HERFON HEALTH BLOG

The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, says Nigeria does not constitute a global threat to any nation due to isolated cases of Lassa fever recorded in some states in the country. Adewale stated this at the meeting of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) with Hajj Stakeholders on Lassa fever, organised by his office in Abuja. The Minister said that Nigeria was on the verge of being declared Lassa fever free as the country currently has only a single reported case of the disease in one week. He said that since January this year, due to the measures put in place by the Federal Government, incidence of Lassa fever was declining, saying. “I can tell you that in the last one week only one case was recorded in Nigeria.” According to him, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has also confirmed that in the last eight weeks the disease is going down in Nigeria. He assured the government would continue to work assiduously to ensure constant surveillance of disease sa...

Nigeria is yet to be listed among African countries who have made significant progress in eliminating malaria, a statement by the World Health Organisations (WHO) says. WHO Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO Regional Director of Africa, in her message to commemorate the “World Malaria Day 2018” in Abuja on Wednesday, said 14 countries with the world’s biggest malaria problem were in Sub-Saharan Africa. Moeti said these countries still accounted for 80 per cent of the global burden of malaria with 194 million new cases and 410,000 deaths recorded in 2016 alone. She however said some countries in the region have witnessed a decrease in malaria cases and deaths showing significant potential to eliminate malaria by 2020. According to Moeti, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Senegal, Gambia and Zimbabwe are among 16 countries globally that witnessed a decrease in malaria cases and deaths by more than 20 per cent between 2015 and 2016. She said that Algeria, Botswana, Cape Verde, Comoros, South Africa and ...

Effort is in the top gear to complete National Strategic Health Development Plan II and put it to use. The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Enanire, made this known on recently while speaking at the validation of inputs from various health stakeholders across the country as part of the process to finalize the document. The National Health Strategic Development Plan II was developed as a result of the expiration of the first National Strategic Health Development Plan which was launched in 2010, lasted till 2015 and later extended to 2016 by the National Council on Health meeting held in Sokoto in 2015. The National Strategic Health Development Plan II document was subjected for comments, observations and inputs from the 36 states of the federation and FCT as well as partners and the private sector. Dr. Ehanire said that the document is very important to the repositioning of the health sector. “I am pleased to announce that Nigeria now has a robust, we...

Minister seeks private sector support to fight scourge The United States (U.S.) President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), led by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) yesterday released its 12th annual report documenting the progress of its programmes in Nigeria and other countries. In 2017, the U.S., through the PMI, implemented with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), worked with partners to reach over 480 million people at risk of malaria across sub-Saharan Africa and targeted communities threatened by malaria in greater Mekong sub-region. Use of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) is one of the most effective measures used for malaria prevention. From 2009 – 2015, the government of Nigeria, with support from partners, distributed approximately 98 million mosquito nets. Progress has been made to the extent that in 2010, 23 per cent of the household population slept inside ITNs compared to 37 per cent in 2015. Malaria is a m...

*Single injection protects monkeys for at least 18 weeks Scientists are edging closer to a long-term preventative Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) vaccine, new research suggests.A single injection protected monkeys against a version of the virus for at least 18 weeks, suggesting the jab could offer people months of immunity, a study by Rockefeller University, New York, United States (U.S.), found. People at high risk of becoming infected, such as those with HIV-positive partners, can take the preventative drug Pre Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) before sex, however, there is no long-term, effective jab. Developing such a vaccine is difficult due to HIV ‘hiding’ from people’s immune systems, however, including certain proteins in the injection cause immune cells to recognise parts of the “envelope” that surround the virus, the research adds. According to the researchers, their findings, published in the journal Nature Me...

JOHESU slams FG for not honoring their agreement and court judgements     Striking Nigerian health workers say they won’t resume until their demands are met. On Wednesday, health workers across Nigeria under the umbrella body of the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) began an indefinite strike action to press home their demands. Members of the union that are on strike include National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Medical and Health Workers Union (MHWUN), and Senior Staff Association of University Teaching Hospitals. Others include Research Institutes and Associated Institutions, Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals and Non-academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutes. Addressing newsmen in Nigeria’s capital city of Abuja, Obisesan Oluwatuyi, General Secretary of the Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP) whose members are also participating in the strike action said they would n...

