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Another fake doctor, a female, Nwosu Angela Njide, has been arrested by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) and handed over to the police. The Head of Department of the Inspectorate Unit of the MDCN, Dr Henry Okwuokenye, who carried out the arrest, told LEADERSHIP that the council has been on the trail of the impostor for more than a year now as she has been evading arrest. He said the fake doctor who is in her 30s had confessed to have worked in different places, including the British American Tobacco (BAT) clinic, Ibadan, the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and eventually in Rauz hospital, Apo in Abuja before nemesis caught up with her.
Okwuokenye narrated that the fake doctor’s ordeal began more than a year ago when she went to Oyo State to register for her license to practice at the Ministry of Health under the Oyo State Director, Medical Services. However, luck seemed to have ran out on her as the officials of the ministry became suspicious of her qualifications and went to the MDCN to verify the authenticity of her claims. Nwosu claimed to have graduated from medical school 2005 at University of Nigeria, Nsukka.and did housemanship at UNN’s teaching hospital, but she failed simple questions any medical student is expected to know. Following the refusal of the Oyo State Ministry of Health to register her, she was said to have relocated to Abuja, and brazenly went on her own to the MDCN to register for her license.
Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Thursday promised to support massive investment in modern medical equipment to meet the health challenges of residents of the state. Ambode, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr Idiat Adebule, made the promise at the inauguration of Clinix Healthcare, an Ultramodern Diagnostic Centre in Amuwo Odofin, Lagos. He said that private sector participation in healthcare delivery, had complemented efforts of government and yielded tremendous dividends through qualitative healthcare. “We are delighted that the private sector partnership has yielded another state-of-the-art health facility, with the opening of this ultramodern diagnostic centre. “Medical diagnosis is the bedrock of effective treatment. With more facilities like this, we can achieve accurate and quick diagnosis of ailments and proffer immediate treatment. “As a government, one of our objectives is to curb the incessant travels abroad for diagnosis and treatment, through our Medical Park Project, that will make Lagos State a destination for medical tourism.
“I am reassuring the business community of our commitment to encourage investment in critical sectors, through appropriate incentives and support,’’ he said. Ambode urged residents to take their health seriously, by going for regular checks for prompt detection of ailments and treatment. Dr Modele Osunkiyesi, Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, urged the centre not to compromise the quality of services. Osunkiyesi said that quality and accurate health diagnosis was the key to detecting ailments and treatment, to secure the health of the people and reduce mortality. In his remarks, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, Chairman, Clinix Healthcare, said that the desire of the centre was to provide world class healthcare service and reduce medical tourism. Ighodalo urged government at all levels, to support and create enabling environment to encourage the private sector to complement government’s efforts.
Urgent Public Service Announcement: Product withdrawal to save the sight of our children
Written by Super User
Early in September 2015, in Yobe State in Nigeria, a three-week old baby was brought to a doctor with corneal ulceration leading to immediate blindness. The doctor took a detailed history, and the only possible cause that he could find was the use of what the mother described as “eye drops”, given to her as part of a pack to support the delivery. The doctor asked the mother to go home and bring in the “eye drops”. She went home and returned with a bottle similar to the one below.
The contents of this bottle is chlorhexidine digluconate 7.1% solution packaged in a white plastic bottle apparently manufactured by Galentic Pharma (India) Pvt Ltd, as can be seen on the picture. The problem with this is that chlorhexidine digluconate 7.1% is licensed for use in Nigeria for use as an antiseptic gel to be applied to the newborn’s cord stump to prevent infection. Most people reading this will associate the container as the usual means of dispensing eye drops in Nigeria. It should never have been applied to the eyes, and therefore should never have been delivered in containers generally used for eye drops, especially when you are targeting an intervention at the poor living in mostly rural communities. It has been distributed in Yobe since March 2015.
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari, to exempt the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), the regulatory body for the medical and dental profession, from the blanket dissolution of boards and councils, as have been done for the governing councils of universities and the council for legal education. A statement by the NMA made available to LEADERSHIP in Abuja over the weekend, signed by the president, Dr Kayode Obembe and the secretary general, Dr Adewunmi Alayaki, respectively, lamented that so far, it has not been well with medical education and practice in the country. They stated that certain structures are needed to drive needed changes and the governing council of the MDCN is top on the list.
They said, “It is an established fact that President Buhari is that clean broom that would rid the Nigerian nation of all manner of impunity, corruption and other unwholesome practices. It is in sharing this vision that we make this appeal so that order would prevail and strict compliance to the Codes of Ethics achieved. We are therefore, praying Mr. President to make a proclamation exempting the MDCN from the blanket dissolution of Boards and Councils.” The statement argued that whenever there is no council, all cases before the council’s investigating panels and tribunal are suspended and new cases cannot be attended to. According to them, this has resulted in the public expressing dissatisfaction with the “council”, accusing it of protecting erring members of the profession when in actual fact there was no council in place to handle such cases.
