Frontpage News (3249)
The National Health Act which is yet to be popular among Nigerians, and which is expected to encompass all health-related issues is to release about N50 billion annually. This can save the lives of 3,131,510 mothers, newborns and under 5s by 2022 and thus support Nigeria’s response to poor indices.
However, this depends on political will and Nigeria’s cumulative income. This was revealed yesterday by a member of the Health Reform Foundation of Nigeria (HERFON), Dr Seun Adeleke, at an interactive media session organised by Development Communications Network in collaboration with HERFON with the theme “Funding Maternal and Child Health: A Call to Action.”
Adeleke disclosed that the Health Act which also takes care of incessant strikes in the health sector, if implemented, is expected to be divided into five categories for the benefit of all. These include insurance, vaccines and essential drugs, laboratory facilities, boosting of healthcare facilities, etc.
Reps To Investigate NHIS Over Contributors’ Funds
Written by Super User
The House of Representatives on Thursday mandated its Committee on Healthcare Services to investigate the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) over contributors’ funds and recommend ways of protecting it misuse. This mandate followed a unanimous adoption of a motion titled: “Need to protect contributors to the national health insurance scheme and insulate the scheme from misuse.’’ The motion was jointly sponsored by Reps. Onwubuariri Kingsley (PDP-Imo), Joseph Edionwele (PDP-Edo) and Chike Okafor (APC-Imo). Moving the motion, Kingsley said there was need to address the growing discontent among contributors to the scheme.
He cited unsatisfactory services and harrowing encounters with the Health Care Providers (HCPs) in terms of drug availability and administration. According to the lawmaker, thousands of eligible Nigerians who have applied for registration as beneficiaries have been unduly denied benefits from the scheme owing to administrative lapses. He added that the situation had brought untold hardship to many Nigerians.Kingsley said the scheme had attained only 2.5 per cent coverage out of an estimated 30 per cent projection for 2015.
AGPMPN, Medismarts Sign Agreement to Connect 2,000 Hospitals.
Written by Super User
The Association of General Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria (AGPMPN) and Medismarts have signed a strategic agreement that will see Medismarts deploy its Electronic Medical Records (EMR) cloud platform to its over 2,000 member hospitals in Lagos State. As part of the agreement, Medismarts has the mandate to go to the AGPMPN’s 18 zones in Lagos State with the objective of ensuring that all hospitals records are digitized and interconnected, a joint statement by the duo said.FG Shuts Down FMC Owerri Over Workers’ Indiscipline
Written by Super User
The federal government has shut down the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, Imo state, over workers indiscipline and rounds of protests from union members who have insisted that the medical director, Dr Angela Uwakwem must be removed for false allegations levelled against her. It is also set to do a staff audit of 2,500 employees of the centre so as to ensure proper restoration of services that have been disrupted. This was announced yesterday, by the minister of health, Prof Isaac Adewale at a press briefing in Abuja.
He said the federal government is fully in support of Public Private Partnership especially in the health sector, bearing in mind that the government can no longer fund health alone, which was the bone of contention, hence the crisis as “the proposal was vehemently opposed by people who may have been benefitting from the system and went on to incite the unions.
Country facing HIV drugs shortage, govt seeks cash for imports
Written by Super User
Uganda is suffering a shortage of imported drugs to treat HIVvictims due to a weak currency and insufficient foreign exchange but the government is raising funds to cover the shortfall, a senior finance ministry official said. Health activists say about 240,000 patients on publicly funded treatment programmes are at risk because of the shortage, forcing them to take lower dosages or none at all. Some activists said they were concerned the government was spending too much on measures designed to help them win presidential and parliamentary elections in February rather than on medicines. Officials denied the charge.
In Uganda about 1.5 million people, or about 4 percent of the population, is living with the HIV virus, of which about 820,000 receive antiretroviral therapy (ART) drugs that help prevent the infection turning into full-blown AIDS.
500,000 Lagos Residents Threatened By Looming Epidemic From Sewage Plant
Written by Super User
No fewer than 500,000 residents of Iponri Low-Cost Housing Estate, Surulere Local Government Area, Lagos State, on Sunday appealed to the Lagos State Government to save their lives from epidemic that was looming there. They told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the sewage plant that usually drains dirty water from the soak-away of more than 400 housing units with 500,000 residents had been disconnected by Eko Disco (EKEDC) due to unpaid bills. They said that the non-functioning of the sewage plant had resulted into flooding of the estate by dirty water from the soak away, thus spreading stench odour in the area.
Mr Abdul-Rasak Osho, President, Iponri Housing Estate Residents’ Association, told NAN that the sewage plant constructed by the Lagos State Government was being maintained by the Ministry of the Environment.
FG Launches Project To Boost HIV/AIDS Service Delivery
Written by Super User
The Federal Government in collaboration with other partners has launched a new project to boost and strengthen services against HIV/AIDS prevalence in the country. The two year project tagged “Strengthening HIV/AIDS Service Delivery through Human Resources for Health (HRH) Systems in Nigeria” will be implemented by CapacityPlus, a USAID funded project implemented by IntraHealth in 29 countries. Launching the project on Sunday in Abuja, Permanent Secretary, of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Amina Shamaki said it will respond adequately to ‘human resource for health implications’ of the national health sector reforms.