MedShare, a U.S.-based non-profit organization, says it has donated more than $40 million worth of new medical supplies and biomedical equipment to strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare systems in the last 20 years. Vice-President, International Development of MedShare, Nell Diallo, disclosed this at the Nigeria Day at Atlanta to celebrate MedShare 20 years of strengthening healthcare in Nigeria. Ms Diallo said: “MedShare has supported over 150 hospitals in Nigeria and improved maternal and child health, primary care and infectious disease control and prevention in Nigeria’s healthcare facilities. “MedShare has donated more than $40 million in medical supplies and biomedical equipment to strengthen Nigeria’s health systems. “Our Biomedical Equipment Training and Repair Service has donated more than 4,500 pieces of state-of-the-art biomedical equipment and more than 1,050 electric hospital beds.” According to her, MedShare focuses on the 19 Northern states because th...

Participants at THISDAY Healthcare Policy Dialogue/Summit, which included global health leaders, have urged government at all levels in Nigeria to be more committed to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) – a scheme that has become a priority goal worldwide. The Health Dialogue held on Thursday in Abuja was in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Health. It attracted global health leaders, policy makers, health practitioners, parliamentarians, development partners, academic, civil society organizations, private sectors and the media. Thursday Summit with the theme “The Journey to Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria,” was a follow up to the high-level policy dialogue on transforming the Nigeria healthcare sector through appropriate financing held earlier in the year by THISDAY. The summit agreed that commitment to Universal Health Coverage was an important way to expand access to effective healthcare services, reduce financial hardship during illness, and imp...

WHO Regional Director Moeti, WHO DG Tedros Ghebreyesus , minister of health, Isaac Adewole and minister of state for state Osagie Ehanire in Abuja Nigeria will not graduate from the GAVI intervention funds for the next 10 years as the 'expiration term' of the country has been extended to allow the country prepare to take over, the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole has said. The minister made this revelation at the launch of Eliminate Yellow Fever Epidemics (EYE), by the World Health Organisation in Abuja on Tuesday. Present at the event was the WHO Director General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, Deputy Director-General, six regional directors, and Executive Director of the WHO emergencies programmes and heads of health parastatals in Nigeria. Speaking at the event, Mr Adewole revealed that contrary to previous notion that Nigeria might soon graduate from receiving vaccinations from GAVI, the country has received grace of ten years to put in place mechanism t...

The National Population Commission (NPC) has put Nigeria’s current population at 198 million people with urban population growing at an average annual growth rate of about 6.5 per cent Chairman of NPC, Mr Eze Duruiheoma, stated this in New York while delivering Nigeria’s statement on Sustainable Cities, Human Mobility and International Migration at the 51st Session of Commission on Population and Development. Duruiheoma said: “Nigeria remains the most populous in Africa, the seventh globally with an estimated population of over 198 million. “The recent World Population Prospects predicts that by 2050, Nigeria will become the third most populated country in the world. “Over the last 50 years, Nigeria’s urban population has grown at an average annual growth rate of more than 6.5 per cent without a commensurate increase in social amenities and infrastructure. “It grew substantially from 17.3 in 1967 to 49.4 per cent in 2017. In addition, the 2014 World Urbanisation P...

NCDC confirms first case, fatality in Abia Two health workers affected with one death in a week NEMA alerts on meningitis outbreak in FCT, others The current Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria has spread to 20 states leaving 142 dead and 400 confirmed cases.This is compared to the figures released on March 25, 2018, which showed 134 deaths and 394 confirmed cases in 19 states meaning there are eight more deaths, six more confirmed cases and the virus has spread to a new state – Abia. Latest figures released yesterday by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for Week 13 (March 26- April 01, 2018) indicate six new confirmed cases were recorded in five states – Edo (two), Ondo (one), Bauchi (one), Plateau (one) and Abia (one) with two new deaths in confirmed cases from Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja (one) and Abia (one). According to the NCDC report, from January 1 to April 1, 2018, a total of 1,706 suspected cases have been reported and of these...