Chioma Umeha

Nigerians and other peace loving residents have been charged to imbibe the culture of donating blood freely to save lives, especially during surgery and other emergencies. Making a joint call were Rotn Sanjeev Tandon, President, Mega Rotary Club of Lagos Island District 9110, Rotary International and Mr. Ravnvendra Gupta, Director of Supply chain, Airtel Telecoms Plc, who stressed that gesture will save lives among the teeming poor masses, especially those that are in dire need of such blood transfusion. Both of them spoke at the just concluded one-day Blood Bank Donation Camp Project, powered by the Club, in conjunction with the Airtel Telecoms Plc at its Banana Island Ikoyi, Lagos headquarters. They also donated their blood after a thorough screening of their health at the occasion. The blood screening exercise was conducted by the officials of the Lagos State Blood Transfusion Unit, led by Ms. Yinka Sijuade, Head of the unit and a Nurse Educator. Those who donated blood

Nursing mothers, care givers and residents in Lagos state have been urged to embrace and support the practice of exclusive breast feeding by visiting any of the public health facilities in the State during the World Breastfeeding Week which started Monday. Making the call was Dr. Olufemi Onanuga, Special Adviser to the Governor on Primary Healthcare, who also appealed for mothers to seek for dietary and growth advice for the benefit of their children. Onanuga, who spoke during a press conference to mark the occasion in Lagos, called for integrated support for child survival interventions. He said: “It is therefore pertinent to use this medium to appeal to nursing mothers, care givers and the entire residents of the state to embrace the practice of exclusive breast feeding and visit any of the public health facilities in the state during the breastfeeding week and thereafter for dietary and growth advice for the benefit of their children.” The theme for this year’s event is “Su

In less than six months, there was uptake of family planning (FP) by 600,000 women, following improved services in Lagos state, enabling the state to prevent 46,000 unsafe abortions, 143,000 unintended pregnancies and 800 maternal deaths, according to its Ministry of Health. Stating this was the Dr. Folashade Oludara, Director of Family Health and Nutrition, Lagos State Ministry of Health (LSMOH) who reasoned that if such danger could be prevented in less than six months in 2017 alone, the huge benefits of family planning should not be underestimated. Oludare, spoke at the annual media forum organised by Development Communications Network, (Devcoms) recently in collaboration with the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI) and LSMOH. She stressed that family planning and child spacing is one of the most effective ways of reducing maternal deaths arising from preventable causes. She explained; “Family planning is a tool for safe motherhood and not for promiscuit

Prof. Isaac Adewole, the Minister of Health has reiterated Federal Government’s commitment toward reducing mortality and morbidity from road crashes in the country. Adewole said this when he received the Special Envoy of the Secretary General of United Nation on Road Safety, Mr. Jean Todt, in Abuja. He said that the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Health would continue to partner with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and other relevant stakeholders towards realisation of the goals of the UN decade of Action on road safety in Nigeria. He pointed out that some of the activities of the ministry are in line with the fifth pillar of the UN Decade of action which includes establishing and developing a formal training for paramedics in accredited institution in Nigeria. This comes with full curriculum and placement into scheme of service in the country, Prof Adewole added. He explained that there is a fully equipped level 1 Trauma Centre at the National

Chioma Umeha Lagos –  As more reactions greet the return of President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday after a medical vacation, pharmacists under the aegis of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) have joined Nigerians to welcome him, saying they were particularly delighted that the President looked hale and hearty. It would be recalled that President Buhari returned from his medical vacation in London on Saturday, August 19, after being away from office and the country for a period of 103 days. In a release by Pharm. Ahmed I. Yakasai and Pharm. Gbologade Iyiola, President and National Secretary, respectively, the pharmacists said that President Buhari’s return was an eloquent testimony to his fitness, good care and of course a self-imposed determination to shake-off all vagaries of ill-health by a passionate President. “It is therefore most apropos to return all glory and honour to the creator for divine intervention in arresting the hitherto sliding health of Mr. Presid

To achieve the Stop Diarrhoea Project which aims to reduce childhood diarrhoea by at least 50 per cent, experts in wastewater management have called on Lagos residents to maintain proper sanitation, hygiene and clean environment. They urged residents to shun inappropriate and unhygienic acts of defecating in canals, drains and water bodies. The call was made at a summit organised by the Ministry of Environment in collaboration with Save the Children International with the theme, ‘Wastewater management in Lagos State, charting a new vision.’ Lagos State Governor, Akinwumi Ambode, represented by Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Mr. Abiodun Bamgboye, said global best practices in wastewater management entail the use of modern methods to collect, transport and treat wastewater to acceptable standards prior to discharge into the environment or reuse. Gov Ambode noted that stock taking of wastewater management in the state has shown that the huge potential in the sec

Family planning services received a boost recently, with the establishment of a new clinic, Okokomaiko Primary Health Centre, Iba Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Lagos, by Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative 2 (NURHI). According to NURHI 2, the new clinic will improve health services at the family planning unit of Okokomaiko PHC which is one of the 50 selected including hospitals in the State under its “72-hour Family Planning Clinic Make-Over’’ Project. The initiative is targeted toward reducing the high rate of maternal, infant and child mortality in Lagos State through the up-take of family planning, the organisation said. Speaking to the INDEPENDENT at the clinic’s inauguration, Wale Haastrup, Senior Programme Officer, Advocacy, NURHI, Lagos State, said: “NURHI promotes the use of family planning in the communities where we work. “For us to promote the use of family planning services, we have to upgrade these facilities to the basic standards that they sho

Chioma Umeha This year’s National Cerebral Palsy Family Forum will remain unforgettable in the minds of families with children living with the condition as 21 of them received wheel chairs, worth N2.1 million from Benola Cerebral Palsy(CP) Initiatives while others, even adults    went home with crutches. Over 320 CP families received free counselling and medical checks during the one-day forum organised by Benola with support from Lagos University Teaching Hospital(LUTH) to    mark the fifth anniversary, recently in Lagos. Commenting, AVM (Rtd) Femi Gbadebo, the Founder, Benola Cerebral Palsy(CP) Initiatives, said that the donation were made possible through the contributions of Trustees, Advisory Board and Programme Planning and Implementation Team of the organisation. According to him, the forum was a    huge success as there were over 320 CP families    who were attended to by 40 healthcare professionals of the 450 individuals who registered at the venue. Gbadebo also

  Chioma Umeha Nestle Nigeria has reiterated its pledged to support young people by boosting youth entrepreneurship and inspiring the talented ones through providing training and job opportunities. The pledge was contained in a statement signed by Victoria Uwadoka, company’s Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Manager, in Lagos, which was released    affirm the organisation’s ideals as it celebrated this year’s International Youth Day. Uwadoka said that the move was to ensure they gained the skills that would enable them to contribute positively toward building peace in the society. Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Manager said, “This is in line with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable development Goal 8, which aims to promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full off productive employment and decent work for all.’’ The youth empowerment initiatives include a training programme to develop and train young technicians for the world o