Bauchi State Government said it had spent N221.5 million on various health projects and programmes under the Primary Health Care Development Agency (PHCDA), within its 100 days in Office. Chairman, Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Yahaya Yerima made this known on Saturday in Bauchi while fielding questions from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). Yerima disclosed that N160 million was paid as counterpart fund to Bill & Melinda Gates and Dangote Foundations for boosting of routine immunization in the state. He said that N9.4 million was spent on the control of 2015 cholera epidemic recorded in Bauchi, Ganjuwa, Toro, Bogoro, Shira and Tafawa Balewa Local Government Areas of the state.
Yerima said that N87 million was spent on the purchase of essential drugs for distribution to various hospitals in the state. He stated that the state recorded 9,000 cases of gastroenteritis (stomach flu), as against 93,000 cases recorded in 2014. Yerima said that the drop in the figure followed the timely release of fund by the state government to control the spread of the disease. He however said that no single death was recorded as a result of the outbreak of the disease, adding that surveillance teams were currently monitoring the situation. (NAN)
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in Jigawa on Sunday said that it confiscated fake and unregistered drugs worth four million naira in the last two years. The NAFDAC State Coordinator, Mr Olaniran Olakunle, disclosed this in Dutse while presenting to newsmen some suspects allegedly arested with fake drugs in Gwaram and Malammadori Local Government areas. Olakunle said that most of the suspects arrested with fake and counterfeit drugs during the period were in rural communities across the state. He said that fake drugs such as mixacrip tablet, herogra, busaka, polycid and tramadol capsule were seized from some patent medicine vendors in Gwaram and Malammadori last week.
According to him, the value of drugs seized from them is about N250,000. coordinator said that the suspects were being investigated to ascertain the sources of the products in order to bring the entire chain to justice. Olakunle said that the suspects would soon be charged to court. He urged members of the public to be vigilant and patronise only registered pharmacies in their localities. (NAN)
Souurce:leadership Online
New eye popping medical technology provides earlier diagnosis, reduces cost and a breakthrough range of other benefits for both patients and health care professionals. Victor Okeke writes. Current health system technologies promise delivery of affordable healthcare to rural communities. This promise makes more meaning because rural clinics in Nigeria face a peculiar problem of the unwillingness of healthcare practitioners to work in remote communities and has negatively affected the quality of care provided in such communities. Many times the high fixed costs associated with bringing specialists in-house is cost prohibitive for smaller medical facilities. There is also the challenge of non-availability of medical equipment. Many community health centres are clinics by name with medical equipment or consumables to attend to patients’ need. Ultimately, the result is diminished patient care and lost revenue for these medical facilities.
A technology firm, Springville Consulting in recognition of this immense developmental gap has teamed up with an international technology company Ktwo of India, to bring next- generation healthcare solutions to Nigeria. The Chief Executive Officer of the firm, Chuks Melville Chibundu said the telemedicine is not new but that this technology is a special diagnostic solution that is targeted at rural community health centres in the country. “It is a solution that imbeds diagnostic equipment and is analysed by a computer that will give you a real-time result of basic diagnostic test that a patient will normally take,” he said. For instance, the solution will analyse in real-time, malaria, typhoid, tuberculosis, do some heart test through electrocardiography (ECG), blood sugar test and all those test that we can programme within our programme. It will give you immediate results as soon as the samples are put on the chambers. He explained that the technology comes in set alongside other diagnostic equipment as it has a small ECG attached to it, microscope, the computer itself which is embedded with the necessary software to analyse all the samples that you have, a bed where the patient can lie-down on, an ECG strap and other equipment.
14yrs After Abuja Declaration, Nigeria Yet To Commit 15% Of Budget To Health
14 years after the Abuja Declaration, Nigeria is yet to fulfill its pledge of allotting 15 per cent of its annual budget to health. In April 2001 at a meeting of African leaders in Abuja, Nigeria had pledged to support the Abuja Declaration and that at least 15 per cent of the government’s annual budget will be used to improve the health sector. Last year, the country only allotted 6.3 per cent of budget to health down from 8.2 per cent the previous year. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), every single day, Nigeria loses about 2,300 under-five year olds and 145 women of childbearing age which makes the country the second largest contributor to the under–five and maternal mortality rate in the world. There are many of such un-redeemed pledges in health like the Maputo Plan of Action to ensure universal access to reproductive health, the UN Every Woman Every Child- a commitment to save lives of women and children by 2015, the London Family Planning Summit- to mobilise contraceptive information, services and supplies and others. But stakeholders are optimistic that President Muhammadu Buhari will address this challenge.
