Category: Health

  • Five major myths about HIV/AIDS

    Five major myths about HIV/AIDS

    Over the years, myths about HIV/AIDS have discouraged people from getting tested.

    People living with HIV can still live healthy life.

    Here are five major myths about HIV/AIDS:

    1. HIV can be contracted by being around people living with the virus

    HIV isn’t spread through touch, tears, sweat, saliva, or pee.

    You can’t catch it by:
    Breathing the same air

    Touching a toilet seat or door handle

    Drinking from a water fountain

    Hugging, kissing, or shaking hands

    Sharing eating utensils

    Using exercise equipment at a gym

    You can get it from infected blood, semen, vaginal fluid, or breast milk.

    1. Mosquitoes spread HIV

    Because the virus is passed through blood, people have worried that they could get it from biting or bloodsucking insects.

    Several studies show that doesn’t happen, even in areas with lots of mosquitoes and cases of HIV.

    When bugs bite, they don’t inject the blood of the person or animal they bit before you.

    Also, HIV lives for only a short time inside them.

    1. You could tell if your partner is living with HIV

    You can live with HIV without any symptoms for years. The only way for you or your partner to know if you’re living with the virus is to get tested. The long period of asymptomatic infection is why the CDC recommends that everyone between 18 and 64 be tested at least once as part of routine blood work.

    Read Also: World AIDS Day: Youths get training on sexual health

    1. You don’t need to worry about getting HIV, drugs will keep you well

    Antiretroviral drugs (ART) improve the lives of many people who have HIV and help them live longer. But many of these drugs are expensive and some may have serious side effects. And, with the exception of a newer drug that can be given by injection, you have to take them every day.

    There’s no cure for HIV. And drug-resistant strains of HIV can make treatment harder.

    Prevention is cheaper and easier than managing a lifelong condition and the problems it brings.

    1. You are living with HIV, your life is over

    In the early years, when the disease was epidemic and no treatment was available, the death rate from AIDS was extremely high. But today’s drugs allow people who have HIV or even AIDS to live much longer, normal, and productive lives.

    If you start drug treatment right away and take it correctly, it’s possible you won’t ever develop AIDS. And you may live as long as you would have without the virus.

    HIV could make you more likely to get diseases like cancer, heart disease, and kidney disease. So take your HIV medicine as prescribed and protect yourself with a healthy lifestyle. And tell your doctor about any other health problems you have. HIV drugs can interfere with other medications and make some conditions harder to control.

  • Kola-Daisi’s free medical outreach for over 10,000 constituents

    Kola-Daisi’s free medical outreach for over 10,000 constituents

    No fewer than 10,000 people in Oyo South Senatorial District would benefit from the three-day free medical outreach sponsored by the candidate of Accord Idris Kolapo Kola-Daisi.

    The outreach will include checkups for diabetics, eye checks and free eyeglasses, hypertension checks, free medical aid, free consultation and general checkups.

    Speaking in Ibadan during the outreach, the Accord candidate described the outreach as one of his “E je ka Dasi” projects, saying the health of constituents remained his priority.

    He said the timing for the outreach was good considering the stress many have been experiencing due to the cash and fuel scarcities.

    According to him: “We want to reach out to thousands of people on their health issues. This exercise would be continuous and it shall be sustained every year when we get to the office.

    “We are even considering taking the medical outreach to people in their various communities so that there won’t be needs for them to travel far to access health care and treatments.”

    “Our people need to be healthy and this shall be part of our mandate when we get to the office because it is an intervention that we think is necessary for our people.”

    The leader of the team from Medical Aid for Africa, Dr. Sabu Geoge, said one of the goals of the outreach was to increase awareness of people on hypertension and the importance of taking medicine on regular basis.

    He said: “One of the biggest challenges we have seen is that people believe hypertension is a disease someone can treat a little bit of time because it doesn’t have specific symptoms. So many people stop taking the medicine because they think it has been cured with the medicine they have taken.

    “People need to know that the silent killer disease is with them once they are diagnosed with it. They need to take the medicine strictly and for them to know that the medicine is not expensive and can get it locally.”

    Director General of the campaign group, Chief Sunday Babalola, described the outreach as a pointer to one of the cardinal programme of Kola-Daisi which is free health for women and children in the constituency.

  • Stakeholders proffer solutions to medical brain drain

    Stakeholders proffer solutions to medical brain drain

    Stakeholders in the heath sector, under the auspices of the Health Sector Transformation Coalition (HTC), have once again reiterated the need to put the issue of brain drain, which is already affecting the nation’s health sector, on the front burner as a new political dispensation beacons.

     In a symposium in Lagos, with the theme, “The Imperatives of Addressing Brain Drain in the Nigerian Health Sector,” the Convener, Dr. Jide Idris, said the coalition was inspired to fill a gap in the polity by bringing together seasoned and upcoming practitioners across various segments in the health care delivery sector to address and proffer solutions to mass migration of Nigerian professional heath workers to in search of greener pasture.

     The coalition, according to Dr Idris, who was a former commissioner for Health in Lagos State, consists of the various disciplines and cadres of healthcare professionals in the public and private sectors, drawn from across the 36 states, the FCT and the diaspora. He also said that there is urgent need to reposition Nigeria’s healthcare delivery system and reverse the tide of brain drain in the sector by putting health on the political agenda of the incoming government.

     “With the aim of ensuring that the healthcare system in Nigeria is repositioned for efficiency and sustainability by proactively contributing to the development of health polices and implementation strategies for the new administration in 2023 the coalition provides a fertile ground for generating and nurturing ideas from a bottom-up approach,” he added.

     The first session with the topic: why young health professions want to “JAPA” addressed the reasons why this has recently become rampant from the perspective of the students and younger professionals who seized the opportunity to proffer various solutions on how to stem the tide. The second session with the topic: “Brain Gain; Thriving in the Nigerian Healthcare Space, Exploring the Untapped Potential,” saw various professionals in the health sector who had at one time left the country but have returned to Nigeria and contributing greatly to the sector share their experiences and give insights to the younger ones on the untapped opportunities in the sector.

     The symposium also featured panel discussions with the first session dwelling on “Why I must ‘japa’? Aspiration of a Newly Qualified Health Care Professional;” while the second session focused on “Brain gain: thriving in the Nigerian Health Care Space, Exploring the Untapped Potential.”

