Chioma Umeha

L-R: Mr. Rahul Murgai, Managing Director, RB West Africa; Dr. Babatunde Adejare, Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment; Mr. Babatunde Hunpe, Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Environment, and Aliza Leferink, Marketing Director, RB West Africa, during 2017 World Toilet Day ceremony sponsored by RB in Lagos. By Chioma Umeha Following growing incidence of water-borne diseases, cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio, leading toilet cleaning brand, Harpic took a sensitisation programme on the treatment and proper disposal of sewage or wastewater to Ojodu Berger, a Lagos suburb to mark this year’s World Toilet Day (WTD). Due to lack of safe water, poor sanitation and hygiene, 842,000 people die yearly, some experts    said during the sensitisation programme. According to them, 1.8 billion people use source of drinking water contaminated with faeces, putting them at risk of contracting cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio. The event was organised

Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu By Chioma Umeha Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, Kebbi State Governor has paid a visit to dairy giant FrieslandCampina WAMCO, makers of Peak and Three Crowns milk, to explore the potential for livestock breeding, local milk sourcing and development. The exploratory visit, during the week, was aimed at boosting the state’s revenue drive and the livelihood of farmers in Kebbi State. During the visit, governor Bagudu received insight into the company’s operations through a tour of factory facilities and dairy development sites in Oyo State. He was also briefed on the company’s key dairy development activities including artificial insemination, cattle feeding and breeding for high yield milk quantities. Bagudu also praised FrieslandCampina WAMCO for her commitment in leading dairy development in Nigeria. He said: “We are seeking to modernise the agricultural sector as this will help to solve many national issues. We need WAMCO’s

L-R: Prof. Chinyere Ezeaka, National President, Nigerian Society of Neonatal Medicine (NSONM); Prof. James Rener, Chairman, Nestle Nutrition Institute, Africa; Dr. Rizwan Yusuf, Category Manager, Maternal &Nutrition, Nestle, Nigeria; Mr. Mauricio Alarcon, Managing Director/CEO and Mrs. Onabajo Simidele, Representative of Director-General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), at post-graduate programme in Pediatrics Nutrition in Lagos, recently. To tackle neonatal and infant mortality among other poor health indices, some experts say that emphasis should be placed on optimal nutrition education and counseling. They said that this must start with exclusive breastfeeding. According to them, a lot of issues around nutrition will be resolved if nutrition education and counseling begins with exclusive breastfeeding to address the needs of children from birth to 28 days and subsequently as infant. The experts spoke recently, durin

Chioma Umeha Five states have signed a Letter of Commitment with The Challenge Initiative (TCI)   to implement The Challenge Fund Catalytic Grant after a demand-driven self-selection process for the urban poor. The States that signed the   letter of commitment are Ogun, Kano, Delta, Bauchi and Niger. A statement made available to INDEPENDENT by Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI), said the grant is aimed at providing technical and financial assistance to the states in implementing successful high impact NURHI family planning proven interventions. TCI said it will work with the state government through the State Ministry of Health, State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (SPHDA) and other relevant departments as well as agencies of the states to implement the grant with the states in the driver’s seat at the forefront of executing the grant while TCI provides light touch technical support. For States to achieve the National 36 per cen

Dr. Ifedayo Odeniyi, an Endocrinologist and a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Lagos addressing participants during the capacity building workshop on Diabetes in Lagos, recently. By Chioma Umeha Common belief that diabetes is   a condition   caused by excessive consumption of sugar or certain types of foods were   dismissed by scientists who spoke at an event to observe the World Diabetes Day (WDD) on Tuesday. The scientists made the clarifications at a capacity building workshop on Diabetes with the theme “Equipping Present-day Journalists for Effective Reporting of Diabetes.” They insisted that “it is not sugar or foods that cause diabetes,’’ at the event which was organised   for Health Journalist in Lagos by Sanofi, a global healthcare firm to herald this year’s WDD. Diabetes, often referred to by doctors as Diabetes Mellitus, describes a group of metabolic diseases in which the person has high bloo

Professor Simon Taylor-Robinson, a Professor of Translational Medicine, St. Mary’s Hospital Campus, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom, Daniel Duvaill, representative of Dr Mahesh Swaminathan, US- CDC Country Director, Prof. Babatunde Salako, Director-General of Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Prof Oni Idigbe, Former Director General NIMR and Alh. Abdulahi Yunusazzazau Director of Administration of the institute during the fourth International Scientific Conference of NIMR in Lagos, recently. By Chioma Umeha To ensure national development and effective response to disease outbreaks, Nigerian scientists and their counterparts from the United States Centre for Disease Control (CDC) have advocated adequate funding of innovative medical research. Specifically, the scientists urged the three tiers of government, international and private organisations to provide adequate fund for innovative medical research to promote national development. T

