Moses Emorinken, Abuja

 

THE Ogun State Government has said that it is determined to improve the state’s health indices regarding mothers and child wellbeing through programmes that will prolong life expectancy of residents. The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, made this known during a stakeholders’ meeting on the Implementation of Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPE) and Improving Primary Health Care system in the state.

The forum was organised for transition committee chairmen and medical officers of health (MOH) in the state, where it was emphasised that the fund was targeted at ensuring people have access to quality healthcare, particularly at the grassroots. The Commissioner, who explained that the BHCPF was the first step towards achieving universal healthcare, assured that renovation of PHCs are on-going across the state to ensure effective service delivery.

“Governor Dapo Abiodun, as you know from the inception of his administration, has been fully committed to providing efficient and affordable healthcare services, which is one of his foremost pillars that he has been supporting. The health indices for mothers and children and prolonged life expectancy cannot change without addressing healthcare at the grassroots,” she said.

Coker also enjoined stakeholders to support the efforts of government by ensuring judicious use of the fund and recruitment of resident community health informants and midwives for the successful implementation of the programme.

Read Also: I’m coming for killer herdsmen in Ogun – Sunday Igboho

In his address, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Afolabi Afuwape, said funding of PHCs is important to the overall development of the state, noting that active involvement and engagement of transition committee chairmen and MOH in the day-to-day running of the public health facilities is paramount. In his presentation, the Executive Secretary, Ogun State Primary Health Care Development Board, Dr. Elijah Ogunsola, said to ensure accountability, revenue generated in each facility should be under the respective PHCs accounts, monitored and accessed by transition committee chairmen and MOH. There should also be uniform price list for PHC services in the 20 local government areas of the state, he said.

In their separate contributions, the State Coordinator, World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Sunday Abidoye, and his counterpart from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Victoria Adebiyi, commended the state government in its efforts at ensuring a successful take-off and implementation of the BHCPF. They promised that their various agencies would continue to support the state at improving healthcare service and delivery. On behalf of participants, Semiu Lawal, chairman of transition committee, Odeda Local Government Area lauded the initiative of the government on its move to ensure transparency and accountability in the running of PHCs. He promised that he and his colleagues would ensure proper implementation of the programme for the benefit of the people.

By Adekunle Yusuf

 

THE managing partner of Savante Consulting, Sola Solarin, who has just been elected as President by the executive committee of the Industrial Pharmacy Section (IPS) of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), has said his election is a responsibility that has come at the right time, especially now that the world is battling with COVID-19 crisis.

An industrial pharmacist of repute, Solarin said the presidency of the IPS coming to the global south will give additional voice and support to issues that are prominent but by no means peculiar to healthcare delivery in the global south. He will pilot the affairs of IPS section of FIP, a global body representing over 4 million pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists, for the next four years. The IPS caters to the interests of pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists who work in industry. They number about four hundred thousand globally and include members who work in functions like production, quality assurance, product development and regulatory affairs.

FIP is the organisation that leads over 4 million pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists globally – a task it has been involved in since 1912. It envisions a world where everyone benefits from access to safe, effective and affordable medicines. FIP attempts to achieve its vision by drawing expertise from members who belong in different practice areas, including industries, communities and hospitals, among others. It has been in active collaboration with other healthcare professionals and the WHO since 1948. The IPS represents members of FIP who work in industrial manufacture, quality assurance, development and regulation of medicines.

With his election as president, Solarin said it will enable him to attract attention to issues of the high cost of new medicines and development of new technologies that will enable access to healthcare to the vast majority of people. “These issues are more germane now that the world is battling a global pandemic. We have to interrogate trade policies, look for new technologies and discuss the economics of the development and provision of new medicines that will break down barriers to a healthier world.”

