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Tag: Deaths

  • Africa records decline in maternal deaths – UN

    The United Nations (UN) has disclosed that there is a decline in maternal deaths in Africa and The Gambia, lauding the efforts of governments of the continent in achieving this feat.

    The Gambia Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System, Ms. Seraphine Wekana made this disclosure during the Pan-African Youth Conference holding in Banjul, The Gambia.

    According to her, the decline have been reduced due to improved health services and increase in the are of childbearing.

    “Africa has recorded a significant decline in maternal death which can be contributed to improved health services in terms of access and quality. The age of childbearing have also increased significantly. ”

    Seraphine, however, said that Africa still experiences the highest number of child mortality deaths urging governments at all level to work towards reducing these indices.

    She lamented the high level of gender inequality in the continent saying women and girls continue to be disadvantaged in harnessing their potentials.

    Seraphine charged the youths to work at promoting gender equality and hold the leaders accountable for ending inequality.

    “We need to accelerate our efforts to work at safeguarding the future of women and girls by enabling them to fully harness their potentials.

    “It is the responsibility of youths to promote gender equality and hold leaders accountable for ending inequality, it is the youths that have the voice to end the inequality in the continent, it is your call and you can end this.”

    The Resident Coordinator reiterated the commitment of the United Nations towards ensuring that Africa achieves the SDG and contribute to the initiative in the position of education, health, skill empowerment, and youth employment by devising programme in agriculture, food security, entrepreneurship, migration, health as well as water and sanitation among others.”

    She declared that the United Nations System will work together with the youth to be able to change the indices if inequality in the continent.

    She then called on the youths to come up with recommendations during the conference that will move and develop the African continent.

  • Buhari mourns deaths of his supporters at APC rally in Rivers

    President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed sadness over the tragic death of some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in a stampede at the presidential campaign rally in Port Harcourt, Rivers, on Tuesday.

    In a statement issued by a presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu in Abuja, President Buhari extended deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims.

    He also wished a speedy recovery to all those injured.

    The President described the deaths as “needless loss of lives and an anti-climax to a highly successful outing” in the oil city that could have been averted if there was an orderly exit from the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium.

    “It is indeed a great tragedy that Nigerians who have important roles to play in shaping the future of the country and had come to see and hear from us how hard their government is working to build a Nigeria of their dreams, would meet their end in this unfortunate circumstance.

    “I assure the people, with all sense of responsibility, that the party and the government will do everything possible to ensure the well-being and safety of our citizens as they troop out to attend rallies and all other political events,” he said.

    President Buhari assured the government and the people of Rivers State as well as the affected families of the support and prayers of the Federal Government during this difficult time.

    The President prayed almighty God to repose the souls of the deceased.

  • Metele: Atiku, PDP playing ‘desperate politics’ with soldiers’ deaths – APC

    Metele: Atiku, PDP playing ‘desperate politics’ with soldiers’ deaths – APC

    The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday accused the Peoples Democratic Party of being insensitive and playing desperate politics with the blood of soldiers killed in the Melete attacks.

    The ruling party also said the allegations by the opposition PDP that military funds had been diverted to finance its 2019 election campaigns was a sad reminder of the evil and retrogressive practices the PDP was notorious for during its reign.

    It stated these in a press statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, on Tuesday in Abuja.

    The statement read, “God forbid that the APC inherits and apply such morbid practice as brazenly displayed during the immediate-past PDP administration where funds allocated to fight the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast were shared among PDP leaders and their cronies.

    “It is clear that the PDP and its Presidential candidate, Alh. Atiku Abubakar, have decided to dance on the graves of our valiant and patriotic soldiers by politicising their deaths in the recent Boko Haram attack on the Nigerian Army Metele base.

    “The PDP and Atiku are playing desperate politics where even the blood of our fallen heroes is fair game. Their actions are callous and insensitive to the families and dependants of the late soldiers and indeed our military which battles daily to ensure our territorial integrity.”

    APC said the insensitive nature of the PDP to national issues in order to always score cheap political points would backfire for the opposition during the election.

    The statement added, “Nigerians see through PDP’s ploy to score political points as elections approach and it will surely backfire.

    “While the APC mourns the death of our military and other security personnel who have lost their lives in the line of duty, we urge them (soldiers) to remain focussed on the brave task of securing the nation.

    “The President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC administration remains solidly committed to bringing lasting peace and security to all parts of the country and ensuring that previously displaced persons are rehabilitated to resume their normal and productive lives.”

     

  • Herdsmen/farmers clashes: Why I didn’t rush to Taraba, Benue, other troubled states – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on explained why he didn’t rush to some troubled states despite the criticisms.

    The president reiterated that he has his way of monitoring developments instead of “rushing” to crises spots and “making noise”.

    Buhari spoke in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, during his visit to assess the situation in the state and condole with victims of violence.

    No fewer than 200 people are believed to have been killed in communal disputes, herders/farmers clashes and others in the state.

