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Pharmacy Marred By Lack Of Teaching Aids, Research Grants

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Olumide Akintayo, a member of the National Executive of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) and the immediate past President of the society, in this interview addresses the challenges of practicing pharmacy, fake drug distribution, among other issues bugging the sector. According to media reports, you decried the state of pharmacy practice in Nigeria during the just concluded annual health week of the Pharmacy Academy of Nigeria Students (PANS), University of Benin (UNIBEN). Mention challenges which pharmacy professionals are facing. Stating that pharmacy has continued to thrive in an atmosphere of confusion is an understatement. Uncertainties have become the unenviable cross of the Nigerian Pharmacist.  An evaluation of the various sectors of pharmacy practice shows that some aspects epitomize a mass of putrefying sores. Academic pharmacy is marked with unending tales of woes which have manifested in lack of teaching aids and research grants for the academic

Junk Food Damages Kidneys- Study

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Eating junk foods such as burgers, fries, biscuits and fizzy drinks may cause as much damage to the kidney as diabetes, a new study has warned. Type 2 diabetes is often associated with obesity and the number of cases are rising worldwide at an alarming rate, an online report said. In type 2 diabetes, the body does not produce enough insulin or does not react to it. This causes an accumulation of sugar (glucose) in the blood, which can have severe long-term consequences for organs, including the kidneys, where it can lead to diabetic kidney disease, researchers said. Hence, finding a way to block glucose re-absorption in the kidneys could offer a potential treatment for lowering blood sugar levels, they said. For the study, researchers from Anglia Ruskin University in the UK used animal models of diabetes and models of diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance to see how insulin resistance and too much sugar or fat affect glucose transporters in the kidney. The rats wer

Nature & Living

Simple Ways To Reduce Stress Here’s how you can get more out of each day…   Have a laugh  While working and carrying family responsibilities, stressing out too much about them will simply cause more grief  both mentally as well as physically, according to experts. However, there are several ways you can unwind –  watch your favourite comedy, catch up with close friends and talk about funny memories. Research says that every time you laugh out loud, increased oxygen flows to your organs, blood flow increases, and stress automatically reduces.   Spend time with your pet Pets are known not only to give you unconditional love, but spending time with them is actually good for your health. Studies say that when you pet your dog/cat even for just a few minutes, your body releases feel-good hormones like serotonin, prolactin, and oxytocin, and also decreases the amount of the damaging stress hormones. This results in lower blood pressure, less anxiety and even better immun

Nigeria Renews Strategy To Achieve Zero Malaria Deaths In 2020

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About three billion US dollars is lost to malaria yearly due to out of pocket treatment and prevention costs.  This amount could pay the annual salaries of 2.2 million Nigerians on minimum wage.” This statistics is based on a recent report from experts working with a public health non-profit making organization, the Society for Family Health (SFH). The SFH experts also say that the socio-economic and health burden of malaria is high. The disease constitutes “a major cause of absenteeism in schools, offices and markets, and affects the national economy.” Malaria accounts for about six out of 10 out-patient visits and three of 10 admissions in healthcare facilities. They further state that malaria accounts for 11 per cent of maternal mortality and three of 10 deaths in children less than five years. The trend is worrisome to experts who say that Nigeria accounts for one-third of global malaria deaths. According to them the disease is also responsible for a quarter of

