Chioma Umeha

Some of the dignitaries at the Save The Children event W ith pneumonia being the second biggest killer of under-5 children worldwide, Save The Children International unveiled the report of its Integrated and Sustained Childhood Pneumonia and Infectious Disease Reduction in Nigeria (INSPIRING) project targeted to curb the menace. The launch of INSPIRING project, a situational analysis of the disease in Lagos and Jigawa states was to formally flag-off the scheme in the two states. Pneumonia reportedly killed 880,000 U-5 children globally in 2016 alone. Half of these were recorded in only five countries, one of which is Nigeria which also recorded about 19/1000 deaths of U-5 children in 2016. The INSPRING report estimates that    Jigawa state records about 14,988 cases of pneumonia, while Lagos state records about 17, 955 cases every year. Launching the report in Lagos, the State Child Survival Strategic Coordinator, Dr. Saida Ogaga, representing the Commissioner of Health, Prof. Akinola

T he Society for Family Health(SFH) has called on the Federal Government to boost adolescent girls’ access to health and critical social services as part of the efforts towards achieving major targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A statement which was made available to DAILY INDEPENDENT weekend, SFH Deputy Project Director of Adolescents 360 (A360), Pharm. Fifi Ogbondeminu said adolescent access to health would promote social inclusiveness and help drive down maternal mortality such as unplanned pregnancies and unsafe abortion among adolescent girls and women. According to the statement, Ogbondeminu    who spoke at the National Conference on Inclusivity, Equality & Diversity in University Education hosted by the University of Lagos explained    that SFH started A360 in June 2017 to break down barriers to some critical social and health services for adolescent girls aged 15 – 19 years by creating safe spaces in public health facilities where they can achieve their dr

Pharmacists under the auspices of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, (PSN) have bemoaned that there is very little of government support towards pharmacists’ post graduate studies. They flayed a situation whereby pharmacists are left to take responsibility of the complete cost of their residency/Consultancy programme. Explaining this to journalists in Lagos recently at an event to commemorate World Pharmacists’ Day, marked yearly, on September 25, the President of PSN, Pharm Sam Ohuabunwa stressed that there is need for the government to support continuous retraining of pharmacists to enable them update themselves with latest trend in the sector. He stressed that government should grant scholarships to pharmacy students for postgraduate and postdoctoral training abroad, especially for the new and emerging areas of Intensive Care (IC). Specifically, Ohuabunwa said, “Health is dynamic and pharmacists need training and retraining to retool for emerging and reemerging health problems. Ther

From Right: Pharm (Mazi) Sam Ohuabunwa, President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), unveiling the conference logo on Monday, while Chief Emeka Duru, Secretary, PSN; Dr. Egbuna Udeorah, Conference Planning Committee(CPC) Head of Exhibition & Un-officio member PSN; from Left: Pharmacist (Dr.) Ejiro Foyobo, Deputy President, South, PSN and Pharm Bankole Ezebuilo, Conference Planning Committee Chairman watch.   A ll roads lead to Kaduna State for Pharmacists and all stakeholders on Monday, November 4, 2019 for the Annual Conference of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) which would run through Saturday November 9, 2019. Pharm. (Mazi) Sam Ohuabunwa, PSN President, at a pre-conference briefing with newsmen announced that the conference with the theme, “Navigating the winds of change in professional practice in a volatile economy,” was structured to address key areas of need towards retooling for best world practices in the coming year; peer review to close up gaps in prac

J oint Health Sector Union and Assembly of Healthcare Professional Association (JOHESU/AHPA) has condemned and rejected the approval of the concessioning of facilities in public health institutions in the country by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC). JOHESU/AHPA which constitutes 95 per cent of health workforce in the country said concession of facilities in public health institutions would compromise the lives of the vast majority of Nigerians and compound their existing problems. JOHESU/AHPA in a release by its Chairman, Biobelemoye Joy Josiah, described the concession approval as a hurricane that would speed up a “descent to a bottomless pit of fruitlessness and un-productivity in healthcare.” It therefore urged the Federal Government to immediately stop the concessioning of Teaching Hospital facilities to private profiteers. It as well advised other health professionals who have been promised that concessioning of health facilities would not affect them to

Some dignitaries during a courtesy visit of the Conference Planning Committee of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) to Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai of Kaduna State, recently. P harm (Mazi) Sam Ohuabunwa , President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), has pledged that the society would continue to encourage pharmacists through capacity building and professional development to provide safe and effective medicines to Nigerians. Ohuabunwa made the pledge in a press statement to mark this year’s World Pharmacists Day said, “We have strived to do that in the past, sacrificially doing it today and will willingly do it tomorrow.” The World Pharmacists’ Day is marked on September 25, all over the world, to appreciate the immeasurable role played by Pharmacists in the health care delivery system of every nation. The 2019 World Pharmacists’ Day will promote “safe and effective medicines for all.” According to the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) the theme aims to high

Drugs. Inset: Adeniran   In commemorating the 2019 World Pharmacists Day, Pharm. Bola Adeniran (FPSN), the Chairman, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Lagos Branch, has drawn attention to the need for a critical appraisal of the Drug Distribution Channel, evaluation of the increasing tendencies to worsen sales and dispensing of drugs via Internet Pharmacy and attempts by the government to concession Health Facilities in FHIs in line with the theme of this year’s celebration, “Safe and Effective Medicines for All.”  CHIOMA UMEHA  reports: P harm. Bola Adeniran, Lagos PSN Chairman, has posited that to realise the objective of this year’s celebration, there is need to take a holistic review of the drug distribution channels, the challenges of Internet Pharmacy Practice in Nigeria and the drawbacks in concessioning of health facilities. World Pharmacists Day, September 25 highlights the value of the pharmacy profession and impact on improving health authorities, other professions an

The United Nations Children Funds (UNICEF) has said that Nigeria is in dire need of N4.4 billion to procure 229,636 cartons of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) to address malnutrition in Borno State in 2020. The international agency said, an estimated 440,000 children who are under five years are affected by the Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states in 2019. UNICEF Nutrition Specialist, Aminu Usman, disclosed this at the opening of a two-day media dialogue on “Integrated and timely response to nutrition-related humanitarian needs” in Maiduguri, on Thursday. The dialogue is organised by the Child Rights Information Bureau, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture in collaboration with UNICEF, with support from the Department for International Development (DFID). Recent reports show that child malnutrition cases in Borno had continued to rise despite international interventions. UNICEF said it also needs N5 billion for the procurement of 258,950 carton