According to the letter announcing Solarin’s appointment, the former president, Ulf Janzon, resigned, and Michael Anisfeld finished his term as the secretary of the Industrial Pharmacy Section and election was conducted to fill the IPS executive vacancies. Paul Sinclair, board chair of pharmaceutical practice, noted that Solarin is a former National Chairman of NAIP and has made many valuable contributions to FIP in various capacities over the years. He added that the new IPS executives will last for four years, the secretary will be Igor de Castro, the treasurer – Gabrielle (Gaby) Wiederkeh and Didier Mouliom will remain the vice-president. Sinclair welcomes the new members and look forward to the participation of the president and secretary at the upcoming BPP meetings in January and March.

By Femi Kusa

Largely overshadowed by COVID-19, the number of brain tumour cases may be growing in Nigeria. Doctors have not said what exactly may be causing the upsurge. Medicine’s lay folks who comment on brain tumour occurences in other parts of the world suspect many culprits, including electro pollution especially from over use of laptops and cell phones.

The arguments are unending. While some people believe cell phone radiation is too weak to ionize or dismantle molecules in the brain, thereby causing genetic changes which may lead to brain tumours and even cancer, reference is made to a study in which the natural lifestyle of honey bees in a specific colony were altered by magnetic radiation in the environment. A medical doctor in Nigeria told me last year that a fruiting mango tree near his office became unfruitful after an internet service provider mounted a signal boosting dish nearby.

In Enugu, a medical facility reporting pediatric cases said an average of three patients were seen yearly between 2007 and 2014, but the number jumped to eight cases a year between 2014 and 2017 and, from there, to 54 by September 26 in 2018, the following year. Researchers at the department of pathology and forensic medicine and the department of oncology of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), published a study on  January 9, 2015 in the Pan African Medical Journal (ISSN 1937-8086) titled spectrum of intra-cranial tumours in a territory healthcare facility. The researchers were Sunday Sokunle Soyemi and Olugbenga Olayide Oyewole. They discovered 56 cases of inter-cranial tumours in 12,610 biopsies involving patients of who average 36 years. The male-female ratio was close at ratio 1:1.1. The tumours did not spread to the brain. Astrocytomas, one of the three commonly sighted brain tumours was prevalent, corroborating patterns in many studies.

From Ibadan, a recent publication on pediatric tumour showed a six fold increase from 2.2 percent to 12.9 percent over 50 years. The publication said children accounted for 37percent of all “CMS neoplasms at our centre”. It added:”A similar trend can be inferred for other centres in Nigeria.” The researchers were Chika Ndubuisi, Wilfred Mezue, Martin Nzegwu and Samuel Ohaegbulam. John Richard OMA, commenting, said:

Studies seen in other parts of the country,  showed age range between 33 to 50 years. The mean age for children was eight years and this is similar to that reported by Idowu et al. In this study, meningiomas accounted for the most frequent diagnosis for all intracranial tumours. At 41 percent followed by pituitary Adenomas 22 percent and gliomas at 20percent. The high prevalence of meningiomas in our study compare with the findings of Idowu et al , Ibebuike et al in Johannesburg, SouthAfrica, with both reported meningiomas as the most common brain tumour in their studies

Symptoms

According to www.mayo clinic.org, the symptoms include

“New onset or change in pattern of headaches, headaches that become more frequent and more severe, unexplained nausea or vomiting, vision problems such as blurred vision, double vision or loss of peripheral vision; graduation loss of sensation in an arm or leg, difficulty with balance, speech difficulties, confusion in everyday matters, personality or behaviour changes, seizures especially in someone who doesn’t have a history of seizures, hearing problems”

Science and medicine are still at their wits end about what causes brain cancer. But several studies have been suggesting some risk factors . Some brain cancers are more prevalent in certain races. Some sufferers were genetically predisposed. There are all sorts of genes in the body, including tumour suppressor genes. These suppressor genes may be functioning suboptimally or a good number of their population may have been wiped out or altered by DNA changes, which may occur for many reasons. Dangerous chemicals in the environment are suspected culprits as well. So is HIV disease. Ionising radiations are not left out. They damage and dismantle molecules. Well known examples were the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings in the second world war (1939-45) and the Chernobyl radiation disaster in April 1986 which traversed some countries, contaminating water, vegetation, poultry, cattle and humans. Many farm animals and food crops were destroyed to avert human contamination. Outside ionizing radiations, CT scans, x rays, radiotherapy are suspected to be contributory factors. Nowadays, overweight and obesity are being evaluated for possible roles.

