Chioma Umeha

Nigeria among five countries with 47 % global burden of malaria By: Chioma Umeha L-R: Commissioner of Health, Lagos State, Dr Jide Idris, Former Deputy Governor, Lagos State, Princess Sarah Adebisi Sosan and Hon. Abike Dabiri, during the town hall meeting on maternal mortality reduction in Iberekodo, Ibeju, Lekki, Lagos, Thursday. PHOTO: CHIOMA UMEHA N igeria is among the five countries DRC, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya which account for 47 per cent of global burden (116 million) of malaria in the world. In view of this Prof. Chukwu Onyebuchi Chukwu, Minister of Health, has called for accelerated efforts to ensure that the country exits the list of five African countries with the highest burden of malaria in the world.  Prof. Chukwu, made this observation during the breakfast meeting in commemoration of the World Malaria Day at the African Union conference of Health Ministers, at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and added that malaria is still an issue of public health importance.

Facts about gastroparesis By: Chioma Umeha Chioma Umeha Gastroparesis – literally “paralyzed stomach” – is a serious condition manifested by delayed emptying of stomach contents into the small intestine after a meal. There is no cure for gastroparesis, but treatment can speed gastric emptying and relieve gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea and vomiting.  Gastroparesis most often occurs in people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, but diabetes isn’t the only cause of gastroparesis. Other possible causes are: post viral syndromes; anorexia nervosa; surgery on the stomach or vagus nerve and medications that slow contractions in the intestine, particularly anti-cholinergics and narcotics. Others are: smooth muscle disorders, such as amyloidosis and scleroderma; nervous system diseases, including abdominal migraine and Parkinson’s disease and metabolic disorders, including hypothyroidism. Symptoms of gastroparesis: The symptoms of gastroparesis include; feelings of fullness t

Vagrant psychotics is increasing due to stigma – Umeh By: Chioma Umeha D r. Charles S. Umeh, is a lecturer and clinical psychologist at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Lagos Teaching Hospital (LUTH), in Lagos. In this interview with CHIOMA UMEHA (HEALTH EDITOR) Umeh says that stigma is a major factor in the rising incidence of emotional problems in the country. Dr. Charles S. Umeh   What are the major problems that those with emotional conditions come down with? From the wider societal perspective, they use a common term to label a person who has cause to visit psychiatrist, a clinic psychologist that is the person is ‘mad.’ But, we say ‘no’ to such term. The term ‘mad’ has caused a lot of stigma to people who come down with emotional problems and from the look of things, virtually everybody has come down with certain level of emotional problems at what point in time or another; are we going to say, they are mad? Because of this they are cow, they are afraid

Nets, critical in reducing malaria deaths, illness UNICEF By: Chioma Umeha M alaria kills 660,000 people every year, most of them African children. Universal coverage of insecticide-treated bed nets is key in making gains against malaria – one of the biggest killers of children in the world, said UNICEF on World Malaria Day (WMD).  With partners, UNICEF champions and supports governments to undertake free distribution of insecticide-treated nets – especially long-lasting insecticidal nets. When universal coverage – one net for every two people – is reached, this simple, effective barrier can reduce child mortality by 20 per cent.  In 2004, there were just 5.6 million bed nets in sub-Saharan Africa. Until recently, limited competition among producers meant that they were too expensive to scale up. However, by 2010, bulk buying, joint procurement, better financing and extending manufacturing capacity into Africa meant that this number had increased to 145 million. A sustained, drive

Drug cloning: Nafdac smashes syndicate in Lagos By: Chioma Umeha A syndicate which specialises in cloning several fast moving drug products including locally manufactured anti-malaria and pain-relieving medicines has been smashed in Lagos, by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). The syndicate is said to have perfected its cloning act in China and thereafter imports the cloned drugs into the country. A member of the syndicate, Mr. Maduabuchi Abuzu, who owns a shop at 21 Ashogbon street, Idumota, Lagos, and has been under NAFDAC’s watch list of fake drug importers since two years, has been arrested, while the agency has began investigations to unravel his China- based partners. According to sources close to NAFDAC, the agency is determined to take advantage of its collaboration with Chinese government in the fight against fake drugs to ensure that when investigation is concluded in the country and it establishes the culpabilit

