Category: Health And Lifestyle

The Aliko Dangote Foundation, in partnership with the Kano State Government, UNICEF, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has signed a three-way Memorandum of Understanding on routine immunisation in the state.

The Memorandum of Understanding was first signed in 2012, when the Aliko Dangote Foundation, Kano State Government, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation agreed to work together to improve the health of women and children in Kano, the country’s second most populous state.

In response to the first MoU’s success, the three parties signed a second addendum in 2017 in order to improve on the previous goal.

However, the third health MoU signing has seen the inclusion of UNICEF as the fourth participating party in the agreement.
Speaking shortly before the official signing of the MoU, Wednesday at the Kano state Government House, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Aliko Dangote Foundation, Zouera Yousefou, congratulated the state government for achieving the objectives of the addendum ll.

Mrs Yousefou commended the state government for its efforts to sustain funding for all RI activities, thereby increasing the state’s RI budget by 22 percent over the past 6 years, despite challenges to the fiscal space.

The MD/CEO also noted with the signing of the third addendum, it is important to note that while the parties have made a lot of progress together, they remain far from achieving the target maternal and child health outcomes.

“We need to ensure that we use the lessons learned from the prior years to develop and effectively execute better-suitted strategies that ensjre we fast-track progress and ultimately achieve the Health MoU addendum lll’s targets.

“One such area of improvement is the need to devolve the programme’s oversight to lower levels and ensure LGA health teams are responsible for driving implementation across the warss in their LGA.

“Wr need to ensure that our health teams at LGA and ward levels have the autonomy and resources they need to deliver within their specific contexts while holding them accountable for the results,” she said.

Mrs Yousefou also urged traditional rulers to remain tireless in their efforts to ensure the people take demand and utilize essential health services, including immunization, nutrition and maternal and reproductive health services.

In his remarks, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje said the state had achieved significant milestone in healthcare services to the citizenry.

Ganduje noted that the signing of the health MoU addendum lll is testimony to the commitment of the state towards improvement of healthcare services.

By Haruna Salami

At a public hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Environment on Wednesday, stakeholders from the National Biosafety Management Agency, the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), and All Farmers of Nigeria (AFAN) vehemently opposed proposed amendments to the National Biosafety Act.

Stakeholders believe that if the amendment is approved by the upper chamber, science and technology will no longer drive the nation’s development.

Dr. Rufus Ebegba, Director General/CEO of the National Biosafety Management Agency, stated in his presentation that the current law took 13 years to be implemented during the 5th and 6th National Assembly.

He stated that the law is adequate as is and that no changes are required, adding, “It’s unfortunate that the National Biosafety Management Agency was not consulted.”

Although he appreciated the enormous powers of the legislature to make or amend laws, but Dr. Ebegba regretted that the executive arm of the government saddled with the responsibility of implementing such law was not consulted before this amendment.
The DG/CEO urged the National Assembly to “jettison this amendment”.

Speaking in a similar vein, Director General, National Biotechnology Development Agency, Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha said to underscore the importance of technology in development, particularly genetically modified organisms, President Buhari assented to NABDA Bill on Thursday May 2l12, 2022.

He said the amendment being proposed will negatively affect the Biosafety Management Agency.

The All Farmers Association if Nigeria (AFAN) also outrightly rejected the amendment to NABDA Act.

National President of AFAN, Arc. Kabir Ibrahim said the amendment will negatively impact on the good security efforts of Nigeria.

According to him, “in Nigeria we have a deficit of 500,000 metric tones of food and we can only cover this through GMO”.

He said farmers embraced biotechnology because “it will take us out of poverty” adding “the amendment is inimical to food security”.

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, says its COVID-19 vaccine project would be ready for its first clinical trial in November this year.

The TETFund’s Ag. Director, Public Affairs, Abdulmumin Oniyangi, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.

According to the statement, the project, which is a mega research grand intervention tagged ‘Accelerated Development of COVID-19 Vaccines Using Innovative Technological Approach’, is a collaborative effort involving cluster researchers from five different institutions in the country.

The statement recalled that TETFund had awarded a total of N1,250,000,000.00 (distributed to four clusters of researchers.