About two decades ago, medical investigations diagnosed some tumours in the brain of one of my high school class mates who had been complaining about persistent headaches. When the scalp was opened up, the surgeons found far more tumours than they thought their skills and equpment  could cope with, and closed it up. He died soon after. That was soon after the cell phone arrived in Nigeria with all the controversy about whether over exposure to it was safe for the brain, eyes, ears and the nervous system. The controversy spins back and forth arguments. In such a situation where there is still no settled opinion, I like to pitch my tent on the side of caution. When Nigerian studies suggest that more children are developing brain tumours,I wondered if there was  any correlation with the fact that many adults yield to the pressure of  infants and children who also want to speak with Auntie A or Uncle Z. These infants and children hold the phone too close to the ear or directly on it. Yet the energy of the phone is microwaving. There have been many videos made of how the brain cells are “cooked” or “microwaved” and how they “struggle” to “heal” themselves after a phone conversation. What if the intervals between conversations are too short and they never really completely recover, losing a few cells now and then or suffering instalmental damage?

Laptops

The spur for this column is a post I received from a member of my chat group on Green Pasture Herbs. An avid reader of this column, and an unrelenting advocate of Alternative Medicine, Mr Rafiu Dotun Odunaye wrote…

“Most of your kids will be attending online classes and addicted to gadgets, please be very careful. I am writing about the current happening.

My very close, best friend’s younger sister son is studying

12th standard. A very bright student from his childhood,and only son to my friend’s sister.

His online classes starts daily at 10am so laptop is on by 9am. Due to peer  school pressure with the online classes going on, he used to either be on laptop or mobile at least till 10 pm daily, No physical activity at all, no one to play due to COVID-19 fear  and being a single child in their family.

On October 27, 2020, morning, he was saying he was not feeling well. Two days prior to that, he had mild pain on his left hand. No one took that seriously. On Tuesday, he was saying he did not want to attend on line classes and wanted to be with parents’. Parents were surprised and asked him to rest. He tried to sleep but was not able to, he asked his father not to go to the office. His father asked if we should go to hospital, child said everywhere there is corona which hospital to go, I will be alright after a good sleep. He asked his father to go to work. He said he was very hungry and asked his mother to feed him dosa. He again tried to sleep but could not, then around afternoon, he called his father to come home immediately and take him to hospital. His father came home within 15 minutes and the son came and hugged him and said ‘take me to hospital’.

By the time he started the car, child collapsed. They rushed to a hospital 4 km away and doctor checked for pulse. It was not there. They tried CPR and the heart started to function. They took all scans and found the child was brain dead.They tried all medication till Saturday, October31, 2020 morning ,and finally decided to remove the ventilator.

He is now no more.

A case of Brain death

Pathetic thing is that hospital has handed over the body to police since the child was unconscious when brought to hospital and in his teens. They will hand over the body only after postmortem and corona test. So not sure if they would get it on October 31, 2020, or November 1,2020.

Doctor said this is 20th such case during

The past 20 days, Heavy usage of gadgets, radiation has affected the brain and stopped the supply of oxygen.

Use gadgets sparingly, avoid earphone/headset to the maximum extent possible. Humble request to all parents and guardians. Please take care of your kids, teenage boys, girls, ask them to read only hard copy books and no gadgets except for honeybees.

According to Nashaat El Halabi, Gaby Abou Haidar and Roger Achkar of the American University of Science and Technology reporting in www.researchgate.net:

“As many other species, honeybees are becoming extinct in the world; this phenomenon is called the Colony Collapse Disorder. Many reasons have been proven to be behind this environmental disaster like climate changes, pesticides, fungal pathogens and others, in addition to radiations generated by mobile phones, especially, since in recent years wild life has been exposed to microwaves and radio frequency’s radiation signals from various sources, including wireless phones. Bees have a specific organ for sensing magnetic forces, enabling them to navigate using their own compass. The claim of the research is that radiations generated by mobile phones are disturbing the life cycle of honeybees and affecting their reproduction system and honey producing. The research involves testing the behaviour of honeybees away from mobile phones, with a mobile phone in its standby mode and active communication mode. The results of the experiments verified that mobile phone affect the honeybees’ life system.