Cerebral palsy is neither a disease nor contagious - Gbadebo By: Chioma Umeha T here is more awareness concerning cerebral palsy and its associated problems today. Yes, since the past few decades, information on the many facets of cerebral palsy has significantly increased. Today, the medical community has great interest in studying cerebral palsy to determine its causes and the most effective ways to treat it. As knowledge and treatment techniques have expanded and improved, so too have the prospects of all children living with cerebral palsy. There are several misconceptions concerning cerebral palsy. Many are unaware that it is not a disease or illness. Cerebral Palsy is a term used to describe a group of chronic conditions affecting body movements and muscle coordination. !t is caused by damage to one or more specific areas of the brain, usually occurring during foetal development, or during infancy. It can also occur before, during or shortly after birth. “Cerebral” re

First Global Vaccine Summit began yesterday By: Chioma Umeha D espite tremendous international progress, one child still dies every 20 seconds from preventable diseases like pneumonia, rotavirus, measles, and meningitis, according to a United Nations study. Hundreds of international health experts and government officials therefore convened in the UAE capital yesterday, at the first Global Vaccine Summit to discuss pressing issues in the prevention and eradication of infectious diseases. This edition of the summit is expected to place special emphasis on polio eradication. “At present, 99 per cent of all countries have eradicated the disease within their borders. However, polio is still endemic in Pakistan, Afghanistan and northern Nigeria,” James Whittington, spokesperson for the renowned philanthropic organisation Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, told Gulf News ahead of the summit. Toddler getting vaccine While fewer new cases of polio have been reported

How to stop snoring naturally By: Chioma Umeha S noring happens when you breathe through the mouth during sleeping, thereby producing that awfully embarrassing loud noise. Snoring has been medically researched to lead to eventual health issues. There are a lot of so called remedies and quick fix pills and medicines and contraptions that are out in the market these days. Some have attempted stop snoring through surgery. But it is often good advice to resort to natural methods first. Most of these natural methods are not only effective, but also possess several advantages like having no side effects. It is also a more permanent cure without breaking the bank. Sleep on your side. This allows you to breathe through your nose and not through your mouth. This opens up your nasal passages as opposed to sleeping on your back which pushes air to be breathed out through your mouth; thus making you snore. Exercises. Do exercises that help to stop snoring naturally

UN’s new action plan to save 1m African children yearly By: Chioma Umeha T he World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has launched a new Action Plan to eliminate two of the main killer diseases of children in Africa – pneumonia and diarrhoea. This is in line with the United Nations (UN) provision which states that universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene in Africa, besides availability of vaccines and treatments, is critical in ending preventable child deaths.  A joint statement on Thursday, signed by WaterAid, noted that ending preventable pneumonia and diarrhoea deaths would save the lives of over one million children in Africa every year. “Today, UNICEF and the WHO have launched a new action plan tackling for the first time two of the three biggest killer diseases of children under five in Africa – pneumonia and diarrhea,” the statement said. It added; “the plan aims to end preventable deaths of children in Afric

By: Chioma Umeha E XPERTS have raised alarm over Nigeria's failure to attain 50 per cent target in Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV last year.  According to them, the trend contradicts the county's much celebrated success of reducing infection to 4.1 per cent.  Nigeria  reduced infection from 4.6 per cent in 2008 to 4.1 per cent in 2013, but the country still shares  32 per cent of global burden of children infection.  According to recent reports, reduction in children infection was less than 25 per cent between 2011 and 2012.  There are fears that this development may also frustrate efforts to reduce HIV incidence among  girls and women between 15 and 49 years by 2015 by at least 50 per cent. Experts have therefore called for urgent steps to be taken  in scaling down the rising incidence of  children infection through PMTCT.  This call is coming on the heels of recent report which quoted Dr. Rajiv Shah, the Administrator of United States Ag