Chioma Umeha

As Nigeria joins to mark the World Population Day tomorrow, CHIOMA UMEHA who recently interacted with community leaders in Badagry Local Government Area of Lagos State on family planning writes that myths and misconceptions seriously contributing to the wrong perception of the practice thereby militating against the realisation of its noble goals in the country. In spite of the role of family planning in reducing the health risks for women and children, improving the quality of life by increasing opportunities to access education, nutrition, employment and effective utilisation of scarce resources, many factors bedevilled its successful implementation in many communities. Sharing her experience with DAILY INDEPENDENT recently, Mrs Salami Sidikat Iyabo, the Family Planning Manager, in Badagry Local Government Area of Lagos State, said that some myths, misconception, and superstition are among many of the factors that account for the poor state of affairs in Badagry Local Gov

Chioma Umeha The Board of Fellows (BOF) of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has reaffirmed that only widespread intervention involving every stakeholders led by pharmacists would curb high incidence of drug and substance abuse in the country. The pharmacy group said that the intervention includes advocacy, campaign against drug abuse and rehabilitation of victims which would reduce the adverse effect of the scourge. Addressing journalists at a press conference in Lagos to announce the 2019 BOF- PSN mid-year lecture and first public lecture, Chairperson, BOF, Prof. Mbang Nyong Femi-Oyewo said that the body is positioned to interface with the policymakers and opinion shapers for the advancement of the pharmacy profession in addition to tackling drug abuse. Femi-Oyewo said, “It is no longer news that the incidence of drug/substance abuse in Nigeria has assumed an epidemic dimension especially among children/adolescent and youths, which calls for widespread intervent

Chioma Umeha I congratulate you on your successful hosting of the 38th Annual National Conference of the ACPN. Could you briefly tell us something about the conference? It gives me great joy to welcome all members to the proceedings of the 38th Annual National Conference of the foremost technical group of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN). Over time, we have strived to evolve as the flagship and conscience of the Pharmacy profession in Nigeria. I believe we have kept faith with this posture by upholding and consolidating the gains of past leaders of the ACPN (formerly, Nigerian Association of General Practice Pharmacist (NAGPP). We shall exploit this discourse to critically evaluate some contemporary subject matters in the health sector and more specifically Pharmacy practice. Briefly, what are the issues? Redressing the Menace of Drug Abuse and Misuse in Nigeria is one. The ACPN and other major blocs as well as interest groups have taken the lead in bring

Chioma Umeha Prof. Babatunde Salako, the Director General, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), has called on Nigerians to embrace science and technology of Bioinformatics as core component to achieve Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and to overcome the prevailing disease burdens in the country. Addressing participants at the first Nigerian Bioinformatics Conference, participants who gathered at the Conference Hall of the Nigerian Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) penultimate weekend to discuss innovative ways of introducing Bioinformatics into the various segments of the healthcare industry, Salako said Africa, especially Nigeria, cannot be left out in the technological revolution that is ongoing around the world. Prof Salako who spoke through Dr. Oliver Ezechi, Principal Investigator, NIMR, said the conference was critical in bringing international researchers together for the purpose of exploring the potentials of Bioinformatics and Genomics technologie

Chioma Umeha Emeritus Professor Oladipo Akinkugbe has called on the federal government to set up a Nigeria Health Fund which the private sector will be compelled to pay 0.2% of their pre-tax profit into. He made the call after he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 6th Nigerian Healthcare Excellence Award (NHEA 2019) in Lagos. The award was presented by the Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Engr. (Mrs.) Noimot Salako-Oyedele. According to a statement weekend signed by Moses Braimah, Director, Marketing, Communication, & Strategy Dr. Stella Okoli, Group Managing Director of Emzor Pharmaceutical and Professor Eyitayo Lambo, former Minister of Health were also given the Lifetime Achievement Award. Akinkugbe who went nostalgic, gave an account of how similar fund(s) was set up in the past, both in local and foreign currencies, but was frittered away by a past military regime. The amount raised was so huge that it was almost higher than the Nigerian budget. He believe