By Chioma Umeha The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) in Nigeria received a boost as Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) disbursed $2.5 million donated by Chevron Corporation, United States, weekend. Announcing the disbursement in Lagos, Mr. Esimaje Brikinn, General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, CNL, said the fund is for the implementation of the Chevron-Global Fund Anti-Retroviral Treatment Service Maintenance Programme (ART Programme) in Delta, Bayelsa, Ondo and Lagos States. These funds are in addition to US$6.7 million earlier donated by Chevron to the Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) in Bayelsa State. Brikinn, said a final installment of $2.5 million would be disbursed in 2018, to support these HIV programmes, amounting to a total contribution of US$5 million being donated by Chevron. He said the disbursements are part of a nine-year $60 million commitment from Chevron to the Global

By Chioma Umeha Pharmacists under the auspices of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) have alerted that the Federal Government decision to roll out the first locally produced vaccines in July 2019 may not be practicable. Announcing this recently was Ahmed Yakasai, President, PSN at a press briefing in Lagos. According to Yakasai, the plan was aimed at producing vaccines against Yellow fever, Tetanus Toxoid and Hepatitis B. He said: “It is unbelievable that there are so many intrigues. Some people want the process to fail. There are so many interests, even from international bodies. To some, it is either they are involved or it fails. But everything is stabilising now, as the plan is still on, but delayed. “I have visited the Yellow fever vaccine plant in Yaba, Lagos and work is ongoing. The project is capital intensive, but to make it work better, we are encouraging partnerships.” May and Baker Plc, an indigenous pharmaceutical industry, had in June

By Chioma Umeha When you and your partner talk to a doctor about getting help for infertility, he may suggest a technique called “artificial insemination.” It’s a simple procedure with few side effects, and it can help some couples who haven’t been able to get pregnant. In artificial insemination, a doctor inserts sperm directly into a woman’s cervix, fallopian tubes, or uterus. The most common method is called “intrauterine insemination (IUI),” when a doctor places the sperm in the uterus. Why is this helpful? It makes the trip shorter for the sperm and gets around any obstructions. Your doctor may suggest this method first as a treatment for infertility. What Type of Infertility Can Artificial Insemination Treat? The procedure can be used for many kinds of fertility problems. In cases involving male infertility, it’s often used when there’s a very low sperm count or when sperm aren’t strong enough to swim through the cervix and up into the fallopian tub

By Chioma Umeha To reduce high incidence of disabilities in the country, healthcare practitioners, parents and guardians have been advised to fulfill their responsibilities of monitoring their children to ensure early detection and intervention of the predisposing conditions. Giving the advice recently, was the Governor Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos State who stressed on increased commitment to developmental assessment of a child’s life, particularly those between the ages zero to three. The Governor said that this would improve the chances of early detection, intervention and ultimately reduce the prevalence disability in the society. The governor who was represented by Dr. Idiat Oluranti Adebule,   the deputy governor spoke at a stakeholder’s summit in Lagos with a theme: ‘Ability in disability: A Stitch in Time Saves Nine.’ He said the concept of early intervention is based on early identification and treatment of children who have established diagnosis suc

By Chioma Umeha To improve healthcare services, a lifestyle company has unveiled a telemedicine app, dokita247.com in Lagos recently. The app, which is expected to be freely available for every smart phone user in the country will reduce medical tourism, minimise consultation and treatment time between physicians and patients. Announcing this during its launch, Dr. Richard Afonja, the app developer, said the platform can be downloaded on google play store and apple store with any smart phone. Afonja added that there exist real, verified, credentialed and vetted physicians waiting to respond to all health diagnosis and treatment enquiries by patients using the app. “The app is presently being used in in the United States. By January 2018 it will be in effect in Nigeria, and we hope to spread this to other African countries very soon. “Using the app may extend the lifespan of Nigerians as they can seat in the comfort of their home and office for the cons

By Chioma Umeha Irregular or abnormal ovulation accounts for 30 per cent to 40 per cent of all cases of infertility. Having irregular periods, no periods, or abnormal bleeding often indicates that you are not ovulating, a condition known clinically as anovulation. Although anovulation can usually be treated with fertility drugs, it is important to be evaluated for other conditions that could interfere with ovulation, such as thyroid conditions or abnormalities of the adrenal or pituitary glands. Once your doctor has ruled out other medical conditions, he or she may prescribe fertility drugs to stimulate your ovulation. The drug contained in both Clomid and Serophene (clomiphene) is often a first choice because it’s effective and has been prescribed to women for decades. Unlike many infertility drugs, it also has the advantage of being taken orally instead of by injection. It is used to induce ovulation and to correct irregular ovulation by increasing egg recr