One of the clusters, which is the Vaccine Production Cluster, got a total grant of N450 Million.
According to the statement, the Vaccine Production Cluster is made up of researchers from the National Veterinary Research Institute Vom, Usman Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Jos, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research Lagos and National Research Institute for Chemical Technology, Zaria.

Vice Chancellor of Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Prof. Lawal Suleiman Bilbis, who led the team of researchers to brief the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono on the progress so far, explained that they were able to make the breakthrough through the maximum support of the Fund.

He recalled how the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged and unleashed untold hardship on humanity globally, noting that Nigeria was only saved by divine intervention since the nation was not prepared for such eventuality.
He said: “TETFund believed in us and supported us to get to where we are now. That is why we have come to give a firsthand report on the progress made so far”.

“We graciously got the support of TETFund not only in COVID-19 but also in Lassa Fever and other infectious diseases, because whether we like it or not, diseases will continue to emerge and reemerge. They don’t have international boundaries and that is why they are called pandemic”

“That was when we realized that we really need to sit up. Those producing these vaccines abroad are mostly Nigerians after all, so why can’t we do it here. That is why we decided to form a consortium and TETFund was magnanimous to release N225 million for the first tranche,” he added.
Responding, Mr Echono lauded the team for the great feat achieved within a time limit to make the country proud with the progress recorded in the vaccine production.

He explained that it is a national project, and as such, it has become a national pride, assuring that TETFund would continue to assist the cross-cutting efforts of the researchers to ensure the desired goal is achieved.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has lauded the Kano government for scaling up COVID-19 vaccination.
The WHO country representative, Walter Mulombo, gave the commendation on Wednesday when he visited Governor Abdullahi Ganduje in Kano.

He praised the government for applying the same strategy it used for polio, culminating in eradicating the disease.

”Sometime in the past, the Kano state was number 34 in COVID-19 vaccination exercise. But because of your commitment, Your Excellency, Kano is now number four in the exercise, which is a tremendous achievement indeed,” said Mr Mulombo. “Because of how your administration is scaling up the exercise, some African countries are copying from the Kano government’s effort around that area.”

Mr Ganduje appreciated the WHO and other development partners for strengthening institutions and human resource development in the state and the country.

”While we are thanking you for all your efforts, we are still battling malnutrition. Because of the high cost of dealing with this issue, we are now looking inward to make use of our local supplements,” said the Kano governor. “We are therefore requesting partnership in this area of malnutrition. We also need partnership in the area of public laboratories.”

By Hassan Zaggi

Concerned by the migration of doctors, nurses and other medical workers to other countries for greener pasture, the Federal Government is making plans to come up with a policy to ensure that each doctor or nurse that leaves to the country will be replaced immediately.

The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, who disclosed this at a media briefing on Monday, describing the plan as ‘one to replace one’.

He explained that Nigeria does not have shortage of doctors and other health workers because, according to him, many doctors and other health workers graduate every year from Nigerian universities.

“I have heard the complaints the doctors are leaving the system. But actually we have enough doctors in the country because we are producing a good number doctors every year. Just that the recruitment process needs to be smoothen.

“We are working with the Office of the Head of the Civil Service to have what we call one for one replacement. If one doctor resigns today, we employ one doctor. If its one nurse, we replace with one nurse. So, if we adopt it, we are not likely to have shortage.

“So, we are trying to have one for one policy to reduce to shortage of doctors in our hospital,” the Minister further explained.

Speaking, the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Ifedayo Adetifa, has said that there are no shortage of COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria, but rather, there are shortage of arms to uptake the vaccine.

He, therefore, advised Nigerians to rush and get vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine which, according to him, is readily available at all designated centres and hospitals in all nooks and crannies of the country.

“Vaccines are available but there are shortage of arms to receive them not vaccine doses. Please tell people to present their arms so that we can have more uptake of vaccine,” he stressed.

The Director General further warned that COVID-19 is still around, hence, advised Nigerians to apply all protective measures when in an enclosed place with many people.

“More importantly, in order to protect ourselves and protect others, we need to ensure that we take public measures as recommended. Use of face mask, hand hygiene and physical distancing are appropriate,” he said.

He continue that: “We must use face mask in places that are crowded and not well ventilated.”