Chioma Umeha

Chioma Umeha To improve reproductive healthcare in the country, Network of Reproductive Health Journalists of Nigeria (NRHJN), a non-governmental organisation, has tasked government at levels to increase its investment in the area. The demand came after a strategic meeting and training workshop of the Network which its members are Nigerian journalists that campaign for Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) issues and policies. According to a communique issued at the end of the meeting which held in Ibadan, Oyo State recently and jointly signed by the President and Secretary of the Network, Mr. Roland Ogbonnaya and Mrs. Yinka Shokunbi respectively, the Network said the state of reproductive health care in the country was ‘below acceptable standard.’ Consequently, the Network expressed dissatisfaction that government at the Federal and state levels were not doing enough to improve the situation. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines reproductive

Dr. Anuma Kalu Ulu, is a Nigerian–born medical practitioner based in the United States but who was on medical mission in Nigeria recently. In this interview with CHIOMA UMEHA , he takes a critical look at a number of health issues in Nigeria. Excerpts: You have been in practice for many years within and outside this country, could you tell us what we are not doing right? There is really no basis for comparison, everything we are doing here is wrong. I have to be frank. Some of you may have had the opportunity to travel and see what obtains in other climes. I trained here before I travelled, and since I travelled and got my further training, I have been coming here to practise. So, I stand in a better stead to actually compare and say based on world standard, we really don’t have anything here that is called a hospital or medical delivery system. The system is rippled with many practices that would land a medical staff in any other clime in jail or a situation whe

Chioma Umeha When Kemi Adeola, a 30-year-old caterer, was diagnosed with HIV about six years ago, it was like giving her a ‘death sentence.’ The health condition had many “unproven’’ accompanying lifestyle rules and regulations, “dos and don’ts’’ that were supposedly aimed at making her live a longer and healthier life. These ‘groundless’ guidelines also extended to her role as an expectant mother as she must be circumspect in feeding her baby to avoid giving him the infection. Then, Kemi was pregnant of a baby boy but she lost him, even the next pregnancy which was twins. The three babies were HIV positive following her refusal to take the antiretroviral drugs. At a point, she ran away from home for three days due to fear. She thought she was going to die whether she took the drugs or not. When she complied with taking her drugs, her fourth baby was diagnosed negative. However, she could not breastfeed her baby due to fear. She was afraid that the baby

Chioma Umeha Following reported re-emergence of Lassa fever in Ebonyi State, the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) in Enugu State on Monday inaugurated a 22-member committee   to tackle the fresh outbreak. Inaugurating the committee, the state Chairman of the association, Cajetan Onyedum, said the move was necessary to sensitise residents of the state as well as health workers on the need to be vigilant and take necessary action. Onyedum expressed the concern of the members of the association over the resurgence of the disease, which according to him, has already recorded casualties. “We got official information yesterday on the death of two of our colleagues following confirmed outbreak of Lassa fever in Ebonyi. “This morning a nurse also died as a result of the same disease while another colleague is in a critical condition. “We thought it would be wise to set up this committee due to the proximity between Enugu and Ebonyi in order to check the incide

Chioma Umeha Prof.    Isaac Adewole, the Minister of Health has approved the appointment of Dr Godwin Ntadom as the Chief Consultant Epidemiologist of the Federation. A statement on Monday from the Federal Ministry of Health announced the appointment. Until his appointment, Dr. Ntadom was the Head of Case Management and Drug Policy in the National Malaria Elimination Programme. The appointment takes immediate effect.

Some health facility in Jigawa state Chioma Umeha Fatimah Isah, from Gwiwa LGA of Jigawa state bled to death following pregnancy complications. Fatima was unable to access quality healthcare during pregnancy and delivery. As a teenager, she suffered pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, no thanks to pro-longed labour.   Fatima developed the condition as a result of labour that lasted for two weeks. She was sent to her parents’ home at seven months pregnancy. Caught in the web of tradition, Fatima could not attend antenatal care in the hospital, because her parents wanted her to deliver in the house. Fatima was faced   with traditional constraint in seeking care and by the time the family consented, she had been in labour two weeks. Her husband later took her on motorcycle to a specialist hospital in the State that was two miles away. She underwent a Ceasarian Section, but, despite efforts by the medical doctors at the hospital, she came down with pre-eclampsia and

 Chioma Umeha The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has expressed concern over the increasing incidence of water-borne diseases in the country especially in the Niger Delta region. The UN interventionist agency is particularly worried that lack of access to potable water has led to deaths among infants. Specifically, the UN agency for children has said that Nigeria can reduce death of children under the age of five by improving access to safe water and sanitation for citizens. The United Nations (UN) agency for children further said that poor Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) causes more than half of global diarrhoea diseases. It explained that poor WASH remains the second leading cause of deaths and other health hazards among children under the age of five. The international agency stated this at a ‘WASH’ media meeting by the Federal Ministry of Information in collaboration with UNICEF in Uyo the Akwa Ibom State capital, recently. It noted that th

(L-R): Dr. Olufemi Onanuga, Special Adviser to the Governor on Primary Health Care; Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, Governor of Lagos State; Prof. Wale Oke, Chief Medical Director, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and Dr. Jide Idris, Commissioner for Health during an inspection tour of health facilities in Lagos. Inset: Some of the newly procured equipments Chioma Umeha Following increasing health facility utilisation of key health care services, Lagos State Government has procured N2.5 billion worth health equipment to boost the delivery of qualitative healthcare in the state’s   General and Teaching Hospital. Dr. Jide Idris, the state Commissioner for Health   who announced this at a press briefing at weekend, in Ikeja, said   that the move is to meet progressive increase in the health facility utilisation trends for essential healthcare services. Idris, also said that the efforts is directed   to improve the   quality of healthcare in the state’s

Chioma Umeha   Pharm. Ahmed   Yakasai,President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria   (PSN) was on Monday, appointed as the Grand Patron of Pharmaceutical Association of Nigerian Students (PANS), Bayero University, Kano(BUK). A statement signed by Yakasai made available to INDEPENDENT said that the PSN President was conferred with the position in his Kano office. “The Executive members of PANS, BUK led by Prof Basheer Chedi (Patron), Dean, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, BUK and Prof Ibrahim Adamu Yakasai (Patron), Head of Dept. Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Drug Development visited my office in Kano for the conferment the Pioneer Grand Patron of the Association. “It is extremely an honour and a blessing to be recognised. In accepting the responsibilities that the trust entitled me to lead the other Patrons, I say thank you very much for finding me worthy of this position,” the statement read.

...Foresees Worsened Food Security Chioma Umeha As it reaches its ninth year, the effect of Boko Haram insurgency in North East has assumed devastating proportions with widespread forced displacement, acute food and nutrition insecurity. Figures available to INDEPENDENT show that almost five million people are at crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity, with pockets of people experiencing famine in some areas based on the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC Phase 3-4). Of these, 4.7 million are in three states – Borno, Adamawa and Yobe. Further reports from United Nations (UN) projected that this figure reached 5.8 million by June 2017,   of which 2.1 million people (41 per cent) were in emergency or   higher level of food insecurity (IPC Phase 4-5). Of the 5.8 million, 5.1 million were also in three states – Borno, Adamawa and Yobe. From the projection for June 2017, the prevalence of Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) was within th