Category: Health

  • Experts chart course for comprehensive reproductive health

    Experts chart course for comprehensive reproductive health

    Amid Nigeria’s alarming maternal mortality rates, reproductive health experts have urged the federal government and key stakeholders to increase funding, expand access to contraception, and improve comprehensive healthcare services.

    They stressed that efforts to address the crisis will remain incomplete without tackling restrictive legislation, in addition to the cultural and systemic barriers that limit access to contraception, particularly for vulnerable groups like adolescents and women with disabilities.

    These emerged at the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Summit 1.0, held in Abuja on Thursday to commemorate the 2024 World Contraception Day.

    Organized by the Media Health and Rights Initiative of Nigeria, the Summit, themed “A Choice for All: Freedom to Plan, Power to Choose,” highlighted Nigeria’s urgent reproductive health challenges and proposed comprehensive solutions to address them.

    The National President of the Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria, Prof. Rosemary Ogu, who, in her remarks, stressed the importance of improving reproductive health services, emphasized that with a healthy population, Nigeria’s demographic potential could elevate the country to global leadership.

    She urged the government to increase funding for reproductive health, offer free pregnancy care, ensure access to contraceptives, enhance education and demand creation, and ensure functional primary healthcare centers.

    Highlighting the challenges rural communities face in accessing family planning, which contributes to higher maternal mortality rates, she called for a collaborative effort involving the government, healthcare providers, and community leaders to tackle issues such as inadequate funding, infrastructure, and skilled personnel.

    She also suggested adopting innovative solutions like mobile health services and telemedicine to reach underserved populations, ensuring that every woman has access to the reproductive healthcare she needs.

    “Nigeria has a demographic bulge; if we’re all healthy, Nigeria can become the greatest nation on earth”.

    “Contraception reminds us that there’s a strategy to prevent women from dying, enable them to go to school, and help adults reach their full potential,” Ogu said.

    Ejike Orji, Chairman of the Association for the Advancement of Family Planning (AAFP), advocated the need to address issue funding gaps while stressing the need to make family planning a legislative priority, noting that paucity of funds has historically made efforts dependent on donor funding.

    Citing the alleged withholding of family planning funds by a former Minister of Health for several years, Orji noted that such actions significantly contributed to Nigeria’s status as having the highest maternal mortality rate globally, despite achieving a 40 percent reduction in maternal mortality over the past eight years.

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    Orji posited that resolving these official bottlenecks would greatly help address the challenges at hand while noting that the incumbent Minister of Health and Social Welfare had already released significant funds, which are being supplemented by donor contributions.

    Lucky Palmer, Country Director of IPas Nigeria Health Foundation, urged the government to prioritize legislation addressing the cultural and systemic barriers that hinder access to contraception, particularly for vulnerable groups like adolescents and women with disabilities.

    Calling for an urgent overhaul of Nigeria’s reproductive healthcare system to cater to everyone, especially marginalized groups, he noted that the country’s restrictive abortion laws limit access to safe abortion, putting women’s lives at risk.

    He noted that the expansion of comprehensive reproductive healthcare services, including safe abortion options, to protect women from the dangers of unsafe practices has become imperative.

    He also called on stakeholders to address the issue of unplanned pregnancies, which contribute to over 1,500 maternal deaths annually in Nigeria, emphasizing that many of the deaths could be prevented with better access to effective contraceptives.

    “To prevent unnecessary harm, we need comprehensive reproductive healthcare, including safe abortion options.

    “Contraception should be free and available to all, regardless of age, disability, or marital status.”

    “Women are often excluded due to systemic issues rather than individual limitations.

    “It is time for Nigeria’s healthcare system to address these inequalities and ensure no one is left behind,” he urged, stressing the need for inclusive policies.

    “Contraceptives can prevent these deaths. It is a fundamental right for all, including adolescents, married women, and young men,” Palmer said.

    On his part, the Board Chair of Media Health Right (MHR), Ufuoma Omo-Obi, emphasized the importance of sector-wide collaboration in making contraception accessible to all women, empowering them to take control of their reproductive health and openly discuss family planning challenges.

    Ufuoma Omo-Obi, the Board Chair of Media Health Right (MHR), highlighted the effectiveness of sector-wide collaboration in making contraception accessible to all women, empowering them to take control of their reproductive health and encouraging them to openly discuss family planning challenges.

    He emphasised that strengthening public-private partnerships is crucial to delivering high-quality, comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services, which will reduce maternal mortality and enhance the well-being of Nigerians.

    He noted that self-administered contraception, particularly injectable methods providing three months of coverage, has been transformative in Nigeria, offering women greater autonomy over their reproductive choices.

    This approach, according to him, has proven especially effective in high-need settings like internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps, where it alleviates the burden on healthcare workers and enhances access during emergencies.