Represented by the Director, Planning, Research and Statistics of the ministry, Dr Ngozi Azodoh , he said this includes addressing those priority interventions required to be strengthened towards achieving the health Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the realization of the Universal Health Coverage through improved health indices.
Chief Medical Director says 5,000 babies are born yearly with ear defects
Written by Super User
No fewer than 5,000 babies are born yearly with ear defects in Nigeria, Prof. Adewale Oke, the Chief Medical Director, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, has said. Oke made the disclosure on Saturday in Lagos, while briefing newsmen on the hospital's first successful middle ear implant surgery conducted in its premises. "I know that 5, 000 new babies are being born annually in Nigeria with ear defects"."This means they are deaf and sometimes the cause of their deafness is congenital, we call it from birth".
"In Some of these babies lacked some hearing mechanism in their ears, so the best way to restore the hearing is through surgery, which has not been part of the practice before now".
Mr Nurudeen Mohammed, Registrar, Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN), on Tuesday said the Federal Government would stop open sale and hawking of drugs by 2017. Mohammed disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. He said the council was collaborating with law enforcement agencies and other regulatory bodies to tackle the menace. He said that open drug marketers were expected to move to designated centres like the National Drug Distribution Centres and Coordinated Wholesale Centres to carry out their activities.
According to him, the centres are component of the National Drug Distribution Guideline structures which are private sector driven facilities. He urged those saddled with the task to expedite actions toward construction of those facilities to avoid being sanctioned at the expiration of the set date. Mohammed said that the federal government in its bid to curtail the menace of open drug sale, among others, established NDDG, which incorporated Coordinated Wholesale Centres, among others.
Health Workers Kick Against closure Of FMC Owerri By Health Minister
The Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) at the weekend condemned the closure of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owerri by the minister of health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, declaring that the minister acted against the resolutions reached by stakeholders after its joint tripartite negotiation meeting. The union in a statement signed by JOHESU chairman, comrade Biobelemoye Joy Josiah, the vice chairman, Dr. Ogbonna Obinna and the secretary Florence Ekpebor also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the crisis rocking the FMC, Oweri.
It stated that the decision to temporary shutdown the medical centre by the minister came as a surprise to the entire labour leaders and stakeholders in the health sector. The unions said the closure of the FMC was not among the options arrived at in a meeting held at the centre in Owerri on December 4, which has in attendance the minister himself, members of House of Representatives and the union leaders who all travelled down to Oweri for the crucial meeting.
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Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has issued a seven-day ultimatum to striking medical doctors in the state to return to their duty posts or be seen as having voluntarily resigned their appointments with the state government. Aregbesola in a public service announcement released by the Permanent Secretary, Human Resources and Capacity Building, Mr Sunday Festus Olajide, said despite series of appeals from government to medical doctors in Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital (LAUTECH), Osogbo and other government health institutions to show understanding, the striking doctors have remained adamant.
It contented that the doctors have continued to draw their salaries in the last two months and still remain at home thus eating their cake and still having it. The government in the statement said that any striking doctor that failed to return to work on or before the expiration of seven- day ultimatum beginning from 18th December 2015 should consider himself or herself of having voluntarily resigned his or her appointment with government.
Regular Medical Check-ups Will Prevent Sudden Death – NMA
Written by Super User
The chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Oyo State chapter, Dr. Muyideen Olatunji, has said that only regular medical check-ups by citizens can prevent the prevalence of some of the diseases leading to sudden death in the society. Speaking at Idi-Ishin, an outskirts of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, while declaring open a one-day free medical outreach organised by Precious Gem Medical Consult located within the community yesterday, he lamented that “Nigerians go to the hospital only when they are sick which should not be and which is why people break down suddenly and in most cases, sudden death occurs”.
The NMA boss, who stressed that vehicle owners do not allow their vehicles to break down before they take them to the mechanics, said “it is unfortunate that the way people care for ordinary vehicles, they don’t care for their lives”.
“BEFORE THEY GET AWAY WITH IT”: A COMMUNIQUÉ READ AT THE PRESS BRIEFING BY THE PRESIDENT OF ASSOCIATION OF RESIDENT DOCTORS.
Written by Super User
The Association of Resident Doctors, LTH, Osogbo, a centre affiliate of National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) is an umbrella body for all doctors in Residency Training Program in LAUTECH Teaching Hospital. One of the aims of the body is to assist the Government and good people of the State in the provision of smooth, efficient and effective Health Care Delivery.Aregbesola Inaugurates 9-man Board for LAUTTH
Written by Super User
Osogbo. Members of the Board are: Dr. Kayode Akinlade, Dr. Ademola Akintolu Onifade, Oba Dr. Folorunso Agboade Makanju Olaniyan, Acting Chief Medical Director LAUTECH, Prof. Akeem Lasisi, Permanent Secretary Osun Ministry of Health, Dr. Temitope Olalekan Oladele. Others are the Chairman of the Osun branch of the Nigeria Medical Association, Dr. Surajudeen Ogunyemi, Provost, College of Medicine, LAUTECH, Prof. Samuel Sunday Taiwo, and Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee, Dr. Daniel Adebode Adekanle.