     As part of the coalition’s activities, it held its first symposium in Abuja the Federal capital territory with the theme “Repositioning the Health Sector: Creating the Pathway for an Effective Health System, post 2023” where participants unanimously agreed that one of the main challenges facing the healthcare delivery system is work force and the issue of brain drain.

     Feedbacks from the Abuja symposium made the coalition deem it necessary to have another symposium to address this challenge and give opportunity to the younger ones in the sector to discuss the topic and proffer solutions, since they are the ones mostly affected. At the end of the Lagos symposium, stakeholders concluded that the journey to repositioning the Health sector and reversing the tide of brain drain is a collective responsibility which political actors must necessarily buy into in order for it to come to fruition in due course.

     They also agreed that given the importance of efficient health care delivery system to national development, voters in the forthcoming elections should give adequate consideration to the track records of aspirants in the area of development of health care infrastructure and human capital during their previous tenures in office. The symposium which was a hybrid programme was attended in person by over 250 physical participants and over 600 online participants, some of whom are managers of major health care delivery institutions across the country, former and current actors in health policy formulation as well as young and upcoming professionals in health care delivery.

  • Hundreds of Lagosians benefit from free medical outreach

    Hundreds of Lagosians benefit from free medical outreach

    No fewer than 400 residents have benefited from free medical checked-ups, drugs and eyeglasses organised by the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for House of Representatives in Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos, Mrs Kafilat Ogbara. Ogbara, who is vying for Kosofe Federal Constituency 1 seat at the forthcoming polls, also unveiled a foundation called Ogbara Kafilat Foundation (OKF), which will cater for the needs of people in her constituency. Speaking during the event at Oworonshoki, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was the special guest of honour, commended Ogbara for the initiative and noted that his administration would continue to work with like-minded people in delivering quality healthcare service to Lagosians.

     Sanwo-Olu, who was represented at the event by his Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, said the number of people in the state subscribing to the Lagos health scheme, tagged: “Ilera Eko Health Insurance Scheme,” is increasing day by day but still encouraged residents of the state who were yet to subscribe to do so.

     He said with less than N10, 000 Lagosians who subscribed to Ilera Eko Health Insurance Scheme could enjoy quality healthcare service for one year at any accredited hospital in the state. Adding that issue of quality healthcare service for Lagosians is the pillar of his T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda, an acronym for his administration’s six strategic development plans namely, Traffic Management and Transportation, Health and Environment, Education and Technology.

     While urging people at the grassroots to embrace the Ilera Eko Health Insurance Scheme, he said his administration introduced the programme to key into the scheme for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) that is affordable and convenient. Speaking at the event also, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, said that no stone would be left unturned for the government to achieve its aim of universal healthcare coverage by 2030. The former deputy governor of Lagos State commended the founder of the foundation, Ogbara, for the kind gesture. She pleaded with residents of the area to take advantage of the free medical outreach to ascertain their health status, pledging that government would continue to work with NGOs and other stakeholders in delivering quality healthcare service for the citizens. Mrs Ogbara said that medical outreach was to offer her constituency free medical consultation, treatment and health talk for their wellbeing. She added that what her foundation was offering the residents would be the least when she was elected at the forthcoming polls.

  • Experts advocate improved healthcare outcomes to achieve UHC targets

    Experts advocate improved healthcare outcomes to achieve UHC targets

    Medical and other experts that participated in the Society for Family Health (SFH) retreat in Lagos agreed one thing: Nigeria needs to improve its health outcomes in order to attain Universal Health Coverage (UHC) targets. It is a powerful concept in public health, and one of the key areas of progress in health in the African Region. According to the participants at the retreat, improving healthcare outcomes will entail revamping the country’s Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and creating a more sustainable healthcare financing system.

    Sustainable Development Goal Target 3.8 wants all countries to achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all. In other words, UHC aims to provide health care and financial protection to all people in a given country with three related objectives: equity in access – everyone who needs health services should get them, and not simply those who can pay for them; quality of health services – good enough to improve the health of those receiving the services; and financial-risk protection – ensuring that the cost of health care does not put people at risk of financial hardship.

     The retreat, which had its theme as “Beginning with the End in Mind,” marked the commencement of the 40th Anniversary and 2023 Leadership Retreat of SFH. Dr Oyebanji Filani, Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Ekiti State, spoke on issues around Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), National Health Act (NHAct) and National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) in closing the social contract gap and improving outcome in sub national level. Filani, Chairperson, Nigeria Health Commissioners Forum, said that commissioners of health in the country resolved that states should put in place relevant institutions to support and drive reforms around healthcare services.

     Dr Olumide Okunola, Senior Health Specialist, World Bank Group, emphasised that regardless of policy and government instruments, public financing is key to realising the goals of NHIA Act and UHC. One of his recommendations is for the future of health financing in Nigeria to be output-based financing budget. He urged SFH to help through technical assistance, domestic resource mobilisation, among others.

     Dr Ebere Anyachukwu, Senior Health Specialist, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), recommended some shifts to accelerate UHC in Nigeria. Some of the suggestions included country focused political priorities, in-country coordination approach, pragmatic delivery approach that is scalable. Others are capacity building alongside developing and strengthening local networks, domestic financing mobilisation, private and government partnership supported service delivery, among others. Explaining UHC, he said: “It means that all people have access to the full range of quality health services they need as well as when and where they need them.”

     Dr Murphy Akpu, Deputy Coordinator, PEPFAR Nigeria, also made a presentation; while Prof. Akin Abayomi, Lagos State Commissioner for Health, urged all Lagos residents to enrol in the state’s health insurance scheme called “Ilera Eko” to enjoy quality and affordable healthcare delivery. Abayomi was represented by Dr Olamide Okulaja, Health Economist and Technical Adviser to the Commissioner. Okulaja, who spoke on UHC, said the state initiated Ilera Eko in a bid to ensure that all residents in the state, irrespective of their status, got access to healthcare services. “Part of the aims of the blueprint is health facilities upgrade, outsource some Primary Health Centres to private sector and improve patronage for health insurance. The best approach towards implementing a sustainable healthcare system is by building all-encompassing facilities for all, for the benefit of both the rich and the poor in the society,” he said.

