Chioma Umeha

Pregnancy, abortions cause high death of young girls By: Chioma Umeha Adolescent pregnancy has been identified as one of the reasons why young females don’t realise their full potential and experts have called for action to improve adolescent sexual and reproductive health education on this year’s world population day.  United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, in his message for the world population day 2013 expressed the need to devote attention and resources to the education, health and wellbeing of adolescent girls for sustainable positive change in society. “On this World Population Day, let us pledge to support adolescent girls to realize their potential and contribute to our shared future,” he said. Globally, about 16 million girls under age 18 give birth each year and 3.2 million undergo unsafe abortions.  Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations In Nigeria, young people contribute more than 60 per cent of unsafe abortions annually, according to a st

Memory decline, sign of mental problem – Experts By: Chioma Umeha Global findings have revealed that memory issues could be dangerous signal of mental problems and no just normal part of aging. An agency report during the week said: “Memory problems that are often dismissed as a normal part of aging may not be so harmless after all. “Noticing you have a decline beyond the occasional misplaced car keys or forgotten name could be the very earliest sign of Alzheimer’s,” several research teams have reported.  Doctors often regard people who complain that their memory is slipping as “the worried well,” but the new studies show they may well have reason to worry, said Maria Carrillo, a senior scientist at the Alzheimer’s Association. One study found that self-reported memory changes preceded broader mental decline by about six years. Another tied these changes to evidence on brain scans that dementia are setting in. “Maybe these people know something about themselves” that their doc

Senate erred on underage marriage – FIDA By: CHIOMA UMEHA  International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Nigeria, has condemned the resolution recently passed by the Senate to retain the constitutional provisions that considers a married underage girl as an adult.  A statement issued yesterday and jointly signed by the National President, Hauwa Evelyn Shekarau, and National Secretary, Chigoziri Ojiaka, said the decision of the lawmakers contradicts the views of Nigerians as expressed during the recent constituencies consultations, which was part of the ongoing constitutional review process.  “FIDA, Nigeria, expresses her utter dissatisfaction with the resolution passed by the Senate to retain the provisions of section 29 (4) (b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which deems a married underage girl as an adult, contrary to the general views of Nigerians as expressed during the recent constituencies consultations conducted as part of the ongoing

WHO, NAFDAC partners to end fake drug menace By: CHIOMA UMEHA  It may no longer be business as usual for fake drugs in Africa, Nigeria included, as World Health Organisation, WHO, has teamed with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administrative Control, NAFDAC, to adopt a new strategy to put surveillance system to detect any form of fake drugs in countries across the continent.  The system, Rapid Alert System, is a surveillance system aimed at monitoring of substandard, spurious, falsely labelled/ falsified Counterfeit (SSFFC) medical products, with the intention of training focal persons from different countries’ medicine regulatory authorities on the use new WHO initiative for SSFFC reporting – The Rapid Alert System. The Director General of NAFDAC, Paul Orhii said, at the opening of a three-day workshop, in Lagos last week, that it has become imperative to continually fight the scourge of fake drugs, not only in Nigeria, but also in other neighbouring countries in Afric

Type 2 diabetes linked to skipping breakfast By: Chioma Umeha That breakfast is the most important meal of the day is not news. However, new study has shown how harmful missing that first meal may be. A new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that women who skipped breakfast even once a week were 20 per cent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who ate a meal every morning.  The study looked at data from more than 45,000 women who were initially free of cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes, and assessed their eating patterns over a six-year period. Those who chose to forego breakfast but ate frequently (four or more times a day) had a greater risk of developing diabetes, while a lower body mass index (BMI) seemed to mitigate some of the danger associated with irregular breakfast consumption. Translation: skipping breakfast isn’t a smart idea for anyone, but seems to be even more harmful for those who are overweight.  Acc

