Tag: deaths
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Shock, deaths stalk victims of Benue flood
After surviving a prolonged deadly attack unleashed on them by blood-thirsty herdsmen last year, the people of Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State, who are mostly farmers, last weekend suffered another devastating blow in the hands of nature following the destruction of their farms and houses by flood. INNOCENT DURU, who spoke with some of the victims, reports that some of them have begun to suffer shock and dying as a result of the incident.
IT was double tragedy for many families in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State last weekend after the calamitous flood incident that ravaged many farmlands and submerged many houses. The rampaging flood left thousands of the natives homeless and destroyed farm produce that were almost ready for harvesting.
But that was not all. The Nation gathered that some of the victims have begun to suffer shock and dying as a result of the incident, which came shortly after the people lost their beloved ones and valuables to the terror unleashed on them by herdsmen.
One of such families that suffered double tragedy over the weekend was the Ochohepos from Aila area of the local government. The breadwinner of the family, according to the daughter, suffered shock, collapsed and died after seeing all he laboured for destroyed by the flood.
The deceased’s daughter, who gave her name as Mary, told The Nation that our father was devastated last year after his house was burnt down by the herdsmen and had his state of mind compounded last weekend by the flood incident which robbed him of his basic means of livelihood.
Her words: “My dad collapsed and died last week after the incident. He died of shock. We took him to the hospital and did all we could, but he didn’t survive. He lost his house last year and lost all he laboured for this year. This made the shock too difficult for him to bear and that resulted in his death. The flood affected our farms badly.
“Our house was burnt down during the herdsmen-farmers crisis. After the herdsmen burnt our house, we camped in Ugboko in Apa Local Government. We later returned to Aila. I also totally became hopeless after the flood destroyed our farm. Now, we are homeless and foodless, let me put it that way.”
Speaking in emotion laden voice, Mary hinted: “We are supposed to harvest the produce later in the year but there is a variety of rice we are supposed to harvest this month. They are all gone. My late father had about eight hectares; my mother has about four hectares and I have three hectares. What to eat now is a huge problem. If we are able to get equipment to help us enlarge our farm produce, we would be happy.”
Pa Christian, a 75-year-old, also lost his life after the incident. One of his son’s, Oloche, said: “I lost my father on Tuesday. He was sick and when we took him to the hospital, he couldn’t make it. The flood affected many places here. I lost a lot. We lost a lot of things during the herdsmen attack and now flood came again and brought down our houses.
“We have buried my late father in our house that was affected by the flood. We couldn’t bury him in the Catholic cemetery because the place is flooded. This is why we managed to bury him in the house. We need a lot of assistance. We don’t have a place to live. We are staying with somebody. Going back to our house depends on God.”
A victim who hails from Abugbe, Emmanuel Adagedo, described the flood incident as terrible, regretting that he has lost everything he toiled for since the beginning of the year.
Reliving his experience, one of the victims, Alhaji Odho, who hails from Abugbe, said the flood incident was so severe that most of them have found it difficult to cope. “Our buildings were built with burnt bricks and therefore were not so badly affected by the flood but our farms were wiped off. I lost everything that I planted on the farm. My rice farm is about 10 hectares. Yam is about three hectares. We were planning to harvest the rice between December and January but with the situation of things now, I don’t think we can get anything from the farm anymore. Everything is lost. It is the survival of the fittest for most of us now as we depend only on God for help. I have been relying on people to take care of my family and as things stand now, there is no hope for the coming planting season.”
Odho feared that the affected communities would experience food scarcity because of the huge loss they suffered. “There would certainly be food shortage in this area next year. Even as I speak to you now, there is nothing on the ground. If I can get someone to give me a loan to start all over again, I would be very happy. We would so much appreciate if the government could be of help to us. There is no IDP camp here.”
Another victim, Emmanuel Adegedo said: “The rain has been falling regularly except for the past two days. The flood destroyed the FADAMA farms. There is no hope of getting farm produce this year, most especially in the swampy area where we planted rice. The farm is expansive and our primary occupation is farming.
“I was in my house when the flood was coming. The community shares boundary with River Benue. We are by the river bank. Because of our experience in 2012, we quickly ran away when we saw the flood coming. We started evacuating the little children much earlier.