    While calling for greater public awareness and expanded community-based services, Omo-Obi noted that the training of healthcare workers to support self-care interventions is a key step to improving contraceptive access and uptake.

  • AMCE to unveil $250m Cyclotron facility in June 2025

    AMCE to unveil $250m Cyclotron facility in June 2025

    The unveiling of the African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE), a cutting-edge Cyclotron facility, poised to revolutionize healthcare in Nigeria and West Africa, is set for commission in June 2025 in Abuja, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it emerged on Thursday.

    The Cyclotron facility revolutionizes healthcare by producing vital medical isotopes for advanced diagnostics and targeted therapies, ensuring a reliable local supply. Primarily focusing on cancer, sickle cell, and cardiovascular conditions, it will also enhance diagnosis and care for other chronic non-communicable diseases.

    The launch of the $250m state-of-the-art seven-floor facility is on schedule, with its infrastructure and 150,000 equipment already procured, and certification requirements at every statutory stage being met as prescribed by the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NNRC), Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Brian Deaver said in Abuja on Thursday.

    The facility, he said, has secured crucial partnerships with prominent organizations like the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPCL) and the Bank of Industry, and is now oversubscribed, rendering project delays impossible.

    The facility has already created 640 direct employees, while it will create 500-600 jobs within four years, with 90% local hiring, and launch a Medical School in partnership with Kings College, London within 18-24 months, driving knowledge transfer and local capacity building, the CEO said.

    Once operational, according to Deaver, AMCE will produce medical isotopes, enabling it to supply five hospitals simultaneously in the sub-region, a capacity currently unmatched in the country or the sub-region.

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    In addition, he emphasized that Nigeria’s cutting-edge nuclear medicine facility will revolutionize patient care, addressing non-communicable disease treatment gaps, curbing $1 billion in annual medical tourism, and positioning Nigeria as a medical hub for West Africa and the African continent.

    Speaking about the facility during a media engagement at the facility that will also host a medical school and a nursing school, among others, Deaver said with the Cyclotron medical facility, AMCE is laying the groundwork for a self-sufficient and resilient healthcare system, driving solutions to tackle regional healthcare challenges.

    Deaver explained that the AMCE vision is to fill a critical gap and bring specialized services to the country and, by doing so, drive economic growth, foster local expertise, and improve quality of life while the country will benefit from increased investment, advanced technology, and enhanced global competitiveness.

    He said: “Our Cyclotron facility is a life-changing innovation and progress in healthcare in Nigeria and indeed throughout Africa.

    “We recognize the ever-pressing need to address the growing burden of diseases such as cancer, sickle cell, and cardiovascular conditions that affect millions in our communities.

    “By focusing on this vision, we will enhance healthcare outcomes and improve the quality of life for individuals and families across the region.

    “Our mission is equally ambitious. AMCE will provide world-class patient-centred care, bridging the care gap in West Africa for non-communicable diseases.

    “Our Medical Centre is designed to deliver new and better diagnostic and treatment options for Nigerians, while also serving patients throughout West Africa and beyond.

    “By doing so, we aim to reverse the costly trend of medical tourism and empower individuals to receive high-quality healthcare within their own communities.

    “Moreover, the AMCE is committed to promoting intra-African trade and providing educational opportunities that enhance clinical training in West Africa.

    “We believe that by investing in local talent and resources, we can create a robust healthcare ecosystem that meets the needs of our population.”

    He also revealed that AMCE Foundation has secured a $7 million donation to ensure equal access to healthcare services for all Nigerians, regardless of their socio-economic background, thereby bridging the financial gap for those who urgently need care but lack the means.

    Deaver also announced that AMCE is partnering with Kings College, London, and Novartis to localize genome-specific medicines, tailoring treatments to African genetic profiles to address the limitation of existing drugs, which were primarily developed based on American and European genetic characteristics.

    NNRC Director General, Yau Idris, expressed optimism that the AMCE is set to change the face of nuclear medicine in the West African sub-region.

    Idris, who was represented by Fatima Ige, the agency’s Deputy General Manager at the event, expressed optimism that the later stages of certification by the institution would be met, having met requirements for previous stages.

