The Nation Newspaper

Category: Health

  • One dies as Nigeria records 21 cases of monkeypox – NCDC

    One dies as Nigeria records 21 cases of monkeypox – NCDC

    Nigeria has recorded 21 confirmed cases of the Monkeypox disease in the last five months with one death according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

    The NCDC further disclosed that in the month of May, only six new confirmed positive cases were reported from four States with Bayelsa (2), Adamawa (2), Lagos (1) and Rivers (1).

    Also 20 suspected cases were reported from eleven States with Lagos (5), Bayelsa (2), Adamawa (2), Rivers (2), Niger (2), FCT (2), Delta (1), Oyo (1), Kaduna (1), Edo (1) and Gombe (1).

    A 40- year-old man with renal co-morbidity and on immune-suppressive drugs died from the disease.

    The agency revealed that from September 2017 to May 29th, 2022, 578 suspected cases have been reported from 32 States.

    Of the reported cases, 247 (42.7 per cent) have been confirmed in 22 states – Rivers (53), Bayelsa (45), Lagos (34), Delta (31), Cross River (16), Edo (10), Imo (9), Akwa Ibom (7), Oyo (6), FCT (8), Enugu (4), Abia (3), Plateau (3), Adamawa (5), Nasarawa (2), Benue (2), Anambra (2), Ekiti (2), Kano (2), Ebonyi (1), Niger (1) and Ogun (1).

    Also, nine deaths have been recorded (case fatality ratio (CFR) = 3.6 per cent) in six states, namely Lagos (3), Edo (2), Imo (1), Cross River (1), FCT (1) and Rivers (1) from September 2017 to May 29th, 2022.

    The NCDC was notified by the United Kingdom (UK) International Health Regulations (IHR) focal point about the case of exported monkeypox from Nigeria on 7 May 2022. The case was confirmed on 6 May 2022. The patient visited Nigeria between April 20th and May 3rd 2022.

    Read Also: Monkey pox: WHO raises alert over increasing cases in Europe, UK, US, others

    The NCDC disclosed that although Nigeria’s risk of exposure to the Monkeypox virus is high based on the recent risk assessment conducted, however, the current situation in-country and globally has shown no significant threat to life or the community that can result in severe disease or high case fatality rate.

    While stating that its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) will continue to monitor the evolving situation to inform public health action accordingly, the NCDC emphasises that members of the public should remain aware of the risk of Monkeypox and adhere to public health safety measures – specifically, report to the nearest health facility if they notice the known signs and symptoms of the disease.

    It also urged healthcare workers to maintain a high index of suspicion for Monkeypox and report any suspected case to the relevant state Epidemiology Team for prompt public health intervention, including sampling for confirmatory testing.

    “The One Health Animal Surveillance team including Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Federal Ministry of Environment, National Veterinary Research Institute and partners commenced operational research on Monkeypox virus prevalence in small mammals at the human-animal interface since October 2018. This research has been completed in 7 states with a planned roll out in all other states to commence soon,” it said.

    Globally, according to reports from the World Health Organization (WHO), as of 26 May, there have been a cumulative total of 257 laboratory confirmed cases, with around 120 suspected cases reported, from 23 non-endemic countries. However, no deaths have been reported.

    The countries are – Argentina, Canada, French Guiana, United States of America, United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom of Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and Australia.

    The WHO noted that while the situation is evolving rapidly, it expects that there will be more cases identified as surveillance expands in non-endemic countries, as well as in countries known to be endemic who have not recently been reporting cases.

    Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms very similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe.

    Monkeypox virus is transmitted from one person to another by close contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials such as bedding. The incubation period of monkeypox is usually from 6 to 13 days, but can range from 5 to 21 days.

    The WHO stated that various animal species have been identified as susceptible to the monkeypox virus. Uncertainty remains on the natural history of the monkeypox virus and further studies are needed to identify the reservoir(s) and how virus circulation is maintained in nature. Eating inadequately cooked meat and other animal products of infected animals is a possible risk factor.

  • Not every fibroid requires surgery, expert tells women

    Not every fibroid requires surgery, expert tells women

    In the treatment of fibroid, not every woman requires open surgery, which is usually bloody and comes with some complications, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Fibroid Care Centre at Nordica, Dr Abayomi Ajayi has stated.

    Speaking during a virtual event, which will dovetail into a physical event in Abuja called “Hangout on Infertility and Fibroids,” on Saturday 11th June 2022, the foremost health expert, while disclosing that 70 to 80 per cent of women below 50 years are at risk of fibroid, also stressed that not every fibroid needs to be treated.

    He said: “Fibroids are benign masses or growth in or on the uterus. They are so common. Also, it is not every fibroid that needs to be treated. The fact that you find out that you have fibroids, it is not the end of the world. Even if you need treatment, in 2022, there are so many treatment options that are available that do not involve surgery.

    “There are some drugs that can be used to treat fibroid but you cannot use drugs if you still want to have a baby because the drugs will not allow you to get pregnant.

    “But it can be used for people who do not want to continue having children. There is also what we call High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) treatment for fibroid, which has been described as the safest and most effective way to remove the fibroid, with minimal risk.

    “People who see their menstrual periods earlier in life are also more predisposed to fibroid. People who are using birth control pills are also at risk of having fibroid. However, the most important factor is the family history. So many people are carrying fibroids around and they do not know they have it because there are no symptoms at all. The commonest symptom is the menstrual flow – when you notice that the number of sanitary towels you use have increased or your menstrual flow increases by days. Some people even bleed between periods.

    “For some, they just notice that there is swelling in their abdomen and then sometimes it becomes painful. Also, because the swelling compresses organs that are nearby to the uterus, a woman could start urinating very frequently or not be able to urinate at all. Some have constipation because of the presence of the fibroid.”

  • Evercare is first EDGE-certified hospital in Nigeria

    Evercare is first EDGE-certified hospital in Nigeria

    Evercare Hospital Lekki has made history as the first in Nigeria to receive Final EDGE Certification as a resource-efficient and environmentally friendly designed building healthcare project.

    Sintali-SGS, an environmental certification body and global certification partner for IFC’s EDGE green building program, said Evercare Hospital Lekki’s resource-efficient design achieved 38.81 per cent reduction in energy usage, 20.50 per cent in water consumption and 42.07 per cent in materials’ embodied energy compared to a local benchmark.

    Evercare Hospital Lekki, a modern, 165-bed purpose-built multispecialty, tertiary care private state-of-the-art hospital, is located in Lekki, Lagos.

