Category: Health

After a three-day retreat for management staff, the Lagos State Ministry of Health has developed strategic plans bordering on improved data management, strict implementation of regulations, income generation and budget performance, including budget drawdown and budget impact to better position the health sector for better service delivery in 2022.

The development of the strategic plans, an offshoot of a three-day end of year managerial retreat organised for top management staff of the ministry, held recently at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, provided an opportunity for reviewing existing programmes with a view to closing loopholes, addressing weak points, and strengthening the sector for optimum delivery for healthcare needs of Lagosians.  The retreat, with the theme: “The role of leadership and management in the transformation agenda of the health sector towards a smart city,” was designed to achieve the goal of a healthier smart city.

While speaking on the objectives of the retreat, Prof. Akin Abayomi, Commissioner for Health, explained that the managerial retreat is geared towards enhancing creative problem solving and decision making skills as well as to expatiate on the roles of leadership in achieving an efficient health care system in the state. Abayomi disclosed that the ministry is poised to improve on data processing and management, set standard and prototype in the delivery of health services, follow and keep up with advancement in the medical field around the world, create enabling environment for the private sector to thrive and act of public protector, especially preventing exploitation of citizens by the private sector in health service delivery.

“The role of government is policy, strategy and direction, and embedded in that is the collection and cleaning of data to define policy, strategy and regulatory framework. Anytime we put measures in place for regulations, there is always resistance, but we won’t be deterred from setting standard and prototype for improved health service delivery in line with the dictates of the present administration’s T.H.E.M.E.S agenda. We have identified what our gaps are, and as a performing ministry, we will keep up with the standard, acknowledging that there are rooms for improvement,” he noted.

The commissioner added that the ministry has identified opportunities to generate income and raise its internally generated revenue to fund some of its regulatory functions and high impact interventions. He stressed the need to achieve a hundred percent budget performance with its attendant positive impact on health service delivery to residents, noting that strategic plans are in place to achieve this goal.

“We will also pay attention to details as one of our core values and ethos in the coming year. This is symbolic for us as we are evolving, we believe that paying attention to the tiniest of details can make a whole lot of difference in our efforts at regulation to achieve quality service delivery in the health sector,” he said

Abayomi noted that the retreat has afforded management staff in the ministry the opportunity to equip themselves with managerial and creative innovation skills as well as keep them in tune with global best practices in health service delivery. He added that the theme of the retreat, “the role of leadership and management in the transformation agenda of the health sector towards a smart city,” is well thought out to revolutionise out-of-the-box and innovative ideas that would propel the state health sector towards resilient health system and a smart city.

While tasking health workers on the provision of sustainable healthcare delivery, the Commissioner applauded them for their hard work, dedication and the high level of professionalism displayed in the fight against the global pandemic COVID-19. “We appreciate all of you for your hard work, dedication and professionalism in the discharge of your services during the course of the year. Lagos has set the pace; we did not do copycat management. We did it our own way and COVID-19 did not stop us from implementing other health interventions that may affect the state’s health indices,” he added.

Speaking in the same vein, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, Permanent Secretary, explained that the objective of the retreat is to identify key performance indicators that can assist in tracking performance of service delivery. He added that the goal is to provide quality services to residents while responding swiftly to situations and challenges. “We all understand that the health sector is under the greatest stress it has ever been for a long time and we are trying to ensure that we are responsive to the situation and we can deal with things and provide quality health services for the residents of Lagos.

“One of the things we are going to do as a fallout of this training is to develop a strategic plan that has what our strategies and objectives are and identify certain key performance indicators that we can use to track our own performance for delivery of the services beyond issues like using complaint from the public as a measure of our service delivery.”

He added that the state will not relent in making policies geared towards a responsive and smart healthcare delivery through skilled man power developments and the continuous expansion of the health infrastructures in the state.

Also speaking, Dr. Jide Idris, immediate past Commissioner for Health in Lagos State, who was one of the facilitators at the retreat, urged the leadership in the health sector to be focused and have an established direction through which the health sector can leverage to achieve its goals. In his presentation titled, “Role of Leadership in the Transformational Agenda of the Health Sector,” Idris urged the health workers to be innovative, confident and courageous in the discharge of their duties, adding that the health sector at this point in time requires a variety of leadership approach with new set of skills.

