By Blessing Olaifa, Abuja

Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Monday confirmed the killing of a Commandant of the Corps by bandits on Kuje-Gwagwalada Road on Sunday.

They said the official simply identified as Commandant Dangana sustained bullets wounds from the attacks, and died Monday morning.

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A minute’s silence was held for Dangana druing a special parade and  simulation exercise, and unveiling of the newly established female squad of the Corps at its Parade Ground at the NSCDC  headquarters in Abuja.

Spokesman of the Corps,  Olusola Odumosu who announced the death of the officer, enjoined his colleagues to pray for the repose of his soul.

Commandant-General,  Dr  Ahmed Audi described the security situation in Nigeria as worrisome, saying the Corps is on the verge of being rejuvenated to enable it play its roles in the security architecture of the country.

World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus yesterday said that lifting restrictions too quickly could be disastrous for those who are not vaccinated.

He also warned countries facing outbreaks of new variants like the so-called delta variant – which first appeared in India – about lifting COVID-19 restrictions too quickly, saying it “could be disastrous for those who are not vaccinated”.

“We see a two-track pandemic many countries still face an extremely dangerous situation, while some of those with the highest vaccination rates are starting to talk about ending restrictions,” he said.

Tedros has called for a massive global effort to vaccinate at least 10 per cent of the population of all countries by September, and at least 30 per cent by the end of the year.

That will require an additional 250 million doses by September, with 100 million doses in June and July alone.

The WHO chief again called on rich countries to do more to battle inequality in accessing coronavirus vaccines.

Tedros recently announced a target of vaccinating at least 10% of the population in every country by the end of September and 30% by year-end.

Tedros said to meet these targets, the U.N. needs hundreds of millions of vaccine doses in June and July and an additional 250 million doses by September.

“These seven nations have the power to meet these targets,” Tedros said, looking ahead to the summit of leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

“I’m calling on the G7 not just to commit to sharing those, but to commit to sharing them in June and July.”

Dr. Michael Ryan of the World Health Organisation said that ultimately, “high levels of vaccination coverage are the way out of this pandemic”.

His comments in Geneva to reporters yesterday come as rich nations with access to vaccines are facing pressure from WHO and many global health advocates to share more doses with developing countries that are gravely lacking in access to them.

Britain has been looking at a recent uptick in cases attributed largely to an increase in cases linked to the so-called delta variant, which originally appeared in India — a former British colony.

Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO”s technical lead on COVID-19, noted that the delta variant is spreading in more than 60 countries, and is more transmissible than the alpha variant – which first emerged in Britain.

A top WHO official said yesterday that the WHO cannot compel China to divulge more data on COVID-19’s origins, while adding it will propose studies needed to take understanding of where the virus emerged to the “next level”.

Pressed by a reporter on how the WHO will “compel” China into being more open, director of the agency’s emergencies programme said at a news conference that the “WHO doesn’t have the power to compel anyone in this regard”.

“We fully expect cooperation, input and support of all of our member states in that endeavour,” Ryan said.

There are competing theories: that the virus jumped from animals, possibly starting with bats, to humans, or that it escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan, China.

Members of a WHO team that visited China earlier this year hunting for COVID-19’s origins have said they did not have access to all data, fueling continued debate over the country’s transparency.

By Frank Ikpefan, Abuja

Nigerian governors have said COVID-19 pandemic and rising insecurity have worsened the nation’s nutrition crisis.

The governors, under the aegis of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), spoke yesterday in Abuja through the forum’s Senior Health Advisor to the NGF, Ahmad Abdulwahab, at a two-day meeting to develop smart commitments on how to end nutrition crisis in the country.

The meeting, which was organised by the Civil Society Scaling up Nutrition in Nigeria (CSSUNN), in collaboration with Save the Children and Scaling up Nutrition Movement (SUN Movement), was attended by major stakeholders.

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo is expected to present Nigeria’s commitments arrived at during the meeting on behalf of the Federal Government at the Nutrition for Growth Summit in Tokyo, Japan later in December.

Abdulwahab admitted that nutrition remains a challenge as it accounted for 50 per cent of under-five deaths in the country.

He said the governors were rising to the challenge by ensuring that all interventions are implemented.

The NGF health coordinator said: “Not just insecurity both COVID-19. Insecurity and COVID-19 has further worsened the problem of nutrition in the country but like I said nutrition is a priority for the governors and what they are trying to do is to ensure that all the necessary interventions that need to be done is being implemented.

“It is a big problem because Nigeria currently has the second highest number of stunting and when you look at under-five mortality you will find out that more than 50 per cent the underlying cause is nutrition.

“When you look at these scary statistics you will know that nutrition is something that we need to prioritise in this country. Reversing the trend is something that is doable. All what we need is to have the necessary enabling environment that will help the implementation of the various high impact interventions that we have.

“The NGF is a member of the national council on nutrition. When you look at the priorities the governors have outlined in universal health coverage, nutrition is one of the priorities.

“The governors have gone ahead of this meeting to identify the areas of commitment that they need to intensify actions on and they have a scorecard which they are using to monitor those commitments.”