Speaking at an advocacy workshop yesterday, the national coordinator of Civil Society for Family Planning in Nigeria (CiSFP), Wale Adeleye said, “We now have a new government that is committed and talking about change.” He said, “We now feel that if approach this government with information about these commitment; we can really get the change that we are clamouring for.” On whether the Buhari government would redeem pledges made by the Jonathan government, he said that Jonathan made commitments in the area of security which Buhari came in and redeemed and they are towing same line.“The president himself is a father and has wife and children and I know that if he understands what the commitment are all about, I don’t see him declining to support these commitments.”
UNFPA Urges Nigeria To Withdraw Reservation On Reproductive Healthcare
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on Friday advised the Nigerian Government to withdraw its reservation on the global reproductive health programme to enable citizens benefit from the policy. Ms Ratidzai Ndhlovu, the UNFPA Country Representative in Nigeria, gave the advice at the 2nd 2015 Population Technical Working Group (PTWG) meeting in Abuja. Represented by Mr Dasogot Dashe, the UNFPA Programme Analyst on Demography and Statistics, she advocated for the withdrawal of Nigeria’s objection to two targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UN official noted that Nigeria had expressed reservation on targets 3.7 and 5.6 of the the SDGs. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the SDGs target 3.7 is seeking to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including family planning and reproductive health integration in all member states.
The SDGs target 5.6 is seeking to promote universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights for citizens of the member countries. Ndhlovu therefore urged the federal government to adapt the targets as a means to delivering improved healthcare services. She explained the SDGs were adopted by UN member nations after a wide consultation to impact on the lives of citizens through a 17-goal mechanism. According to her, some of the goals include ending of poverty and hunger, improving and provision of quality healthcare and education, water and sanitation, sustainable energy and resilient infrastructure. Others were gender equality and empowerment of women and girls, safe cities and settlements, sustainable production and consumption, combating climate change, conservation of marine, oceans and sea resources, promotion of ecosystems, biodiversity and halt degradation. Besides, the envoy said that a strong partnership was being evolved to ensure that the goals were effectively implemented, monitored and evaluated. “If Nigeria withdraws her reservation on the two targets, the country will get maximum value for Naira,’’ said Ndhlovu. (NAN)
Source:Leadership Online
International Federation Of Red Cross Trains 14m Nigerians On First Aid
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has trained more than 14 million people in Nigeria on first-aid in 2012, according to a statement issued in Abuja on Friday. The statement, signed by Mr Mohammed Bashir-Illela, National Training Officer, Nigerian Red Cross Society in Abuja, said the organisation had remained the world’s leading first-aid trainer and provider for more than 150 years. “While the marketplace has changed, our belief that performing first-aid is an act of humanity – not just a series of techniques – has not,’’ it stated. It stated that the World First Aid Day (WFAD), to be celebrated on Saturday (Sept. 12), was a time to promote first aid knowledge and skills around the globe. The association said it would bring about the change needed to enhance, expand and improve first-aid training worldwide as an act of humanitarian empowerment and a key component of a wider resilience approach.
The theme of the celebration is “First aid and ageing population’’ with the aim of building a positive image of ageing and recognise older people as an important resource for society, the statement said. “We also want to encourage older people self-empowerment, strengthening their resilience and capacity to be autonomous while promoting their inclusion in society as actors and not only as beneficiaries. “Indeed, we believe that older people can be transformed from being `cared for’ into `people providing quality integrated care,’’ it said. The society said the 2014 theme highlighted the need for “first-aid heroes” in daily emergencies and disasters. “The message was that neither a cape nor superpower is needed to be a hero; first aid saves lives, everyone, everywhere can be a hero. “This same message and slogan, “Be a hero. Save lives. First aid is for everyone, everywhere, remains relevant to the theme,’’ it said. It stated that older people could be heroes and support their peers, their grand-children and other people in several ways. “Therefore, the visual identity, slogan and theme are a continuation from last year’s WFAD campaign,’’ it said. (NAN)
Source:Leadership Online
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A former member of the National Assembly, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, on Friday decried the inability of the Goodluck Jonathan administration to assent to the Disability Bill inspite of its passage by the two houses of the National Assembly. Dabiri-Erewa, who was the Chairperson, House Committee on Diaspora during the 7th session, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan. NAN reports that the former lawmaker spoke against the backdrop of the implication of non-assent to the bill for persons with disability in Nigeria. Dabiri-Erewa, who was the sole sponsor of the bill, said that it was a shame that Nigeria currently had no law in place for persons with disability. “We did a lot of work on that bill both at the Senate and the House of Representatives and it was one of those bills sent to the president to sign into law. “Despite lawmakers’ early passage of the bill considering the hardship faced by our fellow citizens living with disability, I am particularly sad that our effort was not rewarded by the last government.
