Chioma Umeha

By Chioma Umeha Last Saturday, fortune smiled on Mrs. Nworogwu Odoh who had lived with Fistula since the Biafran war. She was among the group of women discharged from National Obstetric Fistula Centre in Abakaliki, Ebonyi, after a successful surgery. Odoh used to live as an outcast. Everybody avoided her following the foul smell of uncontrollable urination. “I had lived with Fistula since Biafra war. Life was a living hell for me. I could not attend meetings with my fellow women as people usually shunned me each time I tried to sit close to them,” highly elated Odoh said. Speaking in her local Ikwo dialect, amid joyful chants by other natives of Oron’a, Amagu community of Ikwo local government area of Ebonyi state, Odoh, in an air of ecstasy shouted: “Today, I am free from my pain. I am free from many years of stigma due to fistula. I am free now I can sit wherever I want to sit. “Now, I will tie my wrapper to our women’s meeting. I am happy. I am free,” she to

• Calls for an end to Female Genital Cutting By Chioma Umeha The Nigeria Association of Women Journalists, NAWOJ, Lagos State Chapter, has called on the Federal Government and all state governments to pass death penalty for rape. This call was contained in a communique signed by the Lagos NAWOJ Chairperson, Hajia Sekinah Lawal at the association’s February Congress which held in Ikeja, Lagos State. The group commended the Lagos State House of Assembly and Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for passing a death penalty for kidnapping in the state as they noted that rape is also a big problem in the country. “The Police and parents should be ready to report and follow cases of rape to the latter. “Mothers should make sure their grown-up girls were well-dressed as a strategy to curb rape while those found guilty should be sentenced to death in order to serve as deterrent to others,” it added. Lagos NAWOJ also urged Federal and state governments to urgently do some

•            Pledges Support For NAFDAC’s Moves On Unwholesome Foods By Chioma Umeha Prof. Isaac Adewole, Minister of Health, on Tuesday, announced that the Federal Government, along with stakeholders has commenced the implementation of the Food Safety Policy. He also revealed that the government will soon produce a draft of National Food Safety & Quality (NFSQ) Bill and working paper on food safety. Adewole made this known at the first Nigeria Food Safety and Investment forum organised by United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) held in Lagos, explaining that the stakeholders that constitute the National Food Safety Management Committee (NFSMC). He however observed that the country still has lots of grounds to cover before getting to the point where we can fully benefit from this draft bill and the institutional reforms. The Minister further pledged that the Federal Ministry of Health will continue to support National Agency for F

By Chioma Umeha Meanwhile, both the UNFPA Executive Director, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin and UNICEF Executive Director, Anthony Lake have said that the world must make faster progress to end obnoxious practice by 2030. Condemning the dastardly act in his statement to mark the day, the duo said:“It irreparably damages girls’ bodies, inflicting excruciating pain. It causes extreme emotional trauma that can last a lifetime. “It increases the risk of deadly complications during pregnancy, labour and childbirth, endangering both mother and child. “It robs girls of their autonomy and violates their human rights. “It reflects the low status of girls and women and reinforces gender inequality, fueling intergenerational cycles of discrimination and harm. “It is female genital mutilation and cutting. And despite all the progress we have made toward abolishing this violent practice, millions of girls – many of them under the age of 15 – will be forced to undergo it

By Chioma Umeha The Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative 2 (N URHI), a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation project, says it has embarked on 72-hour renovation of 50 selected public health facilities in Lagos. Under the programme, NURHI would commence and complete renovation of some selected primary health centres (PHC) or hospitals, within 72 hours. Dr Omosanjuwa Edun, NURHI-2 Lagos team leader, told newsmen in Lagos the programme was aimed at increasing access to health care, especially in the area of reproductive health and family planning. Edun said the project would also help increase the contraceptive prevalence rate among women and men of reproductive age from the current national level of 15 per cent to 36 per cent. “Our selection of local governments and PHCs is based on the local government area with the highest population, as well as, highest population of women of reproductive age. “We believe those are the people who should be priori

By Chioma Umeha 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 fr

By Chioma Umeha UNICEF has urged governments at all levels, civil society organisations, and traditional and religious leaders to team up and end the scourge of Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting in Nigeria. The call came as the world marked International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation on Monday. Commenting, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria Mohamed Fall, stressed that “Every study and every bit of evidence we have shows there is absolutely no benefit to mutilate or to cut any girl or woman for non-medical reasons. It is a practice that can cause severe physical and psychological harm.” Five states in Nigeria have rates of Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting (FGM/C) that are more than 60 per cent, with Osun and Ebonyi highest at 77 and 74 per cent respectively, according to the 2013 National Demographic and Health Survey. The other states are Ekiti, 72 per cent; Imo, 68 per cent; and Oyo, 66 per cent. FGM comprises all procedures

By Chioma Umeha To answer this, it is important to first address the question: What are Blocked Fallopian Tubes? The fallopian tubes are two thin tubes, one on each side of the uterus, which help lead the mature egg from the ovaries to the uterus. When an obstruction prevents the egg from traveling down the tube, the woman has a blocked fallopian tube. It can occur on one or both sides. This is also known as tubal factor infertility, and is the cause of infertility in 40 per cent of infertile women. How Do Blocked Fallopian Tubes Cause Infertility? Each month, when ovulation occurs, an egg is released from one of the ovaries. The egg travels from the ovary, through the tubes, and into the uterus. The sperm also need to swim their way from the cervix, through the uterus, and through the fallopian tubes to get the egg. Fertilization usually takes place while the egg is traveling through the tube. If one or both fallopian tubes are blocked, the egg cannot re

•Practitioners Trade Blames By Chioma Umeha 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 b

By 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