There is clear evidence that honeybees exposed to high or low energy fields or electro-magnetic radiations tend to suffer dramatic behavioral and physiological changes in both laboratory-and field-based experiments. Exposed honeybees showed increased aggressiveness, irritability and hyperactivity (Dalio, 2015; El Halabi et al., 2013; Kumar et al., 2011; Warnke, 1976), resulting in a premature swarming process (Favre, 2011). Cell phone radiations can alter even navigational skills of bees: numerous authors measured statistically significant decreases in the number of adult bees returning to their colonies under field conditions (Dalio, 2015; El Halabi et al., 2013 Ferrari, 2014; Sahib, 2011; Sharma and Kumar, 2010). …

… Exposed honeybees showed increased aggressiveness, irritability and hyperactivity (Dalio, 2015; El Halabi et al., 2013; Kumar et al., 2011; Warnke, 1976), resulting in a premature swarming process (Favre, 2011). Cell phone radiations can alter even navigational skills of bees: numerous authors measured statistically significant decreases in the number of adult bees returning to their colonies under field conditions (Dalio, 2015; El Halabi et al., 2013 Ferrari, 2014; Sahib, 2011; Sharma and Kumar, 2010). Several authors observed also that colonies exposed to electromagnetic pollution were subjected to a strong decline in their brood productivity with a reduction in egg laying rate of queen (Dalio, 2015; El Halabi et al., 2013 Sahib, 2011). …

… Cell phone radiations can alter even navigational skills of bees: numerous authors measured statistically significant decreases in the number of adult bees returning to their colonies under field conditions (Dalio, 2015; El Halabi et al., 2013 Ferrari, 2014; Sahib, 2011; Sharma and Kumar, 2010). Several authors observed also that colonies exposed to electromagnetic pollution were subjected to a strong decline in their brood productivity with a reduction in egg laying rate of queen (Dalio, 2015; El Halabi et al., 2013 Sahib, 2011). In addition, Kumar et al. (2011) and Kumar (2012) recorded a considerable increase in the concentration of biomolecules such as carbohydrates, proteins and lipids in the semen and a significant decrease in the activities of seminal enzymes in drones exposed to electromagnetic radiations from cell phones. …

… This research is a complementary process to a previous paper called ” The effect of cell phones radiations on the life cycle of honeybees ” , which has been published in July 2013 in proceeding of IEEE EUROCON 2013. It studies the effect of cell phones’ radiations on the life cycle of honeybees and demonstrates that mobile phones affect honeybees’ life system [3]. This project has great significance because honeybees are a very important part of the ecological system since they pollinate 80 percent of the flowering plants, which makes up the  one third of what humans eat. …

… The first step in the study, described in the first paper written by the same authors [3], was to study the effect of mobile phones radiations on the life cycle of honey bees; the claim is that such radiations disturb honeybees’ life system and affect their reproduction and honey producing. In addition, a jammer was used to study the effect of mobile phones’ radiations of higher power. …

… The behaviour of bees was studied in three different settings: in their normal setting, which means without the presence of a mobile phone in the near vicinity, with the presence of a mobile phone operating in its standby mode, and finally in its active communication mode. Two hives were used, one as a reference hive which was not exposed to any mobile phones’ radiations, and the experimental hive that was exposed to these radiations [3]. The results of various experiments showed that honeybees in their normal case produced sounds at lower frequencies of around 450 Hz, and with lower intensity 0.3 normalised amplitude. …

… The sounds emitted by bees under the action of EMR were similar to those produced during swarming and nest abandonment (Favre, 2011); this indicates that bees perceive EMR as a danger or stress signal. Such changes in behaviour, and also the decline in queen fecundity and development of drone-only brood in irradiated colonies (Sharma and Kumar, 2010;Halabi et al., 2013) inevitably reduce the vitality and productivity of the honeybee colony. In some experiments (Kumar et al., 2011), both honey and beebread was completely absent in colonies by the end of EMR exposure”. …

