Chioma Umeha

By Chioma Umeha In a effort to build capacity for the implementation of HIV strategy for Adolescent and Young People, (AYP), stakeholders are brainstorm on its content and programmes. Addressing journalists in Lagos the Senior Special Assistance to the governor of Lagos State on HIV/AIDS, Dr. Fisher Oladipupo   said “it is due to the high percentage of prevalence among young people living with HIV that informed the need to carry out intervention.” Oladipupo further said that these group of young people are critical in addressing the spread of the virus and so the need to focus on them in reducing and mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS in the state.” Lending her voice, Mrs Ezinne Okey-Uchendu who represented the Director, Programme Coordination Department of National Agency for the Control of AIDS, NACA, Dr. Akudo Ikpeazu for the Director General Dr. Sani Aliyu said at the national level, the HIV plan for Adolescents has been launched and the agency will ensu

By   Chioma Umeha Many infants are conceived each year using Donor insemination (DI) method. Couples use donor sperm when the husband/partner has no sperm or a very poor semen analysis (azoospermia, oligospermia, poor motility), or when there is a genetic problem which could be inherited from the male. Single women who want a biological child also use DI. What is DI? Donor insemination (DI) uses sperm from a donor to help the woman become pregnant. Sperm donors are screened for sexually transmitted diseases and some genetic disorders. In DI, sperm from the donor is placed into the neck of the womb (cervix) at the time when the woman ovulates. DI – IUI uses intrauterine insemination with donor sperm. Donor sperm can also be used for in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). How does DI work? 1.             Using donated eggs Donated eggs can be used in either in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Before treatment takes place, y

By Chioma Umeha Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has said that a high-powered task force is to be inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari to implement a six-month Marshal Plan to rebuild the Northeast in four critical areas. The minister explained that the Marshal Plan is to address the massive destruction of facilities in the water, health and environment sectors by Boko Haram insurgents in the three most affected states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa. Prof. Adewole, disclosed this at the weekend in Maiduguri; while delivering an address on Operationalization of Saving One Million Lives Programme for Results (SOML-PFR) workshop in the Northeast. He said the president has already approved the inauguration of a Task Force for the Northeast saying, “The task force is the sub-unit of the Presidential Committee on the Northeast.” The Minister said that the Task force would work under the umbrella of the Presidential Initiative for the North-East which w

By Chioma Umeha In line with its commitment to its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative for children, Dufil Prima Foods Plc, makers of Indomie Instant Noodles has unveiled and rewarded three more lucky winners who emerged at this year’s Indomie Independence Day Awards (IIDA). Each awardees went home with NI million scholarship for social, physical and intellectual bravery categories, in addition to donations from kind-hearted individuals and corporate organizations. With the emergence of this year’s set of winners, a total of 27 children have now been rewarded over the nine years of existence of the initiative. Fourteen-year-old Salisu Ibrahim, one of the winners is a visually impaired pupil of Special Education Centre, Bauchi. He has been blind from birth. He is a cobbler, who puts the legs of the able bodied persons in shoes. Another winner of the categories was a nascent inventor, Babatimileyin Daomi. He is 15, but has creatively invented a vac

By Chioma Umeha President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday launched a campaign tagged “End Violence Against Children by 2030,” a move that will check cases of violence against the young ones. The campaign, which was launched at the State House Conference Centre, is an ambitious programme geared towards bringing to an end violence perpetuated against women and children. According to UNICEF, “Millions of children suffer some form of physical, emotional or sexual violence every year in Nigeria.” A survey carried out last year by the National Population Commission, with support from UNICEF and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, revealed that approximately 6 out of 10 Nigerian children experience one of these forms of violence before they reach 18. Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, Buhari said:   “I say to children in Nigeria – on this historic day, we make a pledge. We commit to protecting each and ev

Ahmed Yakasai, President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), is a veteran practitioner of almost 35 years’ experience and a two-time past Commissioner in Kano State for eight years. Yakasai , former PSN Chairman, Kano State Branch as well as one-time First Deputy President at national level, in this interview, shares his perspectives in pharmacy and health management with CHIOMA UMEHA. Excerpts: The scarcity of foreign exchange (forex) must be affecting the pharmaceutical sector like other sectors of the Nigerian economy. How is the PSN managing this situation in conjunction with the Federal Government? After a careful evaluation of the impact of the current paucity of forex in the country which is gradually grinding operations in drug manufacturing and importation outlets to a halt in the days ahead, I appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently intervene to prevent an impending national calamity which will lead to morbidity and outright mortalit