  • Radiation, health, Bill Gates and diseases (2)

    Radiation, health, Bill Gates and diseases (2)

    Literally speaking, we live in a sea or ocean of radiations. The sun and the myriad of stars, like the planets and other cosmic bodies, are pouring their radiations on the earth. Huge fire-storms from the belly of the earth are emitting their radiations to the top soil. Observe some chickens and other animals when the sun is setting. They  dig  a pouch in the soil and nest in it, to absorb negative radiation  from the earth to counter balance positive radiations from the atmosphere. What are the food crops we eat for health and strength? What are the plants medicine we consume to bolster our health when it sags or fails? What we eat or take them for is nothing but for  their radiations which they  absorbed from different sources  into their tissues and transfer to us for ours.  That is why we should not tamper with food crops in their natural configurations. When we store them in fridges and freezers, their life forces ebb or disappear and what we eat thereafter is not their radiations but chaff.  The same happens when we store them in silos and release to the population during national emergencies. If you wonder about what happened in Egypt in the days of the Pharaoh and Joseph and the seven lean cows which swallowed the seven fat cows and made Egyptian  store food against a famine that would ravage their land for seven years, I  would say the food storages of those days were not designed like the silos of today but as pyramids, a warehouse of radiations. Even today, are we not surprised that Egyptian mummies (corpses)stored in the pyramids for about 300years now are still fresh as though kept there only yesterday? Architect Lekan Adams, of Lagos, is an authority on the radiation gathering potentials of pyramids well designed. I know next to nothing about their designs. What I am privileged  to know about them  comes from observances in creation. In high school, I was a  Geometry dullard. My spirit was not mature enough to absorb pictures of a higher language the mathematics teacher was painting. How other fellows captured something about those figures and constructions I do not know. However, they became more crystal  clearer to me as my inner eyes began to open. Despites some of the contentious issues for me in the theorems and constructions of geomentry, the Bible brought me better insight of the pyramid. I would later know that higher beings  in higher realms of existence  pass messages down to us earth men in mathematical renditions.  Even this subject, radiations, is not left out of their work. Thus, to the Bible I would like to detour  briefly.

    We all know that God is the starting point of radiations. The Book of Revelation speaks of Four Animal Beings (The Eagle,  Ram, Bull and  Lion) as The Guardians of the Throne of God. They exist equidistant to one another at a vast distance from Him. These means little or nothing to many Christians and several mathematicians and persons whose professional work entails energy and radiations. We may begin to  make some sense of it, however, if we:

    1. Make a  pin-point mark on a paper or cardboard

    2. At a distance of our choice below  this point, make four equidistant pin-point dots that form a square, all of them also equidistant to the single pin- point above them

    3. Project in a straight line from  each  equidistant points of the Square to the pin-point above them.

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    What we constructed is  a pyramid, a geomentry  figure with triangle sides  which may number anything from four or more depending on its type…  Pentagonal (5 sides)or hexagonal(6).

    The Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, has…5 sides…4 triangular sides (facets) and 1 square base. These are important messages for humanity. The triangle represents the the sub-line triune of Unsubstanciate God Head of Father, Son and The  Holy Spirit. The square represents The Four Pillars of Creation. The energy from God’s Radiation is received in the pyramid and transformed into energy that Creation, that is Paradise and the world can bear.

    5. If we project the square downward and link the bottom square points, what we would  construct is a cube. Inside this cube, outside of the God Head, lies the creations which comprise Paradise and The World. In Paradise are the primordial Human Spirit Beings who were created by God in His Image. The world, which developed in the shadow of Paradise through the Created Human Spirit  Beings, is where all of us earth men and women are wandering about to develop ourselves after the shadows of the primordial  spirit  beings created in the image of  God as a prototype for our spiritual development.  It is the  radiations of God which, like transformers, they step down to “our load-bearing capacity” that  sustains the world and offers us the possibility of concious self development in the period alloted to us as in a school system to “ graduate” or resurrect or ascend from the world and retun home to lower regions of Paradise as Developed Spirit Beings, never as  Created Spirit Beings. This should be before the earth and other ripened parts of the world are swept away in the final judgement for each entity..

    6. In spiritual terms, God, as the starting-point of everything,  passes to the Square of The Pyramid all the power, all  the energy, all the radiation that are required to bring creation about and to maintain it.  This energy is channelled down through the Pyramid and the Animal Beings in turn channel them down the Cube, the structure of Creation. Back in high school, construction of the Cube was a mystery to me, not to mention the discussions of QUADRATURE OF THE CIRCLE! Now, I can fellow a discussion on how  radiations flow down the cube and return to their starting- point,  causing elyptical or cyclic motion in the cube under the Law of  the Circle by which everything in nature impelled into motion must return to its starting point.Does the blood not always return to the heart?  What of evaporation and rainfall, inhalation and exhalation of air,  food intake and waste elimination, drinking and urinating and, of course, Birth and Death  and the return of Soul and Spirit kernel to where its  came from, dead or alive. These are discussion for another day.

      Semyon Kirlian

      He gave  humanity a secret of radiation from which Quantum Energy Minerals are  contributing their  quotas  to human health and may lead physical surgery to  psychic surgery in  future.Before I proceed to  Semyon Kirlian , food and health, Bill Gates, disease and health, I would  like to  briefly  mention Psychic Surgery.  With advancements in the  knowledge of radiation and emergence in surgeries of surgeons called and annointed to practise it on earth and endowed with  the relevant psychic gifts, the face of medicine will change.