Also, the National Steering Committee Chairman, Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CSSUNN), Innocent Ifedilichukwu, said the lives of women and children will improve if the commitment reached at the meeting is implemented.

He said: “If we are able to get this commitment right today and we are able to get the federal government – the Vice-President in particular to present it, issues of malnutrition in the internally displaced persons camps will be a thing of the past. We will now have adequate allocation and efficient management of available resources.

“Our hope is that the lives of women and children will improve if we are able to get government to make a commitment that is implementable and actionable, not a commitment that will be difficult for even the government to implement like what has happened in the past.

“In 2013 they made a lot of commitment, saying so much things, eight years after they have not been able to implement most of those commitments. We are very mindful this time around. We are doing a lot of consultations and we are reaching out to a lot of stakeholders so that everybody will be committed.

“We want to have a commitment that will improve the lives of women and children.”

By Raymond Mordi

A clergyman, Bishop Mike Otunyo, has enjoined members of the political class to build bridges to unite Nigerians, rather than indulge in divisive politics for the sake of winning elections.

The founder of Alive for Life Gospel Church, Jesse, Delta State, decried the leadership quality in the country, saying the impact of what politicians are doing would determine the type of country they intend to bequeath to future generations.

He said: “The only way we can build a solid and united nation is when Nigerians, particularly politicians who are perceived as role models by youths begin to repent and seek the advice of God in whatever step they intend to take, rather than surrounding themselves with political sycophants and fake seers who always mislead them.

“Without the guidance of true prophets of God, political leaders and administrators will always fail to deliver the dividends of leadership to the people. From the beginning, the wisdom of men of God is always sought before decisions are taken by political leaders.”

Otunyo, who is the Chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Ethiope West Local Government Area, Delta State, made the remark at the yearly Supernatural Turnaround Programme of Alive for Life Gospel Church.

The event, which took place under the theme, “Supernatural Turnaround Theme: Grace for Next Level”, attracted many members and non-members of the church within and outside the state.

By Moses Emorinken, Abuja

To combat the menace of disabilities and deaths resulting from acute malnutrition, especially among children across the country, the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) will this year commit $10 million to procure ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF).

Describing the RUTF as lifesaving, UNICEF disclosed that Nigeria, with 17 million malnourished children at any point in time, and 2.2 million children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM), is currently first in Africa and second in the world with the highest-burden of malnourished children.

It, therefore, advocates for increased local production of RUTF and micronutrient powders to augment the ones imported to the country by donors, in order to make treatment available, accessible and affordable.

The UNICEF Chief of Nutrition in Nigeria, Nemat Hajeebhoy, who made these known during a virtual consultative meeting of the Minister of Health with local producers of nutrition commodities, said: “We must ensure that the resources allocated by the government to combat malnutrition are utilised. Severe acute malnutrition is a major killer, and it puts a child 11 times more at risk of dying of other diseases. If not treated, about 19 percent of the 2.2 million children with severe acute malnutrition will die.

“Children with Sam can be treated with ready-to-use therapeutic foods. We also need to boost the local production of RUTF.

“UNICEF, in partnership with the government, has committed to scaling up the treatment of acute malnutrition. In Nigeria, from 2018, UNICEF has spent between 11 million to 21 million dollars on RUTF. For 2021, UNICEF will spend 10 million dollars on RUTF.”

It, therefore, urged the government to create an enabling environment for local producers of nutrition commodities through investment cases.

In his address, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, explained that the government fully supports domestic production and will back up any step required to facilitate that.

“As much as the government wants to support domestic production, we also want to be sure that the producers make the rules and standards by NAFDAC.

“In response to the high prevalence of malnutrition, the Federal Government of Nigeria has introduced the community management of acute malnutrition which is focused on early identification of malnourished children, and the treatment of those with severe acute malnutrition using the highly efficacious evidence-based RUTF.

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“Additionally, the Federal Ministry of Health, through a Memorandum of Understanding with UNICEF, committed to the procurement and distribution of RUTF to 6 geo-political zones in Nigeria to ensure the survival of severely acutely malnourished children. So far, more than one million cases have been treated, with over 850,000 cured,” Ehanire stated.

In her remarks, the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mrs Aisha Buhari, who was represented by Dr Muhammed Kamal of the Aisha Buhari Foundation, said: “It is painfully true that Nigeria remains one of the highest contributors to Global malnutrition, despite the extraordinary efforts of government and development partners to improve the nutrition situation in Nigeria. There is still much work to be done.

“In recent years, there have been significant progress recorded and I have been informed of some of the key achievements. For instance, there is now an increase in the quality of conversations or nutrition around the country. The National Strategic Plan of action for nutrition has been developed and approved alongside other policy documents. Budget lines for nutrition at the Federal level and most of the states have been maintained.

“While acknowledging the efforts of the government, as a nutrition champion and ambassador, I have realised that the government cannot do it alone. Through my Future Assured program, and with other partners, we have championed advocacy for increased and sustainable funding for the prevention and treatment of all forms of malnutrition in Nigeria.”