Chioma Umeha

L-R: Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire; Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; representative of wife of the President and SSA on Administration to the President, Dr. (Mrs) Hajo Sani; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi and wife of the Governor, Dr. (Mrs) Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu during the commissioning of the 149-bed Maternal and Child Centre in Alimosho General Hospital, Igando. To ensure healthy pregnancy for women as well as safe childbirth, the wife of Nigeria’s President, Mrs Aisha Buhari has said that the zero tolerance declaration by the Federal Government on maternal deaths has yielded great results as women and children remains its top priority. Speaking at the official launch of the 149 Bed Maternal and Child Centre, (MCC) located in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State, said that the centre is currently being constructed across the country. Aisha Buhari said that, statistica

L-R: Peter Hawkins UNICEF Nigeria and Mohamad Darwish IHS Nigeria Chief Executive Officer   74 The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has signed a partnership with IHS Nigeria, the Nigerian subsidiary of IHS Towers, in support of a Child Friendly Community Initiative (CFCI) targeted at accelerating tangible and sustained improvements in the well-being and development of children in rural communities in the country. UNICEF is working with the Federal Government to empower and strengthen the capacity of local governments and rural communities. This includes working with local development councils, religious and traditional leaders to adopt child-centred attitudes, behaviours and practices to improve access to basic services that promote child well-being and development. A release by Blessing Ejiofor, Communication Officer, UNICEF Nigeria, said children and women in Nigeria face multiple deprivations and challenges rooted in poverty and inequality. The release said that millions of t

The management of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, says it has achieved another medical feat through the use of improvised methods in conducting a Pulmonary Embolism Surgery to save a patient’s life. Prof. Adetokunbo Fabamwo, LASUTH Chief Medical Director, who made the disclosure on Monday in Lagos, said a medical team comprising an Interventional Cardiologist and other medical doctors achieved the feat on Sept. 6. Fabamwo, however, did not disclose the name of the patient. The Nigeria News Agency reports that Pulmonary Embolism is a form of medical emergency that happened when a clot was lodged in the pulmonary artery, thus blocked blood flow to the lungs. Fabamwo said in spite of dire shortage of skilled manpower and equipment in this branch of emergency medicine, doctors at LASUTH were still able to save the life of the patient. “Globally, it is a medical condition which the fatality rate is quite high, and urgent medical intervention is needed to dislod

From Second Right: Dr. Ajoke Ashiru, Focal Person, Public Health Sustainable Advice Initiative (PHSAI); Chairman, Badagry Local Government, Lagos state, Mr. Teliat Onilude and others during the recent Advocacy Visit of some members of PHSAI in collaboration with Media Advocacy Working Group(MAWG), Lagos to his office at the Local Government secretariat, Ajara, Badagry Lagos State. T he Chairman, Badagry Local Government, Lagos state, Mr. Teliat Onilude has approved Ten thousand Naira monthly for the purchase of Family Planning consumables for clients in the area. The ten thousand naira allocation for the months of July and August has already been disbursed. Mr. Onilude made this known when PHSAI in collaboration with Media Advocacy Working Group, (MAWG) paid an advocacy visit to the Local Government secretariat, Ajara, Badagry Lagos State. Mr. Onilude who pledged to increase funds for Family Planning urged the people to avoid self-medication, patronise health centres around them for be

Drugs.-Inset-Samuel   T he Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has dissociated itself from the purported meeting in Lagos on August 29, 2019 between Konga and Community Pharmacy Owners being circulated in the social media. A release by Pharm. Adekola O. Samuel, National Chairman of ACPN, said that having consulted the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN), the regulator of the industry, the ACPN has confirmed that there is not any association by the name Community Pharmacy Owners. The release read; “After due consultations with the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN), our regulator, we wish to clearly state that we are not aware of any association by the name Community Pharmacy Owners.” Adekola dissociated the ACPN from the project for what he described as being shrouded in secrecy possibly for pecuniary gains. He advised community pharmacists to call their executives for clarifications to avoid scammers who might not be representing the interests of ACPN. He a

Health-Writers-Association-of-Nigeria Health Writers Association of Nigeria, (HEWAN) has applauded the appointment of health professionals, Dr. Osagie Ehanire as the new Minister of Health and Senator Adeleke Mamora, his Minister of State by President Mohammadu Buhari. HEWAN, which is a group of health journalists, however listed seven key areas that must be urgently addressed by the new Ministers to revive the nation’s battered health care delivery system. In a    statement signed by the President and Secretary    of the association, Chioma Obinna and Lucy Osuizigbo respectively, the journalists hailed the appointment, describing it as “putting the right peg in the right hole,” saying this would bring the needed change to the nation’s health sector. The gro up urged the new ministers to urgently focus their attention on key areas of the nation’s healthcare delivery system which have been neglected over the years and urgently. These include; Implementation of Primary Health Care (PHC)

Jega   Dr. Farouk Jega is the Country Director, Pathfinder International Nigeria. In this interview with  CHIOMA UMEHA , he spoke on the right of every woman to quality information and good service on family planning, among other controversial matters regarding the issue. Excerpts: In a country like Nigeria where men dominate decision making, how can male involvement help in expanding family planning? Men should be involved in family planning because a woman cannot be pregnant all by herself. It takes a man and a woman to adequately plan for the family and not only their next birth but their resources like education of the children, foods and general upkeep of the family. A lot of times, men often shy away from these key responsibilities and they go away but, unfortunately, the reproductive biology of the female is much more amenable to interruption and manipulation than the male reproductive biology. A woman at least has one fertile cycle every 28 days and at most every 30 days. It ta