        It is  refreshing to  reflect on the saying of a Wise One in the 1920s that…”Men, Your Master Pieces Are Yet To Come”!. Psychic Surgery is one of those master-pieces. About then, or before then, laboratories of today should have become absolute, all their equipment and re-agents a waste of energy in research and money in productction. Imagine yourself  to be seated in your doctor’s clinic.You do not need to take your clothes off. He  looks you up from head to toe, studying energy output in your various organs and how their  radiations harmonise or blend or hurt, injure or disintegrate  one another. If  an organ is not bringing up the full  strength colours,this organ is weak or sick, dominated or tormented by others organs. This doctor will not give you injections or pills. He would tell you which foods you should stop eating and then ones you should eat.All organs have their special clours,and these are linked to corresponding colour centres in the cosmos controlled by certain cosmic bodies. Nothing is an accident or decoration in the sky. Everything is inter-related, one huge family in the  household of God.

    In 1930, Semyon  Killian  lifted a veil on this subject. I will  soon come to him. Meanwhile, let us visit a Psychic Surgeon in his surgery who,shall we say, is about to perform  Uterine Fibroid Surgery or Glaucoma Surgery.The patient lays on the surgical bed.  There stands the surgeon, his knife in his hand. The patient is fully dressed, perhaps, her shoes probably on, and reading  a book.  The surgeon  is seeing  the projected astral body of his patient and the astral prototype of his surgical knife. In the astral body of his patient, he is seeing the uterine fibroids he wishes to remove or the  glaucoma he plans to eliminate. The astral knife goes to work on  the astral prototype of the   human body . In no time, his work is over. The patient feels no pain. No blood is let. The patient settled the bill and heads home. Hours or days after, she feels a dull pain  in the  womb or eye, but it is nothing to worry about. The uterine fibroids or the glaucoma is gone, and healing is taking place. Isnt this the way some  persons today imperil the astral bodies of subsceptible persons in the diabolical attacks of so-called witches?Haven’t American surgeon Norman Shealy and  journalist turned  spiritualist Caroline Myss demonstrated it in their clinical practice and shared their experiences with us  in their 1988 book,The Creation of Health?

    I check the internet  for the  work of Semyon Kirlian  on  the life force or radiation in foods which I picked up from some books in the 1990s. A  report says:

    “Semyon Kirlian, a Russian researcher, studied the life forces or radiation in foods through a technique called Kirlian Photography or Biofield Analysis. Here is a summary..

     1. Food radiation: Kirlian discovered that all living foods emit a unique, luminescent radiation or biofield, which he believed was an expression of their life force.

     2. Energy patterns: He observed distinct energy patterns around different foods, indicating their vitality and nutritional value.

    3. Biophoton emission: Kirlian found that living foods emit biophotons, low-intensity light particles that convey information about the food’s energy state.

     Classifying foods

    Kirlian categorised foods into three groups based on their radiation patterns:

    1. High-radiation foods: Fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, which emitted strong, vibrant energy patterns.

    2. Medium-radiation foods: Cooked foods, dairy products, and processed foods, which showed moderate energy patterns.

    3. Low-radiation foods: Refined sugars, processed meats, and stale foods, which displayed weak or distorted energy patterns.

        Implications

    Kirlian’s work suggested that:

    1. Food quality affects human energy: Consuming high-radiation foods can enhance vitality, while low-radiation foods may drain energy.

    2. Cooking affects food energy: Overcooking or microwaving can reduce food’s biofield and nutritional value.

    3. Food selection influences health: Choosing high-radiation foods can support overall well-being.

    Influence

    Kirlian’s work inspired research in:

    1. Biophotonics

    2. Food energetics

    3. Holistic nutrition

    4. Alternative medicine

    His discoveries continue to influence fields like naturopathy, orthomolecular medicine, and conscious eating”.

    Lesson  from Kirlian

    His work  teaches us  many lessons, inclamong them…

    1. It is not the physical  food that our  bodies use to maintain their health,but the radiations and bio-forces. Food with vibrant life force give radiant health and those with weak life force, meso health, as Leslie and Barbara Kenton’s, too, explained in their 1999 New Raw Energy.

    2. What health can we expect therefore, from  iced fish, long-stored grains such as rice and corn, foods such as bread, noddles, margarine or butter and  cube sugar, not to mention fried plantain, burns and meat pie from white flour?

    3. To build radiant health or emerge from any disease condition, we should eat more of those foods with vibrant life force. 

    Bill  Gates

    He is neither the President nor Government Business Leader in any country, but, arguably, he holds the destiny  of humankind in his palms.  I do not wish  to believe all the negative stories I hear or read about him, many of which are sticking like  mud  on the  wall. Nevertheless, he appears worst than   those  fellows who chemicalised food and water, making us all live today in an ocean of toxins. He gives us genetically modified seedlings to give us more and cheaper food to eat. The  result  is that he has  sentenced humankind into  life of disease and short earth-life spans which must be making attainment of the purpose of existence difficult or impossible. Some people say that, inadvertently, he works against The Will of God as a servant  of Lucifer, The Fighter Against  God.

