working closely with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to ensure that the two World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) pre-qualified antigen rapid test kits go through validation as soon as they arrive in the country. Of the 33 brands of rapid/PCR test kits evaluated by the MLSCN, all of them failed to meet the minimum acceptable criteria in terms of sensitivity and specificity.
Training PHC Workers In Lagos, Ogun, Oyo To Mitigate Childhood Cancer
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Over 700 Primary Healthcare (PHC) workers comprising doctors, nurses, community health, and extension workers in Lagos, Ogun, and the Oyo States have been trained on early detection, presentation, and referral to enable prompt treatment and support for children with cancer in Nigeria.
The Dorcas Cancer Foundation in partnership with the Lagos Business School Pan-Atlantic University; LBS MBA18 Healthcare Group; the LBS Sustainability Center;
Some N75 billion is needed yearly to control the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and treat the 1.5 million patients in Nigeria. However, over $6.2 billion (N2.1 trillion) has been spent on response in the last 10 years, with about $5 billion of the sum coming from international donors.
Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Dr. Gambo Aliyu, told reporters yesterday in Abuja that the most populous black nation needed $2.4 billion investment in the next two to three years to identify and treat additional 540,000 People Living with HIV with a view to achieving the UNAIDS’ disease containment target.
Tuberculosis: Global progress hampered due to COVID-19 pandemic
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A new report has shown that global targets for prevention and treatment of Tuberculosis (TB) will likely be missed due to the COVID-19 pandemic currently ravaging the world. The 2020 global report on TB released by the World Health Organisation (WHO), on Thursday, indicates that disruptions in services caused by the pandemic have led to further setbacks in progress already made against the disease.
According to the report, global TB deaths could increase by around 0.2–0.4 million in 2020 alone, if health services are disrupted to the extent that the number of identified TB cases falls by 25–50 per cent over three months.
Doctors Say Gunshot Cases May Worsen Nigeria’s ‘Overstretched’ Healthcare System
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The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has called on federal and state governments to ensure smooth movement and safety of doctors and other health workers during this period especially as many states are declaring 24 hours curfew.
NARD said its members are ready to offer expert management of injured Nigerians where necessary in all the State and federal Tertiary Health facilities across the country. The president of the association, Dr Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi expressed concern over the increasing unrest in the country and called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership of the National Assembly to speak to Nigerians and address the legitimate demands of the protesters.
1,031 Nigeria doctors exposed to Coronavirus — NMA President
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President of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Prof Innocent Ujah on Monday disclosed that no fewer than 1,031 doctors in Nigeria have been exposed to coronavirus in the country while 16 mortality cases were recorded as of 8th October 2020, putting the mortality rate at 4.98 per cent. The NMA president also decried the underfunding of the health sector in the country.
Speaking at a press conference in Lagos to announce the NMA 2020 Physicians’ Week with the theme ‘’Strategy for health system recovery during the Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria” and sub-theme: “Dental caries:
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The World Health Organisation (WHO), Regional Office for Africa located in Brazzaville, Congo, says there are over 1.6 million confirmed Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Africa. The UN health agency gave the update in its regional official Twitter account @WHOAFRO.
WHO stated on its dashboard that there were over 1.6 million confirmed COVID-19 cases on the continent, with more than 1.3 million recoveries and 40,000 deaths cumulatively. South Africa, Ethiopia and Kenya are countries with highest number of reported cases.
Nigeria recorded two more deaths from the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday, according to official figures.A total of 1,127 deaths have now been recorded thus far in Africa’s most populous country.
The country’s infectious disease outfit, NCDC, also reported 138 new infections on Thursday. Nigeria has continued to record daily cases below 300 for more than three months. The new cases bring the total number of infections in the country to 61, 805.
A professor of psychiatry at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Lateef Sheikh, has urged the Federal Government to set up a mental health department at the Federal Ministry of Health.
Sheik, at a virtual summit on mental health, said the department would help to regulate and coordinate all levels of mental health care in the country. He also called for the immediate signing of the Mental Health Bill into law, adding that it was unfortunate that mental health gets less than three per cent of the federal health budget annually.
Commonwealth Medical Association condemns killing of protesters in Nigeria
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The Commonwealth Medical Association (CMA) has condemned the killing of defenseless civilian protesters on Tuesday, October 20, 2020 at the Lekki Peninsula Toll Plaza in Lagos State.
President of CMA and former President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Osahon Enabulele, in a statement, yesterday, described the shooting of #ENDSARS protesters against police brutality, as unfortunate.