“I sincerely hope that the 8th National Assembly would make it a priority bill because we are dealing with over four million Nigerians who happen to be physically challenged. “We are saying that the government must put them into consideration in everything we do. “For instance, there is the area of construction of public buildings, banks, hospitals, schools and other work places because the bill is all encompassing,” Dabiri-Erewa said. In his own submission, Mr Paul Adelabu, a former Special Adviser to the Oyo State Governor on Disability, said that it was Jonathan’s personal decision not to sign the bill into law. According to Adelabu, Jonathan felt that meeting the conditions cited in some sections of the bill might be too demanding for the country. “However, the lawmakers that passed the bill are very kind Nigerians. Jonathan also promised to establish a National Commission for People with Disability. “This, he said, at a town hall meeting with Buhari at Nasarawa and I was physically present there. “Buhari also agreed with us to include persons with disability in his government,” Adelabu said.
NGO To Train 5,000 Health Workers In Kaduna, Lagos, Gombe – Official
Save the Children, an international NGO, said on Friday that it would train 5,000 health care workers in Kaduna, Lagos and Gombe states to improve the quality of health care delivery. The NGO’s Coordinator in Kaduna State, Hajiya Aisha Abubakar, made this known in Kaduna during the inaugural meeting of the project tagged; “Improving Health Workers Capacity in Nigeria”. Abubakar explained that out of the figure, 1,900 beneficiaries would be selected from Lagos while 1,550 each would benefit in Kaduna and Gombe states. According to her, the aim is to improve access to life saving health care by building capacity of frontline health workers to deliver quality services to address infant and child mortality. She said that the training would be conducted with funds from Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK), with focus on improving the skills of health care workers in areas with highest skilled gaps.
“Save the children, an international NGO with presence in Nigeria since 2001, has recently access funds from Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) to support the government of Kaduna, Lagos and Gombe states. “The GSK-funded training was designed to contribute towards an overall goal of improving the quality of health service and reducing maternal newborn and child mortality in the benefiting states. “The project, a three-year grant, was aimed to collaboratively build the capacity of health workers and support the presence of an enabling environment for health workforce development,” she said. The coordinator said that available records indicated that Kaduna state with a population of over seven million people had a density of 10.9 doctors, 29.3 nurses and midwives per 100,000 people. “As in Lagos and Gombe, the distribution of the health workforce in Kaduna is heavily weighted in favour of urban areas and tertiary facilities.
In the spirit of Corporate Social Responsibility, Swiss health-care giant, Roche Products Limited has launched Nigeria’s first-ever Health Journalists Academy. The Academy, which was officially opened on Thursday, September 3, 2015, will serve the purpose of boosting health reportage and coverage in the country. Participants at the launch of the Roche Health Journalists Academy on September 3, 2015. 15 journalists from print, broadcast and new media have been chosen as the first beneficiaries of the Academy which was established in partnership with the School of Media and Communication (SMC) at the Pan-Atlantic University to provide top-notch reporting skills and bring increased awareness to health issues in Nigeria. According to Roche’s Country Manager for Nigeria, Herman Addae: “We are convinced that our duty as a responsible corporate citizen goes beyond manufacturing and selling medication and medical devices. We have therefore decided to explore a new way to improve healthcare delivery in Nigeria.”
The Director-General of Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr Joseph Odumodu, has said that the agency has seized substandard products worth four billion naira since the beginning of the year. Odumodu made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday, adding that in September, the agency seized substandard telephone sets worth N350 million. “In the last three days, we have confiscated over N350 million worth of telephone sets that are substandard. “If I add that to the number I have earlier, we have a number of about four billion naira this year alone. “I tell you that is not a thing of joy because all these products were imported, paid for with genuine dollars and would be destroyed and they are Nigerian money,’’ he said. Odumodu called for a law to jail people involved in the importation of substandard products into the country. According to him, the organisation now has a new act that confers additional power to prosecute offenders on it.
“I promise you that before the end of this year we may be celebrating the jailing of, at least, one major substandard kingpin in Nigeria,’’ Odumodu said. He said the organisation was doing everything possible to ensure that the importation of substandard products into the country was reduced to 10 per cent by the end of the year. “My target is before the end of this year, the organisation will reduce substandard products from its current 40 per cent level to 10 per cent. “We have killed our industries because they are competing with substandard products. “ We need to do things that will make a lot of difference to us. “When I started the journey in 2011 we had a level of substandard products with over 80 per cent in all the sectors. “Today we are around 40 per cent to 45 per cent; in this new dispensation we will reduce it further by 90 per cent,’’ Odumodu said.