The West African Seasoning Company Limited (WASCO), makers of AJI-NO-MOTO food seasoning product, has explained why it is carrying out aggressive enlightenment campaigns about the safety of its food seasoning products because Nigerians deserve to know facts from fictions when it comes to nutrition. The company used the opportunity of the annual symposium of the Health Writers Association of Nigeria (HEWAN), which took place recently in Lagos, to dispel insinuations about the safety of its seasoning products.

According to WASCO’s Corporate Communications manager, Francisca Ikediashi, research has established time and again that AJI-NO-MOTO, which has been in existence for over 100 years and is consumed in over 130 countries, is safe for human consumption. It is a product that enhances taste and increases deliciousness of food. Speaking further at the annual symposium, WASCO spokesperson, who also used the occasion to introduce the company’s newest addition, DeliDawa seasoning to health reporters and editors, explained that AJI-NO-MOTO® food seasoning (also known as Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)) is the favourite of caterers, having long been scientifically proven safe for consumption in several countries.

“AJI-NO-MOTO® helps in salt reduction in our cooking and also enhances deliciousness of our meals. The Umami taste harmonises the overall flavour without any compromise to the delicious taste of our meals. AJI-NO-MOTO® is simply made from sugarcane through the natural process of fermentation and, therefore, 100 percent safe for consumption. Because of its safety, it is consumed in over 130 countries,” Ikediashi said.

While adding that AJI-NO-MOTO, which was discovered in 1909 as a food seasoning product by a Japanese scientist, Dr. Kikunae Ikeda, is a product duly registered in Nigeria by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Ikediashi provided more safety facts about Umami seasoning, urging Nigerians not to entertain any fear consuming it. “The benefits of the seasoning include enhancing and promoting the deliciousness of our meals; it is economical; it reduces salt intake and it is rich in glutamate one of the free amino acids. Almost all seasoning contains MSG.

“WASCO is committed to helping Nigerians eat healthy by bringing out the natural taste in cooking through safe and cost-effective seasonings. Dispel any myth or misconception about AJI-NO-MOTO. Umami substance is present in most natural foods such as meat, seafood, vegetables, cheese and milk. Glutamate is also abundant in breast milk. Umami seasoning enhances the taste of dishes and is a universal taste. It is one of the five basic tastes along with sweet, sour, salty and bitter. We have a lot of glutamate in our local foods. Iru, for instance, is umami. When you take Iru, you take a lot of glutamates,” she explained.

Ikediashi commended health reporters and editors for always helping to counter fake information about Ajinomoto by dishing out accurate information, adding that WASCO appreciates its relationship with HEWAN. In her response, President of HEWAN, Mrs. Chioma Obinna, commended WASCO for supporting and contributing to the success of this year’s symposium, assuring that members of the association would continue to provide consumers with factual information about the product through their stories. “This awareness is a welcome development. A lot of our members have today been sensitised about the safety of your product as a brand that is an essential seasoning for every meal. Now that the company has partnered with us for awareness creation, we are very happy. It is now our duty to take the information to the public,” she said.

The call has again been made for more citizens’ participation in the Lagos State Health Insurance Scheme managed by the Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA). A former Chairman, Lagos State House of Assembly House Committee on Health Services, Avoseh Hodewu Suru, made the call recently during the health walk-out organised by LASHMA to commemorate this year’s health week.

Avoseh, whose committee gave birth to the agency in 2015, said the scheme was aimed at ensuring that quality healthcare is made available to all. He explained that LASHMA was the state’s response to domesticating the national health insurance scheme and make healthcare available to all at the most affordable cost.

The lawmaker, who is now a Commissioner in the Lagos State Civil Service Commission, however cautioned that the agency must ensure that the scheme continues to work for the people for whom it was designed, and not be short-changed by Health Management Organisations (HMO) or health providers, who are offering their services under the scheme.

He equally explained that the payable premiums, whether as individuals or family, is not like ajo contributions which you could collect at the end of the year. Avoseh added that such monies would go into a common pool to be made available to anyone in need of funds to access healthcare anywhere in the state. “I have had cause to call the General Manager on some infractions we have observed. The scheme must be made to work for the people; this is the only way to achieve the health for all.”

While speaking, Dr Adetokunbo Alakija, Chairman of LASHMA Board, urged Lagosians to massively embrace the health scheme. He said LASHMA will strive to ensure that healthcare is made available to everyone in line with the mandate of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu whose desire is to make healthcare available to the masses of the people. “LASHMA is out to ensure that government succeeds in the healthcare in line with the THEMES agenda of the present administration and we would continue to appeal to our people to embrace this initiative which has proved to make health available to all,” Alakija said.

