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In a renewed offensive against menace of counterfeit drugs and other regulated products, the National Agency for Food and Drug administration and Control (NAFDAC) has destroyed fake drugs worth over N15million in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi state. Director General of NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii who was represented by the Federal Capital Territory coordinator of the Agency, Mr. Abdulsallami Ozigis while carrying out the destruction exercise in company of community leaders and security agencies, said the exercise had become necessary to prevent the offensive products from making re-entry into the market and to raise public awareness on the dangers of counterfeit regulated products.
His words “the essence of destruction is to invariably prevent the seized products from finding their way back to the market. This will eliminate the dangers associated with the consumption of the spurious products to the consuming society”. Speaking further, Mr. Ozigis said eliminating the undesired regulated products from circulation will assist the medical practitioners and other stakeholders to render qualitative service to Nigerians and guarantee public safety.
In providing affordable and accessible Primary Health Care system in the country, the federal government is brainstorming and finding suitable ways in which every Nigerian will be exposed to basic health care facilities at almost no cost and further discourage medical tourism. This will include collaborating with states and local governments and ensuring that all tiers of government put in resources and build primary health care agencies. This was stated, Tuesday, by the minister of health, Prof Isaac Adewole at the first annual lecture of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and with the topic “Primary Health Care. Realities, Challenges, and the Way Forward.”
He said so much concentration has been given to the tertiary health sector when it handles only 15% of healthcare delivery in the country and as such, all hands must be on deck as Nigeria needs a primary healthcare that will take care of everyone. “We will see that not every sick Nigerian will take the next available flight out of this country. We have some of the best brains that can look after you and use the facilities that are available to deliver good care to Nigerians. ”
Medical laboratory practitioners in the country have been urged to as a matter of urgency embrace the concept of External Quality Assurance (EQA) in order to improve the quality of service they render to the patients. Speaking at a stakeholders forum involving members of the Guild of Medical Laboratory Directors in Abuja, the Registrar/CEO, Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria, Prof Anthony O. Emeribe noted that it is only when a laboratory facility can subject its test results to external review that it can be taken seriously.
According to him, adopting the mechanism of EQA, which is at the heart of Quality Management System (QMS) had become imperative in order to up scale the quality of laboratory testing and to help safeguard the lives of patients, whose confidence in the health laboratory system he described as indispensable. Emeribe expressed regret that some medical laboratories are still not focussing on generating accurate, reliable and reproducible test results, adding that henceforth, any facility that relegates best practices to the back burner would incur the wrath of the Council.
The Federal Government on Wednesday said it has stopped the commercialisation of Niprisan, a drug used to manage sickle-cell anaemia in the country. Prof. Karniyus Gamaniel, the Director-General, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research Development (NIPRD), told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. He said that the drug was currently under the authority of the Federal Government, hence it was being produced and distributed solely by the Institute. He added that the move was part of the social corporate responsibility of government to citizens.
He explained that “we give people who come to the Institute the sickle-cell drug; it is no longer sold in pharmacies; you only get it at the Institute. “The Institute only engages in social production of the drug as it is under the authority of government now as pronounced by the Minister of Health. “The production is part of the corporate social responsibility of government; those that need it can get it,” Gamaniel said. He described sickle-cell anaemia as a genetic disease which occurred due to the presence of an abnormal form of haemoglobin in the red blood cell called haemoglobin S instead of haemoglobin A.
LAGOS/KADUNA, NIGERIA—An association of doctors in Nigeria said the government must do more to improve access and affordability of health care in Africa’s most populous country. At a meeting held last week, the Nigerian Medical Association called for the government to levy a tax on cigarettes, alcohol and cellphone credits. Nigerian Medical Association president Kayode Obembe said Nigeria’s doctors are overstretched. He estimated there is one doctor for every 6,000 patients in Nigeria — a ratio far and above World Health Organization recommendations.
National health insurance, Obembe said that money could pay for a national health insurance plan so poor people can afford preventative medical care. And many of Nigeria’s medical school graduates go overseas, he said. Those that stay in the country tend to live in cities, not in the rural areas where they also are needed. “We still need to put more efforts so that we can get more doctors. And not just getting more doctors, to ensure that they are evenly distributed to take care of every part of the community,” said Obembe.
An Act to amend the Counterfeit and fake drugs laws on Thursday passed through second reading. In the lead debate, Senator Biodun Olujimi (Ekiti South), took a sober reflection of huge casualties occasioned by application of fake drugs, stressing that if Senate does not rise to the occasion of enacting punitive laws, the menace would linger. She sought the cooperation of lawmakers in amending the Acts for purposes of riding the nation of fake drugs and unwholesome processed foods. “An Act to amend the counterfeit and fake drugs and unwholesome processed foods (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act Laws CAP C34 Laws of the federation and for other matters connected therewith, 2015.
Senator Barau Jibrin (Kano North) on his part, adduced reasons fake drugs persist despite efforts by NAFDAC at ridding the menace without success to lack of punitive sanctions. In his words: “Perpetrators of counterfeit drugs feel that there is no punitive laws and also they could easily manovoure their ways each time they were caught and go free, but it is time we introduce strict punishment,” he said. Corroborating, Senator Shehu Sani’s position in his applause for late former Director General of NAFDA, Dora Akunyili, he regretted that her effort has been whittled down, noting that the Senate would get to the root of those involved in the
Jigawa Govt. To Train 150 Nurses Overseas, Employ 60 Doctors From Abroad – Gov. Abubakar
The Jigawa Government says it will train 150 nurses and employ 60 medical doctors in 2016 to address the shortage of medical personnel in the hospitals in the state. Gov. Badaru Abubakar, who made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Dutse, said that the government would establish another school of nursing in Hadejia. Abubakar said that the government decided to take those steps in order to enhance the quality of healthcare in the state.