    From the computer world, he has moved into the world’s of vaccines and Genetic Modified Organisms( GMOs), through which all kinds of food are re-designed from the way God, through the forces of Nature, gave them to humankind. Bill Gates’ GMO business, which he is gradually selling to Nigeria, is a version of the human slave trade which was abolished in the 19th Century, 200 years ago. Although the form of the trade is dead, its content is resurrecting in newer forms. The wild rush of young Africans to Europe, the United States and Canada is seen as the second slavery. The  third Slavery is what  Bill Gates is bringing with GMO Foods. Soon after,The Fourth Slavery will come through GMO foods which reduces fertility and depopulates. The Fifth Slavery may witness monumental health troubles from GMO foods and cause too much devotion to physical survival with little or no time for the purpose of existence.

    In GMO foods,the genetic structure of the seedling is re-structred to make it more productive and  grow  much bigger. Thus, it may be possible to have tomatoes which are as big as coconut or a chicken as big or bigger than a turkey. What is done with GMO foods and animals is that the radiations in them which nature develops and combines in certain  ratios over a span of time and under certain natural conditions have been altered or deconstructed. Obviously, structure produces funtions. So, man-made unnatural structures cannot produce the same funtions in the human body that nature-made natural structures are meant to perform. Since man cannot be superior to God who created him, we cannot expect the human body to remain what God intended it to be or to perform the function for which it was produced. This function is housing on earth for the Human Spirit in the course of its experiencing here. Through the radiation of the blood, the spirit controls the body. Thus, if GMO foods, like foods with  weakened life forces, produce weak blood radiation, only weak entities would be able to function in the body through such devitalised blood radiation. This is one of the secrets of BI-POLAR mental health which many persons, including some psychiatrists, mistake for insanity.  In BI- POLAR mental cases, an earth-bound soul has merely, through the blood radiation  taken over a portion of the brain, not all of it, because, were this to happen, the original inhabiting soul or owner of the physical body, would be crowded out and would depart from the body. Once the blood radiation can be improved upon, Bi-polarism disappears.

    The Third Slavery goes beyond this. In it, Bill Gates  are distributing GMO seedlings to Nigerian farmers. Akwa Ibom farmers are rejoicing over GMO cassava they call Give me Chance or Help Me Train My Chiid. Give Me Chance derives its name from growing so big in the soil that it displaces everything else. In the market, GMO or Give Me Chance yam fetches more money, for which reason it is called Help Me Train My Child because its makes school fees easier to pay.  It would not be  laughing matter in the next farming season. The seedlings of this yam does not reproduce itself like the natural seedling. With their natural seedlings gone, the Akwa Ibom farmers would approach-Bill Gates to buy Give Me Chance seedlings. When this happens with many crops, a country like Nigeria will depend on Bill Gates for foods. This would be food slavery. He will sell seedlings at exhorbitant prices. What can we do after we have  sold our God-given food crops for a pot of pottenge?

    The nation’s troubles would just be starting. GMO food genetic structure will not support the human genetic structure and  radiations needed to support its union with the soul or spirit of man. Can the engine of a Volkswagen or Beetle 1500cc power an aeroplane? The health of the body will ebb, longevity will decline as diseases become more ravaging and death would become two for a Kobo as we say in Nigeria.

    It is possible Bill Gates do not know this is where matters are heading. He may only be seeking to make more money, or helps his race  maintain its colonial hold on other countries with an old content in a new wine bottle. I  believe that  humankind will survive Bill Gates. Have they not survived the purveyors of chemicals in foods, air and water, even if at a colossal price?

  • 70 percent PCOS cases go undiagnosed due to misdiagnosis, says Ajayi 

    70 percent PCOS cases go undiagnosed due to misdiagnosis, says Ajayi 

    Dr. Abayomi Ajayi, Managing Director of Nordical Fertility Centre, has revealed that 50-70% of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) cases go undiagnosed, largely due to misdiagnosis or a lack of awareness among healthcare providers and the public.

    Speaking at a recent virtual press conference on “PCOS and Fertility: Navigating Treatment Options,” Ajayi highlighted that in Nigeria and across Africa, PCOS is a leading cause of infertility, particularly anovulatory infertility. 

    He said that despite this, it remains underdiagnosed and clouded by misconceptions.

    He stressed the need to disseminate accurate information about PCOS, which affects an estimated 10-15% of women, with many cases still going undetected due to limited awareness.

     “Too often, women are diagnosed based solely on ultrasound results,” one speaker noted, highlighting a common misconception.                          “A scan might show polycystic ovaries, but that doesn’t confirm the syndrome. The condition must meet specific criteria, and diagnosis is more than just the presence of cysts.”