Avon HMO debuts with promise of health care, new insurance standards By: Chioma Umeha A health management organisation – Avon Healthcare Limited (Avon HMO) – which debuted in Lagos, recently, has pledged to offer a new approach in the management of health care and insurance. Avon HMO introduced a wide array of products and services to the market, during its brand launch Thursday, at the ultra-modern Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.  The management of Avon HMO said the launch set the tone for how the company plans to engage with key stakeholders and partners, including governments and senior public officials; leading corporate organisations; key SMEs as well as Healthcare professionals and providers. Speaking at the media conference in Lagos, Avon HMO’s CEO, Mrs. Simbo Ukiri, said the company aims to be the preferred choice for healthcare solutions and will set new standards in the industry. Ukiri added that the new standards will offer real value to clients, enr

Killing of 42 students violates international law – UNICEF By: Chioma Umeha Global efforts towards the child survival agenda has continued to suffer set-backs in Nigeria, following the incessant brutal killing of children in the North eastern part of the country. Nigerians woke up Saturday to the shocking news of the killing of 42 students of the Government Secondary School, Mamudo by suspected members of the Boko Haram sect.  The development is coming on the heels of The Lancet 2012 report, which raised the alarm that the world is not on track to meet the set Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4, a two-thirds reduction in child deaths between 1990 and 2015. This is even as the reports still show existing gap in child survival chances with the death of 6·9 million children under the age of 5 years in 2011. “Recent international initiatives, such as Every Woman Every Child, the UN Commission on ‘Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children, and A Promise Renewed,’ which rein

Beer drinkers, pregnant women more vulnerable to mosquito bites By: Chioma Umeha A new study has shown why some people are mosquito magnets. Up to 20 percent of people across the world are highly attractive to mosquitoes, the study said. Entomology professor, Dr. Phil Koehler, University of Florida said: “Both your metabolism and your unique body chemistry—which is as distinctive as a fingerprint—play an important role in determining whether or not you are a mosquito magnet. Also, there is evidence that your degree of attractiveness to mosquitoes can change over time.”  Are you one of those who often feel as if every mosquito in a 50-mile radius has you locked in its sights, while your friends are rarely bitten? You could be right. So, there may be scientific reasons of being bitten by a mosquito, while everyone else says they are fine. Scientists have discovered some surprising reasons. “Both your metabolism and your unique body chemistry—which is as distinctive as a fingerp

Five unusual signs of vitamin deficiency By: Chioma Umeha Running Low on Vitamins?  When your body is trying to tell you something—for example, that you’re skimping on critical vitamins—it may go to some strange lengths. “With today’s diet of processed foods, it’s easy to become vitamin-deficient, either by not eating enough of the right foods or not absorbing them properly due to digestive issues,” according to Dr. Susan Blum, the founder of the Blum Center for Health and the author of the new book; The immune system recovery plan. “You may not get a disease, but you can end up with impaired functioning, because vitamins are cofactors for all the biochemical reactions in the body. You need them to function properly.” That impaired functioning can sometimes manifest in mysterious ways. Here are five unusual warning signs that you may be vitamin-deficient. The good news: Most are fixable with dietary tweaks—all the more reason to make nutrition a top priority. But if food cures d

Sugary drinks may cause premature births By: Chioma Umeha Women who drank sugary drinks and sodas during their pregnancies had higher rates of premature births, according to Reuters reports Soon-to-be mothers should take note of the newest research on sodas and sugary drinks. Reuters’ reports confirmed that soda consumption and premature births may be linked.  A study in Norway, which followed 60,000 pregnant women, found that women who drank soda while pregnant were 25 percent more likely to give birth early, compared to those who avoided soda altogether.  Women who drank artificially sweetened beverages (that is: diet sodas) were 11 percent more likely to give birth early as well.  No one’s quite sure what the link is; Dr. Michael Katz of the March of Dimes foundation (which works to help babies’ health) told Reuters that the study didn’t indicate the risk of soda consumption. However, the study did note the strong correlation between soda consumption, pre-term labour, a