Frontpage News (3249)
The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) has disclosed that a law which would prescribe stiffer sanctions and penalties for doctors found guilty of gross misconduct, is currently undergoing review. Speaking to journalists yesterday on the council’s activities, the registrar, Dr Abdulmunin Ibrahim, said the act setting up the council was obsolete and weak as it cannot mete out strong punishment for doctors found wanting in the discharge of their duties. He noted that the review became necessary following the magnitude of cases of negligence against doctors practicing in the country, especially cases that have to do with life.
The registrar also disclosed that the tribunal has disciplined about 10 doctors within a year from June 2014 to July 2015 from about 30 cases. He said the doctors were sanctioned based on the magnitude of their offences ranging from three to six months withdrawal of licenses. He added that the council has over 78,000 registered doctors from 1963 till date though it does not translate to the doctors currently practicing in the country. “We have to note that this does not mean that these are the number of doctors practicing in the country as some have left. But, tentatively, we have less than 40,000 now practicing in Nigeria while over 10,000 are outside the country practicing.”
The federal government of Nigeria has stopped all medical doctors from participating in the mandatoryNational Youth Service. The resolution was made public at a press briefing yesterday by the Registrar/Chief Executive of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), Dr. Abdulmumini Ibrahim. According to him, the decision was made in order to abolish quackery and sub-standard practices in the country’s health sector. He said they can only commence with the service after they have been qualified as medical doctors and have secured practice licence from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.
The registrar also disclosed that the decision was necessitated by several complaints of incompetence exhibited by some of the Youth Corps members posted to rural communities to deliver health services and cases of individuals presenting themselves as health professionals when they are not. “There has been increasing number of personal non-grata people who are not trained impersonating as medical doctors. The NYSC has inundated us with complaints. Those who have completed their one year internship have been given certificates. Most corpers are sent to rural areas.
Effective Vaccine Raises Hope Of Eliminating Meningitis From Africa
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that the introduction of MenAfriVac vaccine for treating meningococcal A meningitis -a bacterial infection of the lining of the brain and spinal cord- is bringing Africa close to wiping the disease. The disease is highly feared on the continent as it can kill or cause severe brain damage within hours while disabling young people every year. “The use of MenAfriVac has led to the control and near elimination of deadly meningitis A disease in the African “meningitis belt.”
In 2013, only 4 laboratory-confirmed cases of meningitis A were reported by the 26 countries in the belt, which stretches across the continent from Senegal to Ethiopia,” the WHO said in a statement yesterday. The meningitis A vaccine for Africa, MenAfriVac, was developed in response to a plea for help from ministers of health in sub-Saharan Africa after an outbreak of meningitis A in 1996 infected over 250 000 people and killed over 25 000 in just a few months.
Katsina State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has issued a 21- day ultimatum to the state government to address deplorable infrastructures in health centres and welfare of personnel or risk industrial action. Addressing newsmen yesterday, the NMA chairman, Dr Kabir Suleiman said a health care service in the state was riddled with lack of adequate health personnel and dearth of basic equipments. “Most of the hospitals are underfunded and many lack basic x-ray services, emergency drugs, oxygen and dressing materials,” Usman said, adding, “Workers’ welfare is yet to receive serious attention”
Suleiman said the association had made several efforts to ensure that the state government addresses deplorable state of health sector but the APC government has failed to heed the association’s demands. “Government has failed to create conducive environment in which the state health workers can deliver efficient and effective health care services to the good people of the state”. The NMA hinted that due to the poor working condition as is currently obtained in the state, most of the consultants in the state have perfected plans to leave by January.
The newly inaugurated minister of health, Professor Isaac Adewole Folorunsho has expressed shock over his appointment to head the ministry while setting a target of reducing medical tourism in Nigeria to at least 20 percent in five years. Adewole stated this in Abuja Wednesday at a grand reception in his honour at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja adding that as a team, they have set high goals for themselves.