Brain health

Like the heart, the brain hardly rests. In the process it produces dangerous substances called “free radicals” by products of its activities and is also hit by “free radicals” from inhailed air, food and water, and the waste products of germs and parasites which inhabit our bodies. Not only should we eliminate as many of these as possible, we should also eat for the health of our brain as we do for other organs such as the heart, kidneys, bowels, bones and joints, lungs  the reproductive organs and even the skin, hair and nail. Many of us leave the brain out of our calculations. We also do not help our children who are overloaded with tasking unecessary education before their brains can adequately cope with it, especially in this generation of the laptop, cell phone and distance learning popularised by COVID-19 pandemic.

We cannot exhaust here the list of herbs or food supplies which energise the brain, make it function optimally , protect it against mishaps and rescue it from danger. I have not listened here in terms of proficiency but as I remember the ones which helped me out through about three decades of 18 hours of gruesome brain work everyday without brain or physical fatigue.

Magnesium is a gem. Insomniacs who have used it in cured form or in such supplements such as natural calm, perfect calm or ionic magnesium know its value for the brain and the nerves. Gotu Kola is reverred by Asians for longevity promoting qualities. It balances function of both the brain, a good value for not only restful peace and calm nerves but helpful in depression as well. Gingko biloba, like magnesium and gotu kola, reverses failing memory , empowers the brain to store more information, promotes blood circulation, like gotu , to the brain and within it, and to the eyes. It was originally called maiden hair because it made the hairs on the scalp of women grow long and well through support for blood circulation. Omega 3 fatty acid is indispensable for the brain, a fatty organ. It protects it against “rusting” and prevents cellular wall from penetration by unwholesome entities. Alpha Lpoic Acid (ALA), another antioxidant (“killer” of free radicals) is useful to the brain because it functions in both fluid and fat media, unlike some other antioxidants which work in one and not in the other. Grape  Seed Extract easily crosses the blood-brain-barrier and is, therefore, more readily available than those antioxidants which cannot easily cross the buffer zone . LECITHIN is a purveyor of choline and inositol, two nutrients which keep brain cells on the go. That is not forgetting L-carnitine, mushrooms, vitamin D, vitamin A, C and E especially zinc, thealine and many more.

 

At a virtual media briefing on COVID-19, officials of World Health Organisation and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control assured that African countries will get 900 million doses of vaccines and played down fears about severity of new Coronavirus variants, reports Moses Emorinken, Abuja

With spikes in COVID-19 cases, Nigeria and many African countries are already battling with how to manage a second wave of infections. Latest updates from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) indicated that the country, as at the time of this report, had recorded 103,999 confirmed cases, with 1,382 deaths so far.

Africa has also recorded at least 25,000 deaths in the last two weeks, going by information from the World Health Organisation (WHO). To make matters worse, new variants of the virus have started to spring up across the globe with noted cases in South Africa, Botswana, Gambia, Zambia, United Kingdom, and other countries in Europe, Asia, North America and Australia.

However, WHO and other health experts have re-echoed that the manifestation of new variant should not be a cause for worry or panic, as available data shows that the new variants only have effects on the rate of transmission, but has no proven effects on diagnosis, severity, therapeutics and vaccines efficacy. Speaking during its first virtual media briefing on COVID-19 yesterday, WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, explained that researches are underway to undress and understand the epidemiological implications of the new variants.

“While in 2020 Africa was spared much of the worst of COVID-19 with relatively fewer infections, cases and deaths compared to other regions of the world, we start a new year facing new threats from the virus, with an average daily new case count of more than 25,000 in the last 14 days. Africa is experiencing the second wave, which is higher than the peak experienced last July. We know that these numbers are likely to grow as the impact of holiday season and other get together becomes evident.