“What we have discovered in the health sector is an acute shortage of medical personnel – nurses, midwives and doctors. “So we plan to train 150 nurses and 60 doctors abroad next year; also, we plan to have another school of nursing in Hadejia. “So that in a short period of time, we can have between 400 and 500 nurses churned out from different schools here and the ones that we will train abroad to take care of the acute shortage of health personnel.’’ Abubakar said it was in order to address those challenges that the state government allocated N20 billion to the health sector in the 2016 budget.
Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, has raised the alarm over lack of adequate funding for the health sector, lamenting that the menace of Tuberculosis was not provided for in the 2015 Budget of the ministry. Adewole, who spoke on Friday in Abuja during an interactive meeting with the House of Representatives Standing Committee on HIV, AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Control, said the priority of his ministry will be primary healthcare and a quest for the health sector to be funded appropriately and promoting public health education.
“No budget for TB this year and yet HIV/AIDS is driving TB and TB is driving HIV/AIDS,” the minister said. He also pointed out the need for legislation on the tiers of healthcare services of primary, secondary and tertiary, saying that the responsibility of each level should be spelt to enhance service delivery. “I will plead with our legislators to look into this and specify who does what,” Adewole noted.
Mr Segun Olulade, the Chairman of Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Health, on Sunday said that the committee would ensure more efficiency in health care delivery in the state. Olulade told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the Assembly was committed to bringing about a revolution in the health care sector. “I want to assure residents that the health sector in Lagos State will witness a revolution that will bring in efficiency and care. “We will ensure unparalleled health services as far as Nigeria and Africa is concerned.
“We are committed to this promise as we are going to perform our oversight functions as expected. “We will look into areas that people have been making complaints, especially the attitude of the health care providers. "All hands must be on deck; It is our collective responsibility to ensure that we deliver better health care services to residents”.
There is increasing concern that more women are infected by HIV than men as 60 per cent of people living with HIV infections in Africa are women.This can be simply traced to sexual violence including rape and defilement, intergeneration sex which involves young girls having sex with older men (sugar daddies), sex with multiple partners, anal/vaginal sex. TUNDE OGUNTOLA in this piece x-rays why women are more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS Women often experience the impact of HIV infection biologically more severely than men in unprotected heterosexual intercourse as they are twice as likely as men to acquire HIV from an infected partner.
The HIV virus that causes AIDS is transmitted through two major routes. The first, which accounts for 80 per cent of the cases, is through unprotected sex between men and women. This is followed by HIV transmission from mother to child during pregnancy, labour and breastfeeding, which is responsible for about 20 per cent of the cases. As part of activities commemorating the 2015 World AIDS Day which was the 35th the US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle said there is urgent need to take greater action to tackle the menace which he said, “The time to act is now.” That is the theme of this 35th World AIDS Day. This theme conveys the urgency of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS. The strategy behind the UN program is simple, and involves information, treatment, and suppression of the disease.
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Nigeria’s Maternal Mortality Is 560 Deaths Per 100,000 Live Births – WHO
The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) 2014 report has stated that the maternal mortality rate in Nigeria is 560 deaths per 100,000 live births and one-third of all global maternal deaths are concentrated in two populous countries which includes Nigeria, after India. This was revealed, weekend, by the executive director of Women Advocates’ Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), Dr Abiola Akiyode Afolabi at the “National Roundtable: Sustainable Development Goals Gender Equality and Maternal Health” in Abuja.
She said women in Nigeria still face financial barriers, infrastructural and institutional barriers in accessing adequate maternal healthcare and are still been detained for inability to pay high user fees and lose their lives in the process. “The 2014 millennium Development Goals report almost one-third of all global maternal deaths are concentrated in two populous countries: India, with an estimated 50,000 maternal deaths (17%) and Nigeria, with an estimated 40,000 maternal deaths (14%) while the WHO 2014 report on maternal mortality states that Nigeria’s MMR is 560 deaths per 100,000 live births.”
NHIS Has Covered Less Than 7 Per Cent Nigerians Since Flag-off – NMA
Written by Super User
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has stated that the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) which was flagged off since June 2005 has covered less than 7 per cent of the Nigeria population. Dr Kayode Obembe, NMA President said this yesterday in a statement to mark this year’s International Day of Universal Health Coverage commemorated every December 12, in Abuja. He said governments at all level should redirect attention to community health insurance as a panacea to the 70 per cent out-of-pocket expenditure incurred by Nigerians.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday in Baghdad cautioned that Iraq’s public health, water and sanitation systems were collapsing. WHO said Iraq’s prime minister responded to protests this summer over failing public services by launching a campaign against corruption and mismanagement. It said less than four months later, there was little sign of improvement in one key sector such as healthcare. “With Iraqis fleeing Islamic State in ever greater numbers, the country’s growing population of internal refugees is straining public facilities already ground down by decades of war, sanctions and red tape.
'We need to develop our primary health care centres' says health minister
Written by Super User
Prof Isaac Adewole, the health minister of Nigeria has pointed out that there is an urgent need to focus on Primary Health Care (PHC) in the country. Adewole, who spoke recently in Abuja during an interactive meeting with the House of Representatives Standing Committee on HIV, AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Control made this statement. He also said that the priority of his ministry will be primary healthcare and a quest for the health sector to be funded appropriately and promoting public health education “We want the Primary Health Care (PHC) to be the first point of call so that it will be able to offer the basic care that ordinary Nigerians will require.
