Chioma Umeha

By Chioma Umeha To control rapid population growth, its associated problems and achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), stakeholders have called for increased budgetary allocation to family planning as Nigeria joins the rest of the work to mark 2017 World Population Day (WPD). Speaking on this year’s WPD theme, “Family Planning, Birth Spacing: Empowering People, Developing Nations,” Chief Eze Duruiheoma, Chairman, National Population Commission (NPC), said that family planning and birth spacing are measures to attain a sustainable family size by way of allowing for adequate intervals between births, employing especially the use of contraception. Duruiheoma said, “Family planning is not only about saving lives but also empowering people and developing nations. “Family and birth spacing are personal decisions but their profound implications on health, economic and social wellbeing of the society are far reaching. “That is why simple individual decision

By Chioma Umeha Exercise: Exercise should be encouraged for both women and men who are gearing up to try to conceive. However, excessive, strenuous exercise in women may result in disruption of the ovulation cycle, thereby affecting her periods. Normal exercise has not been linked to miscarriages (loss of pregnancy), but certain forms of exercise (for example, high-impact or contact sports or scuba diving) should be avoided in pregnancy. In men, too much exercise may cause a low sperm count. Weight and fertility A healthy diet is very important for women who are trying for a baby. Being overweight can affect a woman’s fertility and can cause complications during pregnancy. A woman who is overweight and who is planning a pregnancy would be advised to lose weight before she conceives. Obesity can affect fertility by causing hormonal imbalances and problems with ovulation, particularly for obese women having their first baby. Obesity is associated with poly-c

By Chioma Umeha As the world marked Sickle Cell Disease Awareness Day penultimate week, experts have reiterated the importance of early diagnosis, saying it can prevent many difficulties and ease treatment, thereby increasing the chance of patient’s survival. To this effect, Lagos State, has announced that testing for sickle cell disease will soon become a compulsory part of the newborn screening programme. Sickle cell disease and sickle cell trait can be diagnosed with a simple blood test and can also be diagnosed before the baby is born. Speaking recently in an interview, Dr. Jide Idris, Commissioner for Health in the state, said that the purpose is to diagnose affected babies early in life and thus introduce timely and lifesaving interventions that would manage avoidable suffering and possibly prevent death. The test will utilise blood from the blood samples used for other routine newborn screening tests, Dr. Idris said. It can show whether a newborn

By Chioma Umeha With this year’s Nigeria Prize for Science competition recording the highest number of entries from 27 scientists worldwide, experts believe that fight to end the malaria scourge in Africa has received a boost. At the moment, the scientists are working on innovations in Malaria Control to win the coveted $100,000 with their new findings. The General Manager External Relations of Nigeria LNG, Dr. Kudo Eresia-Eke, said this on recently, in Lagos at the formal hand-over of entries to the Advisory Board of the Nigeria Prize for Science. Dr. Eresia-Eke expressed optimism that this year’s prize competition will throw up a notable innovation in combating the malaria scourge in Africa, particularly in Nigeria. In his remarks at the ceremony, Dr. Eresia-Eke said “The journey every year of The Nigeria Prize for Science is punctuated by milestones. One of those milestones is actually the announcement of the closure and number of entries for the year.

By Chioma Umeha Dr. Sunday Aboje, National Coordinator, National AIDS/STI Control Programme(NASCAP), Federal Ministry of Health, has urged the Federal Government to take ownership of elimination of Mother to Child transmission (eMTCT) of HIV programmes to end disease infection in the country. Dr. Aboje said this at the opening of a three-day communication strategic review workshop by Journalists Alliance for Prevention of Mother to Child transmission of HIV (JAPiN) in Calabar, Cross Rivers State, recently. While stressing on the need for Federal Government to take charge of the programme, the National Coordinator, NASCAP, decried the country’s dependence on foreign donors to eliminate mother to child transmission of HIV. He further attributed over-reliance on foreign donors to be responsible for the lack of coordination in the HIV Health Sector Response, saying this result in duplication of efforts, parallel programme, among others. Dr, Aboje said: “Over-de