He said “I believe by the end of our first year, we should be able to reduce medical tourism such that in five years time, less than 20 per cent of Nigerians will go abroad for treatment. We will make our teaching hospitals work, and do public-private partnerships so that we can have the healthcare we deserve.” “I’m extremely delighted to be here because for me it is home coming. Even when I must admit that I wasn’t expecting to be posted to health. But being posted to health has a significance, it is like the President saying ‘go back to your terrain and sort things out.”
Women are twice as likely to die from causes related to pregnancy or childbirth in the United States than in Canada, a new global survey of maternal mortality published by the United Nations and the World Bank showed on Thursday. The United States was also one of only 13 countries to have worse rates of maternal mortality in 2015 than in 1990 – a group that also includes North Korea, Zimbabwe and Venezuela.
The survey, led by the World Health Organization, aims to track progress against the U.N. Millennium Development Goals. It estimated there would be 303,000 maternal deaths globally this year, down from 532,000 in 1990. The U.N. target is to get the global average number of maternal deaths below 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030, with no country averaging worse than 140. The United States and other developed countries are already far ahead of the target, but the U.S. average has slipped from 12 deaths to 14 per 100,000 live births over the past 25 years, while Canada’s is where it was in 1990, at seven.
Scientists working in Nigeria have developed a new laser test that can detect malaria in humans within minutes with a simple urine test without drawing blood. Current malaria testing methods requires piecing with a needle to draw blood but the new urine malaria test (UMT), developed by Fyodor Biotechnologies, doesn’t require use of blood. The fast, non-invasive test can detect malaria in both humans and mosquitoes. It has advantages over current techniques because it does not depend on blood sampling, reagents, facilities or trained personnel.
The simplicity – it can be operated by non-medical personnel – and sensitivity of the test mean it could be a low-cost, safe and universal tool for clinical and field diagnoses. Speaking at the launch of UMT in Abuja, Dr Victoria Enwemadu, Fyodor’s global head of projects, said “There are some challenges with adopting that [national malaria testing] guideline mainstream because of the invasiveness of trying to get blood for testing. Now we have made it easier by just using urine to test for malaria.”
THE Federal Government has said that it is working hard to achieve the Universal Health Care (UHC) in Nigeria by 2020 using ICT to save one Million Lives (SOMLs) in Nigeria. The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Communications Technology, Dr. Tunji Olaopa made the assertion at the preparatory technical meeting to Africa eHealth Summit 2016, held at the Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja. Dr. Olaopa, said work was going on so that this goal can be attained on this laudable initiative and make it faster and in a more cost efficient manner.
“The Government is looking at a situation whereby the strategic part of the effort of the SOMLs initiative and the ministry of health and communication technology will help in the direction of having the UHC in the country in 2020.” Recalled that ministry of health and Communication Technology came together in 2012 with the support of the United Nations Foundation (UNF) to form what was called using ICT to Save One Million Lives (SOMLs),which both ministries have been working hand in hand on and have achieved a lot in that direction.
With about 3.8 million people living with diabetes in Nigeria, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) says Nigerian government will have to subsidise diabetes treatment and remove tariffs on import of anti-diabetic drugs to halt the scourge. Globally, 387 million have diabetes and this is expected to rise to 600 million by 2035 with Nigeria leading the table in the African region according IDF 2015 diabetes figures released yesterday to mark this year’s World Diabetes Day.
Speaking at the commemoration event in Abuja Friday, the President, Diabetes Association of Nigeria (DAN) professor Chinenye Sonny said there is no where in the world where diabetic patients pay 100 per cent for their treatment as in Nigeria. “Here, high out of pocket medical expenses drive people into poverty and when we talk about universal health coverage, it means that people should be able to access the care they need without financial hardship,” he said.
The Nigeria’s National Health Act, (NH Act), 2014 is without doubt one singular instrument required to unlock economy and the greatest transformation for the Health Sector. The act establishes a Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) to be financed from Federal Government Annual Grant of not less than one per cent of its Consolidated Revenue Fund; grants by international donor partners and funds from any other source.