    Speaking earlier, Prof. Ekanem Braide, the President of SFH Board, reiterated the board’s resolution to keep the SFH’s vision alive. “This retreat, therefore, is to pause, learn, unlearn and reignite our collective purpose to finish the job we have started working with our partners. We have structured the agenda with activities ranging from lessons learnt in health policy and governance private sector-led advocacy, expanded regional reform, to truly reposition us for our aspiration of achieving Health for All,” she said.

    Dr Omokhudu Idogho, the Managing Director of SFH, in his welcome address, evaluated the impact of SFH since inception. “Our internal metrics suggest that as an organisation, we have contributed to a quarter of Nigeria’s Couple-Years of Protection (CYP) progress. A third of ITN distributed in Nigeria about 60 million reaching 25 million households. Provided health services to more than three million children, averted close to 180,000 HIV infections and generated more than 10.2 million DALYS in the last 40 years.

     “This contribution has seen population level impact with maternal mortality down from 1,000 to 512/100,000 live births and infant mortality coming down from 132 to 54 per 1,000 live births. The next strategy calls us to leverage our 40 years’ experience to rewrite the construct of Africa health system, with a clear focus on stronger partnerships, forward thinking science and an untiring commitment to transform health outcomes for all,” Idogho said

  • Christmas, the radiant star and the Great Comet (5)

    Christmas, the radiant star and the Great Comet (5)

    In the Spirit Age in which humanity now lives, there will be no hiding places for any of us.  Almost effortlessly, our neighbours will see through us and we, too, will see through them as we all see ourselves in mirrors.Whatever is false  about us and  about them, which one party is trying to hide from the other, will be forced out into the open from their hiding places. It will not matter if these attributes  of the soul previously lay dormant or seemingly lay lifeless deep within us, and we did not know  they existed. Already, we are lit up or fired up, without associating what is going on in a  larger quantum and incredible velocity to the penetrating powers of The Great  Comet. Tarry a little… and reflect on how men are now raping women all over Nigeria. We have heard of how men in their 70s rape girls of about 10 years. We say it is madness. The men say it is the devil. Last year, we  heard of a Lagos government bus driver who raped and killed his last passenger on a late night bus. She was 22 and a virgin. Last year, we heard of a  night duty security man who  raped a nurse on duty with him at a Lagos clinic. Last week, arm robbers invaded the women’s hostel of a university and raped 10 of the students. In its Valentine’s Day article last year, this column reported the cases of four Lagos  teenagers who would drop out of school. One was pregnant for her father. They lived in a single room tenancy in Lagos. He did not marry her mother. In the single-room tenancy with them were  his wife and  three children. This victim of her father’s defilement  three months ago had a baby  boy, a carbon copy of his grandfather and father . Not too long ago, we heard the news of an electrician who was invited home by a single mother to fix an electrical fault. He ended up raping her under- aged daughter. What about the motor-cyclist in  Ondo State  who raped his pregnant client in a bush? She was a trader who periodically went to sell her wares at a big market some kilometres from  home. He often took her to the market  and back home. One day on  the way back home, he diverted from the road, pretending to want to ease his bladder. She disembarked,  and he stood the motor cycle. Then, sprightly and violently, he  pounced on her, raped her, and after, as she struggled to figure out what had just happened to her, he started the machine and rode off, hardly remembering she could easily identify him. 

    Several such  cases nation-wide, many of them  unreported, show that, sexually, many men are under pressure nowadays and cannot control themselves when they find themselves alone with women. Women, too, are no  less sexually depraved. The dressing of many today is terribly suggestive and their bodies have become cheap game. Around an uncompleted building in a housing estate I heard of, groups of young school boys and girls gather in the evenings. You’d think it is an innocent gathering of young ones who had escaped from boredom  at home. They take turns to enter the building to do whatever they are there for on a cartons-covered floor while their mates keep the watch for them. The same goes on  in a reputable boarding  school nearby. Wherever you turn, it is evident something is firing a weakness in men and women, boys and girls, old and young, against which they cannot hold themselves.

    So wide spread is rape in Nigeria of today that society has become anguished. Fathers are worried. Mothers can hardly trust father with their daughters. In many police stations, a Family Support Unit has been created to investigate and prosecute rape and related  cases. In Lagos State, conviction is now life imprisonment with no option of fine. The government  has also provided a toll-free telephone number ( 082200-333-333) for rescue and emergency calls. To help rape victims recover from shock, the government pays for a victim to  have six therapeutic sessions  with a psychologist at a cost of N20,000 per session. Additionally, if a victim is underaged,  funding is provided for  rehabilitation. One female Peace and Conflict Resolution consultant  lamented:” The brains of many men have migrated  to the tips of their organs”.

    There is no  doubt that something unsual is overcoming  Nigerian men. That “something”is well explained in a lecture of The Grail Message  titled All That is dead in creation shall be awakened so that it may pass judgement upon  itself.

    We are informed that human soul have adorned themselves with many qualities over millenia. Some of  these qualities are natural, which means they are in tune with laws of Creation, while others are unnatural or opposed to these laws. They are the proverbial” wheat” and “chaff” which have been allowed to grow together but which must be separated some day, in the harvest of souls. We are told the season of harvest has come. Radiations more powerful than man has ever encountered are penetrating the universe to the earth. On earth, meanwhile, the qualities or adornments of the human souls are either dormant or inactive,  or sprouting and active. That is why  many people sometimes do not know they are capable of certain deeds untill they have taken the actions. The power which is steaming down and encircling the earth “wakes up” or activates all dormant and inactive attributes or adornments of the human soul, as well as I figurate or energises sprouting and  active ones, so that they may be strengthened to blossom more if they are natural or annihilated, if they are not. This awakening of dormant and inactive qualities may also be viewed  as everyone of us been  ” Dragged before The Light”, and forcibly denied the opportunity to hide anywhere.

    Today, in Nigeria, how many men  can conduct themselves like the Biblical Joseph in the  bedroom of Portiphar’s wife, all alone with her, and fleeing from her entreaties? Their knees will shake and bend! The dormant  and inactive sexual instinct, as well as the sprouting and active sexual instinct, had been awakened and strengthened in many men and women by the penetrating Power of God  in the precints of the purification often described by many religions as un-coming.