By Chioma Umeha Nigerian Youths have urged the Federal Government to develop a sustainable domestic plan for Vaccine Financing as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance begins its five-year exit plan from vaccine financing support for the country. The position was made known recently, at the end of a two-day ‘Routine Immunisation Youth Champions’ retreat organised by Community Health and Research Initiative (CHR) through Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health(PACFaH). The youths at the end of the retreat commended the recently approved $125m World Bank Loan to finance 2017 Polio Eradication Programme, and other routine immunisation vaccines. However, they stressed the need for government’s ownership of immunisation financing, without dependence on loans and donors support, according to a statement signed by Ndidi Chukwu, Communications and Media Officer, Community Health and Research Initiative (CHR). The youths, representing a coalition of CHR-PACFaH CS

By Chioma Umeha A new road map for implementing the Addis Declaration on Immunisation (ADI) has been launched. The event happened in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda recently, at the inaugural Africa Health Forum. The launch followed the decision in January this year, at the 28th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, by heads of government from the continent to approve the ADI, which was earlier drafted and signed by ministers and other top level delegates at the Ministerial Conference on Immunisation in Africa in February 2016. The foreword to the 35-page report informs that the “endorsement paves the way for accelerated implementation of the ADI roadmap to ensure that everyone in Africa, no matter who they are or where they live, can access the vaccines they need to survive and thrive.” While noting that “Africa has made tremendous gains in increasing access to immunisation in the last 15 years,” progress, it says, has “has stagnated, leaving one in five Africa

By Chioma Umeha The Lagos State Government on Monday commenced this year’s Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, (MNCH) Week across the state, saying that it is planning to reach 640,000 pregnant women. The MNCH Week offers a veritable platform to simultaneously contribute to the reduction of child morbidity and mortality and improving maternal health indices. The week holds between 3 and 7 July, 2017. At a news conference weekend, at the Lagos State Government Secretariat, Alausa, in Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, Special Adviser to the Governor on Primary Health Care, Dr. Olufemi Onanuga said it was a known fact that maternal, peri-natal and child (under five year) health was one of the most important issues that determined national well-being. He said when aggregated, this group (women of child bearing age and under- five year old) represents over 42 per cent of the state’s total population, apart from their constituting a vulnerable group, adding that eve

By Chioma Umeha National Coordinator, National AIDS/STI Control Programme, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Sunday Aboje has said that Nigeria was still home to the highest number of children living with HIV/AIDS in the world. Dr Aboje spoke at the opening of a three-day Communication Strategic review workshop by Journalists Alliance for Prevention of Mother to Child transmission of HIV (JAPIN) in Calabar, Cross Rivers State on Tuesday. Dr Aboje stated that currently 380,000 children are HIV positive in the country, adding that Nigeria is committed to the goal of eliminating new HIV infections among children and keeping their mothers alive by 2020. The NASCAP coordinator declared: “Nigeria has the second highest global burden of HIV/AIDS and also contributes the largest proportion of new vertically acquired HIV infections among children. “The country has come a long way in its effort to control the HIV/AIDS epidemic, particularly in PMTCT. Beginning wi

By Chioma Umeha Dr. Damian Avar is a General Practitioner and the founder and CEO of DoctorsHub Nigeria, in this interview with CHIOMA UMEHA , discusses growing cases of diabetes in Nigeria and how it can be curbed. Excerpts: Describe the current situation of diabetes in Nigeria? According to the World Health Organisation, over 1.7 million new cases of diabetes in Nigeria were recorded in 2016. And with about five million Nigerians, according to the Diabetes Association of Nigeria (DAN) currently living with the disease, Nigeria comes top on the list of countries in Africa with the highest incidence and prevalence of diabetes. Sadly, this value has been projected to double by 2030. So really, the fact that diabetes is on a rapid rise in Nigeria is incontestable. What is responsible for the growing cases of diabetes in Nigeria? There are certain risks factors which predispose people to developing diabetes. While there is often a genetic link to the disease,