    It is part of the Evercare Group of hospitals which provide integrated healthcare delivery services in emerging markets across Africa and South Asia, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Kenya.

    The hospital offers care across a range of specialty medical and surgical services and is delivering high quality, and accessible healthcare to communities in Lagos.“We are excited that Evercare Hospital Lekki has achieved Final EDGE Certification.

    This milestone is testimonial to the hospital’s vision for leading sustainable change in Nigeria’s health care industry.

    It also shows that it is possible for hospitals, which consume 2.5 times the energy of an equivalent commercial building, to provide enhanced care for its patients as well the planet.”

    Corinne Figueredo, IFC EDGE Green Building Market Transformation Program stated: “Hospitals are where people go to get better and the comfort and ambience of it can fast track healing in a placebo-like effect.

    Read Also: Oyo hospital mgt board suspends two medical personnel

    “”We are happy to work with EDGE towards ensuring that our hospital provides quality and advanced medical and healthcare services to Nigerians in an environmentally friendly environment.

    “This is because, we believe that medical facilities can provide state-of-the-art treatment while minimizing energy and water use if the right decisions are made at the design stage”.

    Additionally, this will help us cut operational costs. Working with EDGE, we have been able to target those areas where technologies can significantly reduce energy bills and help facility managers stay within tight budgets,” said Rajeev Bhandari, CEO Evercare Hospital.

    He stated that EDGE helps property developers to build and brand green in a fast, easy, and affordable way.

    EDGE, according to him, is supported by free software that encourages solutions to reduce energy, water and the energy used to make building materials by at least 20 percent, which is the standard for EDGE certification.

    He explained that the program has been generously supported by the following partners: Austria, Canada, Denmark, ESMAP, EU, Finland, GEF, Hungary, Japan, United Kingdom, and Switzerland.

    Over the past four years EDGE has supported several forward-looking pioneers of green buildings to lead a profitable transformation of the country’s real estate sector.

    EDGE adopters include Alphamead Development Company, Echostone, Alliance Capital, Greenage, Modern Shelter, MISA, American University, Karmod Nigeria, Sachela Limited, Student Accommod8 and Stanbic IBTC.

  • As Nigeria celebrates Children’s Day

    As Nigeria celebrates Children’s Day

    Twenty-Seventh May, my heart goes out to some girls aged 18 or younger in some Lagos schools. One of them was in JSS 3 when she stopped school. She was a brilliant girl from my interaction with her. She was caught in a web of peer group, had a boyfriend in the block of flats opposite where she lived as a house girl with her madam, a teacher in another school. She  used to sneak out at night to the next flat, often contracted STD from her boyfriend and was sent back to the village, to be re-united with her mother who has other children by different men. I will call her Girl E.

    I wish to call another girl Girl  G. Her story is trending in an extended family which does not yet know what to do about her. What is coming to light is that she and her father had been seeing for some time before she was 19. Father and daughter were lucky the chicken did not come home to roost before now. Then, in September last year, they saw again, and the feathers flew this time. She was unable to register for the WAEC examination last September, and she missed JAMB examination of two weeks ago. I will return to the story of Girl G.

     

    Deborah Friday

    I advisedly mention the name of this girl because she has gone over. Deborah was an S S 1 student of Girls High School, Iyana-Ipaja, Lagos State until her death about March this year. She was suffering from sickle cell anaemia. Udeme Edet James who has a way of detecting sicklers was in the school counsellor’s office in respect of her niece. One of Deborah’s classmates brought her to the counsellor’s office. She was weak, and her eyes were sunken. Udeme touched her palms. They were dry and seemingly lifeless. Udeme, who had some ideas about some nutritional supplements which could help the condition, gave the counsellor her telephone number which the other woman was to give Deborah’s mother. Udeme left. The counsellor called Deborah’s mother to come for her. Deborah went home and took time off school. She returned to school in time for the JSS3 exam not necessarily looking better, but passed the examinations nonetheless. She resumed SS 1 with her classmates last  September. She did not look a healthy girl. Then, one Friday, unknown to her and to them, it was her last outing with them. She told stories of one of her younger brothers. She said he often troubled her, making her angry sometimes and happy at other times. They all laughed it over. Then, she complained that she was feeling dizzy. Her friends prepared a place in the classroom for her to lay and rest. After school, they helped her home. That was on a Friday. On Monday, she was absent from school. On Tuesday, she died!

     

    Deboarah’s death

    Deborah’s death raises many questions about school quality and the foolishness of parents and society to believe that, in our part of the world, the burden of education should fall 100 percent on the shoulders of government. We can separate the wheat from the chaff of our thoughts if we know a little more than we probably know today about why the human specie of creation is on earth. There was no government present when I, for example, was created , and sent to this earth for a purpose. My creation through grace was at my own request. This is difficult for many people to understand. If they do, they would realise that everyone on earth in this regard has a primary responsibility for his or her life on earth. The government can only give a supportive hand as a true friend. Before the government comes parents. When they engage in the procreative act, they make a prayer for a soul or souls to be sent to them that they will look after on earth on behalf of their creator. So, parents cannot abdicate this responsibility to the government which did not make the request for souls to come to this earth. So, they must be willing to participate in the funding of the education of their children. It is difficult to know how many children are in Lagos State High School. But, according to a 2017 school census, “there are 349 junior secondary schools and 322 senior secondary schools”, in which only three out of 10 children who enrol in the junior school system make it to the final class of the senior school system. The enrolment is 337,724 for the junior school and 229,980 for the senior. There may be more than two million children out of the school system. The same reason children are dropping out of school may be the reason Deborah  Friday may have died. The schools are over populated, teachers are stressed and hardly have enough time for not only quality teaching but, also, for  paying keen attention to children’s well being.

    In Girl’s Senior High Schools, for example, there are eight arms of  SS1. In SS1c, there are about 70 girls. How can one teacher effectively teach them?

    There may be between 900 and 1,000 children in the school. How can one counsellor effectively attend to them all? If the lone counsellor has to attend to to 10 girls everyday, how effective can he or she be? Could the counsellor not have paid more than passing attention to the case of Deborah Friday if she had fewer cases on her hands every day? Could she not have personally followed up the help Udeme Edet James was offering? She could have visited Deborah’s parents at home to check if they had the wherewithal to look after her. If they are too poor to help their daughter, could the counsellor not have linked them with appropriate school management or government institution which could have helped? The possibility of help from outside the school system such as Udeme James’ could have offered may have been made available to this family. For she works in an alternative medicine services enterprise which counsels sickle cell-challenged persons and other categories of persons in search of help for their health.

