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Tag: disease

  • Nigeria needs N4bn to tackle infectious diseases – NCDC

    Nigeria needs N4bn to tackle infectious diseases – NCDC

    Chikwe Ihekweazu, the Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Monday said that Nigeria needs N4 billion to tackle infectious diseases.

    Mr Ihekweazu said this at the launch of Alliance for Epidemic Preparedness and Response (A4EPR) in Lagos.

    The launch of A4EPR is aimed at getting major stakeholders in the health sector to combat infectious diseases.

    The alliance is an initiative of the Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria (PHN) and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

    The PHN is in alliance with NCDC and a coalition of private sector which has in its fold: Dangote Group Plc., MTN Nigeria, Total Nigeria, Shell Foundation and Tony Elumelu Foundation.

    The mission of the group is to seek a way forward in bringing intervention to the risk of infectious diseases, draw attention to the need of innovative partnerships in health emergency.

    The group also seeks to introduce to the private sector and key stakeholders to the alliance of A4EPR and secure forward commitment and pledge of private sector toward health security.

    The NCDC boss, who stressed the need for urgent moves to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, said “Nigeria actually needs about N4 billion to combat infectious diseases. This does not mean that all the monies must come from government; the private sector has a role to play.

    “There is the need for financial assistance in critical segments of combating infectious diseases such as infrastructure and equipment which needs about N1.8 billion.

    “The infrastructure and equipment are responsible for the machines and test variables while we also need response and logistics of about N700 million.

    “In Emergency Stockpile, we need N600 million, for Technology and Innovation segment, we need N600 million, Capacity Development needs N200 million, while Advocacy and Community engagement will require N100 million.”

    Mr Ihekweazu said that the agency was mandated with the task of enhancing the country’s preparedness and response to epidemics.

    He added that “we are responsible for the prevention, detection and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases.

    “The core mandate of the NCDC is to detect, investigate, prevent and control diseases of national and international public health importance.

    “We played leading role in the response to the outbreak of Lassa fever, Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) Cholera, Yellow Fever and Monkey Pox.

    “For now, we need to be deliberate in our actions because we are not sure of the next outbreak, so we need to have all the facilities intact and also get enough funding.”

     

     

  • We are tracking outbreak of Lassa Fever, Cholera, two other chronic diseases in Nigeria – FG

    …as Cholera claims 51 lives

    The Federal Government is tracking four major diseases out breaks in Nigeria, Health Minister, Isaac Adewole, has disclosed.

    Adewole disclosed this in the weekly report of the state of the nation’s public health which he submitted to the Federal Executive Council on Wednesday.

    Adewole provided details on the development when he spoke with State House correspondents at the end of the FEC meeting in Abuja.

    “Council received the weekly report on the state of public health in Nigeria and we did inform council about four major outbreaks that we are currently tracking.

    “One is Lassa Fever and we are quite happy that there is a major decline in a number of reported cases. We have also not reported any deaths in the last two weeks but we still have two cases reported from Edo last week.

    “We still have cholera in some parts of the country, particularly in Kano, Kebbi, Borno and Zamfara but the outbreak in Borno state is the most significant of all of them.

    “So far since the outbreak started we have recorded 2,719 suspected cases of cholera and we reported 51 deaths in total.

    “We have started cholera vaccination in Borno state as a way of stemming the tide.’’

    The Minister added that the ministry informed FEC about one reported case of yellow fever in Kwara, adding that public health and surveillance officers were deployed to the state to assess the situation with a view to commencing immunisation.

    He said that the immunization would be in two local governments, one each in Kwara and Kogi.

    Adewole expressed delight that Nigeria had not reported any case of Polio since the last reported case in August.

    The minister appreciated the field officers and the armed forces helping in the containment of the disease in Borno by vaccinating the children in the difficult and security-challenged areas.

    “We are quite confident that if we can sustain this in the next two years, Nigeria will be certified Polio-free and I am also certain that that would imply that Africa would also be certified Polio-free,’’ he said.

    Adewole also spoke on how to prevent avoidable deaths which he said was the job of a functional health system.

    He said that the government was trying to change in a transformational way the narrative in the health sector.

    “Over the years we have spent 80 per cent of our budget on curative services and that is not really what we are supposed to do.

    “We really need to move in the direction of prevention services and when you look at our budget we are moving more of our budget to preventive care, more money to immunization.

    “Because when you immunize our children they will not develop measles, cholera or the things that will make them to die.”