He disclosed that all civil servants in the state are already captured in the scheme and urged all other citizens to join to ensure that the state leads in the advocacy to capture all in the universal healthcare. The health advocacy saw many drawn from several HMOs, civil society and other members of the society participate in aerobics, and Salsa dance exercises to tune their bodies. The LASHMA workers were led to the park by Dr Emmanuella Zamba, General Manager, while other dignitaries at the event are the Senior Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr Ore Finnih.

Dr Emem Omikaro, the Director-General of National Senior Citizens Centre, has said that ageing is a blessing and that society should not see dementia associated with it as witchcraft.

Omokaro disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

She said that the centre is carrying out programmes on advocacy to disabuse the minds of the people that dementia is not witchcraft.

“A lot of older persons are going through abuse, stigmatisation, isolation and maltreatment based on their dementia condition.

“There is a case of a female professor in the South-South Region of the country that was stripped naked, humiliated and shamed because of her dementia situation. This is a former commissioner. It is that bad.

“There are a lot of similar cases in all parts of the country where older persons with dementia are being abused on false notions that they are either witches or wizards.

“We are going to take action on dementia. People should know that ageing is a condition of living and it is a blessing to be ageing because many people die at a young age.

READ ALSO: Centre condemns abuse against persons with dementia

“Ageing is an opportunity, when someone is ageing, it means he or she is living. So, we need to dignify and respect them.

”There is a need to add value to ageing and that is what the NSCC is all about. Don’t despise an older person, they have a lot to offer the younger ones,” Omokaro stressed.

On the involvement of young people in the activities of the centre, Omokaro said the youths would also be carried along.

“We will get the youths to understand via advocacy and inter-generational livelihood forum that ageing is a population; give yourself 20 to 30 years, that is where you are.

“We will also reorient the youths to be able to know that ageing is a great blessing and they should respect older persons, because, it is not easy to grow old. They should be celebrated.

“In most of our programmes, we try to create linkage between senior citizens and youths. For instance, in the centre, we need the youths to come in as volunteers and update their digital skills and capacity.

“Both the youths and older persons would volunteer to work for the centre and get paid. Thus, carrying the youth along,” she stressed.

(NAN)

Fifty-four-gene, one of health technology companies advancing African genomics research for improved global health outcomes, has launched its diagnostic subordinate; 7RiverLabs in Lagos. The diagnostic care centre with ultramodern technology, 7RiverLabs is set to offer healthcare providers and patients access to world-class, cost-effective, speedy, reliable and advanced molecular diagnostics and looks forward to saving more life around the globe.

On the launch of 7RiverLabs, 54gene founder and CEO, Dr. Abasi Ene-Obong commented, “Launching 7RiverLabs is a manifestation of one of the goals 54gene set out to achieve two years ago – to improve diagnostic and treatment outcomes on the continent by leveraging advances in the precision medicine space. With the range of tests 7RiverLabs offers, millions of Africans can begin to take greater control of their health. The creation of this new subsidiary also allows 54gene to continue it’s important work of understanding human genetic diversity and translating genetics-driven insights and discoveries to serve the global good.”

Also speaking at the unveiling ceremony of the 7RiverLabs, Jude Uzonwanne, who is the Chief Business Officer and subsidiary’s interim-CEO commented, “Our goal with this new subsidiary is to ensure that every African has access to advanced laboratory tests without having to pay an exorbitant out-of-pocket fee. Patients will receive speedy results that will guide their physicians in reducing late diagnoses leading to poor chances of survival, improve their treatment options and ultimately their quality of life.

“7RiverLabs is complementing government and industry efforts to attain the Nigerian Ministry of Health’s mandate towards improved care for the general population. Hundreds of molecular tests will be made available for millions of people at a fraction of the cost of transporting samples overseas, thereby helping to increase early disease-detection and screening rates and save lives. This is groundbreaking news for Nigeria; and as we forge trusted partnerships with leading health insurers, hospitals and healthcare professionals, we anticipate that hundreds more jobs will be created in our expansion of services across Africa,” he said.