    In sickle cell crisis, about five steps have to be taken to save the patient’s life.

    • The gumming or sickling cell would have been separated using vitamin E, lecithin, Cayenne pepper, black pepper or proprietary formulas as Vida Max, ISK Clear, Cardiotonic Pills and food supplements such as fish oil, Evening Primrose Oil, Ginseng, Curcumin 2000x etc.
    • Support for the bone marrow to increase production of red blood cells. This will include herbs such as bone marrow meal, vitamin c, stinging nettle etc.
    • Antioxidants to prolong life of red blood cells, cut down by about half in a crisis. In this category are gluthatione, superoxide dismutase (SOD), zinc, selenium, vitamin C, vitamin E, grape seed extract, CBD oil.
    • Clearance of liver congestion and protection of this organ using hepaprotectives. This may include Carqueja, Milk Thistle, Jerusalem Artichoke, Golden Six, Aloe vera, Phylantus Niruri or Chanka Piedra, Karella etc.
    • Oxygenation of the blood…Jobelyn through improved blood count, Liquid chlorophyll, Vitamin B12, beetroot etc.

    It is possible that these nutritional supplements which have caused the lives of many sickle cell anaemia challenged persons and improved their well being may have made a difference in the life of Deborah  Friday if she had access to them. Udeme Edet James may have been sent to her, providentially, and the school system may have failed to connect to her by not providing enough counsellors for  a large student population such as hers.

    This leads us back to the idea that the government alone cannot fund education and that our society may not be ripe yet for “free education “. There is money for “free education”, no doubt. But much of it is wasted on either corruption , overhead personnel costs in the civil service and other drain pipes. What would it cost parents to pay at least N1000 per term for the education of each child. If we assume there were about 600 children in school in 2018, and about 1 million children in school today, the school system will be enriched with N3000000000 from the N3000 every parent pays per child in one year. There will be such arguments against this suggestion, saying the economy is bad and poor families live below the breadline. But if we care to look well, we may discover these poor parents carry many expensive phones about, and “blow” money over social event. With a three billion naira oxygen bag elixir, more schools would be built, more teachers would be employed and paid better, unemployment will reduce, teaching would become more effective, especially where the budget accomodates assistant teachers and, above all, counselling would improve with about three or more counsellors in large schools. In Deborah Friday’s case, counsellors would have visited her at home and her case would have been reported to the government through the State Universal Basic Education board (SUBEE) which may have linked her to a doctor. Wouldn’t it have been better still to enrol children with the State Health Management Organisation (ILERAEKO), under group health insurance protection to which parents have to contribute their widow’s mites?

     

    Four girls

    This is our final subject on State Girls High School in the light of overcrowding in classrooms, teacher overwork and ineffectiveness in the school system. The four girls are  SS 2 pupils. Because of overcrowding, the teacher’s gaze could not reach the back of the class. There they were, these four girls, skirts up or down, hands fiddling their neighbours. Their play time while teaching was going on abruptly ended when the teacher of SS1C walked by in the corridor. He sighted them from the corridor and stopped the teaching. He and their class teachers marched them to the principal. Their parents were told and invited to a meeting. The girls were good girls who were merely momentarily carried away by the fun world they heard of or read about in the social media and other media. Their parents were shocked, if not shamed. But the girls were fire crackers in their studies and went on to win scholarships from the Old Girls Association to study in any university of their choice! So, we cannot entirely blame their temporary fickleness on them without blaming, as well, a school system which made their idle minds become the devil’s workshop.

     

    Girl E

    Back to our first guest. She was 18 in JSS3 last year. She fell in love , or so she thought she did, with a trader in the block of flats in which she lived with her guardian. They flirted earlier in her guardian’s flat before she returned from work, or she sneaked out to his flat in the dead of the night. One day, the guardian locked the door after Girl E had sneaked out, trapping her outside her flat. The guardian called her sister and gave her money to take Girl E to her mother in the village. But Girl E bolted on the way to the garage and ended up in a house far away to take refuge with one of her school friends who lived with a septugenerian. The septugenerian told her he couldn’t keep her and that she had to return home. By 8pm, he called her guardian who promised to come for her the next day.The septugenerian didn’t think that was right. What if she bolted again? So, he called her boyfriend who came by 11 for her. But he reached a deal with her guardian, a teacher. She was not to disrupt the education of Girl E. She should let the session end and send her back home, if she couldn’t forgive her. She did. Neither the septugenarian or Girl E’s school friend has been able to get in touch with Girl E in far away Akwa Ibom State to be sure she has not dropped out of school. Her boyfriend does not want to hear of her again. If all teeny boppers who, simply because they are flaming, believe they have become the centre stage of life learn a lesson or two from the story of Girl E, it is possible they will sheath their fire and make the pursuit of their “future” the priority occupation today.

     

     Girl G

    She was an SS3 pupil of one of the schools on Baptist Academy grounds in Obanikoro, Lagos. A child from teenage “boy meet girl” relationship which failed to progress to marriage, Girl G lived with her mother for about two years in a Southsouth village before one of her aunt’s in Lagos took her up. Her mother went on to marry another man. Her father, too,  later married and had three more children in about three years. It must have been from about the age of 15 four years ago that Girl G and her father began carnal relationship, unknown to his wife and other members of the extended family. They lived in a single room in a face-to-face Obanikoro house. Girl G hardly left home and was always by her books. Everyone was proud of her as a studious girl who had nothing to do with the nuances of  her generation. No one knew that she has been sexually opened up. Sometime last year Girl G’s father took her along with him in a visit to their village where carnal relationship continued. By that time, her instincts had flared up, and she had begun to key into other men her age or a little older, especially the son of a pastor. Her pregnancy was detected early this year by her uncle in Lagos she began to live with after her father relocated to their village. When her father  learned that she was pregnant, he  sent for her. But members of her extended family in Lagos who, meanwhile, had heard her story, feared he may tamper with the pregnancy back home. He was  speaking from the two corners of the mouth. From one, he denies responsibility and, from the other, he seeks forgiveness from the family. Meanwhile, he has kept away from Lagos and from his daughter. Girl G is back at the home of her aunt who raised her from babyhood. Everyday, she lives in trauma, sad that her father would bring the condition upon her and then not only deny responsibility but abandon her as well. Many of her relations wonder why she failed to tell  her father before he got this far with her. Girl G said she always thought of what could be the fate of her young half siblings if she did and they had no father to look after them. Her stepmother barely made ends meet from her small hair dressing business.