Experts Decry Stigma Against Women With Infertility

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As ‘Merck More Than A Mother’ Campaign Debuts In Nigeria There was serious outrage by many people across the world when the news broke recently over a husband in Kenya who hacked his wife’s hands off with a machete for failing to conceive after seven years of marriage – though he was impotent. Jackline Mwende was brutally slashed by  her husband, Stephen Ngila, 34,  at her home in Masii, Machakos County after he told her ‘Today is your last day.’ Mwende, 27, was also left with horrific injuries to her head. The case had sparked outrage in Kenya. Mwende who is now being supported by “Merck More than a Mother” initiative to empower and enable her to become an independent productive member in society throughout the rest of her life represent millions of African women with similar tragedy. Winifred (not real name) graduate,   married in 2005 at the age of 27, to her seemingly heartthrob in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT). She engaged in various f
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Family Planning Prevents Prolong Obstructed Labour, Fistula – Umma-Bala Over half of Nigerian married women aged between 15 and 49 want to avoid pregnancy and plan their families, but, lack access to modern contraception according to the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). This challenge of non-availability of family planning (FP) supplies in the country’s various health facilities is worsened by the myths and misconceptions about FP which women contend with in their various communities. But, a Reproductive Health/Family Planning, FP, Adviser to Fistula Care Plus, based in Sokoto State, Mrs. Amina Umma Bala in this interview with  Chioma Umeha  dismisses the myths, declares it number one step out of poverty for couples  saying, it gives couples opportunity to delay, space and choose number of children they want. Excerpts: There are various perceptions and misconception about family planning. For instance, in some communities, it is believed that if a woman uses a met
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NCDC Confirms Lassa Fever Spread To Four States, One Death The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed five more cases of Lassa fever across four states in the last 11 days. Two cases were reported from Plateau State, one from Rivers, and one each from Bauchi and Gombe, NCDC said in a statement Friday night. Four of the   infected   people are alive, but the fifth case, from Gombe, died on August 22. “We commend the early detection and reporting of the most recent cases, as it significantly improves the likelihood of survival for the cases and also reduces the risk of further transmission,” said NCDC chief executive officer Chikwe Ihekweazu. “We also urge all States to report cases immediately for Lassa fever while improving on the timeliness of their reporting generally.” Ministries of health in the respective states, the NCDC and the Nigerian Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme are investigating and managing those infected. An NCDC advi
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FG, WAMCO Renew MOU On Dairy Development Programme Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) and one of the country’s leading dairy companies, FrieslandCampina WAMCO, makers of Peak, Three Crowns and Friso brands of milk have renewed their memorandum of understanding (MoU) on dairy development in the country. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief AuduOgbeh, and the Managing Director, FrieslandCampina WAMCO, Mr. Rahul Colaco, signed the MOU at a ceremony held in Abuja, recently. WAMCO is the first dairy company in Nigeria to sign such a pact with the Federal Government. The Minister and his team had visited the Netherlands earlier in the year, to see how the Dutch dairy chain is organized from “grass to glass” and how FrieslandCampina guarantees the safety and quality of her products. A statement issued by the company’s Corporate Affairs Director, Ore Famurewa, explained: “This is an enormously positive development for FrieslandCampina W
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Ambode’s Wife Pledges Support For Adolescents Living With HIV The wife of the Lagos State governor, Mrs Bolanle Ambode has expressed concern over adolescents living with HIV in the state, and pledged to support them to actualise their potentials. Addressing journalists at an “Adolescent Advocacy Meeting with policy makers on the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents living with HIV in Nigeria, the representative of the wife of the Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode, Mrs Rhoda Ayinde, said the state has put in place vocational skill centres that will foresee to the training of adolescent living with Human Immune Virus, adding that it will not rest on its oars. She however stated: “I will team up with other governors’ wives of states like Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Benue, FCT and Kaduna. We will empower and sensitize these adolescent and also involve all stakeholders to see that HIV is totally eliminated. The two weeks summer camp from August 23 to  September 2,  is geared
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Nigeria Must Reduce Infection In Adolescents To Be HIV-free – Umoh Mr. Francis Umoh is the Programme Manager, Positive Action for Treatment Access (PATA), Lagos who was in charge of a two-week national mentorship and leadership training programme for Adolescents Living with HIV in Nigeria (ALHIV) with the support of UNICEF in collaboration with the Lagos State AIDS Control Agency (LSACA). In an interview with CHIOMA UMEHA, Umoh discusses the purpose of the just-ended vacation training and how about 196,000 Nigerian adolescents living with HIV can have improved health and quality of life. Excerpts: Can you give details of the just-ended national mentorship and leadership training programme for Adolescents Living with HIV in Nigeria (ALHIV) organized by PATA? The event promotes access to HIV treatment education, care and services; advocate for access to affordable, qualitative diagnostic and monitoring tests, drugs and commodities to treat HIV and its attendant problems. Our you