Built on the vision of equalising precision medicine/diagnostics for African populations, 7RiverLabs (named after the 7 rivers on the continent) through 54gene, has domesticated diagnostic technology; eliminating the need for samples to be sent abroad for analysis; at what is often at a considerable cost to African patients. Physicians will now be able to detect and prevent diseases earlier thereby helping to improve patients’ treatment outcomes and quality of health.

Through the use of state-of-the-art laboratories and marked workflow improvements, over 300 critical molecular tests can now be performed safely and securely in Africa – covering oncology, infectious diseases, genetic testing and sequencing, anatomic pathology, clinical chemistry, microbiology, haematology serving both communicable and non-communicable diseases.

The Rouleaux Foundation, a scientific not-for-profit organisation, has entered into a partnership with the Lagos State Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives to train and empower food handlers and other stakeholders across markets in Lagos on food safety and maintenance, periodic pest and rodent control.

The Foundation’s Executive, Development and Partnership, Mr Olumide Awoyemi, said through the Safe and Healthy Market Initiative (SAHMI), food safety practices in Lagos State would be aligned with World Health Organisation standards. “Through SAHMI, we intend to align food safety practices in Lagos with WHO shared responsibility concept of food safety, and World Bank’s safe food imperative. If well implemented, it would help standardise the operation of street food vendors, green grocers (pepper sellers), meat packers and abattoir operator.

“While SAHMI is applicable in every part of Nigeria, we have chosen Lagos State as a point of reference because it is the most important food market In Nigeria and Africa by extension.  Thousands of cattle heads are slaughtered and processed mostly in unhygienic conditions in Lagos daily, tons of fruits and vegetables are consumed and a vast majority of residents eat food prepared by roadside food vendors who often times are not safety conscious, even when their medical fitness is doubtful.”

Awoyemi maintained that, in partnership with the Ministry of Commerce Industry and Cooperative, Rouleaux would proceed with the first phase of the initiative, which involves food safety training for select food handlers across Lagos. A letter signed by the Permanent Secretary of the  Ministry, Mrs Akinbayo Osi-Efa, read, “This development will help transform food markets landscape in Lagos, bringing food handlers and their premises into compliance with international best practices and also protect the health of consumers from foodborne illness and food poisoning.”

Cancer patients in Nigeria can now breathe a sigh of relief – many thanks to the frenetic pace of positive things happening in the area of oncology services in the country. One of the latest huge boosts for in-country cancer treatment and management is the recent training of 34 oncology pharmacists in Lagos. The 34 beneficiaries were chosen from all six geo-political sections of Nigeria during a one-week training in cancer care management where the United States Embassy Public Diplomacy Officer, Hayley King, presented certificates to the participants.

The training, spearheaded by Project Pink Blue, one of the leading cancer nonprofit organisations in Nigeria, is tagged ‘Upgrade Oncology,’ was designed to build the capacity of Nigerian pharmacists in the management, care and cure of cancer in the country. According to Runcie Chidebe, executive director, Project Pink Blue, Upgrade Oncology is a capacity development programme that focuses on improving cancer treatment and care through the provision of medical oncology training and the domestication of the treatment guidelines for better cancer care outcomes in Nigeria. Globally, cancer is the second most common cause of mortality after cardiovascular disease, with about 18.1 million new cancer cases and 9.6 million cancer deaths in 2018.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said Nigeria contributed to the world cancer burden with 124,815 new cases and 78,899 deaths in 2020 alone, with projections that these numbers likely to be on the rise. Based on population aging alone, cancer incidence in sub-Saharan Africa is projected to increase by 85 per cent in the next fifteen years. According to Chidebe, the depreciating state of health facilities, late presentation of cases, limited access to quality care, unequal and/or outright poor distribution of oncologists, high cost of cancer therapies, limited access to funds for treatment and limited training for oncology professionals are some of the biggest reasons accounting for poor cancer outcomes in Nigeria. He said the aforementioned explained why his group came up with various interventions to help reduce the high incidence of cancer, tackle late detection and improve general outlook of cancer in Nigeria.

Lamenting that over 100,000 Nigerians are diagnosed of cancer every single year and over 72,000 of the disease every year, the Project Pink Blue boss said that the training is important because pharmacy is such an important element in the treatment of cancer patients. ”Most of the cancers are actually treatable with drugs, with therapies and other forms of known medications. And there is a need to provide training to these people who are providing this chemotherapy to patients and who are also given these medications, because people cannot give what they don’t have.”