    Now, there is a debate in the family: should Girl G’s baby, when it is born, be sent to an orphanage for someone to adopt him for her? Some family members say this would be cruel:no matter what, the baby has a right to know his or her mother and father. It should not matter that he or she would be the grand child of his or her father and the child of his or her sister. That would be the child’s fate. As for Girl G, other family members say not knowing where her child is or how he or she is faring may traumatise her entire existence. Those who want her to keep the baby may have the day. The question then would be how to raise money for maternity care, ante-natal care and funding other expenses, when the baby arrives.

     

    Three out of 10

    The foregoing tales of some school children in Lagos may explain why, according to a government report, only  three out of 10 children who enrol for school in JSS1 make it to SS3 and why only about one or two of those three progress to tertiary institutions. It is a sociological problem the  government, the school system, parents and sociologists may wish to find an answer for. It is a Children’s Day appeal by this column.

     

  • Nestlé trains over 1,000 children on sustainability

    Nestlé trains over 1,000 children on sustainability

    NO fewer than 1,000 children will benefit from the Nestlé for Healthier Kids (N4HK) programme in six primary schools in Ogun State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to imbibe a sustainability mind-set at an early age.

    In collaboration with the International Climate Change Development Initiative (ICCDI), Nestlé Nigeria is training the primary five learners on a more sustainable approach to managing and recycling waste to enable them become better stewards of the planet.

    The company said this is one of the initiatives to support its ambition of ensuring that none of its packaging, including plastics, ends up in landfills, or in waterways, rivers or oceans as litter.

    In a statement, the Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Manager of Nestlé Nigeria PLC, Victoria Uwadoka, said: “Nestlé Nigeria is committed to driving more sustainability awareness to help protect the planet for future generations as embedded within our purpose at Nestlé. We are, therefore, delighted with the collaboration of stakeholders, including the Ogun State Ministry of Environment,  its Education, Science and Technology counterpart, the state Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and the Special Adviser to Governor on Education on this shared objective.

    “As multiple researches have proven, habits imbibed early in life are more likely to remain with us into the future. Therefore, training children on the importance of protecting our environment is a strong contribution towards ensuring more responsible management of post- consumption waste as they grow, taking us closer to achieving a waste free future.”

    On the objectives of the training, which has taken off at Methodist Primary School 2, Ago-Oko, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Mr. Olumide Idowu, founder of the International Climate Change Development Initiative, said: “The sustainability training is designed to equip the children with the requisite knowledge and support, enabling them take responsibility in school and at home. Everyone, including children, needs to be involved in this huge task of protecting the environment.”

    The Chairman, SUBEB, Dr Femi Majekodunmi, represented by its Secretary, Mr. Olalekan Kuye, praised Nestlé for the initiative.

    He stated that training learners on waste management and recycling would contribute to a safe and hygienic environment.

    Also, the Special Adviser to the Ogun State Governor on Primary and Secondary Education, Mrs Ronke Soyombo, appreciated Nestlé’s contributions and investment in education in the state.

    She said the expected outcomes of the training are behavioural change to enhance environmental sustainability and the opportunity for learners to be upskilled on the conversion of waste to useful items.

  • Issues in the proposed IHR amendment

    Issues in the proposed IHR amendment

    As efforts to actualise amendments of the International Health Regulation (IHR) gather steam, concerned groups have warned Nigeria and other countries not to embrace the move because the planned amendments will not strengthen the preparedness of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to respond to health emergencies, reports Associate Editor ADEKUNLE YUSUF

    Expectedly, many issues are up for discussion at the 75th World Health Assembly, holding in Geneva, Switzerland.

    Holding from May 22-28, it is the first in-person gathering of the apex law-making body of the World Health Organisation (WHO), since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 20220. The theme of this year’s Health Assembly is: ‘Health for peace, peace for health’.

    The World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of WHO, is attended by delegations from the  global body member states. Its focus is on the health agenda prepared by the Executive Board, with main functions to determine the policies of WHO, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed programme budget, among others.

    At the ongoing meeting in Geneva, one major item attracting global attention is the proposed amendment to the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005. The IHR is a legal agreement of 196 countries to build the capability to detect and report public health emergencies worldwide. It requires that  countries have the ability to detect, assess, report, and respond to public health events.

    The World Health Assembly first adopted IHR in 1969 to cover six diseases; though it has been revised multiple times. It may suffer another amendment at the meeting.

    However, Nigeria and other sovereign nations have been warned not to sign the proposed amendment of IHR 2005. Concerned groups led by Equity International Initiative said the IHR amendments have nothing to offer  in strengthening WHO’s preparedness for and response to health emergencies.

    The non-governmental organisation (NGO) said the amendment is a clandestine script for positioning WHO as a world government, legalising transfer of national sovereignty of nations to the United Nations (UN) agency. It accused the United States of submitting to the WHO a strange proposal to amend several Articles of the IHR, which are expected to be adopted by the 75th World Health Assembly.

    Equity International Initiative said: “Our conclusion is that Nigeria and indeed all sovereign nations should not sign up to this proposed amendment to the IHR. Should, for any reason, the leadership of the nation want to cast a second look at this proposal, same should be passed to the National Assembly for our elected representatives and the public to have a say on it as the clear implications of the text of this proposal has very troubling and far-reaching implications for the world at large and Nigeria in particular.

    “We must remember the ill-fated infectious disease bill ostensibly smuggled in from Singapore by the Nigerian lawmakers during the COVID-19 era under the influence of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the WHO, which sought to transfer the powers granted only to the President to the Director of the Centre for Disease Control (CDC). These amendments to IHR are simply the amplified version of the failed Infectious Disease Bill.

    ‘’The people and government of every nation should do everything possible to stop the adoption of these amendments to the IHR.”

    The IHR, first adopted by the WHA in 1969 and last revised in 2005, are a legally binding rules that only apply to the WHO that is an instrument that aims for international collaboration “to prevent, protect against, control, and provide a public health response to the international spread of disease in ways that are commensurate with and restricted to public health risks and that avoid unnecessary interference with international traffic and trade.”

    The IHR is the only international legal treaty that empowers the WHO to act as the main global surveillance system. In 2005, following the 2002–2004 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak, several changes were made to the previous revised IHRs. The 2005 IHR came into force in June 2007, with 196 countries that recognised that certain public health incidents, extending beyond disease, ought to be designated as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), as they pose a significant global threat.

    Its first application was in response to the swine flu pandemic of 2009. The WHO is the implementer of the IHR. Without doubt, in the about 15 years of the promulgation of the IHR, at no time has the use and abuse of the legal instrument been tested as was seen since 2020/2021 during the outbreak and aftermath of the COVID-19.