     According to experts, a proper diagnosis of PCOS should meet two out of three key symptoms: Irregular Menstrual Cycles – Women with PCOS often experience fewer than eight or nine periods a year. This irregularity stems from follicles that are arrested in development, preventing ovulation.

     “Elevated Male Hormones – Known as hyperandrogenism, this causes women to develop male-pattern hair growth, including facial hair, chest hair, and even changes in genital hair distribution and appearance of Polycystic Ovaries on ultrasound, though, as noted, this is not always definitive by itself”.

     He opined that these symptoms are often compounded by insulin resistance, a condition in which the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar is impaired. This leads to an overproduction of insulin, which in turn stimulates the ovaries to produce more male hormones, exacerbating the symptoms.

     “The consequences of undiagnosed or untreated PCOS are far-reaching. Aside from fertility issues, women with the condition are at risk of developing other health complications, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and endometrial cancer due to irregular menstruation”.

    The doctor also pointed out the emotional toll PCOS can take, especially in societies where fertility and femininity are culturally significant. “It’s not just about the physical symptoms. It’s about helping women understand their bodies and empowering them to manage a condition they will live with for the rest of their lives.”

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    He asserted that a core objective of PCOS Awareness Month is to dispel common myths. One prevalent misconception is that all women with polycystic ovaries have PCOS. While many women may have polycystic ovaries, not all meet the diagnostic criteria for the syndrome. “There is a significant difference between having polycystic ovaries and having PCOS,” an expert clarified.

     He appealed to healthcare providers, advocates, and patients are encouraged to take part in initiatives aimed at raising awareness, improving early diagnosis, and providing women with the tools and knowledge to manage PCOS effectively. By doing so, many women can live healthier, more fulfilling lives despite the challenges posed by the condition.

    “We are here to spread the truth about PCOS and offer hope. “It’s about time we empower women with the knowledge and support they need to navigate this lifelong condition.”, he said.

  • West Africa RCC deepens fight against cross-border diseases

    West Africa RCC deepens fight against cross-border diseases

    The Africa CDC West Africa Regional Coordinating Centre (WA RCC) has taken its fight against cross-border diseases further as it convened the inaugural meeting of the Regional Technical Advisory Committee (ReTAC).

    The meeting that was held between 30th September and 1st October 2024 had in attendance representatives of Africa Union (AU) member States and health development partners in West Africa.

    12 out of 15 AU member States were represented at the regional meeting.

    Herilinda Temba, the Acting Regional Director of WA RCC, in her opening remark, emphasized that the overall objective of the regional convergence underscored the importance of the inauguration of the Africa CDC–WA RCC ReTAC.

    While noting that three out of the five RCCs have an established ReTAC, she explained that RCC West Africa is now the 4th to have an established ReTAC.

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    According to her, the ReTAC will serve as one of the bodies responsible for accountability and will provide technical guidance in the organizational structure of the RCC.

     It is also expected that the roadmap developed will guide the implementation of agreed-upon action items, aimed at strengthening RCC operations in the region.

    The member States present at the meeting unanimously elected the Gambian representative, Adama Drammeh, who is the Permanent Secretary II of the Ministry of Health as the Chair of ReTAC while the Cabo Verde representative, Domingos Veiga Varela was also elected as the Vice Chair.

  • Cervical cancer summit unveils national essay competition

    Cervical cancer summit unveils national essay competition

    The Stakeholders’ Summit on Cervical Cancer Elimination in Nigeria (SSCCEN) has launched a national essay competition focused on Human Papillomavirus (HPV) as a proactive measure to combat misinformation surrounding the virus in the country.

    The innovative competition, a prelude to the upcoming summit, seeks to empower adolescent girls by positioning them at the forefront of raising awareness about HPV and cervical cancer while also aiming to debunk myths surrounding the HPV vaccine, ensuring accurate information reaches the public.

    Conceptualised by the Youth Engagement Committee of SSCCEN and chaired by Peace Shalom of the National Directorate of the Technical Office on Cancer Awareness and Advocacy (TOCAA), the essay competition is an innovative tool to boost HPV vaccine awareness considering that cervical cancer is the second most prevalent cancer among women in Nigeria, leading to over 7,000 preventable deaths annually.

    Ishak Lawal, Secretary of the Scientific Committee of SSCCEN, emphasized in a statement on Monday that raising awareness about HPV, which is primarily administered to adolescent girls to prevent cervical cancer later in life, is crucial, adding that achieving the desired impact among the target demographic depends on the effectiveness of awareness efforts.

    According to him, reports from the field showed widespread vaccine hesitancy, fueled largely by misinformation and misconceptions, making empowering the community with accurate information the cornerstone of dispelling myths and misconceptions.

