Chioma Umeha

Following the growing cost of medical care with out-of-pocket payments, the Lagos State Government has today commenced free medical mission to provide free healthcare services to residents of Lagos across the 20 Local Governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas, LCDAs. The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, who said this on Monday at a news conference in Alausa, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria said that the free healthcare, under the Lagos State Medical Mission, would commence on March 1 and end on June 8, 2017. Idris said the programme over the years had helped to complement health service delivery in the state, aside helping government to take healthcare to the grassroots and undeserved areas of Lagos State, by addressing pressing health issues of the rural communities in the state. The State Health boss said: “These medical missions are significant because it will enable this administration to provide healthcare services to all who come irrespective of their

Embryo freezing is a procedure that allows embryos to be preserved for later use. The first successful pregnancy resulting from freezing a woman’s healthy embryos was in the 1980s. Since then, many embryos have been frozen for later use. The embryos may be stored to enable a future pregnancy, to donate to others, for medical research or for training purposes. The process begins by using hormones and other medications to stimulate the production of potentially fertile eggs. The eggs are then extracted from the woman’s ovaries to either be fertilized in a lab or frozen for later use. Successful fertilization may lead to at least one healthy embryo, which can then be transferred to the woman’s womb or uterus. Hopefully, the embryo will develop and the woman can carry the developing infant through pregnancy to a live birth. Since fertilization often results in more than one embryo, the remaining embryos can be preserved through freezing. According to the Oxford Livin

* Practitioners Trade Blames It was great excitement for Bisola Ogidi, 22, and her husband, Lanre, 28, when for the first time after four years of childlessness she became pregnant. For them, it was a dream come through. But little did they know that Bisola will not be alive to carry her baby as she died while giving birth in a traditional birth attendant (TBA) home. She was never asked to undergo any kind of test or scan throughout her visit to the TBA home. The woman in charge of the home, being an unskilled TBA, believed that all was well with Bisola and the unborn baby. Eventually Bisola struggled to deliver her baby. Exhausted, she died with the baby, which suffered fetal distress in her womb. Isioma Alaka, 24, was pregnant for her second baby. Once she discovered this, Isioma registered with a TBA home, where the male attendant placed her on herbal medication. She was not asked to go for any test or scan even when she complained of some bleeding. At the nin

National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Tuesday in Lagos , said, it carried out surveillance which led to a successful raid of Ezedams Enterprises Nig. Ltd on Badagry Expressway, Ojo which is into illegal production of counterfeit alcoholic beverages. The Acting Director General of NAFDAC, Mrs. Yetunde Oni, said that a thorough search of the facility led to the discovery of several drums of Ethyl Alcohol; Rayner’s Flavouring Agents ; unidentified chemicals in several jerry-cans and packaging materials. Addressing journalists on Tuesday in NAFDAC Oshodi office, in Lagos, was the Head of NAFDAC’s Investigation and Enforcement, Mr. Kingsley Ejiofor,   who spoke on behalf of the agency’s DG added that the facility has been sealed with investigation on-going. In addition,   he said that following intelligence received on a transport vehicle containing suspected counterfeit Peak Milk products bound for Lagos from the East, the Agency set up sur

Fortune smiled on 19 year-old Iyabo Abayomi immediately after her traditional wedding. She became pregnant, and her husband, Bamidele, handed her over to his eldest sister, whom he believed would properly guide her through the peril of pregnancy. The Lagos-based Bamideles hail from Yoruba land in Nigeria, where pregnancy is viewed as a time of great peril for a woman. Many sayings and actions attest to this, but the most widespread is the greeting after child birth: e ku ewu omo (congratulations on delivery from the peril of childbirth). It is therefore common practice for young pregnant women to be under the tutelage of older ones believed to be experienced in pregnancy matters for guidance during this period of peril. Iyabo’s non-literate sister-in-law immediately enrolled her in a near by traditional maternity home, admonishing her to abide by all the instructions that would be given there. “My sister in-law told me she had had all her children at the maternity home, ru

Scientists has said that high consumption of potatoes (whether fried, boiled, baked, or mashed) is associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure. The research which was published in the British Medical Journal suggested that replacing one daily serving of potatoes with other, non-starchy vegetables could reduce the risk of developing hypertension. The researchers, from Harvard Medical School in the US, followed over 187,000 men and women from three large US studies for more than 20 years. They measured dietary intake, including frequency of potato consumption, with a questionnaire. Blood pressure was measured by a health professional. After taking into account other risk factors for hypertension, the researchers found that four or more servings a week of potatoes was associated with an increased risk, compared with less than one serving a month. However, consumption of crisps was not found to increase risk. The researchers wrote: ‘These findings have poten

“I came here because my bladder busted when I went to deliver my baby many  years ago and since then  my health  condition has  not remain the same due to pains and discomfort l go through on a daily basis.” These were the words of  Lucia Ofoegbu, 63, from Anambra  State. Lucia is among the women who were recently treated of Vesico Vagina Fistula (VVF ) at the National Obstetrics Fistula hospital Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.  Lucia said she was thrown out of her matrimonial home, because she came down with VVF, 50 years ago, following a ruptured  bladder. In this story which will bring tears to most eyes, Lucia in an emotion-laden voice, which contrasts with the joy she now feels, told a team of health reporters on a facility visit to the hospital, the first National VVF hospital in the country, that the condition took away her pride. The facility visit was part of a three-day training for health reporters, sponsored by Engender health, an international non-governmental org

The recent alarm on rising global incidence of cancer by the World Health Organisation (WHO) should worry African countries, including Nigeria, where the disease is becoming prevalent. Available statistics show that Nigeria accounts for  10,000 cancer deaths annually, while 250,000 new cases occur yearly. Prof. Innocent Ujah, Director- General of the Nigerian Institute for Medical Research (NIMR)Yaba, Lagos, in this interview with Chioma Umeha , announced that  the prevalence study for Humanpapilloma Virus (HPV) that causes cervical cancer will be out this year. Excerpt: The issue of misdiagnoses is a serious problem in this part of the world. How do you think we can improve on laboratory services, especially as concerns Cancers? Diagnosis involves the technician that is manpower development. The next is the technology.  Are we using the appropriate technology? If we are using the updated technology, then with trained manpower, we should be able to reduce misdiagnoses