    However, according to critics, much as the nations were looking up to the WHO for leadership and policy direction in the global effort to contain the spread of the virus, many said signs began to emerge that the global body was leading a commercial endeavours by pharmaceutical conglomerates, non-state parties, the deep state and other non-state actors for the imposition and administration of hardly tested mixtures as vaccines as well mandating masks.

    The WHO was also accused of turning itself into a global agent of powerful Western capitalists whose only interest in the fight against COVID-19 was money and hegemonic domination and control of developing and third world nations. Unfortunately, the WHO has not done anything to discourage this thinking. Rather, evidence keeps emerging of the global organisation positioning itself into a world power with a huge authority over what happens within the sovereign territory of nations.

    The NGO added: “As the world is recovering from the disruptions and hardships caused by the WHO dictated measures implemented by different countries, the United States Permanent Mission to the WHO submitted to the WHO a strange proposal to amend several Articles of the IHR. Ordinarily, going by the title and introduction to the text of the proposal, one would be forgiven if it is assumed that the proposal is intended for the greater good of all and to genuinely prepare the world for future outbreaks of global infections.

    “However, reading in between the lines of the texts being smuggled into the IHR and the ones proposed to be deleted from the law, one would clearly see the inevitably transmutation of the WHO into a totalitarian body with authority to walk across international borders without regard to rules of national sovereignty on the pretext of fighting outbreak of infection of global concern.”

    It said the U.S. forwarded a proposal to amend Articles 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18, 48, 49, 53 and 59 of the IHR 2005, by deleting text from the law and introducing new texts to it. The NGO said a study and review of the texts being removed from the law and the ones being introduced to the IHR  clearly show that these amendments have nothing to offer by way of ‘strengthening WHO’s preparedness for and response to health emergencies’ but a clandestine script for the positioning of the United Nations health agency as a world government and legalising the transfer of national sovereignty of nations to the WHO and a fortiori, those persons and organisations who sponsor and control it.

    One Article 9, Equity International Initiative said the amendment being made to the original text of this article proposes to remove requirement for the WHO to consult and obtain verification by nation where it is alleged that public health emergency of international concern has occurred before moving in or taking measures within or outside the country with respect to the alleged occurrence. This, no doubt, would be used by powerful nations and indeed, organisations to impose medicines, vaccines and measures on the citizens of nations that the people or their elected leaders are opposed to.

    On Article 10, the NGO said in the text proposed to be inserted into this section, it is made a matter of compulsion for a country to accept within 48 hours, an offer for collaboration and  provide requested information by the WHO on an allegation that a health emergency of international concern has occurred or may occur in the territory of a state party.

    “This proposed amendment automatically turns the WHO to a bully master of the affected nation. It is worryingly provided in the proposed amendment that a nation in which the WHO believes that a health emergency has occurred is given barely 48 hours to answer to queries from the WHO on the occurrence. This flies in the face of the sovereignty of the nations. Firstly, it is not possible to have such a response within the period of time provided and secondly and most worrisome is the fact that the nations and/or government are made answerable to the head of World Health Organisation.”

    On Article 10(4), it said by removing ‘may’ as it was used in the law and replacing it with ‘shall’ on the right of state party where health emergency is reported to the WHO to exist to accept an offer for collaboration or help from the WHO, the proponents of these amendments are set out to erode the powers of states to decide what health measures they allow on their citizens from the WHO and their agents and give the global body the power to side step political authority of nations in cases of alleged health emergencies. This same applies to Articles 11(2), 11(2) (e) and 11(3).

    On Article 12, Equity International said under the proposed amendment, the Director-General of the WHO would become a global emperor with powers to declare a health emergency in a  country even when its government has not made such determination or does not accept the report of the WHO on the occurrence, including allegations of potential occurrence. “This same vice is contained in the amendment in Article 12(4) (a),and the new articles 12(5) and (6) being proposed,” it added.

    On Articles 48, 49, 53, 59, the NGO said: “Just as observed above, the true intention of the inventors of the proposed amendments to the IHR is not the positioning of the WHO to better prepare to meet the challenges to future health emergencies, but to eliminate the international rule on national sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations, eradication of individual right to private life and right to decide what medication one receives for illness and also the dismantling of national boundaries making the world one open place for the WHO and its sponsors to practice their medicine merchandise.”

    Equity International Initiative said to sign up to these proposed amendments is for a nation to cede its sovereignty, security and rights of its citizens to the WHO and its head. It added that authority and sovereignty must reside with the people and their elected leaders.

  • Fan milk holds training for Ogun diary farmers

    Fan milk holds training for Ogun diary farmers

    Fan Milk Plc Nigeria Danone Company has conducted its inaugural dairy training for local dairy farmers in Odeda Dairy Training Institute in Ogun State.

    The inaugural dairy training was conducted to benefit dairy farmers in Ogun State in line with Fan Milk’s efforts to build farmers’ capacity and reiterate its commitment to fostering collaboration across the agricultural value chain, for a sustainable dairy farming ecosystem.

    The training session focused on educating participating farmers on milk collection, sustainable dairy farming practices, dairy production, and opportunities for the local farmer to enhance their livelihood.

    Managing Director of Fan Milk Nigeria, Ferdinand Mouko, recognised the support from the Ogun State government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, as well as internal partners from France, local partners and staff of Fan Milk, for ensuring the adoption of more sustainable dairy farming practices.

    “We are really proud of the work being done. I am only here to affirm that this partnership with the Ogun State Government is long-term.

    “We know that investment in agriculture and farming cannot be short-term; that’s why we are taking a methodical approach to this. We have made a huge and bold decision that we are going to rely on the local production of milk for the manufacturing of our products – FanIce, SuperYogo, FanVanille, GoSlo, FanChoco, which are all made from milk.

    “To make this happen, we need you. We need you across the whole value chain from the farming of grass up to the collection of milk. We need each of you to make this dream a reality,” Muoko said.

    READ ALSO: Fan Milk Danone commissions new state-of-art production line

    Deputy Director of Livestock Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Ogun State, Mr. Olumide Omoniyi, representing the Commissioner of Agriculture, conveyed his goodwill and emphasised the importance of the Fan Milk Dairy Training Institute, which he described as a great opportunity for the local farmers.

    “This training is a welcome development. With this training, we are confident that the agricultural value chain will greatly benefit our farmers and unemployment will be a thing of the past as special skills will finally be use.