By Chioma Umeha The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has called for expansion and sustenance of food fortification programme in Nigeria. According to the agency, this call becomes imperative considering the devastating effects of malnutrition and poor dietary intake in the country. Mrs Yetunde Oni, the acting Director General of NAFDAC, made the call during a National Fortification Alliance (NFA) meeting in Lagos, recently. Speaking at the occasion, Oni noted that out of about 21 widely known micronutrients, five of them – vitamin A, Iron, Iodine, Zinc and folic acid – are of public health significance. The NAFDAC boss said that they contribute significantly to good health and are necessary for proper growth and development of the body and for human survival. According to her, infants, young children, teenagers, pregnant and breast feeding mothers are prone to malnutrition hence require additional nutrients all the time.

By Chioma Umeha Mr. Omoz Evborokhai, president of Fertility Awareness Advocate Initiative (FAAI), a non-profit support group, has rued the ignorance among the public on the treatment for In-vitro Fertilisation (IVF). IVF is the most common and most effective type of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) to help women become pregnant. It involves fertilizing the egg outside the body. He explained that the ignorance has resulted to couples with such health challenges walking in the dark and finding treatment difficult to get even when it is not. Evborokhai said this during the launching of FAAI in Lagos at the weekend. He stated that the group’s aims and objectives include the promotion of awareness on treatment for infertility as well as offering counseling support to those undergoing fertility treatments, and assisting in breaking the myths and misconceptions surrounding infertility in Nigeria. “Over time, we have discovered that there is ignorance in the populac

By Chioma Umeha As part of efforts to continue meeting the needs of Nigerian child and mothers Nestlé Nigeria has urged pregnant breastfeeding mothers to feed on adequate nutrient that are beneficial. Addressing journalists at the Nestlé media workshop on ‘Good Nutrition a Way of Life’, held at Agbara, Ogun State, the President, Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Dr. Bartholomew Brai, defined nutrition as the science of interpretation and interaction of the food consumed and its function in the living organism. Brai said the importance of early nutrition and long term health, nutrients were divided into the macro and Micro nutrients, adding that macro nutrients includes; carbohydrates, protein, fat and oil while the micro nutrients are Vitamins and minerals. He also added that balanced diet should be eaten by the mother in the right amount during pregnancy which the nutrient includes; Iron, folic acid, Iodine, calcium, vitamin A, stressing that the foetus is sol

By Chioma Umeha Pharmacists under the aegis of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) have called on the Federal Government and the other 35 states of the Federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to urgently integrate and inaugurate the Consultancy Pharmacist philosophy in the public health interest. Making the call during press briefing ahead of the 89th annual national conference in Minna, Niger State from November 7 to 12, 2016, was the National President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria Pharm Ahmed   Yakasai,   who noted that only Niger State has recognised this status. Citing the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists definition, the PSN boss said a Consultant Pharmacist is “a Pharmacist who is paid to provide expert advice on the use of medications by individuals or within institutions, or on the provision of Pharmacy services to institutions.” He further noted that definition implies that Consultant Pharmacists must have req

Dr Perpetua Uhomoibhi, Director, Monitoring and Evaluation, National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) in the Federal Ministry of Health, in this interview with CHIOMA UMEHA highlights the activities of NMEP in the fight against malaria, saying that the Programme has adopted several measures to reduce the scourge. Excerpts What is the ministry doing to combat malaria in the country?   There is a policy shift in that the drug for the treatment of malaria that is now recommended is a combination therapy. We no longer use the mono therapy, which is only one drug treatment for malaria, due to resistance. So we have shifted to Artemisini-base Combination Therapy. You must use Artemisinin and another drug for the treatment of malaria; so that is a shift from what was obtained in the past. The National Council on Health has banned the use of mono-therapy for the treatment of malaria, and we also are trying to eliminate malaria from Nigeria because its spread is s

By Chioma Umeha IDONGESIT ASHAMERI UYO Two of the common causes of child mortality in rural communities in Africa, Nigeria, the Niger Delta Region and Akwa Ibom State inclusive, are diarrhea and pneumonia. According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, these avoidable diseases had been responsible for a yearly mortality rate of about 1.8 million for children under the age of five, especially in rural communities without primary healthcare facilities. In some rural communities with functional health care facilities, the highest number of in-patients is children plagued with either diarrhea or pneumonia. Some of the children, according to medical personnel, arrived the clinic already too weak with very slim chances of survival. As deadly as the diseases might be, their preventions are simple and extremely affordable for all classes of persons, irrespective of community, social status and levels of education, as these can simply be prevented by