    Unfortunately,prophesies about  “All  That is dead  in creation  …”  have  mutated to “…All The Dead…”.  The mutation now gives the erroneous  notion of all skeletons in graves, wherever they  may now be,  assembled and, re-united with other bodily tissues and the departed souls, for a rapture or consignment to Hell Fire. This  error has made many persons to not seriously or critically monitor every thought and action they are to take.

    As already stated, there is nothing , no human quality, that will not be Lit up  and Come to Light on its own in the time in which we stand. Coming to the judgement, for the wrong qualities to  be burnt out and  the natural ones to blossom.

    Upheavals

      Prophesies of The  Great Comet all speaks about on coming upheavals at personal, family, social, national and international levels. For is not only in sexual dormain that everything has gone wrong  with mankind. Other equally unnatural or false attributes mankind  include vanity, cuning,  avarice, thieving, greed, envy, hate, gossip , carelessness, carefreeness, spiritual indolence , untrustworthiness, impatience, aloofness, verbal irresponsibility,shallowness , phychic, physical abuse,idolatry ,  especially worship of money etc”. There are many more vices or perversions of a beautiful human nature than I can mention here. We only need to follow Nigeria’s 2023general elections to see as many of them as possible at play. Old emotional injuries have refused to heal and, slumbering or previously inactive or dormant, have been awakened and flaring up. It does not matter if this is between individuals and  national groups.  It does not matter if the combatants are, before men, deeply religious persons who have been  taught to forgive their enemies seven x seven x seven times in one day or to simply” turn the other cheek always, or if they are believers which must  never allow the  sunset of any day to find animosities in their souls!

    Sexual scourge

    Please permit me to return  to the sexual ravages of our  time. Many young and older men are going to jail for  life for daring  irreverently to touch women with dirty fingers and hands. Women themselves appear to have forgotten why they are women and what ought to be their vocation. From my understanding of how The Grail Message, one of the resource works of this series, explains it, I offer the following  suggestions.

    Sex

    Sex is nothing to be afraid or flee from. It is a natural instinct engrained in the physical body for certain purposes, otherwise the All- Wise Creator would not have permitted its existence. It is not a spiritual quality  but an animal instinct resident in the animal- derived physical human body, although, if unchecked, it may enslave the soul, and , the human spirit. This instinct is not for progression alone. It all serves the purpose of an exchange of radiations, under  specific circumstances. Like every gift of the Creator, there are laws of  nature which govern everything. Sexual incontinence, that  is refusal to have sex, does not necessarily further spiritual growth or maturation, but may, indeed, become a hindrance when abused and drains the Spirit of generative power. Incontinence may be counter productive because it may create pressure and counter pressure and explosions. Like food, drink, fresh air, rest,sleep and healthy exercise, sex is a natural requirement of a healthy, adult human body, the nerves of  which  have not been artificially stimulated and become overwrought by pornography, reading and exposure of the female body through conquetry and other seductive forms. Even then, there are rules of engagement. Before two consenting adults engage in it, there must have, prior to this, such  Spiritual  Harmony which may sometimes lead them to physical union on earth.Thus, a legally married couple who are not spiritually harmonious infringe the rules of engagement if they stretch out their hands. For them, it may be no more  than picking their mates from brothels!

    Many people believe sex is a cul-de-sac. It  is not. We all have  several escape routes from it if only  we would apply our free will as did the Biblical Joseph. We are aided in this through a simple formula or equation in The Grail Message. The Work says

    1. Instinct of the flesh is reacted upon  by Thought. Note:a reaction between the sexual instinct and thought produces feelings. We all know when sexual feelings come upon us. We can abort the equation like a chemical  equation and return to Status quo ante if we have the will. Take thought out of sexual instinct, and you have no sexual feeling . You can do this by moving away from the “stressors” and keeping hands and thought busy with something loftier!

    2. Feelings reacted upon by thoughts produce  imagination. Note again the common denominator, thought. It is always occuring  from the empty mind. The state of imagination magi is a dangerous, virulent stage. All it requires before a sexual end-point is an opportunity.

    3. Opportunity. This is the state in which a man and a woman are alone, one or both parties drunk with Iimmaginatio. Avoidance of  oppotunity aborts opportunity. .

    2. All that is false will collapse.

    Whenever I remember this prophesy in respect of some of the impacts of The Great Comet on earthy life, I remember the small and great conceptions of man.  The conception is a frame work of ideas held out to be the truth. The political, economic and other social systems are conceptions. So are religion and the congregation of human beings into nations. We are informed any conceptionon outside the Will oF  God is Falsehood and must collapse, and that Everything Must Become New in the new Age, The Spirit  Age when   spiritual knowledge will  expand  through intensification of Power mightier than man. In the 1970s, I battled persistently with the notion of ” everything” becoming “new” until, finally,I became persuaded it must. It will not be a question of the renovation or reformation of the old ways of doing things. Everything must be in accordance with The  Creation Plan which mankind tossed aside to implant their own will as though they are architects  and Creator of the universe.    One of the human conceptions I consider false is Democracy. It is a long history of  how humanity came into it. In higher spheres of existence, existence of which man denies because he cannot experience them with his earthly senses, democracy is not the process by which leaders are made. The angels and spirit beings who accompanied the Lord Jesus to the earth were not democratically elected. Nor was His forerunner, John the Baptist. We pray that God ” Kingdom”  come and thy “Will be Done on Earth” but we do not pattern our ways after Heavenly Archytypes. Moses was not elected to lead Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. He was called, anointed and prepared for his mission. In “Democratic elections”, the “blind” elect the “blind” as leaders. And that is why all nations keep groping in darkness. It is possible, though, that democracy may be a necessary stage in the growth of humanity until a mightier Hand helps them out of their self-inflicted entanglements.

    Many nations are misconstituted by man. Mother Nature  fellows the law of homogeneity in Language, inner maturity, anthropology etc, whereas mankind prefers heterogeneity in many forms.

