Senate restates commitment to lead fight against drug abuse in Nigeria

-

The Nigerian Senate led by Dr Bukola Saraki has again reiterated its revolve to ensure that the two draft Bills for legislation to tackle the increasing drug abuse menace among youths in the Nigerian society become law.
The proposed Bills are National Drug Control Bill and National Mental Health Bill.
The Drug Control Bill seeks to clarify the mandate and strengthen the capacity of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to eradicate the illicit production, and trafficking of controlled substances.
It also seeks to establish a central mechanism to facilitate collaboration among law enforcement, regulatory and public health authorities in line with the National Drug Control Policy.
The Bill focuses on proactive law enforcement and regulatory measures towards the eradication of the illicit importation, production and trafficking of controlled substances.
It will criminalise the diversion, distribution or otherwise dispensing of controlled substances without a prescription or license.
On mental health bill, the statement noted that, in recognition of the fact that psychosocial issues are the key drivers for the abuse of psychoactive substance, the bill was crafted to ensure that standard facilities were available in every state to provide mental health and substance abuse services.
The proposed law guarantees the protection of the rights of people with mental illness and stipulates that mental health practitioners and facilities no longer engage in practices that are harmful to people with mental health and substance use disorders.
With full cognizance of the poor number of mental health practitioners in the country with the ratio of practitioners at one psychiatrist to 1.6 million people, the bill makes provision for quality mental health and substance abuse services such as rehabilitation centers available for women and adolescents, who are an underserved segment of the population.
Saraki, had at a two-day roundtable in Kano, said: “If we continue to be a society that ignores laws and do as we wish, we are not far from being a failed state.
“But in the Senate, we are firm in ensuring that what is right is done to protect the nation. We want to see here before we finish the two-day roundtable in Kano that some pharmacies are closed down for violating the rules. Then we will know we are serious about it.
“There is no sense in calling agencies to fight drugs when we are not funding them. It doesn’t make sense.
“We must make a commitment that we are ready to do away with these problems. We should not be discouraged in the fight, as political leaders, we must have political will in the fight.”

Original story on dailypost 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Monkey ‎pox: Plateau records two positive cases

-
Image
The Plateau Government has confirmed that the state has recorded two positive cases of monkey pox in Shendam Local Government Area of the state. Dr Kunden Deyin, the state Commissioner for Health, told the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Jos that the first case recorded was imported from Port-Harcort, as the victim came in from Rivers for treatment. According to the commissioner, the infected victim eventually infected his brother and both of them were treated at the Bingham University Teaching Hospital in Jos and discharged. Deyin said that the state’s Epidemiology and Surveilance unit of the ministry are still monitoring the contacts to curtail the spread of the disease. The commissioner said that the symptoms of monkey pox were similar to that of chicken pox, but more severe. ‎ He said that the disease is primarily transmitted from animal to man while the secondary source of transmission is through human to human contact. ‎‎ Deyin warned that people w...
Read more

WHO announces cure for excessive bleeding after childbirth

-
Image
The World Health Organisation in collaboration with Ferring and MSD for Mothers, has announced that  heat-stable carbetocin is as effective as oxytocin in preventing excessive bleeding following vaginal birth. Researched and developed by Ferring, heat-stable carbetocin remains effective at high temperatures, an answer to the limitation of oxytocin which must be stored and transported at 2 – 8°C. According to WHO, every year, 14 million women are affected by postpartum haemorrhage and this is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide, causing approximately 70,000 deaths per year. It remains a major cause of maternal death in Nigeria. The clinical study was conducted by the WHO Department of Reproductive Health and Research including the UNDP, UNFPA UNICEF, World Bank Special Programme of Research and Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction, using Ferring’s heat-stable carbetocin. The Chief Medical Officer, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Pr...
Read more

New cholera outbreak in Borno State ,WHO supports Nigeria.

-
Image
The World Health Organization (WHO) and partners are supporting health authorities to respond to a new cholera outbreak in Borno State. Borno State Ministry of Health has detected more than 500 suspected cases, 23 of which are confirmed by laboratory culture testing including 3 deaths. Authorities declared the outbreak on 8 March. The outbreak is concentrated in Kukawa Local Government Area (LGA), a major commercial hub with a population of 150,000 situated near Lake Chad and near borders with Chad and Cameroon. Kukawa LGA is nearly 200 kilometres away from Maiduguri, Borno state capital where a five-month outbreak cholera was contained in late 2017. At a press briefing in Maiduguri, Commissioner for Health Dr. Haruna Mshelia said the Borno state government and partners are working to quickly contain the outbreak, noting that fifty percent of reported cases are among children under five years of age. “The State government, in collaboration with WHO and other partn...
Read more