Chioma Umeha

Today, many people ignorantly suffer from a form of throat cancer that has been linked to HPV (human papilloma virus), a sexually transmitted disease. It is important to know that those infected by HPV live it with for many years without any symptoms. Infections can come and go completely undetected, frequently disappearing without any treatment. It has been documented to take as long as 15 years from infection to cancer in some people.  There are different types of HPV. One of the basic HPV classifications is the risk of cancer. HPV can be classified as low-risk or high-risk. HPV can cause many different types of cancer, including cervical and other genital cancers like vulvar, vaginal and penile cancer; oral cancers (including throat, mouth and tonsillar cancer); colorectal and anal cancers; even bladder cancer. Commenting on the September 2013 issue of the journal Oral Oncology, authors including; Fakhry and D’Souza identified some interesting statistics about HPV in mouth

By: Chioma Umeha A new research said Tuesday, said that walking can help to cut women’s risk of breast cancer. The study suggested that post-menopausal women who walk for an hour daily can reduce their chance of breast cancer significantly. The report, which followed 73,000 women for 17 years, discovered that walking for at least seven hours a week lowered the risk of the disease. The American Cancer Society team said in an agency report that this was the first time reduced risk was specifically linked to walking.  UK experts said it was more evidence that lifestyle influenced cancer risk. A recent poll for the charity Ramblers found a quarter of adults walk for no more than an hour a week – but being active is known to reduce the risk of a number of cancers. This study, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention followed 73,615 women out of 97,785 aged from 50 to 74 who had been recruited by the American Cancer Society between 1992 and 1993 so it could mo

By: Chioma Umeha It was 7.00am, when my phone rang. I picked the phone without checking the caller. Peace is dead! Peace is dead! So I heard, but the voice could not be mistaken. It was that of Adanne (surname withheld) my cousin. As she sobbed profusely, I also heard noise at the background, perhaps neighbours trying to console her. ‘Its okay, I’m coming tomorrow,’ I told Ada as we fondly called her. My plea through the phone conversation appeared to have fallen on deaf ears. This made me more confused. So, I quickly rushed to Owerri, Imo state, her residence the next day.  I was apparently bewildered at the story that later unfolded. Adanne, aged 30, happily tied the nuptial knot December 5, 2009, to her heartthrob, Emeka. I was at her wedding. She was further overjoyed to become pregnant few months after. But her joy was punctuated a month after delivery, as her baby, Peace, often appeared sickly. Mistaken the symptoms to be for cold, the nearest health centre provided appr

BY: CHIOMA UMEHA In a renewed vigour aimed at strengthening consumer’s confidence in their choice of regulated products in the country, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has embarked on a massive raid and enforcement operations of major supermarkets, open markets and suspected warehouses in the Lagos area.  The exercise spearheaded by the Enforcement Directorate of the Agency and led by one Mrs. Ijeoma Nzeaka, a Chief Regulatory Officer, took the team to the popular Oke-Arin, Balogun, Idumota, Mushin and Oshodi markets, Trade Fair Complex stalls  as well as major supermarkets located in Apapa, Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Ajah and their environs. Apart from the markets, some suspected warehouses in Isolo, Badagry expressway and motor garages and loading parks were also visited.  During the exercise, products of various ranges worth over N50 million were confiscated with the warehouses sealed and three trailers suspected to be loaded wit

By: Chioma Umeha Children with autism may sleep less each night due to disturbed sleep than those without the condition, according to a new study. Researchers from the U.K. and Canada found that starting at around age two until 11, children with autism tended to sleep 17 to 43 fewer minutes each night than their peers without autism. Researchers said the decreased sleep was due to periods of wakefulness during the night. Photo:L-r:  Dr. Osi Akpene, Mrs. ChiddyIbiam, Barr.{Mrs.} Helen Mbakwe, President of foundation,Hajiah Umah Sehu and Mrs. Emily Ajisebutu at the conference organized by  Keera Autism Foundation, held recently at Lekki,  to create awareness and empowerment for the people living with autism. While the discrepancy in sleep shrank when children reached their teens, researchers found that teens with autism did still tend to get about 20 fewer minutes each night than those without the condition. The study, published in the journal, Archives of Disease in Child

By: Chioma Umeha (Health Editor) and Baba Negedu The Polio Oversight Board (POB) has reaffirmed its commitment towards supporting governments and national authorities to implement the five year programme of Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan, aimed at realizing the health benefits of polio eradication worldwide. The programme of Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan began this year and will run till 2018.  A statement from the heads of agencies of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) members of POB, after its review meeting in New York and made available to Saturday Newswatch in Kaduna said: “We met to review progress on commitments made last year to an emergency approach to complete polio eradication by 2018. We assessed the impact of those commitments, and noted the progress made against the Strategic Plan in the face of serious challenges”. According to them, “the GPEIs top priority remains interrupting polio transmission in endemic countries,