    We speak of homogeneity when we say Birds of a  feather flock togehter. Our physical body is a perfect  example of  homogeneity. Cells of the eye  are not on the tongue, and  bones celled  are not in the liver. Yet 100 trillions of them in average  adult  body  started life as one cell fertilising the other,producing all other cells and differentiating them into locations and functions. In homogeneity lie harmony and beauty. Conflicts arise in several nation states today because the “elephants” have been mixed up with the “lions” as the “salmons” have been place in whale colonies, architectures we do not find in the forests or in the oceans. Any wonder that, at great cost, Pakistan and Bangladesh broke free of India, and Eritrea and Tigris have their own battles with Ethiopia? The Chez and the Slovaks had a peaceful  divorce in Chechoslovakia. Scotland has tried but failed two times to quit the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Northern Ireland fought its way out of the Union. Russia and Ukraine are at war which is paralysing global business and threatening its peace. No one as yet knows where the enforcement of Law of Nature will take place next, and in what dimensions.

    At the level of religion,  the conception of God in Nigeria is that of a servant of His creatures. His  Holy Name is invoked in altars and religiuosns houses for Him to do everything, including making the congregations wealthy, destroying their opponents and enemies with Holy wrath free them from self woven entanglements of fate. Prayer, which ought to be thanksgiving for all He has endowed man with, has become begging for  everything He is  thought to not have  done. No one thinks of His Will and of the need to learn and fulfil it. Some people even has the audacity to tell Him that they “bless” His Name!. When I hear this, I shiver. A man  who cannot make a grain of sand or a strand of hair on his head saying he is “blessing” the Owner of the Universe and the Angelic hosts above that Universe!. Ridiculous to say the least. In the fulness of time we all would learn, all over, that if each one had a thousand tongues, they would be incompetent to praise Him, left alone to bless Him. Space does not permit mention of conceptions such as marriage, education, parenting, death, hell fire, the Millennium and many more.

    It is important in conclusion to know, though, that the coming of The Great Comet, which will close the cycle of The  Star of  Bethlehem and, hence, The Age of The love of God, will open the cycle of The Holy  Spirit, The World Judge. In this cycle or Age, every-one who in one way or the another made the Mission of Jesus a difficult one will be afforded an opportunity to redeem the guilt. The same goes for every-one who has been involved  in distorting His Pure Teachings and the teaching of various prophets willed from on High and sent to mankind. The growing number of stigmata cases deserve serious attention in this regard. Stigmata are  wound marks of  Jesus on the Cross which  some persons now find on their  bodies during the season of Easter.

                                                                                                         •Concluded.

  • WHO says investment key to NTD progress

    WHO says investment key to NTD progress

    The World Health Organisation says investment is key in tackling Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) across globe.

    WHO stated this in a new report titled “Global report on neglected tropical diseases 2023.”

    The report says timely investment in NTD will help the global community to effectively mitigate the impact of the diseases.

    The WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, said that around the world, millions of people had been liberated from the burden of NTD, which kept people trapped in cycles of poverty and stigma.

    “But as this progress report shows, we still have a lot of work to do.

    “The good news is, we have the tools and the know-how not just to save lives and prevent suffering, but to free entire communities and countries of these diseases.

    “It’s time to act now, act together, and invest in NTDs,” Ghebreyesus said.

    He said that the report also noted the significant impact of COVID-19 on community-based interventions and on access to health facilities, and on supply chains for healthcare products.

    “This led to 34 per cent fewer people receiving treatment for NTDs between 2019 and 2020, even if a general resumption of activities enabled an 11 per cent increase in recovery in 2021, when approximately 900 million people were treated,” he said.

    Read Also: Things to know about 16 Neglected Tropical Diseases

    The WHO boss said the new report emphasised that more investments was required to reverse delays and accelerate progress towards the NTD road map targets by 2030.

    He said promoting country ownership and accountability, as well as the sustainability and predictability of financing, including more robust domestic funding, are key to achieving the NTD road map goals.

    According to him, it will enable countries to deliver on their commitments to provide quality NTD services to affected populations.

    He said that multi-sectoral collaboration and partnerships are vital to make this happen.

    He said that last week, WHO and Gilead Sciences signed a new agreement for the donation of 304 700 vials of AmBisome (liposomal amphotericin B for injection) for the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis in countries most impacted by the disease.

    According to him, the new three-year collaboration is estimated at 11.3 million dollars and also makes provision for financial support to WHO.

    He said that WHO urged more partners and donors to fill existing gaps that hinder the full-scale implementation of NTD activities at global and local levels.

    “Later this week, the 152nd session of the WHO Executive Board will consider admitting the Carter Center into official relations with WHO.

    “WHO’s NTD work in 2021 and 2022 resulted in over 100 scientific guidelines, tools and other information products, to assist the global NTD community including countries in need.

    “The Open WHO platform started an NTD channel offering 36 training courses for health workers on 19 separate subjects,” Ghebreyesus said.

    He said that WHO continued to evaluate and approve new medicines to treat NTDs, and worked steadfastly to ensure equity and human rights in all NTD service delivery.

    According to him, the World NTD Day under the theme “Act now. Act together. Invest in NTD”, is calling on everybody to confront the inequalities that drive NTDs.

    This, he said, would make bold, sustainable investments to free the world’s most vulnerable communities affected by NTDs.

    ”It’s time to act now, act together, and invest in NTDs,” Ghebreyesus said.

    According to WHO, NTDs has continued to disproportionately affect the poorest members of the global community, primarily in areas where water safety, sanitation and access to health care are inadequate.

    It said although as many as 179 countries and territories reported at least one case of NTD in 2021, 16 countries accounted for 80 per cent of the global NTD burden.

    “Around 1.65 billion people were estimated to require treatment for at least one NTD globally,” it said.

    It said that the new progress report showed that the number of people requiring NTD interventions fell by 80 million between 2020 and 2021.

    This means that eight countries were certified or validated as having eliminated one NTD in 2022 alone.

    It said that as of December 2022, 47 countries had eliminated at least one NTD and more countries were in the process of achieving this target.

    “Accomplishments made in 2021-2022 build on a decade of significant progress.

    “In 2021, 25 per cent fewer people required interventions against NTDs than in 2010, and more than one billion people were treated for NTDs each year between 2016 and 2019 through mass treatment interventions.

    (NAN)

  • Things to know about 16 Neglected Tropical Diseases

    Things to know about 16 Neglected Tropical Diseases

    • Samuel Oamen and Agency Reports

    January 30 is World Neglected Tropical Diseases day NTDs.