    He said that in addition, government had started a programme to curb maternal mortality.

    “We are starting with six states that have the worst levels of maternal mortality.

    “We are starting with Jigawa, Zamfara, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi and Yobe and we want to crash maternal mortality in those states,’’ he said.

    The minister advised that education and lifestyle behaviours of the citizens should be improved so that those sick did not need to stay at home when the treatment was available in the hospitals.

    He said there should be trust in the health system which would enable things to change, adding that the ministry was working with the Bureau of Public Service Reforms to change ways things were done in the health system.

    He expressed dismay that patients waited upwards of three hours to six hour before they could be attended to by doctors.

    Adewole added that the administration inherited problems in the health sector which led to the strikes in the sector.

    He disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari had directed the Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, to compile the debt in the sector with a view to clearing them.

     

  • Mysterious disease kills 62 in Kogi

    Mysterious disease kills 62 in Kogi

    The Kogi State Government has confirmed that about 62 people have been killed by a strange disease in the Western part of the State.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that as at Thursday, 17th August 2017, the death toll was at 50.

    Speaking with newsmen on the mysterious disease on Friday, the state Commissioner for Health Dr Saka Haruna said information reaching the ministry shows that unknown disease has continued to claim the lives of some children and adults for the past few weeks in Koloke, Okuna, Isanlu-Isa and adjourning Hausa-Fulani communities, all in Yaba-West Local Government Area of Kogi State.

    “So far, about 62 people have been killed by this mysterious disease. When I visited the affected communities with my team, samples taken from some of the victims were sent to Federal Teaching Hospital Irua, Edo State, for definitive investigation, which turned out to be negative for Lassa Fever.

    “On arrival at the community, we interacted with the locals and samples were taken from their water sources and food supply. It was discovered that the people affected showed common symptoms including abdominal pain, vomiting and stooling. Few of the patients, however, had Hematemesis and Hematochezia.

    “Those found still manifesting the disease were transferred to Kogi State Specialist Hospital for proper management where an empirical diagnosis of Food Poisoning to rule out Gastroenteritis was made.They are, however responding well to the instituted line of treatment. ”

    Dr Haruna, however, said Governor Yahaya Bello, has expressed deep concern over the incident and has directed that all the patients be treated at no cost and also charged the State Ministry of Health to conclude investigation within the shortest possible time and prevent further spread of the disease.

     

     

     

  • Body detoxification helps in treating chronic diseases – expert

    Body detoxification helps in treating chronic diseases – expert

    The Jigawa Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it will not identify with neither the party’s Sen. Ahmed Makarfi faction nor Sen. Ali Modu-Sheriff faction.

    The state`s PDP Public Relations Officer, Alhaji Aminu Jahun, said in Dutse on Thursday that the state will not support any division of the party in the state or at the national level.

    Jahun said that the current misunderstanding between the two factions was one of the beauties of democracy.

    According to him, “by God`s grace everything will be resolved amicably. We are not happy with what is happening in our party.”

    He said that the PDP will win the Chairmanship and Councillorship seats in the forthcoming local government election in the state.

    Jahun called on the people to turn out en masse and vote for the party in the local government polls in order to enjoy the dividends of democracy.

  • Hepatitis: Expert urges Nigerians to go for regular medical check up

    Mr. Lawal Majiyagbe, a nurse working at International Clinic, Kano, has advised Nigerians to go for regular medical checkup to prevent Hepatitis.

    He said that the advice was necessary since symptoms of the disease does not manifest on the patient.

    “Many people suffering from the disease are not aware of it because the symptoms do not appear on their body,’’he said.

    Majiyagbe said that there are three different types of hepatitis—A, B, and C.

    He said that Hepatitis A could be contracted from eating contaminated food.

    “It can also be spread through poor sanitation, poor personal hygiene, drinking unclean water or eating unwashed fruits or vegetables.

    He said that Hepatitis B could be contracted through sharing needles, razor or toothbrush with an infected person.

    He added that other ways of contracting Hepatitis B included having multiple partners or through mother to unborn child.

    “You cannot contact Hepatitis B through handshake, sneezing, coughing or sharing foods or drinks’’, he said.

    Majiyagbe said that Hepatitis C could damage the liver or cause liver cancer.

    According to him, symptoms of Hepatitis C include headache, constipation, joint aches, abdominal pain and loss of appetite.

    Majiyagbe said that there are vaccines that could be taken to prevent Hepatitis or suppress the virus that caused the disease.