Chioma Umeha and LUCY SAMUEL Emeritus Professor Oladipo Olujimi Akinkugbe, Dr. Stella Chinyelu Okoli and Prof. Eyitayo Lambo were the three eminent persons who cart home the Lifetime Achievement prize of the sixth edition of Nigeria Health Care Excellence Award (NHEA). The award which held at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos weekend, also bestowed the special recognition award on Dr. Mohammed Pate for providing leadership in the reduction of polio in Nigeria, while Dr. Aranmolate Ayobami received his for the revolution of cosmetic surgery in Nigeria. The event which had several doctors, hospital administrators, pharmacists, owners of health management organisations (HMOs), captains of industry and stakeholders in the health sector in attendance also awarded ‘Outstanding CSR Health Project of the Year’ to Healing Stripes Hospital for providing free dialysis for the less-privileged. Also, Nasarawa State won the Outstanding State Government Hea

•Says FG Should Retain Drug Matters On Exclusive List To Avoid Abuse Chioma Umeha Pharm. Bolanle Adeniran, Chairman, Lagos State Branch of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has criticised the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for increasing drug and product registration tariff by a whopping 350 percent, warning that it would bring about grave consequences of morbidity and mortality to consumers of healthcare products in the country. Adeniran who was quest speaker on the “Ease of Doing Healthcare Business with the National Agency For Food, Drug Administration And Control (NAFDAC), the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Nigeria Customs Service” on Thursday, June 20, 2019 at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), explained that it would now cost N1.05 million to register a prescription only medicine up from N350,000.00, while Over The Counter (OTC) drugs have moved from a hitherto expensive N1 million to N4 mil

Chioma Umeha Today, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is treatable unlike three decades ago when receiving an HIV diagnosis was comparable to being handed a death sentence. This is because advances in HIV research have led to treatments that can make the virus undetectable and nontransmissible in less than six months, though many are still ignorant of this. New infections are on rampage among Nigerians, especially among women, as thousands are still dying of HIV-related causes despite accessible and effective treatment due to stigma. The recently released Nigeria AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) showed that women aged between 15 and 49 years are more than twice more likely to be living with HIV than men. Consequently, women are now bearing the burden of being prospective sources of HIV infection with its associated stigma and discrimination. Research has shown that stigma shame leads to poor health outcomes in HIV patients, and unfortunately, stigma shame is

• Lagoon, GTB, Others Nominated Chioma Umeha Lagos – Online voting has commenced for the Nigerian Healthcare Excellence Award (NHEA 2019) for over 110 organisations and individuals on the award platform and will end midnight. The theme for this sixth edition is ‘bringing standard to Nigeria healthcare.’ A statement signed by Moses Braimah, Director, Marketing, Communication and Strategy said, Final nominees were selected by the NHEA Jury for e-voting following about 6,000 nominations received from the public. Winners for each award category will be announced at a grand ballroom ceremony in Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos on Friday, June 21, 2019. Moses Braimah, NHEA Director of Communication, Marketing & Strategy says, “The over 300 percent increase in nominations received this year compared to 2018 edition has broken all previous records. It once again shows increased acceptability and confidence of stakeholders in our processes.” “The NHEA Jury

Chioma Umeha SYNLAB has opened a new wellness-focused facility in Victoria Island and expanded its comprehensive medical test portfolio to offer advanced genetic testing relating to sports medicine, nutrition and pharmacology. Apart from offering advanced diagnostic services, for which SYNLAB, formerly PathCare Laboratories, has earned a reputation of accuracy and reliability over the years, the new facility spearheads three advanced genetic tests which are designed to improve precision in the practice of personalised medicine and enhance the quality of life in Nigeria. These tests, which are concurrently being launched in Europe, are pillars in personalised medicine and have been brought to Nigeria in line with SYNLAB’s commitment to ma MyPGx, a once-in-a-lifetime pharmacogenetic test, is designed to assist doctors to streamline the treatment of patients by personalising the choice and dosage of medication that is being prescribed. MyPGx results effectively eliminate “tr

Chioma Umeha Global effort to ensure improved water, sanitation and hygiene conditions seems like a drop in the ocean. As at today, about 4.4 billion people do not use improved sanitation, while 2.1 billion people worldwide are still drinking unsafe water. The new WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) reports broke the sad news that “About 2.1 billion people worldwide lack access to safe, readily available water at home, while 4.4 billion lack safely managed sanitation.” Analysts have described the trend as a worrisome one which has pitched children worldwide up the creek. The reason they say is simple – Clean water, sanitation, good toilet and hygiene practices are essential for the survival and development of children. Open defecation, unclean water, and sanitation-related diseases are some of the leading causes of death of children under the age of five. Every day, over 800 global children die from preventable diseases caused by poor Water, Hygie