TheNewsGuru

Tag: Health

  • Researchers say taking vitamin, mineral supplements may not boost one’s health

    Researchers said taking vitamin and mineral supplements may not make much a difference in one’s health, a new study finds.

    Researchers from the University of Toronto and St. Michael’s Hospital found that many popular vitamins had no advantage in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke or early death.

    The vitamins the team reviewed were “A, B1, B2, B3 (niacin), B6, B9 (folic acid), C, D, and E”, as well as carotene, calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium and selenium.

    The only supplement that showed any benefit among the studies was folic acid, which could lower one’s risk of heart disease and stroke

    Meanwhile, researchers said, some supplements could even pose harm to your health.

    The study found that niacin and antioxidants were associated with a higher risk of death by any cause, albeit a very small increase.

    “We were surprised to find so few positive effects of the most common supplements that people consume,” said lead author Dr. David Jenkins in a statement.

    “These findings suggest that people should be conscious of the supplements they’re taking and ensure they’re applicable to the specific vitamin or mineral deficiencies they have been advised of by their health-care provider,” Jenkins said.

    The doctor suggested that it’s most beneficial to rely on a healthy diet to get one’s fill of vitamins and minerals.

    “So far, no research on supplements has shown us anything better than healthy servings of less processed plant foods including vegetables, fruits and nuts,” he added.

  • Poisonous gas from SPDC ruptured pipe poses health risks in Delta state

    Poisonous gas purportedly from Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) ruptured gas pipeline is presently wreaking havoc in Odimodi, a federated community in Burutu one constituency of Delta state.

    TheNewsGuru gathers Odimodi federated communities have been devastated by oil pollution allegedly occasioned by SPDC pipeline leakage causing emission of poisonous gas into the air.

    Today, at plenary session of the Delta State House of Assembly, the member representing the Burutu one constituency, Daniel Yingi, raised alarm of the development, and moved a motion for the House to address the issues under matters of urgent public importance.

    The lawmaker noted that also affected by the spill were farm lands, fish ponds, rivers which is the source of their drinking water and aquatic lives in the community thereby bringing untold hardship, hunger and starvation.

    Yingi said life had become more difficult for the people as they now depend on water from Warri for drinking purpose as the rivers have been polluted while fishing which is the major occupation can no longer be carried out.

    He said the motion became necessary in order to draw the attention of the State Government to send relief materials and medicals to enable the people have hope.

    Yingi, who is the Chairman House Committee on Environment, Oil and Gas, said it was more worrisome as Shell had not entered talks with the community as the youths were getting agitated.

    Speaking in support of the motion, Oboro Preyor, Kennedy Daubry, Daniel Mayuku, Efe Ofobruku and Johnson Erijo said oil spillage was very dangerous to human and aquatic lives hence the need for the people to get adequate relief materials and medicals in order to enhance their well-being.

    The lawmakers expressed concern at the attitude of Shell since the spillage occurred saying their action could jeopardize the peace in the creeks.

    They argued that Nigeria depended on revenue from crude oil hence government and multinational oil companies ought to give priority attention to such matters in order to ensure peace.

    The lawmakers urged Governor Okowa to prevail on Shell, NOSDRA and other stakeholders to clean up the community as it would be dangerous to have a repeat of the Ogoni situation in the State.

    The motion, seconded by Kennedy Daubry, was adopted by the House when put to a voice vote by the Speaker, Sheriff Oborevwori.

    The House, therefore, adopted a resolution urging the State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to as a matter of urgency direct the Commissioner, Bureau for Special Duties to send relief materials to Odimodi federated communities.

    The House also directed the Delta State Ministry of Health to send medical team without further delay to the community to ascertain the health condition of the people as a result of the poisonous gas being emitted into the air space.

    The resolution called on SPDC to immediately clean the environment, remediate and restore it to its original state and also release the report of the Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) with a view to avoiding the breakdown of law and order in Odimodi federated communities.

     

  • Jonathan, other PDP leaders responsible for rot in health sector – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari has blamed past leaders, especially the immediate past administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, for neglecting the health sector between 2010 and 2015.

    Buhari said this while delivering his speech at the 58th Annual Delegates Meeting and scientific conference of the Nigeria Medical Association in Abuja on Thursday.

    The President, who was represented by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, said when the global price of crude oil was over $100 per barrel per day, the Jonathan administration failed to seize the opportunity to invest in the health sector.

    Speaking at the event with the theme, ‘Quality Healthcare: An Indicator of Good Governance; the President said investments in public health care must be improved.

    He said paying for health care from budgets would not be able to improve the health sector unless other concerned parties and donor agencies augment government’s efforts.

