Chioma Umeha

Doctors Insist On Payment Before Resumption The doctors, operating under the aegis of the National Association of Resident Doctors, after the meeting, which began at about 2:30pm on Wednesday and ended at 12:30am on Thursday, insisted that their salaries must be paid before they will call off the strike. FG, NARD in new terms of settlement as Doctors insist on payment before resumption After about 10 hours of negotiation, striking resident doctors in the country in the wee hours of Thursday signed a new Memorandum of Terms of Settlement with the Federal Government. The doctors, operating under the aegis of the National Association of Resident Doctors, after the meeting, which began at about 2:30pm on Wednesday and ended at 12:30am on Thursday, insisted that their salaries must be paid before they will call off the strike. It was gathered that the Federal Government negotiation team, which was led by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, promised that the doc

·            Abayomi Receives Award of Excellence In Medical Leadership Health professionals have called for the promotion of mental health in the country especially among aspirants to leadership positions. This, they explained, is to ensure that they have the qualities and ability to pursue the good of the society.  They made the call during the during the just-concluded Annual Scientific Conference And Gathering organised by the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Lagos (CMUL), Idi-Araba, Lagos. Speakers at the conference with the theme, “ Mental Health In a Recessed Economy ,” and sub-theme, “ Role of Academics in Emotional Health Promotion ,” linked general well-being of individuals to their state of mental health. Among those who canvassed for this recently was Professor Jude Uzoma Ohaeri, a Professor of Psychiatric, University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), Enugu State. In a lecture entitled, “ Mental Health Promotion As A National Deve

To control rapid population growth, its associated problems and achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), stakeholders have called for increased budgetary allocation to family planning as Nigeria joins the rest of the work to mark 2017 World Population Day (WPD). Speaking on this year’s WPD theme, “Family Planning, Birth Spacing: Empowering People, Developing Nations,” Chief  Eze Duruiheoma, Chairman, National Population Commission (NPC), said that family planning and birth spacing are measures to attain a sustainable family size by way of allowing for adequate intervals between births, employing especially the use of contraception. Duruiheoma said, “Family planning is not only about saving lives but also empowering people and developing nations.  “Family and birth spacing are personal decisions but their profound implications on health, economic and social wellbeing of the society are far reaching. “That is why simple individual decision has become a developmental agend

Exercise Exercise should be encouraged for both women and men who are gearing up to try to conceive. However, excessive, strenuous exercise in women may result in disruption of the ovulation cycle, thereby affecting her periods. Normal exercise has not been linked to miscarriages (loss of pregnancy), but certain forms of exercise (for example, high-impact or contact sports or scuba diving) should be avoided in pregnancy. In men, too much exercise may cause a low sperm count. Weight and fertility A healthy diet is very important for women who are looking for a baby. Being overweight can affect a woman’s fertility and can cause complications during pregnancy. A woman who is overweight and who is planning a pregnancy would be advised to lose weight before she conceives. Obesity can affect fertility by causing hormonal imbalances and problems with ovulation, particularly for obese women having their first baby. Obesity is associated with poly-cystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a

A new road map for implementing the Addis Declaration on Immunisation (ADI )  has been launched. The event happened in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda recently, at the inaugural Africa Health Forum. The launch followed the decision in January this year, at the 28th  African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, by heads of government from the continent to approve the ADI, which was earlier drafted and signed by ministers and other top level delegates at the Ministerial Conference on Immunisation in Africa in February 2016. The foreword to the 35-page report informs that the “endorsement paves the way for accelerated implementation of the ADI roadmap to ensure that everyone in Africa, no matter who they are or where they live, can access the vaccines they need to survive and thrive.” While noting that “Africa has made tremendous gains in increasing access to immunisation in the last 15 years,” progress, it says, “has stagnated, leaving one in five African children without access t

