Chioma Umeha

To proffer solution toward better pharmacy practice in Nigeria as well as boost healthcare delivery in the country, the Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy (NAP) in collaboration with the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN) yesterday, began a three-day Pharmacy Education Summit.  Speaking to journalist in Lagos on Monday, the President of the Academy, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, said the aim of the summit is to carry out situation analysis, identify gaps and proffer solution towards a better pharmacy education and practice in Nigeria. He said the responsibility of the pharmacist have changed from mere drug dispensing to collaborative medication management with physicians and other health care professionals. “Approximately one-half of patients visiting a community pharmacy have complained of inappropriate drug therapy thus necessitating the need for the changes in the role of the pharmacist.  The goal of this summit is to maximize the pharmacist’s role in direct patient care, th

Each year, malaria costs the African continent an estimated minimum of N 2.388 trillion (US $12 billion) in lost productivity and in some high-burden countries it can account for as much as 40 per cent of public health expenditure.  The United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) announced this ahead of World Malaria Day on Saturday, noting that the Roll Back Malaria Partnership has urged for increased investment for Global Malaria Elimination. A statement on Tuesday, signed by Oluseyi Soremekun, National Information Officer, UNIC, the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership highlights that progress made against malaria – while remarkable – remains fragile. The statement said: “As communities worldwide prepare to commemorate the last World Malaria Day under the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) this Saturday, the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership highlights that progress made against malaria – while remarkable – remains fragile.” With just months before the MDGs expire

No fewer than 4.3 million children have been immunized against childhood preventable disease especially poliomyelitis in the recently concluded March National Immunization Plus Days (NIPDs) exercise in Lagos, the Special Adviser on Health to the Lagos State Governor, Dr. Yewande Adeshina has said.  Adeshina said this at her office in Alausa, weekend, ahead of the this month’s National   Immunization Plus Days (NIPDs) exercise which ended on Tuesday, saying the exercise   covered over four million children. The four days March NIPDs was adjudged successful with 96 per cent coverage based on the State Population figure. So, in all about 8.3 million children were covered in both the first and second rounds of NIPDS. The Special Adviser also said that the   Expert     Review Committee on Polio Eradication in Nigeria has recommended two rounds of NIPDs in March and April 2015, targeted at all children under the age of five years. She added that these children were immunized with two dr

The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has urged the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to approve the Benchmark for Minimum Academic Standards (B-MAS) of the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm D) programme canvassed by the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria. PSN urged Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, the Minister of Education, to fast track FEC’s approval for Pharmacy Doctoral Level training in Nigeria.  The President of the society, Mr. Olumide Akintayo, made the appeal when he visited the minister in Abuja on Tuesday. Akintayo said: The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria solicits your immediate intervention and assistance to get the Federal Executive Council to approve the Benchmark for Minimum Academic Standards (B-MAS) of the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm D) programme canvassed by the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria. It will be recalled that in January 2007, NUC stakeholders held a workshop on Pharm.D degree programme to chart the future direction of pharmacy education in Nigeria.  Subsequently, t

There is evidence that fish oil may improve heart health. A 2009 study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggested that people without cardiovascular disease should consume a minimum of 500 milligrams per day of the oils EPA and DHA to prevent coronary heart disease, and those with known coronary heart disease should consume at least 800 mg daily.  The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil may also reduce the risk of sudden death in people without symptoms of cardiovascular disease, according to the results of a 2002 New England Journal of Medicine study. Fish oil and mental health Some evidence also suggests that fish oil may have mental health benefits.  One study found that fish oil and exercise, exclusive of each another, improved people’s cognitive performance and protected against neurological lesions, according to the findings published in 2013 in the journal, Behavioural Brain Research. In another study, researchers found that patients who ate fish

•Lagos resorts to integrated  measures to tackle disease  There are an estimated 300 million acute cases of malaria every year around the world, resulting in more than one million deaths. Approximately 90 per cent of deaths from the scourge occur in Africa, mostly in young children.  Malaria in Nigeria, according to the Federal Ministry of Health (MoH), is responsible for 60 per cent of outpatient visits to health facilities; 30 per cent of childhood deaths; 25 per cent of deaths in children under one year; and 11 per cent of maternal deaths. Furthermore, the Federal Ministry of Health estimates a financial loss from malaria (in the form of treatment costs, prevention, loss of man-hours, etc.) to be roughly 132 billion Naira per year (approximately $838,564,000 USD). Nigeria accounts for one-quarter of malaria cases in Africa and there are more deaths caused by malaria in Nigeria than in any other country.  To tackle the disease, the Lagos state government has said that it

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and partners on Tuesday, launched the U-Report, an innovative SMS-based platform that empowers Nigerians by enabling them to participate and engage in policy-making and governance and access real time information on key social issues.  U-Report enables those who voluntarily register – known as U-reporters – to speak-out on what is happening in their communities, provides a forum to amplify their voices through local and national media, sends alerts to key stakeholders about the issues their constituents are facing, and feeds back useful information to the U-Reporters, so they are empowered to work for positive change and improvements in their localities. The platform provides decision makers a forum to listen to millions of voices through simple messaging.  In the last one year with support from Airtel, MTN, GLO and Etisalat the number of U-reporters has rapidly grown to about 200,000 with thousands joining every month from all p

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has launched the African Vaccination Week (AVW) in Lusaka, Zambia, under the theme ‘’Vaccination, a gift for life.’’  According to the WHO’s, website, the event marks the commencement of week-long immunisation activities from April 24 to April 30 across all 47 countries in the WHO African Region. “Immunisation is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions but many children and adults still do not have access to many life-saving vaccines.  “It is estimated that about three million children under the age of five years die each year in the African Region and a significant number of these deaths could be prevented by receiving immunisation,’’ the WHO said. The global world body noted that the AVW was designed to strengthen public awareness and demand for immunisation by communities, improve access for high-risk populations and isolated areas in the region.  It added that the campaign would provide an opportunity to increase

An international team of researchers from Bristol, Dresden, Munich, Vienna and Denver have successfully completed the first step in the development of an insulin vaccine to prevent type 1 diabetes. The Pre-POINT study has found a positive immune response in children at risk of type 1 diabetes who were given oral doses of insulin, an agency report said Tuesday.  Adverse reactions such as hypoglycaemia were not observed. The findings, published in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), support the need for a next phase of testing, which will determine whether an insulin vaccine can prevent the outbreak of the disease over the longer term. Children with type 1 diabetes require several insulin injections every day of their lives. This is because the body’s own immune system destroys the beta cells in the pancreas – the cells that produce insulin. This is a process that starts early. Instead of ignoring proteins such as insulin, the immune defences see insulin and other pr

Continued from last week  The new report was published recently in The Cochrane Library. For the review, Caldwell’s team reviewed 16 published studies involving more than 1,600 children, with about half trying simple interventions. Among them were fluid retention, rewards for dry nights (such as stars on chart), and lifting children and taking them to the bathroom after they have been asleep.  No one simple strategy worked better than another, the researchers found. When they compared alarm training with the simple strategies, the alarm training was more effective. And treatment with medication alone was better than the simple interventions. However, the researcher noted that “the findings from this review should be interpreted cautiously due to the poor quality and small sizes of the trials.” The findings suggest that parents may want to start with simple treatments, Caldwell said, “then move to alarm training or medication if simple treatments do not work after trying for