    ” Fan Milk intends to offtake pastures and milk from farmers, empowering the farmers, especially those who seek to specialise in these areas of farming.

    “Our farmers don’t need to live afraid that products will waste due to lack of storage. Milk production and collection, as well as cattle rearing, will become more profitable for farmers.”

    General Secretary, Olakunle Olusanya, said: “This is part of our commitment to the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Central Bank of Nigeria intervention in the National Livestock transformation programme by boosting capacity building through trainings, technical exposure and support to local dairy farmers, and we are elated that this training will make a significant impact on the local dairy farmers looking at the large turnout of farmers at the event. We have fulfilled two of our commitments which are setting up a model dairy farm and ensuring dairy training of local dairy farmers.”

    The training will be delivered in partnership with the Ogun State government and the Odeda Farm Institute as well as other technical partners, like French company, Feed Avenue.

    The company will deliver training on nutrition and feed for cattle.

    The CEO, Feed Avenue, Xavier Dequippe, cautioned the farmers to take four.

  • Five side effects of skin bleaching

    Five side effects of skin bleaching

    Skin-bleaching techniques, such as the use of skin lotions and soaps to attain a lighter skin tone, are widespread around the world, and generally motivated by cosmetic motivations or low self esteem for one to embrace its skin type.

    Here are five side effects of skin bleaching:

    1. Nephrotic syndrome is a kidney illness caused by damage to the blood vessels that filter waste and excess water in your kidneys. It makes your body expel an excessive amount of protein in your urine. Mercury-containing skin whitening cosmetics have been linked to nephrotic syndrome. Swollen feet and ankles, frothy urine, loss of appetite, and exhaustion are some of the symptoms

    2. Steroid acne can be caused by skin bleaching products that contain corticosteroids. With long-term usage of corticosteroids, steroid acne typically affects the chest, although it can also appear on the back, arms, and other regions of the body. Whiteheads and blackheads, little red pimples, huge, painful red lumps, and acne scars are all possible symptoms.

    3. Exogenous ochronosis (EO) is a skin condition that results in blue-black pigmentation. It commonly happens as a side effect of using hydroquinone-based skin bleaching treatments for a long time. People who use it on a wide scale or on their entire body are more prone to acquire EO.

    4. Contact dermatitis has been connected to the use of skin bleaching products in case studies and reports. This is a type of skin inflammation brought on by interaction with certain chemicals.
    Skin redness, blisters, skin ulcers, hives, dry, scaly skin, swelling, itching, burning, and tenderness are all symptoms that can range from mild to severe.

    5. Kidney Disorder
    This is often caused by damage to the blood vessels in the kidneys responsible for filtering waste and excess water. It causes the body to excrete too much protein in your urine. Skin lightening creams containing mercury have been associated with nephrotic syndrome. Symptoms of this include; foamy urine, loss of appetite, swollen feet and ankles, and fatigue.

  • Plastics: Prophets have no respect at home

    Plastics: Prophets have no respect at home

    Health and business war of words broke out late last year between plastic watchers and the plastic industry over whether chemicals in plastics cause about 52 types of cancer. The offensive against plastics was launched on Facebook by health watchers who claimed their evidence came from the American Doctors Association. About three governors in the north of Nigeria immediately pitched their tents in the health cantonment, warning their people in public announcements to avoid food packaged hot in plastics and foods in sun-heated plastic packaging. They also warned that bottled water should not be kept in sun-heated cars. It is an unending war which has been raging for years. In August last year , the controversies prompted Michael Olatubosun to publish in Fact Check by Dubawa, an article titled: Does Eating Foods in Different Types of Plastics Cause 52 Types of Cancer? The article floors the claims against plastics on some scores, including the fact that an American Doctors Association does not exist, and that the American Medical Association (AMA), which is known by almost everyone, has no such word on it. Whatever is the truth, my advice in this case, as in all controversial situations, is that it is wise to err on the side of caution. For me, the chicken is coming home to roost. For the latest volley of this plastics controversy has helped to create more awareness about the ubiquitous plastic, although there is still a lot of work to do, to bring a large proportion of the population into the awareness net. While, indeed, there may be many possible causes of cancer as Tubosun argues, we cannot, as he, also, suggests believe that chemicals in plastics cannot be one of them. What gladdens me in that controversy is the fact that the seeds some of us have been sowing for awareness about the dangers of dangerous contamination of food by plastics are finally making prophets to have honour in their own land. It does not matter if it took a warning from abroad to get those northern governors out of their offices into the streets to launch awareness campaigns. It does not matter how long it took for the health prophets in Nigeria to have honour in their own land. What matters is for the information on plastics and their dangers to become widespread. Like other Nigerians, this column has been warning for decades, yes decades, not years, that chemicals in plastic wrappers or containers leak into their contents when they are heated…and that these chemicals have been found to cause cancer. Thanks to whoever is behind the present war on plastics credited to the American Doctors Association, the prophet in another far, far away country, which has just issued a health alert that has got some state governors in Nigeria talking seriously to their people. Plastics are used everywhere in Nigeria, today. They have replaced leaves in the wrapping of foods that are cooked for hours.

    • Some local restaurants make eba, a “swallow food”, in plastics by pouring boiling water in disused four litre paint buckets over garri, (cassava) flour and turning it until it solidifies.
    • On their way home in the evening, many Lagos workers who do not cook at home buy hot food sold in shopping polythene bags by roadside sellers.
    • School children buy food at the roadside in these bags. Back home, their meals are served in plastic bowls or plates.

    Many people who eat on-the-go buy such foods as puff-puff, roasted plantain, corn, yam and boiled corn in polythene bags. Pop-corn is packed hot in polythene bags.