“The continent has now topped three million cases with over 72,000 lives sadly lost. This is a stark reminder that the virus is relentless, and that it still presents a manifest threat, and that our war is far from being won. In addition, we are now confronted with new variants of the virus. It is not surprising because the more the virus spreads, the higher the likelihood of mutations. However, some of these changes are concerning. Preliminary analysis finds the new variants circulating in South Africa to be more transmissible and it appears to be driving the surge in new infection in the country and in the sub-region.

“Genomic sequencing has found the 501y.v2 variant present in three other countries – Botswana, Gambia and Zambia, and it could be present in more countries. Deep investigations are underway to fully understand the epidemiological implications. But at present there are no indications that the new variant increases the severity of the disease. There is also no conclusive evidence that it will lessen the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. However a virus that can spread more easily will of course put further strain the health system, and health workers who are in many cases already overwhelmed and overstretched. There is still much to learn.

“It is important for countries to improve routine sequencing of SARS-COV-2 viruses on the African continent to better monitor the emergence of variants and their consequent spread across countries.

“When we know how the virus has changed and fully understand the epidemiological and pathological significance of that change, then we can adjust our response accordingly. WHO, together with our colleagues at the Africa CDC, has supported countries to set up genome sequencing through a network of specialised laboratories. We are also helping in shipping samples, providing laboratory supplies, as well as technical guidance and mobilising funds. WHO is also working with a group of international scientists to coordinate research efforts. While we continue to increase our knowledge of COVID-19, we must persist with the proven public health measures that helped to slow down the spread of virus during the first wave including wearing masks and physical distancing,” Moeti said.

In his presentation, NCDC Director-General, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, explained that there is still no evidence to show that the variant found in Nigeria, the p681h variant, or any other variants, is associated with increased transmission of the virus. “Following the reports in the United Kingdom on the 19th of December describing preliminary genomic characterisation of an emergence SARS-COV-2 lineage – the b1.1.7, our partners at the African Center of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID) did a rapid analysis of samples that we had collectively collected here at the centre and done genomic sequencing on. It identified two SARS-COV-2 sequences that formed an emerging variant called p681h variant in Nigeria that shares one mutation with the United Kingdom’s b1.1.7 lineage.

“However this variant does not share any of the 22 other lineage defining mutations of b1.1.7. These cases of p681h variant in Nigeria were found in two samples conducted on the 3rd of August and the 9th of October. The background to this is that the work done shows that there are 18 different lineages detected in Nigeria so far since the beginning of the outbreak, and we do not have any evidence to indicate that this p681h variant or any other variant currently circulating in Nigeria is associated with increased transmission.

“The emergence of new variants in and of themselves is not interesting and it is not news. What is news is if one of the variance has been shown to be associated or correlated with an increase in transmission, increase in variability, resistance to vaccination, and any other outcomes. While we do have genomic surveillance in the few centres in Nigeria, the relative difference is still in Nigeria versus the UK and even South Africa. It obviously implies a reduced likelihood to detect such changes when they do happen. We are currently in the process of sequencing more samples from the recent surge of cases in Nigeria in order to analyse firstly for changes in circulating viruses in Nigeria, but also specifically looking for those variants of interest circulating in South Africa and the UK that have already been shown to be associated with increased transmission.

“Our ongoing efforts in sequencing have two objectives – one is to identify if there is any variant that is associated with any change in outcomes, either in transmission, severity, mortality or any other. Secondly, to specifically look for the variants of interest already identified in the UK and South Africa to be associated with these changes in transmission.

“In as much as the full extent of these mutations and others are still being studied, the importance of a robust genomic surveillance system cannot be overemphasised. And that’s why I identify and report changes in the genome of pathogens such as SARS-COV-2 that are of public health interest. We really must learn from efforts in South Africa, specifically where they have done sequencing overtime periods. Because it is only when you do this overtime that you can demonstrate change in the prevalence of one variance over another, and that you can make conclusions on severity, transmission etc,” Ihekweazu said.

While speaking, Prof. Francisca Mutapi of Global Health Infection and Immunity, University of Edinburgh, UK, said analysis of the SARS-COV-2 genome of the WHO African countries has been published. By January 12th, she added that 24 countries from the WHO African region had deposited a total of just under 5,000 SARS-COV-2 sequencing in the publicly available database, representing about one percent of the publicly available sequences globally.

