Premium Times, 25 January 2017 Nigerian govt delivers N4.3 billion health, nutrition items to north-east
The Federal Ministry of Health has delivered materials worth N4.334 billion to Borno State to flag off the Health and Nutrition Emergency Response Initiative of the federal government in the north-east. According to a press statement by the ministry on Wednesday, the initiative was to fulfil President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise to the people of the zone. During the flag off ceremony, essential medical materials and other supplies, including vehicles, were handed over to the Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima. The Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, at the ceremony praised President Buhari for providing leadership and taking ownership of providing adequate health care services for the citizens with the support of development partners. “Gone are the days when development partners were on the driving seat of providing care for the citizenry”, he said. Mr. Adewole, however, called on the officials of the Borno State Ministry of Health and the volunteers to ensure judicious use of the items provided. He said that the items were to be distributed to the people free of charge and should not be sold or found in the market.
The Guardian, 26 January 2017 Nigeria does not know number of people with HIV, says minister
Two years after, the Federal Government has inaugurated a National Health Data Governance Council (HDGC), which would provide framework for the management of data in the country. The Council chaired by the Minister of Health is a prescription of the Nigeria Health Information System policy 2014 to provide leadership and guidance on health data governance in the country. Inaugurating the council in Abuja, Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole said that Nigeria has had the challenge of dealing with data adding that unavailability of accurate data has created a lot of problem for the country adding that the validity of the data on Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) burden in Nigeria is questionable. Adewole who argued that the country does not really know the number of Nigerians who are HIV positive, said that the ministry may conduct a single nationwide population-based study on HIV to determine the prevalence of HIV in Nigeria and to find out the number of people who know their status, the number of pregnant women who are positive.
The Herald, 27 January 2017 FG disburses $5.5bn grants to states for `Save One Million Lives’ initiative
The Federal Government has disbursed $5.5 billion (N16.9 billion) grant to the 36 states and Abuja for the implementation of Save One Million Lives (SOML) programme for result. The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, disclosed this on Thursday at the opening of the 59th National Council on Health meeting, taking place in Umuahia, Abia . Adewole said that the states and the Federal Capital Territory received $1.5 million (N457.5million) each from the fund. He said that the one-off initial investment grant was disbursed in July, 2016, serving as an initial pump to drive the delivery of SOML indicators and enabled states to address legacy issues. According to him, the programme seeks to catalyse change in the way healthcare is implemented by focusing on results and governance. “The ultimate aim is to improve quality of lives of mothers and children,” Adewole said. He said that the ministry would ensure judicious utilisation of the funds as enshrined in the programme implementation manual. “President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration will ensure probity, accountability, transparency and prudence in the use of the funds given to states,” the minister said.
Vanguard, 26 January 2017 FG destroys N9.31bn fake drugs in Rivers
The Federal Government, yesterday, destroyed a consignment of fake, counterfeit and unwholesome drugs said to be the largest in the last 30 years in the country. The drugs, with an estimated street value of N9.31 billion, were seized by officials of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, the Nigeria Customs Service, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, and other relevant law enforcement agencies. The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, who led a team of stakeholders including the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Healthcare Services, Mr. Chike Okafor, on the exercise at the NAFDAC destruction site in Port Harcourt, said the seized drugs were routine drugs in constant demand by Nigerians. Adewole, who said the implication of the development was that a gap existed in the nation’s drug supply system and was denying the people access to essential drugs, called on the health workers to work closely with all the stakeholders including the pharmaceutical industry, to fill the gap by ensuring that only quality drugs were manufactured locally.
Leadership, 21 January 2017 Nigeria has only one air ambulance – Isa
Hon Ali Isa J.C is representing Balanga/Biliri federal constituency of Gombe State and in this interview with Ruth Choji, the vice chairman, emergency and disaster preparedness stated that Nigeria has only one air ambulance and this is over stretched. He also spoke on some other issues.
As the vice chairman of the committee on emergency and disaster preparedness, would you say NEMA is fulfilling it’s mandate ?
NEMA as an agency saddled with the responsibility of responding to disaster in Nigeria is grossly underfunded. Everywhere there is a disaster in Nigeria, whether it is flood, bomb blast, or any disaster, NEMA responds promptly . Sometimes even in states and local communities, they will quickly call NEMA and this has really overstretched the agency. Nigeria has only one air ambulance and this ambulance has also been over stretched because it is the only one we use in emergency. Nigeria is called the giant of Africa but countries like South Africa has about forty air ambulance, Ghana has about twenty air ambulance and other smaller Africa countries have more than one but Nigeria has only one . So you can imagine what NEMA goes through when there are emergency situations in two or three places at once. You must also give them credit because NEMA is everywhere, there is no place that tragedy happen in Nigeria that you won’t see NEMA In spite of the lack of facilities. So if NEMA can be properly funded, it will do more than it is doing now.
NTA, 26 January 2017 Nigeria among 10 countries to benefit from NGO Grant.