Out of the fund, the Act states that 50 per cent shall be used for the provision of basic minimum package of health services to citizens, in eligible primary and secondary health care facilities through the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS); 20 per cent shall be used to provide essential drugs, vaccines and consumables for eligible primary health care facilities; 15 per cent shall be used for the provision and maintenance of facilities, equipment and transport for eligible primary healthcare facilities; 10 per cent shall be used for the development of Human Resources for primary health care and 5 per cent of the fund shall be used for emergency medical treatment to be administered by a committee appointed by the National Council on Health.
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Reducing Environmental Pollution Will Prevent 70, 000 Annual Deaths In Nigeria – WHO
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has adviced that if Nigeria put measures to reduce climate pollutants, it could prevent 70 000 premature deaths per year from outdoor air pollution, from 2030 onwards. According to WHO estimates, climate change is already causing tens of thousands of deaths every year – from shifting patterns of disease, from extreme weather events, such as heat-waves and floods, and from the degradation of air quality, food and water supplies, and sanitation.
“The upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-21) in Paris offers the world an important opportunity to not only reach a strong international climate agreement, but also to protect the health of current and future generations,” the WHO said in a statement on Wednesday. In 2012, WHO estimated 7 million people died from air pollution-related diseases, making it the world’s largest single environmental health risk. It is predicted that climate change will cause an additional 250 000 deaths per year from malaria, diarrhoea, heat stress and under-nutrition between 2030 and 2050. Children, women and the poor in lower income countries will be the most vulnerable and most affected, widening health gaps.
Some 2.4 billion people around the world don’t have access to decent sanitation and more than a billion are forced to defecate in the open, risking disease and other dangers, according to the United Nations. Launching its World Toilet Day campaign for November 19, the UN said poor sanitation increases the risk of illness and malnutrition, especially for children, and called for women and girls in particular to be offered safe, clean facilities.
“One out of three women around the world lack access to safe toilets,” U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement. “As a result they face disease, shame and potential violence when they seek a place to defecate.” Even where there are toilets in some places around the world, some are hardly suitable to be called toilets.
Global CEO Rakesh Kapoor promises to further intensify diarrhea and malaria prevention efforts in Nigeria
The Global Chief Executive Officer of the world’s leading consumer health and hygiene company Reckitt Benckiser(RB), Mr. Rakesh Kapoor said that RB’s vision for Nigeria is where people are healthier and live better and RB will continue on making difference by giving Nigerians innovative solutions for healthier lives and happier homes Mr. Kapoor who is on a working visit to Nigeria said this in Lagos during a visit to the Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode. He said RB has been in Nigeria for over five decades adding that he is very happy with the operations of the company in Nigeria which he described as one of the most important growth markets and the reference point for other African business development growth strategies
“RB's heritage in Nigeria spans over 53 years with health, hygiene and home portfolio led by global brands like Dettol, Nurofen, Strepsils, Gaviscon, Durex, Dettol, Harpic, Mortein, and Air Wick. Nigeria also serves as the West African hub driving business development, opening up new markets and portfolio expansion across the West African Coast” he said. Kapoor went on to disclose to the Governor how RB through its power brands Dettol, Mortein and Harpic have been partnering with the Federal and Lagos State Ministry of Health, Nigerian Medical Association and Save the Children NGO on programs to create awareness on best hygiene practices.
Hospital officials in Adamawa have lauded public response to the call to donate blood to victims of Tuesday night blast in Yola. The Chief Medical Director of Yola Specialist Hospital, Dr Bala Sa’id and the Public Relations Officer of Federal Medical Centre Yola, Malam Adamu Dodo, made the commendation in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yola. Said said "the turnout was huge; we received many people who turned out to donate blood for the victims.’’
He dismissed speculations that some patients were made to purchase drugs, adding that "treatment is free". "Apart from the state government, we also got support from the Victim Support Fund to ensure free treatment of victims.’’ He said many out of the 30 people on admission had received treatment and now discharged. "Many have been discharged; I can’t give you the exact number of the people discharged now because I was not the doctor that went round to effect the discharge,’’ he added.
