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Showing posts from February 10, 2019

Nutrition: Lagos Moves To Scale Up Action, Develops Five-Year Policy

Chioma Umeha The Lagos State Committee on Food and Nutrition in conjunction with Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) have domesticated the National Policy on Food and Nutrition to Lagos specific. Speaking during the opening remark of the validation meeting of the Lagos State Specific Plan on Food and Nutrition (SSPFN) and State Multi-Sectorial Plan of Action for Nutrition (SMSPAN), Mr Shola Fadorun, representing the State’s Permanent Secretary,   Ministry of Economy Planning and Budget, Abayomi Adebisi Kadiri said malnutrition is a key health challenge in the State. He said the validated policy will serve as a direction for the execution of programmes and projects that will address nutrition matters in the State. Kadiri said the main objective of the validation exercise is to cross the‘t’s, dot the ‘I’s and confirm the data referred to in the document, adding that the exercise will address the cross cutting issues among the lines Ministry,

Foundation Moves Reduce Scourge Of Fibroids

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...Says It’ll Provide Free Surgeries For 1000 Women To tackle   the growing prevalence of fibroids among women, Benjamin Olowojebutu Foundation (BOF), weekend unveiled its Love story to offer free fibroids surgeries to 1000 women free of charge. The Executive Director of the Foundation,   Dr. Benjamin Olowojebutu   who   announced this in Lagos described fibroids as a benign mass that grows in the womb even as he regretted that fibroids ranks among one of the conditions affecting women across Africa. According to him, a lot of these superstitions, myths and fallacies surrounding the condition are the main reasons women are dying from fibroids. He said, however, the risk of developing fibroid could be reduced if a woman married early and there was a break in their menstrual flow. He said the major challenge contributing to the reason many people seek for other alternatives was due to the cost of surgery which he said ranges from half a million, adding that

‘Creating Awareness For Social Health Insurance Programme’

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Chioma Umeha Dr Olusola Akande, Executive Secretary of Oyo State Health Insurance Agency (OYSHIA), has called for increased awareness among Oyo citizens on social health insurance programme in the State to enable them to embrace the scheme. Akande said adequate sensitisation on the importance and benefits of health insurance are required for the programme to really gain ground sufficiently. The health insurance agency boss spoke at a media dialogue on improving access and uptake healthcare for marginalised women and children in Oyo State which was organised by Oyo State Ministry of Information in collaboration with OYSHIA and the United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF). According to him, the agency has recorded 100,000 enrollees in the last 18 months of its operations and that it targets was to hit 450,000 to cover five percent of the population of the state before June. He listed the efforts of the agency aimed at providing quality healthcare services for the people of

Lagos Health Insurance Scheme Will Be Accessible, Affordable To Residents – Adenusi

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  Chioma Umeha Dr. Peju Adenusi is the General Manager of Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA).Recently, she   spoke to select journalists on the operation of the newly launched Lagos State Health Scheme   and the role of individuals and families in making it successful. CHIOMA UMEHA was at the briefing On the unique features of the Lagos State Health Insurance Scheme I will start by giving an overview of the scheme. The Lagos State Health Insurance Scheme (LSHS) came about through a law that was enacted in 2015 and that law makes health insurance mandatory for every resident of the state. Its main objective is to provide quality healthcare services, which is accessible, affordable to the residents of Lagos state and in so doing, reduce, if not eliminate the financial catastrophe that arises from huge medical bills. Three entities were derived from the law. We have the LSHS which is the programme, we have the Lagos State Health Management A

Immunisation: FG Reaffirms Commitment Through Innovative Financing Agreement With Gates Foundation

Chioma Umeha By harnessing complementary donor resources, agreement ensures that increased government funding for routine immunisation will further strengthen primary healthcare for Nigeria’s poorest The Federal Government of Nigeria, represented jointly by the Honourable Ministers of Budget and National Planning, Finance, and Health, today announced a new innovative financing agreement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation aimed at strengthening both routine immunisation (RI) and broader primary healthcare (PHC) services. Under the agreement, Nigeria will receive incentive financing of up to US$75 million over five years from the Gates Foundation as the government meets existing commitments to increase domestic funding of its RI program. The incentive financing will be directly invested in Nigeria’s Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF), strengthening other PHC services for the poorest. Coming at a time when the overall national budget is under pressure, the deal wi

25m Children Suffer From Malnutrition In Nigeria – UNICEF

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Chioma Umeha Dr. Davis Bamidele Omotola, a Nutrition Consultant, has said that about 25 million children under the age of five are currently affected by malnutrition in the country, adding that the high prevalence rate of malnutrition has remained precarious in Northeast Nigeria. Speaking recently   during a presentation at the Media dialogue with Journalists and interface with OAPs on Child Malnutrition in the Northeast organised by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), and Child Rights Information Bureau of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture in Yola, Adamawa State,Dr. Omotola said that monies wasted on needless programmes can be invested in malnutrition. Dr. Omotola who spoke on the topic “Child malnutrition and the emergency in northeast Nigeria,” also disclosed that Nigeria currently requires about $100 million to curb the menace of malnutrition in the country. According to him, every six children is reported to have chronic malnutrition or stunting