Chioma Umeha

• Says Political Will Apparent For Achievement Of SDGs Deputy Ministers of Health and experts from Nigeria and other member states of the D-8 Organisation for Economic Cooperation (D-8) have resolved to strengthen their commitment towards the implementation of the organisation’s Health and Social Protection Programme (HSP ).   This was part of their resolutions in a communiqué issued after the inaugural consultative meeting of the programme organised by the D-8 Secretariat and the federal government in Abuja. The D-8 Organisation for Economic Cooperation (D-8), is an organisation for development co-operation among eight developing countries in the Muslim world.   They are: Bangladesh, Egypt, Nigeria, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Turkey.   It was established in 1997 and aimed at sustainable economic development, and uplifting the standards of living of member states. The inaugural consultation was organised to enable solidarity and cooperation

Some wives of Nigerian Governors, under the aegis of Wives of Governors Against Cancer (WOGAC), has formed strong alliance with Roche Nigeria as part of their efforts to win the war against cancer in Nigeria. Roche, an international organisati on with headquarters in Basel, Switzerland, is a leader in research-focused healthcare with combined strength in pharmaceutical and diagnostics, and is also the world’s largest biotech company with truly differentiated medicines in oncology, virology, inflammation, metabolism and CNS. Roche’s personalised healthcare strategy aims at providing medicines and diagnostic tools that enable tangible improvements in the health quality of life and survival of patients. WOGAC’s partnership arrangement with Roche which took place during a round table meeting held at Belanova Apartments and Suites, Maitama, Abuja, with the theme; TOGETHER FOR HER, promises to yield results that will change the   narrative on cancer control and care in Nigeri

CHIOMA UMEHA P rof. Adetokunbo Fabamwo, the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), has disclosed that Lagos State government was committed to saving women’s lives from unsafe abortion that has killed millions annually and at a great cost. Speaking at a training programme of the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) and SAFE ENGAGE in collaboration with the Network of Reproductive Health Journalists (NRHJN) in Lagos recently, Prof. Fabamwo said the state government was working assiduously to improve access to safe abortion within the extant laws of the land. He said that statistics shows that unsafe abortions account for roughly 5,000 maternal deaths every year in Nigeria, or on average, 14 maternal deaths each day, while unsafe abortions are also costly to women and the health care system. He added that 50% of deaths due to unsafe abortion are adolescents while 60% of abortions are done by quacks. The LASUTH CMD noted th

LUCY SAMUEL Some of the Survivors of Collapsed Ita Faji Building Survivors at the event. Inset: Some donated Items by Save The children International Worried over the fate of accident victims and families at the Ita Faji building collapse in Lagos earlier in the year, health experts have called for support to ensure that adequate healthcare and rehabilitation is provided for them. Among those who made the call penultimate Tuesday in Lagos was the Area Operations Manager for Save The Children International, Kayode Ajumobi, when the organisation made a donation of some relief materials to the victims.   Ajumobi further urged public-spirited individuals, and government at all levels to come to the aid of the victims of the collapsed building, reasoning that many of them are still in pitiable conditions and yet to recuperate. For instance, Nine-year-old Joy Ikwueze has been at Gbagada General Hospital, Lagos, for over three months, where she is receiv

• Pledges Improved Health Sector CHIOMA UMEHA Com. Biobelemoye Joy Josiah, Chairman, Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), has urged the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) to comply with all judgments of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) issued on March 28, 2019 pertaining to the payment of outstanding 2018 salaries to members and actualising the adjustment of CONHESS Scale pending for many years. Josiah made the appeal when he led a delegation of JOHESU/ Assembly of Healthcare Professional Associations (AHPA) national leadership on a courtesy visit to Abdullahi Abdulkadir, the Permanent Secretary, FMoH last Thursday, in Abuja. He told the Perm Sec that contrary to the pervading impression that JOHESU does not believe in dialogue, members had always excelled in the finest tenets of rules of engagement to ensure the stability and growth of the health sector. He then intimated him of some of the lingering welfare challenges of JOHESU members which in

Some-of-the-attendees-of-the-Autism-Awareness-presentation-which-held-on-weekend Autism is a simple behavioral disorder and disability that can be managed so that the affected person can connect with the society and reach their highest potential in life, according to Mrs. Dicta Ndolo, a United States-based Behaviour Analyst who has dismissed beliefs that the condition is a disease. She also advised parents of children living with Autism to break the silence by seeking the answers to their wards disability, instead of shying away, noting that would not be of help. Mrs. Dicta Ndolo who also is creating massive Autism Awareness campaign in Enugu state, told DAILY INDEPENDENT in an interview that symptoms of Autism can be identified in children through their communication, social behaviour and speech challenge, just as she admonished parents to be on the lookout for these signs. ‘Autism is a developmental, neurological disability that affects one in 87 children and for every five kids affe