“58 percent of these genomes have come from South Africa. Variants of COVID-19 viruses are rising all the time and as such a new variant has been identified in South Africa. Globally the new variants have been reported in about 20 countries – Europe, Asia, North America, and Australia. This variant has several mutations and most of them are in what we call the spike protein. Research is currently underway in trying to determine the impact on infection diagnostic, therapeutics, and vaccine efficacy.

“So far, the following is what we know: In terms of transmission, the 501y.v2 mutation also on the spike is predicted to increase the binding of the virus to the human receptors, allowing easier access and therefore transmission. This is associated with more transmissibility. This mutation is not unique to the variant that has been observed in South Africa. It is also present in the rapidly spreading variants in the United Kingdom.

“In terms of PCR diagnosis, till date none of the mutations of the variants observed in South Africa variant has been reported to interfere with PCR diagnosis. So we have no cause for concern at the moment on the diagnosis of this variant. In terms of natural immunity and immune-derived therapeutics, one of the mutations – the h4k mutation, has been suggested to impair recognition of the virus by antibodies.

“But again, there has been no conclusive evidence that this may affect vaccine efficacy. So we do not have evidence for concern at the moment. As with all variants, this required continuous monitoring. It is very important that we continue to increase sequencing capacity in Africa so that we can know a lot more about the variants that are circulating in countries and in the continent as a whole. This is what we have been doing for the past four years working with colleagues to capacitate sequencing of work of viruses by local organisations within Africa.”

With regards to the number of labs conducting genome sequencing in Africa, Dr. Gumede Meletsi, said there 12 laboratories in the WHO African region, and these have been categorised based on the specialised laboratories. Two are based in Nigeria, two in South Africa, one in Senegal, one in Ghana, one in DRC, one in Gabon, one in Rwanda, one in Kenya, one in Morocco, Meletsi said.

WHO hails African Governments’ efforts in securing vaccines outside COVAX

The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, has assured Nigerians that, in close collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and other relevant government agencies, is working out the plans and logistics to ensure that all states receive the much-awaited COVID-19 vaccines, starting with front line workers, especially frontline health workers, the elderly and those with underlying illnesses.

He also revealed that apart from the expected 20 percent free vaccines expected from the COVAX facility of the WHO, the Federal Government is also in talks with other countries known to produce effective COVID-19 vaccines. Some of the countries are UAE, India, China etc.

The WHO, in its virtual media briefing, also disclosed that Africa will be receiving about 600 million doses of vaccines through its COVAX facility, while hailing the Africa Union’s efforts to secure additional 270 million vaccines for the African region. “A top priority is ensuring that Africans access COVID-19 vaccines. It is unfortunate that so far, the vaccine distribution has been inequitable, but this is a massive undertaking and it takes time. The COVAX facility which is coordinated by GAVI, WHO and CEPI, aims to provide around 600 million doses for Africa we estimate in 2021.

“We expect the first doses to arrive by the end of March with a larger rollout by June. However, COVAX can only cover 20 percent of the African population. So it is really wonderful to see the African Union’s efforts to secure the provision of 270 million doses by the end of 2021 achieving success. Together we will deliver nearly 900 million doses for this year. We know that still more is needed. WHO has developed the guidelines for national deployment plans and trained all countries in key aspects of covid vaccines development. Our monitoring shows that there is still a lot to do in terms of preparedness, and I just like to emphasise that getting the vaccines is a very important step, but getting the vaccine into people’s arms is equally important and demands a lot of work but from countries, ourselves, and other partners.

“The groups that are considered the highest priority are the frontline workers, particularly the frontline healthcare workers, and we have seen in some countries, significant numbers of deaths among healthcare workers. Also other priority groups including people within a certain age, that is, people in the older age group and people with pre-existing conditions that make them susceptible and vulnerable to complications and severe forms of the disease.”

By AbdulGafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

Kaduna State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Amina Mohammed-Baloni has tested positive for COVID-19.