By: Chioma Umeha Majority of people suffering hunger live in developing countries, where the prevalence of undernourishment is estimated at 14.3 per cent, the United Nations’ (UN) food agencies said on Tuesday. Of the 842 million hungry people in the world, 827 million live in Africa, the UN agencies said. Africa remains the region with the highest prevalence of undernourishment, with more than one in five people estimated to be undernourished, while most of the undernourished people are in southern Asia.  One in eight people around the world is chronically undernourished, the agencies also said, warning world leaders that some regions would fail in halving the number of hungry by 2015. In their latest report on food insecurity, the UN agencies estimated that there are 842 million people have been suffering from chronic hunger since 2011 till date that is 12 per cent of the world’s population, down 17 percent from 1990 to 1992. The new figure was lower than the last estimate

By: CHIOMA UMEHA  Olumide Akintayo is the National President of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN).  In this interview Akintayo speaks on World Pharmacists Day and the role of pharmacy in simplifying the use of medicines for patients’ benefit. CHIOMA UMEHA (HEALTH EDITOR) provided the details.  Excerpts:  Majority of people suffering hunger live in developing countries, where the prevalence of undernourishment is estimated at 14.3 per cent, the United Nations’ (UN) food agencies said on Tuesday. Of the 842 million hungry people in the world, 827 million live in Africa, the UN agencies said. Africa remains the region with the highest prevalence of undernourishment, with more than one in five people estimated to be undernourished, while most of the undernourished people are in southern Asia.  One in eight people around the world is chronically undernourished, the agencies also said, warning world leaders that some regions would fail in halving the number of hungry b

By: CHIOMA UMEHA Africa has highest proportion of undiagnosed diabetes A study by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) published in the World Diabetes Atlas Africa has said that the Africa continent highest proportion of undiagnosed diabetes which is about 78 per cent. It said Sub-Saharan Africa has more than 15 million of the 371 million people living with diabetes in the world.  It said an estimated 344,000 deaths in the region could be attributed to diabetes, which represents 6.1 per cent of deaths from all causes. The study which was contained in  news agency report weekend, revealed that investment, research, and health systems are slow to respond to this burden and remain focused primarily on infectious diseases. It said the region accounts for less than one per cent of global healthcare expenditures due to diabetes. It said estimates for the Africa region indicate that at least $2.8 billion was spent on healthcare due to diabetes in 2011; this expenditure due to

By: Chioma Umeha *The kid athletes with top Nigerian athletes Falilat Ogunkoya-Omotayo and Yussuf Alli during the Nestlé/IAAF Kids Athletics Activation in Ikeja, Lagos…yesterday, in Photo Nestlé Nigeria Plc, the beverage company has called for positive physical, health and social skills development of school-age-children by engaging them in sporting activities, apart from enhancing their qualities as future athletes Making the call was Dr Samuel Adenekan, Manager Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, Nestlé, who explained that the company was the main sponsor of the just concluded International Association of Athletics Federations’ (IAAF) Kids Athletics programme.  According to him, supporting the just concluded International Association of Athletics Federations’ (IAAF) Kids Athletics programme, which is one of the biggest grassroots development programmes in the world of sports, was part of Nestle’s commitment to nutrition and health. A statement at the weekend

By: CHIOMA UMEHA The Child Protection Network(CPN) a coalition of n o n – governmental Organisations (NGOs) Civil Society Organisations (CBOs) and Faith Based Organisations (FBOs) and government agencies in 31 States and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) working in the area of Child Protection in the country have decried the removal of Section 29(4) (a) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the retention of Section 29(4) (b), last Wednesday, by lawmakers in the country.  A statement signed by the various representatives of CPN from the various geopolitical zones and states in the country condemned the Senate’s move. The statement read: “CPN decries in very strong terms the removal of Section 29(4) (a) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the retention of Section 29(4) (b) of the same on Wednesday July 17 by the members of the National Assembly.” According to them, the action violates the African Charter on the Rights and Wel

Chioma Umeha The World Health Organisation has released new clinical protocols and guidelines to health care workers for treating the mental health consequences of trauma and loss. Mental disorders are common, disabling and usually untreated, and WHO’s Mental Health Global Action Programme (mhGAP) was developed in 2008 to scale up care for mental, neurological and substance use disorders with simple treatment protocols that could be offered by primary health care doctors and nurses.  The clinical protocol and guidelines which was made available to the Ghana News Agency by Fadéla Chaib, WHO Spokesperson noted that the body is now extending the programme by including care for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), acute stress and bereavement within its global plan. It said traumatic events and loss are common in people’s lives; in a previous WHO study of 21 countries, more than 10 per cent of respondents reported witnessing violence (21.8 per cent) or experiencing interpers

By: Chioma Umeha There is increasing global concern over the rising incidence of hepatitis and its health implications as 1.4 million die yearly from the five hepatitis viruses that cause severe liver infections. Against this background, the World Health Organisation (WHO) during the recent World Hepatitis Day, the World Health Organisation (WHO) urged governments to act against the five hepatitis viruses that cause severe liver infections and lead to over 1.4 million deaths each year.  The complexity of hepatitis disease lies in the existence of different types of viruses. The director Pandemic and Epidemic Diseases of the world health body, Dr Sylvie Briand, said Hepatitis A and E are food borne and waterborne infections, which cause millions of cases of acute illness every year, sometimes with several months needed for a person to fully recover. Hepatitis B, C, and D are spread by infected body fluids including blood, by sexual contact, mother-to-child transmission during b