Category: Health

The founder of Grandview Initiatives Foundation, Bisi Adegbuyi, has pledged to use his  talent and resources to fight Helicobacter pylori, a bacteria that infects the stomach, causing damage to its tissue and the first part of small intestines or the duodenum.

During an interaction with reporters, he said his Grandview Initiatives Foundation would launch a campaign on the deadly disease. The legal practitioner explained that plans were underway to research some plants for the treatment of the H.Pylori.

Studies have shown that the H. Pylori has a high burden of 87.7 per cent in Nigeria and 50 per cent globally. A study published in the Nigerian Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, in July,this year, the high burden of Helicobacter pylori infection globally, undoubtedly makes the organism a pathogen of concern coupled with its classification as a group I carcinogen by the World Health Organisation.

The study explained that the disease is a gram-negative, helical, microaerophilic bacterium that colonises the gut and has been implicated in various gastric disorders, including peptic ulcer disease (PUD), gastritis, gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma, and gastric adenocarcinoma.

The study stated that in Nigeria, the prevalence of H. pylori is high with an estimated 87.7 per cent prevalence rate with the northern part of the country having a higher prevalence compared to other regions of the country. Addressing journalists on the planned activities of the Foundation, Adegbuyi regretted that many Nigerians are ignorant of the disease. The Foundation which was established in honour of his late sister, Mrs Caroline Adetutu Phillips who died from complications arising from H. pylori, was designed to create the right awareness as well as support the less privileged.

Lamenting low awareness, Adegbuyi, an entrepreneur and lawyer said: “The real fact is that governments at all levels are not even paying attention to it because they are not aware and because it is not a disease that is as common as COVID-19, polio, malaria, High Blood Pressure or diabetes. There is a need to draw attention to the problem.  I am determined to defeat it. As an ordinary citizen, I believe I can use the special purpose vehicle of my foundation to create positive awareness. What I am trying to do is to have a yearly memorial lecture in honour of my late sister who I believe died for me to live and save the lives of many Nigerians.

“I am using myself as an ambassador of some sort for H. pylori, to create awareness, and wake people up from their slumber. We have experts in Nigeria capable of assisting in this drive-in collaboration with their counterparts across Africa. I have tested positive for this disease and used a cocktail of antibiotics and some other drugs. I did another test six months after, still positive but I have read books on it.”

Noting that treatment and management of H. pylori remained difficult as the rate of resistance to antibiotics is on the rise, Adegbuyi said the foundation has several initiatives that they are pushing to create awareness and draw the attention of the government at all levels.

He planned to collaborate with the African Helicobacter and Microbiota Study Group (AHMSG) to conduct the research.

Wife of Ondo Governor Mrs Betty Akeredolu has said lack of adequate number of registeries to collect continuous and complete data on cancer, treatment options, number of survivors and mortalities are making cancer programming difficult to implement in Nigeria.

She lamented that true representation of cancer reality does not exist, which makes it difficult for cancer advocates to express the true picture of the cancer realities in Nigeria.

Speaking in Ibadan at the 25th anniversary and 4th International Breast Cancer Symposium of the Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria with thetheme: “Closing the data gap for precision cancer control in Nigeria”, Akeredolu said there is need to improve data system to leverage on artificial intelligence.

She said this would help produce effecient and effective cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment systems for improved cancer.

She said the purpose of the conference was to set up stage for radical implementation of more population based cancer registry in Nigeria, adding that there is need to upscale the system to include accurate collection, management, analysis and reporting of cancer data.

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“We want to improve breast cancer through awareness, patient support, advocacy and research, we want to ensure establishment of system for continuos collection of complete and accurate data for cancer control, cancer can be defeated if the right thing is done.”

“As a result of poor cancer registration system in most LMICs, participation in Nigeria, it is imposible to get actual picture of the burden of cancer in the region.”

She however said that with prevailing high rates of cancer incidence and mortality in Nigeria, there is need for more innovative approach to reduce the cancer burden and drive more effective cancer control programming in Nigeria and other LMICs.

National President of BRECAN, Amb. Tolu Taiwo said BRECAN has touched lives by taking awareness to schools, markets, motor parks, religious centres, primary health care centre, corporate and social gathering, adding that its patients support initiative has provided succor to many breast cancer patients across the nation.

She said the aim of the symposium was to chart pathway for precision cancer control in Nigeria through bridging data gap in cancer care.

Speaking on behalf of Oyo Governor, the Permanent Secetrary, Oyo Ministry of Health, Dr Adeyanju Alaroro commended organiser of the program for keeping the vision alive, saying that availability of data would assist in planning, monitoring and project execution.

He however said the State Government has financial and material resources to generate adequate data for breast cancer patients and survivors across the State.

The House of Representatives Committee on Health has summoned the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, to explain the steps his ministry has put in place to check the menace of fake and substandard drugs in the country.

The Chairman of the Committee, Tanko Sununu, made the order at the public hearing on the Bill for an Act to repeal the counterfeit and fake drugs and unwholesome processed foods (miscellaneous provisions) act cap c34, laws of the federation of Nigeria, 2004 and to make provisions for the prohibition and control of counterfeit medical products, fake drugs and unwholesome processed foods and for related matters.

The Bill was sponsored by Sununu and Samuel Babatunde Adejare. The Committee chairman explained that the public hearing was “publicised in two national dailies and these are Bills that are aimed at improving the healthcare of this country and if the ministry in charge of the responsibility of safe guiding the health of Nigerians is not serious with the legislation that will guide their policy, I think it is uncalled for. I am just made to be aware that the ministry made a presentation this morning of three Bills and I mentioned it in my speech that take insecurity and corruption, the next thing that disturbs Nigerians and is consuming our economy and creating havoc is counterfeit, unwholesome food products and fake drugs.

