Chioma Umeha

By Chioma Umeha “It was a Monday. I started working early; I cleaned my salon and washed all the towels. When I finished I went to Randle Health Centre and picked up two pregnancy tests. “I honestly didn’t think I was pregnant, but wanted to put my mind at ease. I remember seeing the two lines show up and I burst into tears. This couldn’t be happening. Quickly, I visited my childhood friend, Adegoke at Apapa Road, Ebute Metta.   She accompanied me to another Lab, close to Oyibo Market. There, I took another one. Positive! I was pregnant.” This is the story of Mojisola, (not real name) a 37-year-old lady, hair dresser and secondary school leaver. Moji as she is fondly called by acquaintances spoke exclusively to DAILY INDEPENDENT during an investigative tour of Otumara Community, Apapa area of Lagos. Palpable pains and regrets were still noticeable from her expression as she continued her narrative concerning who was responsible for the pregnancy. She said

L-R: Dr. Olufemi Onanuga,Special Adviser on Primary Health Care; Dr. Jide Idris, Commissioner for Health, and Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan, Commissioner for Information and Strategy, during the annual ministerial press briefing of the Lagos State Ministry of Health held at Alausa, Ikeja, weekend. By Chioma Umeha Mrs. Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, the wife of the Ondo State Governor has called for collaborations among key players in the heath sector towards ensuring effective cancer control in the state. Speaking at the BRECAN lunch meeting with all health professionals in the state at an event which took place at the multipurpose hall of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Mrs. Akeredolu reviewed some of the activities of BRECAN over the years. She noted that the focus has always been on early detection even as she encouraged government to improve its policies and funding for cancer control. She also highlighted the importance of crowd funding campaigns, wh

By Chioma Umeha In line with the global vision of the World Health Organisation (WHO) of curbing malaria deaths, Kantar Nigeria teamed up with Non-Such HMO and other allied companies to provide free tests, treatment, Long Lasting Insecticide Treated nets (LLITN), among others to over 1,000 Nigerians. The two-day event which was held to World Malaria Day (WMD) in Lagos began with an awareness exercise on the first day targeted to sensitise the public about the event and its importance. Speaking at the occasion was Aggrey Maposa, Managing Director, Kantar Nigeria, who explained that the goal was to create awareness about the benefits of the programme to members of the community. According to him, the awareness programme also served as a forum to provide lectures on malaria prevention and control; free malaria test and drugs as well as distribution of treated mosquito nets. During the event, there was a huge turnout of staff drawn from all Kantar Brands in Nig

Dr. Funmilayo Shokunbi, Director, Medical Administration, Training and Programmes, Ministry of Health (second right), presenting glasses to Mr. Patrick Owunka, a beneficiary (second left) flanked by Dr. Opeyemi Aihonsu, Medical Director, Badagry General Hospital (Left) and Mr. Olusegun Oyenuga, Director Administration and Human Resource of Badagry General Hospital, (Right) at the Free Eye Surgery Outreach organised by the Lagos State Government at Badagry GH •Conducts Free Eye Surgery For 200 Chioma Umeha It was a four-day of momentous event for those who had one eye defect or another in the ancient city of Badagry, Lagos. Many of them had been living in pains for years without hope of any help. Some had cataract and others struggled with partial blindness. However, help came to them recently when Lagos State Government sponsored a free eye surgery outreach programme. Many of the excited beneficiaries wished the programme would be a weekly affair. One o

…Records Breakthrough In Open-Heart Surgery, Kidney Transplant, Cochlear Implant, Others By Chioma Umeha - May 9, 20180 Following the federal government’s ban on sale and importation of codeine as active pharmaceutical ingredient for cough preparations, the Lagos State Government said it is set to unveil comprehensive plans to address mental health in the state. The state government said it has concluded wide-ranging plans to generally address prevalence of drug abuse under its mental health policy, revealing that a law to that effect has already been updated. The Federal Government had on Tuesday directed the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to stop further issuance of permits for the importation of Codeine as active pharmaceutical ingredient for cough preparations with immediate effect in response to the gross abuse of Codeine usage in the country. However, Dr. Jide Idris said before and after the ban was announced, the

Chioma Umeha To avoid population explosion and its attendant health and socio-economic malaise, traditional, religious and political leaders have been urged to assist in demystifying the myths and misconceptions surrounding Family Planning (FP) in Nigeria. Making the call was Mr Dele Fanimo, the Chief Operating Officer (COO), Leadership Newspapers, at an advocacy visit by the Family Planning Media Advocacy Working Group (FPMAWG) to Leadership Lagos Office, who alerted that the recent staggering figure of the Nigerian population, describing it as a time bomb. Fanimo said, “The Nigerian population is 198 million and this figure has an implication on the country in all aspects of the economy. A quarter of this population is almost twice the population of Republic of Benin. The central of this is uncontrolled birth.” Raising alarm on the implication of the Nigerian huge population which the media executive said this can lead to increase in crime and prostitutio

•Adopt Multi-Sector Collaboration To Tackle Scourge By   Chioma Umeha  - May 2, 2018 To end malaria scourge in the country, pharmacists have urged government to adopt more of team approach by involving importers and manufacturers as well as reducing foreign exchange (forex) on drug matters to enable the common man access quality health care, especially the anti-malaria ones. Speaking for the pharmacists was Pharm. Ahmed Yakasai, the President Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), who stressed that the Federal Government, importers and manufacturers should join hands in the strategies to control and eliminate malaria in Nigeria. Yakasai who made the call during a press conference at Pharmacy House, Lagos to mark this year’s World Malaria Day, insisted that the government should make the business environment more conducive and friendly for Pharma businesses for production of affordable anti-malaria medicines. Specifically, the PSN boss demanded for