    Many of the dead were buried in mass graves. Many are injured and hospitalised. Others have been forced out of their homes.

    The local government areas worst- hit by the herdsmen/farmers crisis are: Lau, Ibi, Gassol, Bali, Wukari, Takum and Sardauna where scores were killed in renewed violence at the weekend.

    Leaders of the violence-hit communities were at the Government House yesterday to meet with the President, who urged all Nigerians to embrace peace and live together in harmony so that “there could be meaningful development and not destruction”.

    “I am here (Taraba) to meet with the leadership of the state, to offer my condolences to those who lost loved ones and properties in violence.

    “People, sometimes expect me to rush out to the fields, to go and make noise.

    “But I have my ways of gathering intelligence. I get to know what is happening across the country without necessarily going to those areas.

    “I will be going to Benue and Zamfara after I return from Ghana to also condole with the people,” Buhari said.

    He urged traditional rulers in the state to step up activities in their various chiefdoms to foster peaceful coexistence among their subjects and to remain vigilant at all times.

    The President was accompanied by Minister of Women Affairs Hajia Aisha Alhassan , Minister of Defence Manir Dan Ali; Information and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed, some Service Chiefs and National Assembly members from the state.

    The delegation was received by Governor Darius Ishaku and state’s lawmakers, led by the speaker.

    President Buhari said he chose to visit Taraba first, before Benue and Zamfara states, adding that there were more killings in Taraba, Benue and Zamfara states.

    Ishaku said the state was delighted to welcome the President in its trying time.

    The governor noted that Taraba State was a “mini Nigeria”, with its over 80 ethnic groups and three religions to handle. “It is not easy to always balance things up here.”

    Ishaku said the state was contending with a different breed of herdsmen who are militias moving around with AK 47 rifles to remove anything in their way, unlike the known herdsmen who had cohabited with the people for decades without skirmishes.

    “The problem is never between the locals. The local Fulani and other tribes blend without issues.

    “We have a new breed and specie of herdsmen militias who move around with sophisticated weapons; they are poised to remove anything in their track.

    “They must be arrested now before it degenerates to something we can not contend with,” Ishaku said.

    Opinion leaders from the warring ethnic groups insisted that justice and fairness must be seen to be taking their course and the rule of law allowed to prevail for peace to return.

    The President is also expected to visit Yoe State where 110 girls were kidnapped on February 19 and Rivers State where many people were killed in New Year’s Day attack perpetrated by the late Don Wayne.

    In a statement, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity Femi Adesina said the President had urged the Armed Forces and other security agencies to compile comprehensive reports on the various incidents.

    “Having received and studied the reports, the President has decided to undertake an on the spot assessment of the various occurrences and to meet and console the communities affected.

    Adesina said: “From today, March 5, he will visit Taraba, and subsequently Benue, Yobe, Zamfara and Rivers states.

    “President Buhari has been receiving daily briefings, and has been in constant touch with the governors, and has been updated with situation reports.”

    The President has also called on all Nigerians, especially those in the affected areas, to cooperate fully with the security agencies to enable them curb the spate of crimes, bring those responsible to justice and prevent furthe

  • Lassa fever: Nigeria records 77 victims, 21 deaths

    The National Coordinator, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, says 21 deaths have been recorded from the 77 confirmed cases in the current outbreak of Lassa fever in Nigeria.

    Ihekweazu disclosed this at the opening ceremony of the National Executive Council meeting of the National Association of Resident Doctors in Abuja on Tuesday.

    He said that of the 77 confirmed cases, 10 affected health workers.

    The national coordinator quoted Dr Sylvanus Okogbeni, Chief Medical Director, Irrua Specialist Hospital, Edo, as confirming that two of the health workers affected were discharged on Monday.

    He described the situation as sober, adding that it had resulted in serious emotional trauma, fear, anxiety and sometimes anger among stakeholders.

    Ihekweazu said it was high time stakeholders came together and addressed the challenges of hemorrhagic fevers, including Lassa fever.

    The national coordinator said NCDC has distributed more Ribavirin drugs used in the treatment of the disease to the affected states than it had ever done in the past.

    He said that government alone might not be able to supply the needed drugs to all the affected persons in the country.

    Ihekweazu said the centre had produced guidelines for the prevention and control of hemorrhagic fevers, adding that the NARD members should work with their hospitals’ chief medical directors to address outbreaks.

    In his remarks, the President, Nigeria Medical Association, Prof Mike Ogrima, urged doctors in the country not to attend to patients if they did not have protective gears.

    “You have to get some level of immunity or protection before you provide services to such patients,’’ he said.

    Lassa fever is a viral infection caused by the Lassa fever virus and the disease occurs all year round but more cases are recorded during the dry season.

    It is spread through direct contact with urine, faeces, saliva or blood of infected rats, eating food or drinking contaminated water.

    The disease can be prevented through enhance personal hygiene, avoidance of all contact with rats (dead or alive) and keeping the house and surrounding clean always.