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“And to say as at this morning the ministry cannot come with any position on these issues, I think it is not acceptable. It is not acceptable. The committee will not take it lightly. We will look at the role of the Ministry as far as the control of fake drugs and unwholesome food products is concerned. We must ensure that we protect the health of Nigerians. The economy has gone down. The percentage of our out-of-pocket spending  according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) is 70 to 75 per cent and if you cannot provide drug for somebody and you still allow him to go and buy fake drugs or poison, it is not fair.

“We are trying to find solution to the many challenges in the health sector and the ministry that is in charge of that responsibility did not see the urgency in it to make its position known to the public. I made several calls this morning to confirm if the ministry is represented, I think the ministry know that they are accountable to Nigerians the better.”

While many experts and agencies believe that the rate of importation of pharmaceutical products has not declined in Nigeria, the Executive Secretary of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN), Frank Muonemeh, has claimed the patronage of made-in-Nigeria medicines has risen from 30 per cent to 45 per cent.

Despite the Federal Government’s effort and policy to reduce the medicinal and pharmaceutical product importation rate from 70 per cent to 20 per cent, statistics showed the country is dependent on foreign pharm products. As shown on www.ceicdata.com, Nigeria’s importation of medicinal and pharmaceutical products was reported at $784,356.486 in Dec 2021.

This records a decrease from the previous number of $861,332.475 for December 2020.

Similarly, the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), in 2020, rated Nigeria as one of the world’s biggest importer of packaged medicaments with $1.38B.

During his presentation ahead of the sixth  Nigeria Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Expo (NPME), Muonemeh said Nigerians consumed only 30 per cent of pharmaceutical products before the pandemic COVID-19, but that the number had increased to 45 per cent.

“We have 30 per cent manufacturers locally, while about 70 per cent are being imported into the Nigeria space. Before now, many Nigerians don’t look inward to buy made-in-Nigeria products but the COVID-19 pandemic has changed Nigeria’s trade dynamics. So, the number is  45 per cent, though not yet empirical. I know with time, we come up with data to back it up.

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“The pandemic was a reminder to us all on the need for countries to prioritise their local pharmaceutical manufacturing sector as there is a strong nexus between medicine security and national security, the vaccine nationalisation comes to mind. The pandemic has challenged us as a group to innovate, re-purpose and upscale our facilities to become competitive and more responsive in closing the gap in access to medicine as members are making a smart investment – buying machineries and looking at more innovative partnerships and technology transfer.”

He urged the government to come up with a policy that would enforce the marketing authorisation of any foreign product.

“With a population close to 200 million, Nigeria is the destination for most emerging companies and that is why a lot of people want to come into the country to market their products.

“Also, the pharma space is predicted by experts to be the next frontier for a smart investment. It has great, but largely untapped potential to contribute to national and regional development.

The AfCFTA regime has its own potential for revolutionising the industry. This is attainable only within the context in which government allows for speedy infrastructural development and contextualised policy.”

On this year’s expo, themed, “Advancing the frontiers of medicine security in Nigeria, expanding local pharma manufacturing in the era of AfCFTA,” the Chairman of NPME 2022, Patrick Ajah, said it was conceptualised to provide a stakeholders’ engagement.

Ajah, who is the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of May&Baker Nigeria Plc, expressed that the topic was essential as it concerns the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement and the positioning of the industry for global competitiveness, and post-pandemic recovery.

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and Nigeria have signed the host country agreement for the first African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE) under construction in Abuja.

The deal was signed by the  President/Chairman, Afreximbank,  Prof Benedict Oramah, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama.

At the event were  Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; Minister of State for Health,Joseph Nkama; Afreximbank  Executive Vice President, Corporate Governance and Legal Services, Dr. George Elombi; and Afreximbank Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade Bank, Mrs. Kanayo Awani; as well as other members of the management teams of the bank and AMCE.

The signing was a build up on the ground-breaking for the AMCE project last December, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Oramah said: “The AMCE Abuja is a first of its kind quaternary level medical facility in the West Africa region and one among the very few, if any, on the African continent. The AMCE will promote intra-African trade medical tourism by offering a full spectrum of services in oncology, haematology, cardiology, and healthcare across the continent, in addition to training, research and development capabilities. Abuja will serve as the headquarters for other AMCEs to be launched across Africa.

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“The initial capital outlay for the first phase of the AMCE Abuja is projected at US$300 million.The investment is expected to rise to about US$750 million, upon full development, making the facility by a significant distance the single largest private healthcare investment in Nigeria and Africa.

“The success of the AMCE Abuja will pave the way for attracting future investments and partnerships within the health sector on the continent. It will also raise the local standards of healthcare delivery as well as provide a blueprint for quality of services required to address Nigeria and Africa’s healthcare and related challenges.”

Onyeama said: “I know how difficult it is for a country to get host status for a project or institution that everyone is looking for. Today, with the health challenges facing the world, every country is looking to host an international health institution. I thank Afreximbank for bringing this institution to Nigeria as a host. The research and development aspect of the project is very important. It is not just a turnkey hospital that is being set up in Nigeria, the African Medical Centre of Excellence will be a research institution, which is important because that is the only way to have sustainable and comprehensive medical facilities and treatment.

“The AMCE really ticks all the boxes, because when we do not invest in research and development, we end up with situations where neglected tropical diseases we have on the continent do not have proper treatments, because industrialised countries that invest in research and development prioritise the diseases that affect their citizens the most, as do pharmaceutical companies.”