Chioma Umeha

By Chioma Umeha Reckitt Benckiser (RB) one of the leading consumer health and hygiene Company has restated its commitment to a clean and healthy Nigeria that will boost the capacity and productivity of the citizens The initiative under the “Clean Healthy Naija” programme encompasses a number of steps geared towards awareness creation, education and behavioural change to achieve a cleaner and healthier country. Mr. Ataur Rashid Safdar, RB’s Senior Vice President for Africa, who led the RB’s delegation on a courtesy visit to Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State Friday, as part of activities marking the World Health Day, explained that RB’s vision for Nigeria is where people are healthier and live better. He noted that Ogun State is very critical to the nation’s development because of its investment friendly climate and policies, which he said can propel the development of the state and the nation at large. The “Clean Healthy Naija” initiative, according t

By Chioma Umeha As the Federal Government begins the Meningitis C Reactive Vaccination exercise in Zamfara State – hard hit by the current outbreak of meningitis in the country, death toll from the disorder has continued to rise in all affected States. On Friday April 7, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) confirmed a total of 438 deaths out of 3,959 suspected cases reported in 106 Local Government Areas of 19 States of the Federation. Giving an update of the situation report of April 6, 2017, NCDC’s Technical Adviser, Communications, Dr Lawal Bakare, said a total of 181 (11 per cent) of the cases have been laboratory-confirmed by Pastorex and Culture, while Neisseria meningitides serotype C is the most common serotype accounting for 83 per cent of cases. The update revealed that Kogi, Oyo and Delta have joined the list of affected States, however, the North-West zone remains the most affected with Zamfara State topping the list with a total of 26

By Chioma Umeha A 2016 Mandela Washington Fellow, Ms. Chidinma Mbanasor, on Monday concluded a series of vocational rehabilitation and economic empowerment programme for 60 Vesico-Vaginal Fistula (VVF) survivors in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State. The training session which spanned over a period of seven days was targeted at the socio-economic reintegration of women who have undergone fistula repair surgeries, especially those whose husbands abandoned them as a result of their medical condition. “The majority of these VVF survivors are peasants, petty traders, and housewives who have difficulty supporting themselves let alone their families. The situation becomes even more complicated when they are abandoned by their husbands and family members.” “Equipping women who have undergone fistula repair with self-sustaining skills can strengthen their capacity to care for themselves with a view to helping them reclaim their lives and return to their communities with pride

By Chioma Umeha To guarantee interventions that transform lives and improve the health and well-being of communities in Nigeria, Guinness Nigeria Plc has constructed seven hand pump water boreholes in Bebi Community, Obanliku Local Government Area (LGA) of Cross River State. The donated boreholes which will provide more than 7,000 persons with year-round access to safe drinking water were unveiled at a commissioning ceremony which the company held to mark this year’s ‘World Water Day’. Guinness Nigeria’s continued commitment to initiatives that improve access to safe water was underscored at the event by the company’s Corporate Relations Director, Mr. Sesan Sobowale who represented the Managing Director of Guinness Nigeria. Sobowale noted that the company will continue to play a leading role in enhancing access to safe drinking water in Nigeria. He said: “The boreholes we are commissioning today are the latest addition to the range of water pr

By   Chioma Umeha Low-calorie, artificial sweeteners appear to play havoc with the body’s metabolism, and large consumption of these sugar substitutes could promote fat accumulation, especially in people who are already obese, preliminary research suggests. The study results will be presented Monday at ENDO 2017, the Endocrine Society’s 99th annual meeting in Orlando, Fla. “Many health-conscious individuals like to consume low-calorie sweeteners as an alternative to sugar. However, there is increasing scientific evidence that these sweeteners promote metabolic dysfunction,” said Sabyasachi Sen, an Associate Professor of Medicine and Endocrinology at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and the study’s principal investigator. Sen and his colleagues tested sucralose, a popular low-calorie sweetener, on stem cells- cells that could change into mature fat, muscle, cartilage or bone cells – taken from human fat tissue. They placed these cells in Petri d