Nigeria has been named among 10 countries to benefit from grants made available by a Non-Governmental Organization (NG0) named ‘Enda-sante’- based in Senegal. Countries named alongside Nigeria are Botswana, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi and the Seychelles. Information regarding the proposed intervention grants Nigeria and other countries are set to benefit was contained in a statement made available when representatives of Enda Sante and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) came to NACA on a Technical Assistance Visit to Nigeria with an agenda on Africa Regional HIV Grant Removing Legal Barriers. Speaking at the event, a Programme Officer from the NGO, Mrs. Nguissali Turpin stated that Enda sante is a body committed to an African society in which communities, enriched by their knowledge, fully participate in the promotion of healthcare in an environment where social justice and equity thrives”. She noted that their visit to Nigeria was to inform of the planned intervention programme and to get NACA on board for a robust partnership towards actualization of key programmes. It is reliably gathered that key among Enda sante’s intervention programme will focus on; Access to healthcare, Research and Training, HIV/AIDS, Reproductive and sexual health.
Guardian, 25 January 2017 Resident doctors end 7-day warning strike, give 21 days ultimatum
The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) on Wednesday ended it seven days nationwide warning strike and gave the Federal Government another 21 days ultimatum to meet its demands. Dr John Onyebueze, President of the association, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. NAN reports that the resident doctors had on Jan.18 embarked on seven days warning strike for the government to meet their demands. According to Onyebueze, the demands border on welfare, revamping decay infrastructure and equipment in the government-owned health institutions, provide quality and affordable healthcare to the populace. Others include immediate implementation of the National Health Act, 2014, release of the template and implementation of white paper on residency training programme. “At the moment, we are still where we are, none of our demands have been met by the government, but the last time we met with the government officials they made some promises. “So, we are giving the Federal Government another 21 days ultimatum now to see those promises translating into action. “They cannot just tell us that they have set up machinery to implement the National Health Act, 2014 without actions.
Premium Times, 25 January 2017 Wuse General Hospital to be shut for four days
The Wuse General Hospital, one of the main public health facilities in the Federal capital Territory, has announced it would shut down for four days from Thursday. According to a notice posted on the hospital’s premises, this is to allow for a fumigation of the environment. The management of the hospital said it carries out the exercise every year to make the premises safer for patients and staff. The hospital, located at Zone 3 in the Wuse District of the municipality, is a major secondary health institution thronged daily by people for medical services. According to a notice seen in the hospital premises, the fumigation will be carried out from Thursday January 26 to Sunday January 29. The notice which states that doctors should stop admissions of patients from January 23, stated that all patients would be discharged by Wednesday. Meanwhile, all efforts by our reporter to get details on why the fumigation was urgent proved abortive. The Medical Director declined talking to our reporter, stating that he was not in the position to say anything.
Sahara Reporters, 26 January 2017 Organized labor seeks reinstatement of sacked FMC Owerri workers
The Nigerian Labour Movement has called for the reinstatement of the 200 sacked workers of the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) made the call on Thursday in Abuja when unions picketed the Headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja. The unions gave notice of their intention to occupy the ministry over non-removal of Dr Angela Uwakem, the indicted Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri. Mr Ayuba Wabba, NLC President said that the workers were sacked for being the whistleblowers of the alleged corrupt practices of Dr Uwakem. “We must protect these poor workers; over 200 workers, who were the whistleblowers, are being denied their salaries. “Their names have been removed from the payroll of Federal Medical Centre Owerri by IPPIS and they are the same people that are going to testify in the court against the accused. “The document has made it very clear they are the same workers who reported the case; investigation has been carried out and Dr Uwakem has been charged to court. “So, we will occupy this office until the Federal Government intervenes in the issue and removes the CMD of the Federal Medical Centre in Owerri,” he said. Wabba said that the Federal Executive Council had passed into law a policy that whistleblowers must be protected.
Nigeria Health Watch, 24 January 2017 Should the health sector be tasked with road safety?
There is hardly anyone in Nigeria who does not have a personal tale of road crashes to tell. In 2007, my mother died due to complications of a head injury sustained from an ‘‘okada” (commercial motorcycle) crash. It was a painful and an avoidable death. A report by the CLEEN Foundation showed that in 2013, 47% of road crashes in Nigeria were due to okadas. Many okada riders never receive any formal training to ride motorcycles, consistently disobey traffic rules and in large part have constituted themselves into a lawless community. Okada crashes are just a fraction of the hazards that road users face in Nigeria, as a visit to any emergency room will testify. Road safety then is a critical part of public health and ought to be taken seriously. Road safety is a public health concern because it refers to measures for reducing the risk of a person being killed or seriously injured. Road crashes are the world’s leading cause of death for people between the ages of 15 and 29. In 2011, the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified global road safety as one of the top 10 public health achievements. In Nigeria, road safety is often considered a traffic and transportation issue, but it should also be high on the list of the Ministry of Health’s agenda to provide a healthier society for citizens.
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