    Buhari said, “It is no longer news that we inherited a troubled health care sector and the sector has been troubled for a long time. As one of the manifestations of the severely low spending on infrastructure generally and in health care in particular, I think that what we have seen through the years is a scandalously low level of funding for public health care in Nigeria.

    “The level of public sector investment in health care in our recent past has in no way reflected our earnings, the high oil earnings, especially in the period between 2010 and 2015. That was when we earned the highest from oil prices.”

    The President added that insurgency in the North-East which started in the period further brought the health sector to its knees with the attendant impact on the level of immunisation and availability of medical personnel.

    In his remarks, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said there was a need for focus to be shifted to primary health care centres and not the secondary and tertiary institutions.

    Saraki further stated that the National Health Act would be fully implemented even as he revealed that the budget would be ready in a few days.

  • Transmittable diseases : Kaduna Govt introduces house-to-house search

    The Kaduna State Government has introduced a house-to-house search mechanism to prevent and protect residents against outbreak of infectious diseases.

    The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Paul Dogo, said in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Kaduna that government was ready to tackle measles, cholera, meningitis and other viral haemorrhagic diseases.

    Dogo noted that the exercise was designed to curb the spread of the diseases across and beyond the state.

    He said the state has not recorded any single case in the 23 local government areas and assured that no chance would be taken to contain any disease outbreak.

    The commissioner said the state has a robust supply chain management system with medicines that can easily be pre-positioned in hospitals to manage isolated cases. ‎‎

    “We have made preparedness for outbreak of infectious diseases such as measles, cholera, meningitis, Lassa fever and other viral haemorrhagic diseases.

    “Our robust supply chain management system have medicines that can easily be pre-positioned in our hospitals to manage isolated cases,” he said.‎

    Dogo also said that the state have maintained polio-free status since November 2012 and is working hard to build sufficient herd immunity through strengthened routine immunisation ‎programme.

    On tuberculosis, the commissioner explained that the ministry had commenced house-to-house search for active tuberculosis patients to curb the spread of the disease by undetected active TB cases within communities in the state.‎‎

    He said that to ensure success, the state government deployed 1,240 newly recruited medical professionals to hospitals across the state.

    “This has improved the human resource situation of our General Hospitals and better quality of services,” the commissioner said.

     

    Ambode goes tough gives ‘danfos’ quit notice on Lagos roads

  • Pregnant women stage protest against Akeredolu [Photos]

    Pregnant women stage protest against Akeredolu [Photos]

    Apparently worried over the outrageous childbirth medical bills in Ondo under the administration of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, pregnant women on Thursday staged a protest, grounded activities at Ondo State Specialist Hospital, in Akure.

    According to a witness, who spoke to TheNewsGuru.com on the peaceful demonstration, the protesters reportedly demanded that Akeredolu reverse the new ₦25,000 bill for normal delivery which was absolutely FREE (including caesarean section, CS) under former Governor, Olusegun Mimiko.

    Our source quoted one of the pregnant women: “ This is not the Ondo we used to know, under Mimiko, we don’t pay a dime to get maternal care, in fact the government gives us maternal kits that contains some of the things we will need in the persiod.”

    Hitherto free delivery at the Mother and Child Hospital by the immediate past administration where pregnant women in the state had their safe delivery without paying any fee has now been abolished. Sometime last year, a mother and her new born child were detained at the hospital over failure to pay for the fees demanded by the hospital. It took the intervention of a philanthropist who raised the said amount before she could be released.

    Under Akeredolu, the health sector in the state according to critics is nothing to write home about. Apart from the crazy bills for pregant women, there has reportedly been dearth of personnel, especially doctors and nurses at the hospitals, thereby putting the lives of patients in danger during emergency.

     

     

  • WHO budgets $178m on health issues in Nigeria for two years

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday, says it will spend $178 million from 2018 to 2019 on health related issues in Nigeria.

    The WHO Country Representative, Dr Wondimagegnehu Alemu, said this at a joint approval of the biennium WHO programme Budget of 2018 to 2019 with the Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole in Abuja.

    Alemu said $127 million, representing 66 per cent of the budget, would be spent on polio eradication programmes.

    He said that $30 million would be expended on communicable disease projects such as malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS within the period under review.

    According to him, $8.1 million is earmarked for promotion of health care through reduction of maternal and child mortality as well as family planning.

    Alemu also said the remaining funds would be used for emergencies arising from of outbreak of diseases.

    The Country Representative, who stated that he signed the budget on behalf of his regional Director, disclosed that it had been approved by the regional office.