Monique Bonavita Bueno is an embryologist from Brazil who visited Nigeria recently. In this interview with CHIOMA UMEHA, Bueno speaks on s perm washing and freezing, preimplantation of genetics diagnosis and screening (PGD/PGS), their implication in fertility treatment. What is the job of Embryologist? Well we work with the garments, basically with the garments of the patients. We do ovary stimulation and IVF treatment. So we work with eggs and sperms and embryos. The sperm and eggs are placed into incubators and examined carefully at intervals to ensure that fertilization and cell division have taken place, after which the fertilized eggs are then known as embryos. Two to five days after egg retrieval, embryos are ready to be placed in the woman’s uterus. What is the difference between sperm washing and sperm freezing? Sperm washing is the process in which individual sperms are separated from the semen. Washed sperm is used in artificial insemination usin

By Chioma Umeha It was Hippocrates, the ancient Greek Physician who became known as the founder of medicine that said: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” Hippocrates aligns with the axiom which says – ‘Health is wealth.’ Therefore, the controversies trailing the safety of Benzoic preservatives in foods and beverages in the country did not come as a surprise. As the saying goes, “Those who think they have no time for healthy eating will sooner or later have to find time for illness.” This explains why many Nigerians are still worried and confused about safe consumption of foods and beverages with Benzoic preservatives. However, the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST) has finally dismissed the idea of carcinogenicity of consuming carbonated beverages together with Vitamin C, which have been reported to be poisonous. Speaking with the media weekend in Lagos, the first Vice National President, NIFST, Dr. Oluwole Toye s

..Will Soon Commence Depression Treatment In 57 PHCs By Chioma Umeha Worried about the increasing rate of suicide in the state, the Lagos State Government has rolled out new plans to tackle the menace, even as it said that the current recession has made mental condition a public health concern. Announcing this to journalists on Friday was Dr. Jide Idris, the Commissioner of Health, who also said the State Government will soon start treatment of depression and other common mental health disorders in all 57 flagship primary healthcare (PHC) centres. He spoke at the press conference to mark the World Health Day, with the theme: “Depression: Let’s Talk.” Idris stressed that the growing cases of suicide in Lagos was worrisome and that efforts must be made to nip it in the bud. “As evidenced by the recent disturbing news of suicide and suicidal attempts, a densely populated and metropolitan city- state like Lagos is not exempt from the challenges associated w

By Chioma Umeha A recent study published in PLOS One led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has dismissed the result of an influential 2003 study about the interaction of genes, environment and depression. The new study said that the 2003 study “may have missed the mark.” Since publication of the study in Science, that original paper has been cited by other researchers more than 4,000 times, and some 100 other studies have been published about links between a serotonin-related gene, stressful life events and depression risk. It indicated that people with a particular variant of the serotonin transporter gene were not as well-equipped to deal with stressful life events and, when encountering significant stress, were more likely to develop depression. Such conclusions were widely accepted, mainly because antidepressant drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) help relieve depression for a significant percentage of cli

By Chioma Umeha The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today welcomed a US $3.5 million contribution from the Government of Japan to provide desperately needed food assistance to tens of thousands of internally displaced people in Northeast Nigeria. The funding allows WFP to deliver food to more than 160,000 people in Borno and Yobe States, where the Boko Haram insurgency has left many people severely food insecure, and experts warn of a credible risk of famine in some places. “We commend the Government and people of Japan for their continued contributions to WFP’s operations in Northeast Nigeria,” said Ronald Sibanda, WFP Country Director and Representative ad interim in Nigeria. “This generous contribution from Japan will help WFP continue scaling up its response to reach more families in the region with food and nutrition support.” Currently, some 4.7 million people are in dire need of food assistance in the three most conflict-affected states – Borno