    • More than half of the population drink cellophane packaged water we call “pure water” which are sun-heated during transportation from the factory to the wholesalers and retailers who keep them sun-bathed in the open.
    • Companies who produce”soft drinks” now package them in plastic bottles instead of glass bottles. Their products are transported in open trucks from one street corner to another to be sold directly to retailers. These drinks are sun-heated in the trucks and also sun-heated where the retailers keep them.
    • As a baby, I was fed with Oster Milk and Cow-Gate in a double nipple glass feeding bottle, and in plastic feeding bottles, both of which my grandmother kept for me as mementos . Obviously, baby feeds are not served cold but hot or warm.
    • As a school boy at Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo, between 1964 and 1968, our meals in the boarding house were served hot in plastics and covered with plastics. Every morning, we drank hot tea which was served in plastic cups. When I was a young man, my grandmother sold palm oil, coconut oil and groundnut (peanut) oil in glass bottles which were either aromatic schnapps bottles or Star Lager bottles. She displayed them, as many women still do today, on tables in front of her house or shops. These tables may or may not have roofs over them for protection against sun-heating and other weather vagaries. Goodness knows how much dangerous plastic chemicals that are gobbled today by consumers of palm oil, coconut and groundnut oil users at home and in restaurants.
    • Today, women purchase for home cooking cellophane packed and sun heated items such as crayfish, tomato powder, ground ogbono, ground egusi, ground pepper…the list is endless.
    • We should not forget that, nowadays, palm oil is brought to the cities from villages packaged in 25 litre plastic kegs which are exposed to the sun for several days during transportation and stored in warehouses where the ambient temperature is high.
    • Even when some families go to reputable stores as Shop Rite, Spa or Addide to purchase their bottle and sachet water, do they not keep them in the boots of their cars, and does the heat in the car not heat them before they get home, especially when they are stuck in traffic?
    • People who enjoy biscuits and sweets are not far from the net, because they are wrapped in cellophane. Even toothpastes are in plastic. Do we not sometimes leave them on the bathroom window, and does the sun not heat them?
    • Today, plastics have replaced metal pipes which bring water into our homes. Our overhead water tanks are also made of plastic. The sun overheats the pipes in the earth, if they are buried, on the ground, or overhead storages in plastic tanks.

    It is interesting, but not discomforting, that health officials in Nigeria did not pay attention to warnings over the years that the public needs education on these matters. We do not need to regulate the market, I always said. All we need do is educate the public. When the public knows plastics can cause cancer, there will be no business for water sellers who do not pay attention to public health. It is interesting, I said, because Nigeria woke up as it were in the middle of October last year after the “American Doctors Association” made public announcements about how plastics contaminated edibles and had been found to cause many types of cancer. No fewer than three governors in the north of Nigeria  echoed the messages.

    Erik Solheim, UN environment chief, before his resignation in 2018 over criticisms that he broke internal rules and travel too often, said in an article titled: Story Chemicals & Pollution Action—The missing science:  “could our addiction to plastic be poisoning us?

    “…When scientists took a proper look at these substances, they found them to be incredibly harmful to people and the planet. Now this attention is increasingly turning to one of the most ubiquitous materials in use today: plastic. The fact is that while we are acutely aware of the alarming rising tide of plastic waste, there is not a great deal known about the long-term health impacts of this pollution crisis. What we do know is that our addiction to convenience has placed it everywhere: leaching into food from kitchens, restaurants and supermarkets, floating in microscopic particles in our drinking water, drifting in the oceans and choking wildlife and ecosystems.

    “For a long time, we operated on the principle that plastics are okay because there was no evidence that they were unsafe. This is not equivalent to proving that they are safe. The ubiquity of plastics, and the increasing evidence that we are ingesting many of them in microplastic form, demands a closer examination of the health implications. Until recently, much of the research, and concern, focused on food packaging and how tiny plastic fragments “migrate” into food from the containers they are stored in.

    ” Writing in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, a team of environmental scientists raised the alarm over “food contact materials” substances used in packaging, storage, processing, or preparation equipment. According to the research, food contact materials contain a total of over 4,000 chemical substances including formaldehyde, classified as  carcinogen category 1B by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. There are discussions at this moment on restrictions, which can focus on the placing on the market and use of formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasers in mixtures and articles for supply to consumers. The chemicals causing the most disquiet have been bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates. The former is a material used in hard, transparent plastics known as polycarbonates, a popular material for baby bottles and storage containers. Phthalates are a class of chemicals that, when added to plastics, make them more durable, flexible and long-lasting.

    “Some research has indicated that BPA may disrupt hormone and reproductive systems, including abnormal penis development in men. There are also suspicions that it could contribute to diabetes, heart disease and even cancer. According to the US National Institute of Environmental Health Services, exposure to BPA has long been widespread. A 2003-2004 study conducted by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention found BPA in 93% of 2,517 urine samples from people six years and older. Some regulations have been passed to limit BPA use, particularly in baby products, and more is in the offing in the European Union, but many believe it doesn’t go far enough.

    “Recent research on phthalates pointed to equally widespread levels of contamination. The researchers found elevated levels of phthalates in the bodies of those who had eaten out the previous day 35 percentage higher. These chemicals are linked to fertility problems, pregnancy complications and other health issues. As ever in fields of emerging science, though, there is dissenting opinion. Stephen Ostroff, Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine at the US Food and Drug Administration, in February 2018 declared BPA safe for “currently authorised uses” in food packaging after a two-year study on rats”.

    Plastics and Cancer

    The following figures from Google may have no direct correlations between plastics use and cancer prevalence, but they are, nevertheless, interesting ones for anyone who would rather err on the side of caution. What I mean by this is that where one or more parties are “dragging” an issue, with one party saying there is a problem and the other saying the coast is still clear. It is better to not only watch the weather carefully but to stay indoor until the weather is absolutely clear. But, in these matters, is the weather ever clear? What has man veered into outside the dictates of Mother Nature which ever gives him or her a clear coast? Did we not once say tobacco smoking was safe? Did we not once say it was safe to use asbestos for roofing houses? Did we not once use lead pipes to supply water to buildings? Did we not once think aluminum cooking pots and microwave were safe for cooking? Are we not grappling with the radiation problems of cellphones? According to Google…

    1) In 2015, Nigeria consumed about one million tons of plastics. By last year,  Nigeria was expected to have been consuming 1.5 million tons.

    2) By November last year, it was estimated that about 72,000 persons die from cancer every year. That is about 6,000 every month. About 102,000 cases are diagnosed from her population of about 200 million people. If these figures correlate, then about 108,000 Nigerians may have died of cancer last year.

    3) The current population of the United States is estimated at 333,484,850 “as of Wednesday, October 13, 2021, based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United States Nations data”.

    4) The United States consumes about 37 million tons of plastics every year. About 16 million tons are used in food packaging. On the average, every American consumes 100 pounds yearly of packaging and food service plastics.

    5) As the United States population is about 1.7 of Nigeria’s population and the United States plastics consumption is about 24.6 times higher than Nigeria’s, will the cancer rates in both nations show such inferences?

    6) Cancer death in the United States every year is about 608,570 whereas Nigeria posts about 72,000. This suggests that about eight or nine more persons die in the United States than Nigeria. There may, therefore, be more reasons people are dying of cancer in the United States than in Nigeria.