    The HPV vaccine was recently introduced into Nigeria’s routine immunization program in line with the WHO’s Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative (CCEI), which prescribed three targets to achieve cervical cancer elimination: 90% of adolescent girls are vaccinated with the HPV vaccine, 70% of eligible women are screened for pre-invasive lesions of the cervix, and 90% of cervical cancer cases are appropriately treated.

    Themed ‘Empowering Families and Youth: HPV Vaccination as a Pathway to Prevent Cervical Cancer and Foster Positive Health Discussions,’ he said the 2024 essay competition is expected to stimulate the youth to actively seek the right information about HPV, thereby empowering them with the knowledge to counter misinformation.

    He said the panel of judges was drawn from a wide range of stakeholders, including cancer civil society organizations (CSO), the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Youth Initiatives (Monitoring and Delivery), and the Ministries of Education, Health, and Youth.

    Furthermore, he said the awards would be presented to the winners of the essay competition on 21st November 2024, during the opening ceremony of the 2nd Stakeholders’ Summit on Cervical Cancer Elimination in Nigeria.

    Stating that the summit was conceptualized by End Cervical Cancer Nigeria Initiative (ECCNI), a non-governmental organization, he noted that it is being led by the National Task Force on Cervical Cancer Elimination (NTF-CCE), a ministerial committee of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.

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    The 15-member committee, chaired by former Minister of Health Prof. Isaac Adewole, with Prof. Sani Malami as the secretary, was inaugurated by the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Tunji Alausa, on 19th August 2024.

    The Director-General of the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (NICRAT), Prof. Usman Malami, and the President of the Nigerian Cancer Society (NCS), Dr. Adamu Alhassan, serve as advisors to the Stakeholders’ Summit.

    Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu, a global cancer advocate and a third-term member of the board of directors of the International Union for Cancer Control (UICC), is expected to deliver the keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the second Stakeholders’ Summit on 21st November at the NAF Conference Center, Abuja.

    Eligible girls are encouraged to participate in the essay competition through https://forms.gle/tgwjL79SdTo5759Q7.

  • Mother seeks N500,000 for 12-year-old daughter

    Mother seeks N500,000 for 12-year-old daughter

    The mother of a 12-year-old girl, Jimoh Yetunde, diagnosed with an ailment associated to her kidney, has sought the assistance of Nigerians for nephrectomy surgery. 

    Nephrectomy is a surgery to remove all or part of a kidney. Most often, it’s done to treat kidney cancer or to remove a tumor. 

    According to her mother, N500,000 is urgently required to save her life. 

    A CT scan of abdomen and pelvic signed by the radiologist of BT health and Diagnostic Centre, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Dr. Oyedepo, explained that Yetunde is diagnosed with Right Wilms Tumor.

    Wilms tumor is a kidney tumor found almost always in children. This condition represents nearly 90% of kidney tumors in children.

    Some of the signs and symptoms include: Swollen spot or hard lump in the abdomen; Blood in their urine, abdominal pain, etc.

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    Yetunde’s distraught mother lamented that the medical condition has affected her daughter, causing her pains and discomfort. 

    She is pleading for financial support from the public for the surgery.

    Interested Nigerians may donate to the account details below: 0278614455, Wema Bank – Kodiri Mariam Motunrayo

    Her mother can be reached via: 08026145593 and 08122423454

  • AXA Mansard Health takes medical outreach to Lagos community   

    AXA Mansard Health takes medical outreach to Lagos community   

    Hundreds of Abule Oja Community residents in Lagos State have benefited from the ongoing medical Outreach funded by AXA Mansard Health Limited.

    The Outreach, according to Tope Adeniyi, CEO of AXA Mansard Health Limited, is another way the company demonstrates its commitment to total wellness for everyone. 

     Adeniyi said that AXA Mansard Health is committed to universal health coverage, and while it is working with national institutions to midwife this in Nigeria, it is also putting its resources behind ongoing community development initiatives that combine preventative health education with medical tests and distribution of mosquitoes nets.

     “For us at AXA Mansard Health, universal health coverage is an important topic. We are convinced that healthcare should be accessible, available and affordable. And it should be accessible to everyone notwithstanding their socio-economic, geographic and educational status”. 

     “So this medical Outreach is another in the series of programmes we have listed to improve community health this year. 

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    “You will recall that early in the year, we donated medical equipment to general hospitals in remote areas across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. We are not relenting. We are poised to do more. It is our wish that wellness is ubiquitous anywhere you turn in Nigeria. And we are embarking on this journey one community at a time. 

    “What should also interest you in the community health outreach is that our employee volunteers majorly drive it. Our employees across ranks and sectors were not just the brains behind this programme; they came out and dedicated their time. 

    They went into the community to make this programme a success. 

    That tells you that this is not just a CSR programme; it is a commitment that permeates our system and is at the heart of our employees”, Adeniyi said.