    The day is dedicated to creating awareness about the devastating impact of NTDs

    NTDs are found in several countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. NTDs are especially common in tropical areas where people do not have access to clean water or safe ways to dispose of human waste.

    Here are things to know about 15 neglected tropical diseases:

    1: Buruli Ulcer

    Buruli ulcer is a disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium ulcerans. It mainly affects the skin but can also affect the bone. Cases are generally seen in the tropics, primarily in West Africa and Australia.

    Infection often leads to ulcers on the arms or legs, which can also destroy skin or soft tissue. When not properly treated, the disease can cause irreversible deformity or long-term functional disability.

    2. Chagas Disease

    Chagas disease is named after the Brazilian physician Carlos Chagas, who discovered the disease in 1909. It is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which is transmitted to animals and people by insect vectors and is found only in the Americas (mainly, in rural areas of Latin America where poverty is widespread). Chagas disease (T. cruzi infection) is also referred to as American trypanosomiasis. 

    3. Cysticercosis

    Cysticercosis is a parasitic tissue infection caused by larval cysts of the tapeworm Taenia solium. These larval cysts infect brain, muscle, or other tissue, and are a major cause of adult-onset seizures in most low-income countries. A person gets cysticercosis by swallowing eggs found in the feces of a person who has an intestinal tapeworm.  People living in the same household with someone who has a tapeworm have a much higher risk of getting cysticercosis than people who don’t. People do not get cysticercosis by eating undercooked pork.  Eating undercooked pork can result in intestinal tapeworms if the pork contains larval cysts.  Pigs become infected by eating tapeworm eggs in the feces of a human infected with a tapeworm.

    4. Dengue Fever

    Dengue viruses are spread to people through the bite of an infected Aedes species (Ae. aegypti or Ae. albopictus) mosquito. Almost half of the world’s population, about 4 billion people, live in areas with a risk of dengue. Dengue is often a leading cause of illness in areas with risk.

    Dengue outbreaks are occurring in many countries of the world. Protect yourself from mosquito bites.

    5. Dracunculiasis (Guinea Worm Disease)

    Guinea worm disease, a neglected tropical disease (NTD), is caused by the parasite Dracunculus medinensis. The disease affects poor communities in remote parts of Africa that do not have safe water to drink. There is neither a drug treatment for Guinea worm disease nor a vaccine to prevent it. Great progress has been made towards elimination of Guinea worm disease; the number of human cases annually has fallen from 3.5 million in the mid-1980s to 15 in 2021.

    6. Echinococcosis

    Echinococcosis is a parasitic disease caused by infection with tiny tapeworms of the genus Echinocococcus. Echinococcosis is classified as either cystic echinococcosis or alveolar echinococcosis.

    Cystic echinocccosis (CE), also known as hydatid disease, is caused by infection with the larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus, a ~2–7 millimeter long tapeworm found in dogs (definitive host) and sheep, cattle, goats, and pigs (intermediate hosts). Although most infections in humans are asymptomatic, CE causes harmful, slowly enlarging cysts in the liver, lungs, and other organs that often grow unnoticed and neglected for years.

    7. Fascioliasis

    Fascioliasis is a parasitic infection typically caused by Fasciola hepatica, which is also known as “the common liver fluke” or “the sheep liver fluke.” A related parasite, Fasciola gigantica, also can infect people. Fascioliasis is found in all continents except Antarctica, in over 70 countries,  especially where there are sheep or cattle. People usually become infected by eating raw watercress or other water plants contaminated with immature parasite larvae. The young worms move through the intestinal wall, the abdominal cavity, and the liver tissue, into the bile ducts, where they develop into mature adult flukes that produce eggs. The pathology typically is most pronounced in the bile ducts and liver. Fasciola infection is both treatable and preventable.

    8. Human African Trypanosomiasis (African Sleeping Sickness)

    African Trypanosomiasis, also known as “sleeping sickness”, is caused by microscopic parasites of the species Trypanosoma brucei. It is transmitted by the tsetse fly (Glossina species), which is found only in sub-Saharan Africa. Two morphologically indistinguishable subspecies of the parasite cause distinct disease patterns in humans: T. b. gambiense causes a slowly progressing African trypanosomiasis in western and central Africa and T. b. rhodesiense causes a more acute African trypanosomiasis in eastern and southern Africa. Control efforts have reduced the number of annual cases and for the first time in 50 years, the number of reported cases fell under 10,000 in 2009. In 2017–2018, fewer than 2000 cases were reported to WHO. 

    9. Leishmaniasis

    Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease that is found in parts of the tropics, subtropics, and southern Europe. It is classified as a neglected tropical disease (NTD). Leishmaniasis is caused by infection with Leishmania parasites, which are spread by the bite of phlebotomine sand flies. There are several different forms of leishmaniasis in people. The most common forms are cutaneous leishmaniasis, which causes skin sores, and visceral leishmaniasis, which affects several internal organs (usually spleen, liver, and bone marrow).

    10. Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease)

    Hansen’s disease (also known as leprosy) is an infection caused by slow-growing bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae. It can affect the nerves, skin, eyes, and lining of the nose (nasal mucosa). With early diagnosis and treatment, the disease can be cured. People with Hansen’s disease can continue to work and lead an active life during and after treatment

    Leprosy was once feared as a highly contagious and devastating disease, but now we know it doesn’t spread easily and treatment is very effective. However, if left untreated, the nerve damage can result in crippling of hands and feet, paralysis, and blindness.

    11. Lymphatic Filariasis

    Lymphatic filariasis, considered globally as a neglected tropical disease (NTD), is a parasitic disease caused by microscopic, thread-like worms. Adult worms only live in the human lymph system. The lymph system maintains the body’s fluid balance and fights infections. Lymphatic filariasis is spread from person to person by mosquitoes.

    People with the disease can suffer from lymphedema and elephantiasis and in men, swelling of the scrotum, called hydrocele. Lymphatic filariasis is a leading cause of permanent disability worldwide. Communities frequently shun and reject women and men disfigured by the disease. Affected people frequently are unable to work because of their disability, and this harms their families and their communities.