The Lagos State Government has restated Its commitment towards maternal, peri-natal and child (under-five year) health, saying it is one of the most important issues that determined national well-being. Making the declaration recently, at the flag-off of this year’s Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, (MNCH) Week across the state, the government said that it plans to reach 640,000 pregnant women under the programme. MNCH Week offers a veritable platform to simultaneously contribute to the reduction of child morbidity and mortality and improving maternal health indices. The week held between 3 and 7 July, 2017. At a news conference weekend, at the Lagos State Government Secretariat, Alausa, in Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, Special Adviser to the Governor on Primary Health Care, Dr. Olufemi Onanuga said it was a known fact that maternal, peri-natal and child (under-five year) health was one of the most important issues that determined national well-being. He said w

Experts have reiterated the importance of early diagnosis, saying it can prevent many difficulties and ease treatment, thereby increasing the chance of patient’s survival. To this effect, Lagos State, while marking the World Sickle Cell Disease Awareness Day penultimate week, announced that testing for sickle cell disease will soon become a compulsory part of the newborn screening programme. Sickle cell disease and sickle cell trait can be diagnosed with a simple blood test and can also be diagnosed before the baby is born. Speaking recently in an interview, Dr. Jide Idris, Commissioner for Health in the state, said that the purpose is to diagnose affected babies early in life and thus introduce timely and lifesaving interventions that would manage avoidable suffering and possibly prevent death.  The test will utilise blood from the blood samples used for other routine newborn screening tests, Dr. Idris said. It can show whether a newborn infant has sickle cell disease

With this year’s Nigeria Prize for Science Competition recording the highest number of entries from 27 scientists worldwide, experts believe that fight to end the malaria scourge in Africa has received a boost.  At the moment, the scientists are working on innovations in Malaria Control to win the coveted $100,000 with their new findings. The General Manager External Relations of Nigeria LNG, Dr. Kudo Eresia-Eke, said this recently, in Lagos at the formal hand-over of entries to the Advisory Board of the Nigeria Prize for Science.  Dr. Eresia-Eke expressed optimism that this year’s prize competition will throw up a notable innovation in combating the malaria scourge in Africa, particularly in Nigeria. In his remarks at the ceremony, Dr. Eresia-Eke said “The journey every year of The Nigeria Prize for Science is punctuated by milestones. One of those milestones is actually the announcement of the closure and number of entries for the year. The theme for this year’s Prize co

Tunji Ilelaboye, Sole Administrator, Agboyin-Ketu Local Council Development Area of Lagos, has called for mo re commitment of stakeholders to family planning to achieve its goals.  Ilelaboye made the call in Lagos at a Town Hall Meeting on Family Planning organised in Somolu LGA of Lagos by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) – Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative 2 (NURHI 2). “The purpose of this gathering is to enlighten the populace, both male and female of childbearing age, on the benefits of family planning.  “We have been paying lip service to issues on family planning, but now is the time to address them; this is what NURHI 2 is spearheading in Lagos State and the entire Nigeria. “What they have done so far is going around all the local government areas through the Primary Health Centres (PHCs) to improve their family planning units.  “It is expected that people should access informed family planning services with ease from providers who are knowledgeable,

Dr. Sunday Aboje, National Coordinator, National AIDS/STI Control Programme(NASCAP), Federal Ministry of Health, has urged the Federal Government to take ownership of elimina tion of Mother to Child transmission (eMTCT) of HIV  programmes to end disease infection in the country. Dr. Aboje said this at the opening of a three-day communication strategic review workshop by Journalists Alliance for Prevention of Mother to Child transmission of HIV (JAPiN) in Calabar, Cross Rivers State, recently. While stressing on the need for Federal Government to take charge of the programme, the National Coordinator, NASCAP, decried the country’s dependence on foreign donors to eliminate mother to child transmission of HIV. He further attributed over-reliance on foreign donors to be responsible for the lack of coordination in the HIV Health Sector Response, saying this result in duplication of efforts, parallel programme, among others. Dr, Aboje  said: “Over-dependence on external do