While emphasizing that healthcare is about teamwork, one of the trainers, Prof. Donald Harvey of the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta Georgia, said that cancer treatment and management requires the input of all medical practitioners to arrive at positive outcomes for patients. The purpose of the training, he stressed, is not to take over the role of doctors to create unnecessary rivalry among medical team.

”I think we cannot have any success unless we are a team. And that team has to be integrated. It has to be under the direction of a physician taking care of the patient. And everyone has to have their own expertise. We are here to add to their roles to add to education on how drugs are used safely by nurses, physicians and patients. The physicians alone cannot do it by themselves. They need help; they need us; they need others to help deliver that care,“ Harvey said.

Another trainer, Prof Cindy O’ Bryant of the Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of Colorado, added that the training would afford pharmacists the resources to give hope to cancer patients in their daily practice. ”We’re really strengthening that network of hope, offering patients with cancer a place to go, a place to receive treatment and a place to be cured,” she said.

Calling for more awareness about cancer in the country, Prof Cecilia Igwilo (OON), distinguished professor of pharmacy at the University of Lagos, said that it is not an easy experience to watch one’s family member die slowly from cancer. “I believe that there must be awareness about cancer, even in paediatric patients, even in elderly people, even in middle aged people. There should be awareness everywhere.”

In 2018, it initiated the Upgrade Oncology Programme, a U.S.–Nigeria Science and Technology Exchange Programme founded with the goal of strengthening the capacity of the Nigerian oncology workforce through training in diverse oncology areas, in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health, Fulbright Specialist Programme and U.S. Mission in Nigeria. The Upgrade Oncology, in 2018, focused on medical oncology training for clinical oncologists in Nigeria. The project was funded by U.S. Embassy in Nigeria in partnership with Federal Ministry of Health and trained 44 clinical oncologists with emphasis on breast, prostrate, leukaemia and childhood cancers.

Before help came his way, Halilu Aliyu, 60, had resigned to fate because of excruciating poverty. He had hernia and suffered the pains  for 12 years. The old man, poor as most rural folks are, could do nothing about it medically. “I was told about the operation that could take the pain away, but the money they were mentioning was so far above me that I put the thought  from my mind. I was set to go. You have to die of something and if hernia was it, so be it,” he said.

One Hureira Yuguda had a stomach ache lasting a number of years. Native medicines had failed her and she found out that she lacked the means to access orthodox hospital services. She came painfully to the conclusion that she had to live with it. Same goes for poor 16-year-old Bilkisu Adamu who was born without vagina. Bilkisu consequently could not have any menstrual flow. She would never be able to get pregnant if she remained that way. A vaginal opening had to be created for her, but how was she to do it when she simply had no means to access such a service?

Another horrendous tale that seemed doomed was that of a man who had been blind for 21 years. He finally regained his sight when the train of a medical outreach reached his place. The coordinator of a free medical outreach, Dr Telemoh Dah, a medical consultant, said the outreach is sponsored by Senator Binos Yaroe of Adamawa Southern Senatorial district. The Binos Yaroe Medical Outreach, which started in 2019 in Demsa is now in its 7th edition, touching and changing lives.

“We have had defining moments everywhere we have reached. We would find out a particular person that if we did not come, the person would not have made it. There were people who had surgeries that were three steps: one step had been done but the other two had not been done, or two steps had been done but the last step had not been done and they had lived with it for 15 years. There are people who came with ailments which you did not expect, like snake bites and they were about to die but because we brought the anti-venoms, we were able to rescue them.”

The Binos Yaroe Free Medical Outreach had by the ninth of this month attended to about 50,000 indigent patients in seven of the nine LGAs constituting Yaroe’s southern Adamawa senatorial constituency. The seven LGAs that the programme has covered beginning from August 2019 to December 2021 have been Demsa, Ganye, Guyuk, Numan,Toungo, Mayo-Belwa and most recently Jada, with medical specialists and other volunteer health workers brought in from within and outside the state to administer care to patients registered for the programme each time it came up.

Eye cataract surgeries, hernia operation, appendicitis, caeserian section, dental surgery,  removal of lumps from different parts of the body, among other medical procedures as well  as consultations and distribution of drugs, eye glasses and other consumables, all for free, have been the services routinely rendered in each edition of the outreach. Senator Yaroe, who has often defended his preference for the medical outreach instead of what has come to be known as stomach infrastructure in the Nigerian parlance, said the free medical intervention is the best empowerment that anyone could give.