    Adebola Surakat, Chief Marketing Officer of AXA Mansard, said the initiative is delivered under the AXA Hearts in Action programme. 

    “AXA Hearts in Action is our global employee volunteering programme. It is at the core of our purpose of acting for human progress.

     It is a programme that ensures that our employees are not just coming to work to create solutions for progress every day, but they come to work also to give back their time to causes that advance a better and healthier society”. 

    Reacting to the initiative, Alhaji Otunbade Nurudeen, the Abule Oja Community Development Association Chairman, thanked AXA Mansard for considering the community for such a laudable initiative.

     “We’re delighted today to have AXA Mansard conduct this Outreach here. We are grateful for the investment in time, the mosquito nets, the health talk and the screening. These are significant gestures that will help our community stay healthy, especially in this current economic situation”, he said.

  • ActionAid decries shortfalls in Enugu council polls

    ActionAid decries shortfalls in Enugu council polls

    Actionaid Nigeria, a civil society organization, has decried the shortfalls which characterized the just-concluded local government elections in Enugu State.

    A statement by the Country Director, Andrew Mamedu, described the shortfalls as capable of slowing down the wheel of progress.

    According to the statement, shortfalls observed during the election included the late arrival of electoral officials, and the late opening of polling units, among others.

    Read Also: ActionAid Nigeria gets new board executives

    The statement reads: “Late arrival of electoral officials translated to the opening of the polls late and this discouraged some voters from voting. The accreditation and voting process started late and only happened in 60 percent of the polling units across the 17 local government areas observed. In 51 percent of the polling units, voters were not required to present their Permanent Voter Card (PVC) before casting their votes, raising questions about the integrity of the voting process.

    “Also, there were insufficient voting materials, inadequate result sheets, and poor conduct of party agents.

    “Security presence was noted in only 70 percent of polling units observed, while polling units like Umuozzi II and Afor Ofufe, reported no security officers, thereby exposing voters to violence.

    “Party agents also conducted themselves poorly. In 79 percent of the polling units observed, we noticed attempts of political party agents to interfere with the process.

    “Vote buying was another anomaly noted in the election. Some party agents were reportedly seen giving money to ENSIEC officials and voters. This was noticed in about 12 percent of the polling units in the 17 councils observed, including the CPS Amankwo Ndiagu-001 polling unit in Ezeagu council. This manifested in the form of material and financial inducement.”

  • 18 million out of school children, child labour, threat to Nigeria peace, says child advocate

    18 million out of school children, child labour, threat to Nigeria peace, says child advocate

    The depressing high number of out-of-school children in Nigeria has been described as a threat to the nation’s peace.

    The number of out-of-school children in the country is currently 18.3 million making it one of the highest contributors to the global

    According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), one in three Nigerian children is out of school, with about 10.2 million children at the primary level and about 8.1 million at the junior secondary school level.

    Speaking in Abuja on Thursday, Chikezie Ogaziechi, the Convener of Child Plus Africa, highlighted the alarming issue of child labour arising from the out-of-school syndrome as a significant setback for the country, attributing it to the pervasive inequity in Nigerian society.

    He characterized the staggering figure of 24,673,485 children engaged in child labour as utterly unacceptable.

    During his investiture as the Ambassador for the United Nations Youth Association – Nigeria (UNYA-NG), Ogaziechi condemned the high number of disadvantaged children, noting that their plight poses a substantial barrier to peace in the nation, saying, “These children will be the reason we won’t have peace as they embrace criminality on the streets.”

    Read Also: UNICEF seeks improved funding for immunization

    Describing ‘Cultivating a Culture of Peace’, the theme of the recently concluded UNYA-NG summit to commemorate the United Nations’ International Day of Peace 2024, as highly relevant, Chikezie Ogaziechi emphasised the need for concerted efforts by all key stakeholders, including the private sector, to address the issue holistically for the sake of sustainable peace in the country.

    He said it is worthy of emulation the strides made by Child Plus Africa in bridging the inequality gap, noting that the organization has successfully taken hundreds of children off the streets and returned them to the classroom.

    He highlighted the strides made by Child Plus Africa in bridging the inequality gap, describing the organization’s efforts as worthy of emulation for successfully taking hundreds of children off the streets and returning them to the classroom.

    “Taking the children out of the streets and returning them to the classrooms is a job everyone must be a part of,” he said.

    In his remarks, the President of UNYA-NG, Ambassador Eze Ihechukwumere Ezekiel, also reiterated the need for the restoration of world peace, saying, “As we commemorate the UN Day of Peace, we implore all humanity in Nigeria and across the globe to commit to Peace above all differences and to contribute to building a Culture of Peace.

    The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the United Nations and in 2001, the General Assembly unanimously voted to designate the Day as a period of non-violence and cease-fire.