    He said that there would be consultative meetings among partners and stakeholders to ensure effective implementation of the budget.
    In his remarks, Adewole commended WHO for its efforts to boost health sector.

    He said that Nigeria had received a lot of supports from the organisation, adding that the signing of the budget was an evident of continued support of WHO to Nigeria.

    The Minister also commended WHO for the assistance to the country, especially in terms of polio eradication.

    He noted that the budgeted for the eradication of polio virus was quite significant, adding that it would help to maintain surveillance on the disease.

    “I am also happy on what is earmarked for communicable and tropical diseases; a chunk will go into that area.

    “On behalf of the people and the government of Nigeria, I wish to express appreciation for the support we have been receiving from WHO, we are indeed grateful” he said.

     

  • Boko Haram leader Shekau debunks Army’s fragile health claims, says ‘I am strong…’

    Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau has debunked claims by the Nigerian Army that he is ‘in a terrible state of health.’

    The army in a statement last week by its spokesperson, Sani Usman insisted that the notorious insurgent leader was truly alive but in a terrible state of health.

    “There is no doubt that the main Boko Haram terrorists group factional leader, Abubakar Shekau, is in a terrible state of health and not much a threat as he is now a spent horse, waiting for his waterloo,’ the Army spokesperson said last week.

    However, barely a week after releasing the statement, Shekau released a new video on Monday insisting that the Army’s claim about his health status were false and unfounded. where he debunks claims made by the Army.

    The video also showed more than a dozen girls who identified themselves as the abducted Chibok girls.

    Many of them had babies, an indication they had been sexually abused by the militants.

    A young woman who spoke on behalf of the girls said the captives were doing well and were unwilling to return to their families. The speaker wore full face veil and could not be identified.

    Mr. Shekau said the parents of the girls should consider himself and his men as their in-laws because their daughters were “happily married” to his fighters.

    The 36-minute video which the Boko Haram leader claimed was recorded on Sunday, January 14, also faulted the claims of the Nigerian military that he was “unhealthy” and “a spent horse”.

    Mr. Shekau said the 107 girls that had so far regained their freedom were released by his group because they refused to convert to Islam or get married.

    He said he also had in custody 10 policewomen that were abducted along Damboa-Maiduguri Road when his men ambushed a military convoy in 2017.

    Mr. Shekau, who spoke largely in Hausa, said the latest attempt by the Nigerian military to invade his enclave and rescue the policewomen was met with severe resistance that caused the government heavy losses including an helicopter, armoured tank, armoured personnel carrier and trucks.

    Mr. Shekau said his group would not give up the fight because they are devoted to the cause.

    He also claimed responsibility for most of the suicide bombings that took place recently.

    The video later showed the abducted 10 policewomen, many of who wept as they looked into camera.

    Read Shekau’s comments as transcribed below:

    “Oh you people of Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon, here is my message to you all . The God that created all of us and enjoined us in His holy book, just as he sent it through our holy prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon him) gave him the instruction to say that Allah has sanctioned mankind this straight path and make clear this path that does not lead one astray. This path is the only path prescribed to all mankind in the world. May God take our lives on this path.

    “The government of Nigeria cannot end what we are doing; they can only die trying.

    Particularly you the people of Nigeria and government of Nigeria; please stop deceiving yourselves about what you cannot achieve. You cannot stop us. And stop following the path that is not right.

    “God has instructed us to catch whoever that is not following our path and detained such persons in our prisons, or we could set him free and let him go ; or we could as well take our revenge on their lives. Whatever we see in the holy book is what we do. We don’t look elsewhere.

    “That is why we hold unto the Chibok girls; that is why we still have the police women. Among the Chibok schoolgirls that insisted on following the ways of their parents’ religion, we allowed them to go back and joined their people. And here with us we have the police women who have not converted to Islam and we are not going to force them to do so. They are here begging for you to come release them.

    “But for the remaining Chibok girls, you can’t get them again because they have all accepted and understood the religion of God. They did not accept Islam because of us; who are we to force them? That is why we say our ways is not that of the mortal being, but that of God.

    “You have said that I, Abubakar Shekau, is tired and unhealthy. But you forget that no one gets tired on the path of God. I am still strong and ready to carry on the work of God. That is why the Chibok schoolgirls, who have gone through the western education, are today following the book of God, because they have come to understand that the constitution is not the right path but a deception. They have now realised that your laws in Nigeria is not for good for them. It is written in the first article of your constitution that the constitution takes precedence over and above any other law book including the holy books. But how come these Chibok girls still come to accept the laws and constitution of God?

    “You use to teach children in your schools to say ‘I pledge to Nigeria my country, to be faithful loyal and honest, to serve Nigeria with all my strength, to defend her honour and glory’. Is that not what you teach your pupils?