    7) What about new cancer diagnosis? In the United States, 1.9 million new cases pop up yearly in relation to 102,000 in Nigeria. This means the occurrence rate in United States, a huge plastics consumer, is about 19 times higher than in Nigeria. But the cancer death rates is only eight times than that of Nigeria. This may suggest that there is no correlation between exposure to plastics or that cancer scourge is better managed in that country than in Nigeria.

    The  way out

    The best way out is the avoidance of plastics. But is there anyone who avoid them nowadays? Even the cellphone, ball-point pen, toys and car interior are made of plastics and plastic substances are in toilet soaps, creams and lotions, shampoos and fragrances. Two other options I find helpful are diet and detoxification.

     Diet

    A diet rich in salads has been promoted by many authorities as these vegetables have chelating properties which help to move out not only microplastics, heavy metals but other toxins as well. Among these vegetables are the Cruciferous vegetables… Cabbage, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cauliflower and some other greens of the Brassicaceae family. These vegetables should not be over done because they are a rich source of goistrogenes which slow thyroid function. There are also Kale, Parsley, Cilantro, Garlic, Radishes and many more. Incidentally, all of these and more are among three proprietary food supplements I always mention here. They are a warehouse of more than 40 green plants and their extracts… pop up for recognition Daily Build, Purxcel, Spectra greens , Complete Phyto Energiser, C24/7, Liven Alkaline Coffee, which comes with about 16,000 plant factors and without the caffeine of coffee. I also encourage local plant powders such as those of Pawpaw, Jute Mallow (Ewedu), Potato leaves, Utazi, Moi Danielli. This is the trade name of the powder of Thaumatococcus Danielli, the leaf in which, guess what our forebears cooked Agidi (Eko, Yoruba) and Moin Moin have been found to heal, especially in sickle cell children, and to help livers damaged by alcohol.

     Detoxification

    Detoxification may involve chlorella which removes heavy metals from the brain, Cilantro and Asparagus which detoxify the kidneys, Red Clover, Burdock root etc. Since plastics are naturally detoxified through the Glucuronidation system, some authorities suggest the use of Calcium D-Glucarate. Activated Charcoal cannot be ignored. Diatomaceous Earth (Diatom or DE) is a blessing. We cannot ignore organic coffee enema (inedible) which opens up and detoxifies the liver and intestine (please see Gerson Therapy online). As a co-worker, I suggest Cleanse  Capsules from LivePure. It is a big house of detoxifying plant extracts.

  • Curbing large bowel, rectal cancer scourge through awareness

    Curbing large bowel, rectal cancer scourge through awareness

    There is an urgent need for greater awareness to stem the scourge of large bowel and rectal cancer among Nigerians. This admonition was contained in a lecture delivered by Bashir Akande, a retired professor of surgery, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, during the annual lecture and bursary awards ceremony of Oluyole Club, Lagos.

    Rectal cancer is a disease in which malignant or cancer cells form in the tissues of the rectum. While health history affects the risk of developing rectal cancer, signs of rectal cancer include a change in bowel habits or blood in the stool, he said. Cancer of the large bowel is said to be the commonest cancer of the digestive system all over the world. Up till about three decades ago, Prof Akande said, it was thought to be less prevalent in Africa and Nigeria in particular. However, reports within the last two decades have indicated a more than 80 per cent rise in its incidence.

    What could have been responsible for the low incidence from the African countries? According to the retired professor of surgery, who was also a former President of Oluyole Club, it was thought that the consumption of vegetable fibres in African dietary items protects Africans from developing bowel cancer; unlike Caucasians who consumed predominantly low residue and fatty diet with longer intestinal transit times. Since the bulky and fibre rich African diet led to shorter transit times, the dietary toxins had little time to produce changes that led to damage to intestinal mucosa and cancer.

    “What must not be forgotten, however, is the scarcity of personnel, technology and medical centres where adequate and prompt diagnosis of bowel cancer can be made. Even now that more medical personnel are available in Africa, annual incidence of colorectal cancer is still higher in advanced countries than in Africa. Earlier studies from many parts of Africa including Nigeria had shown a prohibitive mortality rate mainly due to delay in making accurate diagnosis due to late presentation by patients and lack of sophisticated equipment.

    “Even now, there is still a lack of awareness of regular screening exercise by the general population in Africa most of whom can hardly afford the cost of the exercise. In most European countries, screening for bowel cancer begins from about the age of 50 years or earlier in some families with history of bowel cancer. Nigerian patients who are victims of colorectal cancer are on the average about 10 years younger than their Caucasian counterparts. Both male and female are affected almost equally but there is a preponderance of rectal tumour amongst the females. The ages affected range from about 17-19 years to 76-95 years in different reports from Nigeria and some African countries,” he said.

    The disease, he stressed, can be inherited as an autosomal dominant gene and it runs from parent to offspring and it can affect a few siblings. When this happens, the large bowel in such families starts to develop multiple polyps most of the time before the age of 10 years, between 10 and teenage years; the polyps have multiplied and almost the whole of the colon and rectum are full of polyps of different sizes. By the age of 35 years or even earlier, some of these polyps have become cancer. These polyps are outgrowths from the inner lining (Mucosa) of the bowel wall.

    “It has been well established that Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAID) can slow down the speed of the development of these polyps but they do not eradicate them. The only remedy for the affected individual is complete surgical removal of the colon (total colectomy) and part of the Rectum affected.”

    As for symptoms, he explained that patients may complain of passing blood (either bright red or very dark) in the stool, general weakness, a change in bowel habits, diarrhoea, constipation, feeling that the bowel does not empty completely, stools that are narrower or have a different shape than usual, general abdominal discomfort (frequent gas pains, bloating, fullness, or cramps), change in appetite, weight loss for no known reason and feeling very tired.

    “A few complain of lack of appetite. Few will only complain when they can feel a swelling in their abdomen and some may come when involvement of the liver has given rise to jaundice. Very few    complain of abdominal pain. Some may not have any symptoms at all, but are picked up during routine investigation for something else.”

    Management of the disease, the professor of medicine pointed out, should be decided after a concrete diagnosis, accompanied by far-reaching findings and recommendations. Types of treatment for patients with rectal cancer surgery include radiation therapy, chemotherapy, active surveillance, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy.

    In his welcome address, the president of Oluyole Club, Alhaji Rasaki Oladejo, said besides having annual lectures, the 54-year-old non-political club has contributed immensely to the socio-economic development of Ibadan, serving as a non-governmental organisation think-tank in matters relating to the long-term socio-economic and cultural interests of Ibadanland. Another highpoint of the occasion was the presentation of an N75,000 cheque each to 10 university undergraduates to ease their financial burden.