  • 90% deaths in Nigerian hospitals caused by health workers’ attitude — Medical expert

    Over 90 per cent of deaths recorded in Nigerian hospitals are due to poor attitude of health workers.

    Thomas Agan, the Chief Medical Director (CMD), University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), said this during an interaction with journalists on Tuesday in Calabar.

    He said some health workers were not taking the lives of patients seriously, in spite of their professional training and work ethics.

    “Over 90 per cent of deaths in our hospitals are due to our attitude,” Agan, who doubles as the Chairman, Committee of Chief Medical Directors of Federal Tertiary Hospitals in Nigeria, said.

    “Until the healthcare givers in our hospitals begin to realise that the health of the patient he/she is handling could be his own, his wife or siblings and all that, things will not go well.

    “Until we realise that we would be held accountable to every challenge we create, things will not go down well,’’ he said.

    While decrying the frequent crises in the health sector, the CMD said that the health sector was supposed to be a place of succour, not only to the rich, but to ordinary Nigerians.

    He attributed incessant strikes in the health sector to disagreements and professional rivalry among the various unions, adding that at the end, it is the Nigerian people that are suffering and dying.

    “It is unfortunate that the health sector has been characterised with strike actions over the years. For me, welfare issues are necessary in life, but incessant welfare requests from the healthcare providers tend to undermine the sector itself.

    “I feel really pained that the situation has not been adequately taken care of by both staff and the government. And each time any union declares industrial dispute, you cannot quantify the number of people that usually lost their lives.

    “Our oath, for instance, says we should preserve life from conception to death. This means that the life that is entrusted into your hands must be preserved.

    “I am happy that the strike by resident doctors has been suspended. I have never believed in using strike to solve problems and I will never subscribe to strike in its entirety,’’ Agan said.

     

  • Nigeria records 15 deaths daily in road accidents between January and June – NBS

    No fewer than 2, 673 people died in road accidents in Nigeria between January and June, according to National Bureau of Statistics, NBS.

    This implies an average of 15 people died each day in the first six months of 2017 in road accidents across the country.

    The NBS Road Transport Data for first and second quarters of the year posted on its website on Tuesday shows that 1, 466 died in the first quarter and 1, 207 died in the second quarter.

    The data, however, indicated that the number of deaths through road accidents was gradually reducing.

    The first quarter data reflected that 2,556 road accidents occurred during the period while the second quarter data reflected that 2,503 occurred in the period.

    The report stated that speed violation was identified as the major cause of accidents with the second quarter recording 44.44 per cent of such cases.

    It stated that loss of control accounted for 12.92 per cent of accidents, while dangerous driving accounted for 8.06 per cent of road crashes in the second quarter.

    The Bureau further stated that 8,270 people were injured in the accidents and that 7,805 of the 8,270 injured persons were adults, representing 94 per cent of the figure.

    The report adds that 465 or six 6 per cent of the injured were children.

    The report stated that the Nigerian capital, Abuja, recorded the highest number of road accidents in the second quarter, followed by Kaduna and Niger states, while Borno and Bayelsa states recorded the lowest number of accidents.

    The bureau estimated the number of vehicles in the country in the second quarter to be 11.51 million for the country’s population of 193.40 million at the end of 2016.

    According to the bureau, a total of 218,060 national drivers’ licences were produced in the second quarter.

    It stated that Lagos State and Abuja produced the highest number of licences while Zamfara and Kebbi states produced the lowest numbers.

  • Flooding: Lagos govt confirms 2 deaths in upsurge of acute diarrhoea cases

    Flooding: Lagos govt confirms 2 deaths in upsurge of acute diarrhoea cases

    The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, on Tuesday confirmed that two deaths had been recorded from the 27 cases line-listed in acute diarrhoea disease in some local government areas.

    Idris, alongside his counterpart from the Ministry of Information, Mr Steve Ayorinde, made this known at a joint news conference in Lagos.

    He said that the upsurge of acute diarrhoea cases was the aftermath of flooding experienced by residents in some parts of the state following heavy rainfall in the last few days.

    TheNewsGuru reports that the council areas where the diarrhoea disease was recorded were Shomolu, Oshodi-Isolo and Surulere.

    Idris said that the state government had put some measures in place to check the spread of the disease.

    According to him, six of the cases were reported in Shomolu, two in Oshodi-Isolo and 14 in Surulere council area.

    Idris said that acute diarrhoea disease with or without vomiting was caused by a bacteria disease transmitted through ingestion of food or water contaminated with infective faeces.

    The commissioner appealed to Lagos residents to imbibe proper hygiene including, handwashing, washing of fruits and vegetables before eating.

    He also advised them to boil water from unsafe sources before drinking and always ensure that they cover their foods and water all the time.

    In his remarks, Ayorinde appealed to the mass media to help sensitise the residents, especially the young ones, on the danger of playing inside the flood water.

    Ayorinde said that the state government would roll out a new set of sensitisation on the social media in addition to the ones already being aired on the conventional media.