The commissioner disclosed this through her Twitter handle post on Friday evening, saying she received a notification that she tested positive for the virus and has gone into isolation.

She however urged residents of Kaduna to continue to maintain good respiratory hygiene and keep social distance in order to prevent the spread of the disease.

The commissioner’s post on Twitter reads: “Following notification that I have tested positive for #COVID19, I have proceeded into isolation for the necessary treatment.

READ ALSO: Health workers, police to receive first COVID-19 vaccines

“I look forward to a quick & complete recovery from this infection. @GovKaduna @DepGovKaduna @KadunaMOH @KadunaSPHCB @kadchma @KADHSMA https://t.co/Jq4ArITKjG

“I appeal to everyone to observe the simple public health measures & #COVID19 prevention protocols such as the use of facemasks in public, frequent washing of hands with soap & running water or use of sanitisers & avoiding large gatherings or crowded places. #TakeResponsibility.”

By Adekunle Yusuf

A close-up on antiretroviral services in the Coronavirus era has shown that HIV testing and treatment activities were badly disrupted during the nationwide lockdown imposed to curtail the spread of COVID-19. That was the submission of The Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Dr. Gambo Aliyu.

According to him, Covid-19 crisis, especially the lockdown, affected everything in Nigeria’s HIV activities. The most notable negative impact was felt in the reduction of people that turned up for testing services. The DG said the reduction in the number of people the agency captures was as high as 34 per cent in April and May. But the impact was also felt in other HIV services such as drop in viral load testing and clinical activities as well as drop in ART refill rate.

“It has impact on our programmings; it has impact on our logistics; it has impact on our routine test that we do in the lab. On programmings, it reduced the number of people we identify every month. By April and May, the reduction was about 34 per cent less. And this is significant, given the fact that we are now pushing for the last mile in getting HIV under control.

“What that means is that we are out aggressively to identify the remaining 400,000 to 500,000 people who are in our midst but we don’t have them in our radar. We don’t know whether they know that they have HIV. We don’t know whether they have HIV and they are taking medications elsewhere where we can’t capture their information. We can’t say this thing is under control until we can significantly identify more than 90 per cent of people we feel live with HIV in Nigeria; they are identified,  placed on treatment and making sure that we control the virus with them. Controlling the virus is very key to ending the epidemic cycle.”

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In Nigeria, estimated 1,800,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS, with estimated 103,404 annual new infections. NACA fact sheet also showed that 13 out of every 1000 persons selected at random are likely to test positive for HIV, with 44,830 people also estimated to die as a result of HIV/AIDS-related disease. Six months interruption in HIV treatment due to the lockdown may also lead to 900,000 deaths as opposed to 430,000 deaths in sub-Saharan Africa, UNAIDS said.

NACA also said about $6.2bn was spent on identifying and treating 60 per cent of the estimated number of persons living with HIV from 2005 to 2018. Of this amount, nothing less than $5bn came from international donors, especially the United States. What this means is that Nigeria needs to scale up its financing of HIV/AIDS response activities, requiring an investment of $2.4bn in identifying and treating additional 540,000 persons living with HIV in order to reach the UNAIDS target for epidemic control in the next three years. Dr. Aliyu admitted that Nigeria needs to increase its funding as the country has reached a stage in its control of the epidemic where it is dangerous to continue to rely solely on foreign donors to prosecute the war against the virus.

“Indigent women living in rural communities find it difficult to go to facilities to collect medication. They also find it difficult to earn living and we are focusing on women simply because we know that in terms of equality when it comes to business and when it comes to empowerment, women are disadvantaged. And because of that, we want to, first of all, take care of women living with HIV/ AIDS before we focus our attention on men. And in the next couple of months, you will see us out in the community.

“This NACA is determined to continue until the end of the year and in 2021, to make sure that we reach the most disadvantaged living with HIV AIDS across the country and empower them. We are calling on the private sector to join us in this effort just as they joined us last two years in our efforts to find a solution to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the country. We were very grateful to the private sector for coming out with this initiative with such fund,” he said.