Chioma Umeha

From Left: Pharm Olumide Akintayo, Past President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria; Dr. Fidelis A. Ayebae, Chairman of the occasion; Pharm. (Mrs.) Adeniran Bolanle, Chairman Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria Lagos State Branch and Mr. Olusola Adu, Representative of the Lagos State Governor-Elect during the 2019 annual luncheon and welcome reception for newly inducted Fellows of PSN from Lagos State/N50m fundraising to complete on-going Secretariat Building of the Society held at Sheraton Hotel Lagos, recently. Chioma Umeha The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Lagos Chapter, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to, as a matter of urgency, sign the Pharmacy Bill into law before the expiration of the life of the current administration. Chairman, Lagos PSN, made the call in an address she presented to the 2019 annual luncheon of the group held at Sheraton Hotel, Lagos recently. Pharm. (Mrs.) Adeniran said the call had become necessary agains

  Chioma Umeha Nearly 900 children, including 894 children, including 106 girls, were released from the ranks of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in Maiduguri, north-east Nigeria, today, Friday, May 10, 2019 as part of its commitment to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children. The new release brings the total number of children released since 2017 to over 1,700, according to a statement signed by Oluwatosin Akingbulu, Communication, Advocacy and Partnerships, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) made available to DAILY INDEPENDENT. The CJTF is a local militia – an armed group that helps the Nigerian security forces in the fight against insurgency in north-east Nigeria. It was formed in 2013, with the aim of protecting communities from attack. “Any commitment for children that is matched with action is a step in the right direction for the protection of children’s rights and must be recognised and encouraged,” said Mohamed Fall, Repr

Chioma Umeha Three decades after Nigeria adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child   (CRC), the Bill is still existing in papers in many of the States as only 25 of them have ratified it, even as 12 States, mainly from the North are yet to domesticate the law. This is just as anxious child protection experts announced to journalists on Monday that poverty, community disintegration, family dysfunction, and child vulnerability are drawbacks to the actualisation of the Child Rights Laws in the country. According to them, failure in meeting the developmental needs of the Nigerian children makes him a victim of several forms of violence, the consequence is non-implementation of the Act in the country. Among the experts was Sharon Oladiji, Child Protection Specialist, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said at a two-day media dialogue on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC@30) held in Lagos who gave a breakdown of the slow trend in the Bill’s domesticatio

Recently, the news of a husband of a 35-year-old woman, Mrs. Queen Udekwe, based in Benin, Edo State, who previously had a set of twins absconded after she was delivered of triplets made the rounds in the media. The report has it that her husband fled immediately he discovered the children through the result of a scan conducted while his wife was still pregnant and vowed not to return home. Several reactions greeted the development with many Nigerians condemning the action of the escapee husband. Some schools of thought reasoned that the birth of the triplets is a divine blessing and not a curse. Therefore, they saw it as an act of wickedness and ingratitude to God for the man to abscond from his family. Some others, who reacted differently to the situation, said, it was a sign of high fertility rate in the couple. Whichever perspective one decides to view, the issue throws up high fertility as one of the main causes of overpopulation problems. The case of Udek

It is not news that family planning protects the health of women and children as well as reduces ugly risky overpopulation burdens by helping a family to plan and responsibly fulfill its parental roles. The media is replete with many reports which X- rays the roles of family planning in population control, more so in view of the newest Nigeria’s population figures. Nigeria’s population has risen to 201 million in 2019, according to the latest State of World Population Report released recently by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Nigeria is considered the populous country in Africa, yet it is only the fourth largest African nation in arable land area. Nigeria’s annual growth rate of 2.8 % means the population is growing by nearly three million people every year. Nigeria is considered the populous country in Africa, yet it is only the fourth largest African nation in arable land area. Nigeria’s annual growth rate of 2.8  percent means the population is growi

It has become glaring to all stakeholders in every sector of the Nigerian economy that the Nigerian huge population, which supposed to serve as strength to the nation, has the tendency to sabotage government policies on economic growth and development. According to the 2018 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) report, if fertility were to remain constant at current levels, a woman in Nigeria would bear an average of 5.3 children in her lifetime. While fertility is low among adolescents (107 births per 1,000 women), the report revealed that it peaks at 256 births per 1,000 among women aged from 25 to 59 years and fertility is higher among rural women than among urban women. On average, rural women will give birth to about 1.4 children more than urban women during their reproductive years (5.9 And 4.5, respectively). Meanwhile, family planning which refers to a conscious effort by a couple to limit or space the number of children they have through the use of co

When Udeme Akpa got admitted into secondary school, the joy of the parents knew no bounds.  For them, it was like a prayer answered. As the first daughter of a family of eight, there were so many expectations including lifting the family from what could be described as ‘age-long poverty.’ Udeme, 18, was living up to expectation until the unexpected occurred.  Her woes began one evening when a man in her neighborhood gave her a ride to school. Little did she know that the few minutes ride would later become a stumbling block to her life’s dream.  A few months later, the same man identified as Mr. Udoh invited Udeme to his house, but she turned him down.  After much persuasion, Udeme accepted to visit him. Sadly, innocent Udeme never knew she was playing with fire until he visited Udoh.  On that fateful Friday, Udeme decided to visit him. Sadly, she was raped by the same man whom she thought showed her kindness. Subsequently, she had unprotected sex with Udoh. Unf