    12. Mycetoma

    Mycetoma is a disease caused by certain types of bacteria and fungi found in soil and water. These bacteria and fungi may enter the body through a break in the skin, often on a person’s foot. The resulting infection causes firm, usually painless but debilitating masses under the skin that can eventually affect the underlying bone. Mycetoma can be caused by bacteria (actinomycetoma) or fungi (eumycetoma). The number of people with mycetoma worldwide is not known, but there were 17,607 cases reported in a 2017 review of scientific articles between 1950 and 2017. The actual number of cases is likely substantially higher.

    Mycetoma affects people of all ages and is more common in men. This disease primarily affects poorer people in rural regions of Africa, Latin America, and Asia that are located near the equator and have dry climates. People affected by mycetoma often live in remote areas where they have limited access to healthcare and medications. Mycetoma can cause severe physical disabilities that can force people to stop working and cause stigma.

    13. Onchocerciasis

    Onchocerciasis, or river blindness, is a neglected tropical disease (NTD) caused by the parasitic worm Onchocerca volvulus. It is transmitted through repeated bites by blackflies of the genus Simulium. The disease is called river blindness because the blackfly that transmits the infection lives and breeds near fast-flowing streams and rivers, mostly near remote rural villages. The infection can result in visual impairment and sometimes blindness. Additionally, onchocerciasis can cause skin disease, including intense itching, rashes, or nodules under the skin. Worldwide onchocerciasis is second only to trachoma as an infectious cause of blindness.

    14. Rabies

    Approximately 5,000 animal rabies cases are reported annually to CDC, and more than 90% of those cases occur in wildlife. This marks a dramatic change in the types of animals reported as rabid since 1960, when the majority of cases were in domestic animal species, primarily dogs. The principal rabies reservoir hosts in the United States today include bats, raccoons, skunks, and foxes.

    15. Schistosomiasis

    Schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia, is a disease caused by parasitic worms. Although the worms that cause schistosomiasis are not found in the United States,  people are infected worldwide. In terms of impact this disease is second only to malaria as the most devastating parasitic disease.  Schistosomiasis is considered one of the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).The parasites that cause schistosomiasis live in certain types of freshwater snails. The infectious form of the parasite, known as cercariae, emerge from the snail into the water. You can become infected when your skin comes in contact with contaminated freshwater. Most human infections are caused by Schistosoma mansoni, S. haematobium, or S. japonicum.

    Soil-transmitted Helminths (STH) (Ascaris, Hookworm, and Whipworm)

    Soil-transmitted helminths refer to the intestinal worms infecting humans that are transmitted through contaminated soil (“helminth” means parasitic worm): Ascaris lumbricoides (sometimes called just “Ascaris“), whipworm (Trichuris trichiura), and hookworm (Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus). A large part of the world’s population is infected with one or more of these soil-transmitted helminths:

    16. Trachoma

    Trachoma causes more vision loss and blindness than any other infection in the world.1 This disease is caused by Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria. Other variants or strains of these bacteria can cause a sexually transmitted infection (chlamydia) and disease in lymph nodes. 

    This is a photomicrograph of a conjunctival smear that revealed the presence of what are known as, intracytoplasmic inclusions

    Trachoma is easily spread through direct personal contact such as from fingers, through shared towels and clothes, and through flies that have been in contact with the eyes or nose of an infected person. When left untreated, repeated Chlamydia trachomatis infections in the eye can cause severe scarring on the inside of the eyelid. This can cause the eyelashes to scratch the cornea (trichiasis). In addition to causing pain, trichiasis permanently damages the cornea and can lead to irreversible blindness.

  • HFN holds 2023 annual conference February 3

    HFN holds 2023 annual conference February 3

    The Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN) has announced plans for its 2023 Annual Conference billed for February 3 & 4 in Lagos with the theme “Building the healthcare of our future”.

    According to a draft programme released by HFN,  Minister of Health, Dr Osagie E. Ehanire, and Chairman Senate Committee on Health, Sen. (Dr) Ibrahim Oloriegbe, will be in attendance at the conference.

    Ehanire will declare the conference open while Sen. Oloriegbe will give legislative remarks.

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, have also been invited to the conference.

    UN Secretary-General, Mr António Guterres, WHO Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Sokoto Governor and Chairman of Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Aminu Tambuwal, are expected to deliver goodwill messages at the conference which comes up at the Harbour Point, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    The conference comes amid several challenges facing the healthcare ecosystem in Nigeria, including fiscal policy gaps/implementation deficiencies, monetary policy tightening/unpredictability, depletion of human resources across the healthcare ecosystem/value chain, and insufficient healthcare funding.

    The healthcare system also faces insufficient stakeholder collaboration for effective resolution of sectoral challenges, insufficiencies in healthcare sector education, healthcare sector remuneration for industry professionals, among other industry issues.

    “These challenges are headwinds that require a structured and collaborative platform to effectively address them and agree a Framework of Action for output implementation. Hence, the imperative for the institutionalisation of a HFN Annual Conference as an integral segment of HFN’s Annual General Meetings,” HFN said in a concept note.

    HFN, a coalition of Nigerian private healthcare sector stakeholders, said the 2022 annual conference would seek to highlight critical industry challenges, educate/secure the buy-in of sector regulators and policymakers on the sector issues and their humongous impact on national socioeconomic development, and agree a collaborative Framework of Action with all stakeholders (public/private, development partners, civil society groups, sectoral business membership organisations, etc.) on how to tackle all identified challenges, outlining responsibilities, and an implementation schedule/protocol.

    The conference also looks to securing stakeholder commitment for effective sector repositioning through focused implementation of the agreed Framework of Action, HFN said.

    To this end, HFN has planned the conference to feature speeches and panel discussions on possible solutions to the highlighted challenges as well as showcase some of the solutions that are already working in the country’s healthcare system that could be replicated for a better healthcare for all.

    The draft programme shows that the discussions are divided into segments. The first segment will seek to address the fiscal policy challenges to ease of doing business in Nigeria’s healthcare sector, where Dr Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, is expected to speak on “Fiscal Framework for Promotion of Healthcare Sector Investment in Nigeria”. There will also be a session on “Fiscal Policy: HS Codes Reform, Duty Exemptions, and AfCFTA. Is Healthcare Important Enough? ”

    The second segment will dwell on “Healthcare Investment and Financing”, with Babatunde Omilola of African Development Bank (AfDB) as the speaker, while the third segment will concern itself with “Pharmaceutical Sector Issues: From Local Manufacturing, Research and Development, to Drug-Revolving Schemes”.