    “It is still the same you that ask the children to sing “Arise O’ Compatriots, Nigerians call obey. To serve our father land, with love and strength and faith, the labor of hour heroes past shall never be in vain…”. Is that not what you teach our young children in school that they should not allow the labour of past leaders to waste in vain.

    Do you think all the prophets of God will allow that to happen? Never!

    “President Buhari you are now 76 years old, but let me tell you that many like you have attempted fighting the soldiers of God in the past and they are destroyed. I swear by Allah that you cannot defeat us. That is how you come to tell all kinds of lies. But God knows that his faithful servants cannot be ridiculed before his enemies.

    The Chibok girls that have become Muslims, and got married peacefully, are even calling on your parents to come accept Islam. May God bless you all. And we call on the parents of the Chibok girls that have become good Muslims to accept our ways and be part of us. You have become our in-laws by the virtue of your daughters marrying us. We are now in-laws. We are not fighting with the people, but those that stand against God’s commandment. That is why we reject your books and constitution. That is why I have said it in the past that ‘No rule and regulation in the world rather than Quran’.

    “We still have the policewomen and here are they crying for help. For all that we do, we do for the sake of God. That is why various of our brethren who go out to detonate bombs do so for God’s sake and not for our sake.

    The government should stop telling all these lies, especially the elders of Nigeria. Many elders have lied and did not end up well.

    “The military have come to us but did not end well. That is why your helicopter went down, that is why your armoured tanks got destroyed, that is why your armored trucks from Cameroon did not return. We killed many of you and you took their corpses to conceal the truth.

    “This message is from me Abubakar Shekau and it was released on the day that coincides with the Sunday 14th day of January 2018 in the Islamic calendar”.

    The speech by a representative of the abducted girls is as transcribed below:

    “Oh you our parents in Nigeria, I call on you to repent and worship Allah. We are very happy because we have found a way to Worship Allah. It is Him alone that we worship here; do repent and come to worship your creator. We pity you our parents that you have not accept the ways of Allah. You are only worshipping the country and its constitution. What a pity. It is ignorance.

    “It is even funny that you want the government to come and set us free and take us away. If you come to take us, where will you take us? Back to the land of infidels? God forbid! May God spare us from that your land of infidels. Don’t ever hope that we will ever go back to you. Our hope is to go and join our creator. We are the Chibok schoolgirls and we have come to stay here because here is where we belong, so don’t ever think you will see us again.

    “We pity the other girls who refuse to accept but rather chose going back to Nigeria, after God has given them His grace and brought you to the caliphate. You chose to return to infidelity. You girls will come to regret your actions. You will surely regret it on the day of judgment. Any persons that is in Nigeria and worships the constitution has only one destination which is hell fire. Repent today and worship God.

    “Finally we thank our father, Abubakar Shekau, he is the one that got us married to our husbands. We are all living here with dignity; we lack nothing because he gives us everything that we want. We never lack anything here. May God accept his devotion; may he die as a faithful Muslim. May God give him the ability to continue leading his followers upon the injunctions of holy book and the traditions of the prophet.”

    Read the speech by a representative of the policewomen is transcribed:

    “Assalamu alaikum to the people of Nigeria, here we are in the captivity of Boko Haram. Since our abduction we have been kept alive and well. But our plea is to the president of Nigeria and his vice president to have mercy on us and help us out of here.

    “We are Nigerian citizens and we plead with you to come and rescue us just as you had promised to do in the past.

    “We want you to rescue us in the same manner you rescued the Chibok girls. The other day that your troops invaded this place, was it meant to rescue us or to kill us. We want you to kindly deploy safe means of rescuing us all. We are 10 of us that are held here.”

  • PMB @ 75: I’m happy my health improved – Buhari

    …as Osinbajo, Aisha, governors, others felicitate with president

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday expressed delight over his improved health condition as he clocked 75 years.

    Recall that President Buhari had earlier in the year spent over six months at a London hospital treating an undisclosed ailment.

    To mark his 75th birthday, top government officials including Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, his wife, Aisha and some state governors felicitated with him in the presidential villa.

    Five giant cakes were seen on the table as the President was surrounded by his wife, Osinbajo, the governors and other top government officials.

    The governors included Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna); Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano); Yahaya Bello (Kogi); Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun); Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo); Rauf Aregbesola (Osun) and Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara) among others.

    The Secretary to the Government, Boss Mustapha, was also present.

    Osinbajo later on his Twitter handle, @ProfOsinbajo, on Sunday, described President Buhari as a dependable leader.

    Osinbajo said Buhari’s commitment continued to serve as an example to him.