    The fourth segment will focus on “Implementing the New NHIA: Implications of HMOs, Providers and Employers” and will see Mr. Andrew Odum, SAN, FIMC, speak on the topic “Implementing the New NHI: The Difference between the Old NHIS ACT and the New NHIA Act”.

    The fifth segment, one of the key highlights of the conference, will be a special session on “Women in Leadership Series (Launching the HFN Women’s Forum)”. Wife of Nigeria’s Vice President, Mrs Oludolapo Osinbajo, First Lady of Lagos State, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, and Kaduna State Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina Baloni, have been invited to grace the session, while Mrs Towun Candide-Johnson, CEO, Gaie, will speak on the topic “How to Harness the Power of Networking”.

    The sixth segment will centre on “The Diaspora Dialogue: Addressing the Human Resource Crisis Structures, Systems and Technology”. Under this segment, Dr Pamela Ajayi, HFN President, will speak on “Achieving the UN SDGs Targets on Healthcare in Nigeria: The Clear and Present Danger of Depleting Healthcare Professionals in the Nigerian Healthcare Ecosystem vs. the Paradox of Rising Investment in Nigeria’s Healthcare Industry”.

    There will be a roundtable panel session of HFN EXCO with health sector editors of print, electronic, and social media, to be followed by HFN’s Annual General Meeting and election.

    The Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN) has been at the forefront of health-care sector advocacy to draw stakeholder attention to the critical issues of all segments of the healthcare ecosystem and champion solution options to those issues.

    In February 2022, HFN held a special meeting with Senator Oloriegbe, Senate Health Committee Chairman, which was aimed at forging a new paradigm with the private health sector in order to address critical issues affecting the healthcare sector through collaboration with the parliament to ensure an all-beneficial consensus for the health sector and the populace in general.

    HFN also held a national stakeholders’ meeting on the draft National Policy on Incentivising the Health Service Industry in order to present the draft document to critical stakeholders across the public and private sectors.

  • LASUTH re-strategises, upgrades facilities for better service delivery

    LASUTH re-strategises, upgrades facilities for better service delivery

    To reposition itself as the country‘s number one public tertiary hospital where world-class medical services can be accessed, the Lagos State University Teaching (LASUTH) has vowed that it will always re-strategise and embark on continuous facility upgrade as well as manpower training and retraining. This commitment was made by the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of LASUTH, Prof Adetokunbo Fabamwo, during a press briefing to highlight recent developments and achievements of the hospital.

     According to him, LASUTH has upgraded its infrastructure and facilities to international standards. He stressed that the move is borne out of the hospital’s desire to always keep in tune with global practices, adding that this desire can only materialise through continuous facility upgrade, renovation, construction, improved clinical capacity and training of members of staff. For him, infrastructure development, patient care/clinical services, capacity building, staff development, trainings and partnerships remain the hospital’s core areas of interest with a view to ensuring better healthcare for Nigerians.

     Fabamwo said renovation work on Ayinke House is ongoing; while the diabetes clinic, house officers’ quarters, private wards, psychiatric ward are now of international standard. LASUTH’s burns and trauma annex in Gbagada has been renovated, upgraded, furnished, extended and inaugurated. According to the CMD, LASUTH as a tertiary medical institution has also established a special services centre where endoscopy, bronchoscopy, renal dialysis and cardiac catheterisation are available. He enthused that the teaching hospital has successfully carried out microvascular surgery tissue in the head and neck, adding that it now carries out ICD insertion and neurosurgical intervention and also performs microvascular breast surgery (breast reconstruction).

     The CMD disclosed that the hospital has a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement to provide two mini ambulances to transport patients from wards to theatres and for other activities with the successful construction of an ambulance parking bay. He said two tricycles were donated by the hospital board to facilitate transportation of elderly patients apart from the three new 500 KVA generators that had been installed to augment power supply. He said LASUTH has also acquired a C-ARM machine to replace the old faulty one. He stated that contract for the resident doctors’ quarters had been awarded, with the contractors already mobilised to site. The CMD added that the hospital has equally established a staff crèche for nursing mothers to ease their stress.

     On the issue of medical brain drain, Fabamwo said that the hospital lost about 150 nurses in three years but that the hospital’s exit replacement policy of the state government has ensured that the hospital is not affected heavily. He, however, regretted that in recent times, applications for positions of nurses and resident doctors had reduced in the hospital. Fabanwo said the situation has led to the recruitment of what he described as ‘double qualified’ nurses and the engagement of some retired nurses on a contract basis to bridge the gaps.

     “In LASUTH, we used to have more than 1, 000 nurses and during the last calculation; we found out that we have lost more than 150 nurses to the Japa syndrome and they are still migrating. The applications have also reduced even if for instance we say we were looking for graduate nurses, we will not get the number we lost to fill those positions so what we have done recently is not to insist on recruiting graduate nurses but double qualified nurses. Nursing Services Department is now disaggregated into four new units comprising Clinical Services, Training & Research, Monitoring crew and Administration, as part of the efforts to keep upgrading the hospital’s services in terms of functionality and excellent service delivery.”

     On surgeries, the CMD disclosed that the hospital now does more open heart surgeries locally without collaborations from external bodies and that in the last month, a total of six open heart surgeries have been done. He said that the hospital has also begun microvascular surgery on tissue in the head and neck and that it is the first teaching hospital in Nigeria to perform the surgery successfully.  “We also carry out ICD insertion and Neurosurgical intervention as well as microvascular breast surgery.”

     Speaking, on bed space management, he said that the hospital is using a team of nurses called a ‘monitoring crew’ to ensure speedy transfers of stable patients from emergency units. He said the new strategy has created spaces for incoming patients. Fabamwo said the ongoing construction of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) building in the premises with a 120-bed capacity is at a 90 per cent completion level. “The SDGs building would alleviate the issue of bed space constriction, enhance critical care services in the hospital and assist to reduce medical tourism in the state and country.”