    “To a dependable leader, your commitment to Nigeria continues to serve as an example to me and our nation, Happy Birthday, Boss!

    Happy Birthday President Muhammadu Buhari!” he wrote.

    His aides were not left out in the celebration as they presented him with a birthday card.

    The Chief of Staff to the president, Abba Kyari and the Permanent Secretary in the State House, Jalal Arabi, led the presidential aides to present a giant birthday card to him.

    Others who joined Kyari and the permanent secretary included State Chief of Protocol, Abdullahi Kazaure; Special Adviser to the president on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina; Senior Special Assistant to the president on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu; Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs, Abba Sarki; Personal Assistant to the president, Tunde Sabiu; the president’s personal photographer, Bayo Omoboriowo and the president’s security aides.

    The nation’s service chiefs also joined in the celebration. They included the Chief of Defence Staff, Abayomi Olonishakin; Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai; Chief of Naval Staff, Ibok Ibas, and the Chief of Air Staff, Sadique Abubakar.

    Buhari’s grandchildren also joined to celebrate him.

    One of them, a girl, presented him with a card with the inscription, “We love you granddad. Love from Baby See & Ayush.”

    The usual military parade by men of the Presidential Guards Brigade that characterised Buhari’s two previous birthdays since he assumed office in 2015 however did not take place.

     

  • Revealed! How small penis can actually give you more pleasure

    Do ladies like it only big?…

    Penis size is something so many would laugh about, but sadly this is a topic that brings embarrassment to most guys as far as “micro penis” is concerned.

    With 0.6 per cent of the male population affected, they remain comparatively uncommon, but the physical and psychological repercussions can be serious and the cause of much anguish.

    There’s undeniably a stigma attached: “Size matters” , you’re less of a man if you have one, your partner will get no enjoyment out of sex with you – the list goes on.

    But having a micro penis isn’t necessarily the dire news it’s assumed to be – at least, according to sex therapist Elizabeth McGrath.

    She helps them get the most out of their sex lives and will talk them through “clothed, non-genital touch” the Daily Dot reports.

    “I really practice this work and I believe in it, primarily because sex is of our bodies,” McGrath said. “When it comes to sex and relationships, I believe there’s only so much talking can do.

    “So much of what keeps people down, makes them feel awful, are these ideas about what good sex is, and it’s a box, a very, very small box,” McGrath adds.

    “For somebody with a micro penis or their partner, not fitting in that box is very painful.”

    “There’s humping, there’s grinding, there’s rubbing the penis on the labia or on the side, and then it expands into ‘What kind of fun things can we do together?’” she explains.

    “Look at it as an opportunity to find new things rather than focus on one way of doing it specifically.”

    McGrath also goes on to recommend oral sex becomes the “main event” and suggests that toys be used too.

    As for breaking the ice with a new partner and being honest about having a micro penis, McGrath says a man shouldn’t stress about this, as it only reinforces the idea that it’s something to be ashamed of.

    Culled from Mirror

     

  • Buhari’s health is private even if state paying – Lai Mohammed

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has said President Muhammadu Buhari is under no obligation to disclose his medical condition even though he has spent most of the year being treated abroad.

    Muhammadu Buhari has spent lengthy periods in London since January, sparking speculation about his fitness to govern — and also questions about who was footing the bill.

    The 74-year-old former army general has said only that he required blood transfusions and had never been as sick in his life.

    Claims from political opponents that he had prostate cancer have been denied but civil society groups still want to know whether tax-payers’ money was used for the private treatment.

    Buhari’s information minister suggested the silence was not unusual, just hours after the president returned to Abuja from another round of check-ups in the British capital.

    “It’s not strange at all for a sitting president to be ill and it’s not strange either for the state to take care of his medical bill,” Lai Mohammed told AFP in an interview, without elaborating.

    “I think there’s so much speculation as to what he’s been treated for.

    “I think we would rather respect his privacy. If Mr President feels like telling the world his ailment, so be it. I don’t think he’s under an obligation to tell anyone.”

    The health of Nigeria’s head of state is a sensitive issue. Former president Umaru Musa Yar’Adua fell ill and died while in office in 2010, sparking months of political turmoil.

    Buhari’s mystery illness also comes as political parties and potential candidates jockey for position ahead of the next presidential election in 2019.

    Buhari’s women’s affairs minister Aisha Alhassan claimed earlier this month that he had said he would only serve one, four-year term of office.

    But Mohammed, who was spokesman for Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) that unseated Goodluck Jonathan at the last vote in 2015, refused to be drawn.

    “If he’s going to run that’s left to him but right now, his major preoccupation is delivering on all his electoral promises,” he said.