“The flood didn’t pull down my house but it occupied the whole place; so we had to run away. I have moved my family to Gboko while I am in Oturpko. They are out of school no but immediately this challenge goes off, they would be returning to school.”
He hinted that many of his colleagues have been finding it difficult to feed after the incident. “We have been managing the little we have on us but many people are finding it difficult to feed their families because their homes were massively destroyed. Many people didn’t take proactive steps when the signs were coming. They sat down thinking it would not happen. I saw it coming and started preparing much earlier for it. With the rate the rain is falling, we don’t know when we would be returning to our homes.
“I have decided not to go to IDP camp because of the way people are treated there. If there is any outbreak, it would be a problem. I don’t feel comfortable. Ahead of the next planting season, we would go to the communities that were not affected by the flood to get seedlings to plant but we are still looking up to the government for assistance.”
Rueing his loss, a victim, Gideon Ogbole, said he has been relying on his relations to provide for his family. “I was at home when the flood started late in the evening on Saturday. It didn’t get to my house but it destroyed all that I had planted on my six–hectare farm. I felt so bad when I saw the damage because I have nothing left.
“We are only managing to feed from some relatives who were not affected. I go to their farms to work for them and at the end, they give me the little they can afford to feed my family. That is how we have been managing to survive. There is no surplus money anywhere to take care of the family. I am supposed to harvest the produce in two or three months’ time. I lost everything.”
Ogbole despondently added: “I don’t have the means of starting all over again. I need help to do this. But if help doesn’t come, I have to look round to source for money to start all over again. This is the only alternative. I will be happy if the government can help me to start all over again. There is no IDP camp in our area. We were told that they were planning to open one but that one of the facilitators died and they had taken his corpse home.”
In a telephone chat with The Nation, the monarch of the embattled communities, HRH, Cletus Kukunu, tersely said: “The rain started last week and fell for about one week. The flood came overnight and swept many things away. It carried away animals, properties and damaged houses.”
Efforts to get him speak further proved unsuccessful as he said he was in a meeting. He promised to return the call but he didn’t. Even when our correspondent called him much later, he maintained that he was still in a meeting.
In another telephone chat with our correspondent, the Executive Director of Global Care for Kids Foundation, one of the non-governmental organisations providing relief materials for the victims, Linda Orokpo Ochagla, said: “We have been giving relief materials including cooked food to the children and women. I appeal to people that want to help. They contribute and I also do use my personal money too to buy things. Aside from us, there are many non-governmental organisations coming to help the victims. Bengonet, an NGO, is in charge of sharing the relief materials together with NEMA. Tuface was also around to give relief materials to the people.
“Some people normally complain that food doesn’t get to them. So, whenever we take things there, I always stand there and see them share the items before I leave. I do this to make sure that the items get to everybody.”
She added: “The flood destroyed a lot of things. As we speak, some people still have their cars inside the flood. They are waiting for the flood to subside before they can take the vehicles away. The problem here is that it has kept raining. Until the rain subsides, I don’t think there is anything they can do. But the government has started working on the water ways to prevent flood in the area.
“The children cannot go to school. We are soliciting for volunteers who can be teaching the children for this period until they are able to go back to their houses. So far, we have got some people that have agreed.”
To avert a re-occurrence of the incident, Ochagla said: “The government needs to make sure the water ways are functioning. They need to demolish some structures built on wrong places. There is a place where they built a market and that is a wrong place for such. They need to shift the market to the right place so that the water ways can be free.
“They need to clean the gutters because many of them are blocked with dirt. The level of hygiene in the IDP camp is okay but if they don’t leave the camp on time, there could be issues but for now there is no outbreak yet.”
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Experts push for maternal, child deaths reduction
All hands should be on deck to ensure that Nigeria reverses its data on perinatal deaths experts in feto-maternal medicine and other allied stakeholders have said.
According to the Association of Fetomaternal Medicine Specialists of Nigeria (AFEMSON) President, Prof Olufemi Kuti, Nigeria is one of the 26 countries yet to record reduction in maternal mortality, as stated by the Millennium Developmental Goals (MDGs).
He spoke at the maiden edition of the association and its General Meeting and Scientific Conference.
The event, with the theme ‘Reducing maternal and peri-natal mortality’ held at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja.
Kuti said: “There was a 44 percent global reduction of maternal mortality, from 588, 000 in 1990 to 303,000 in 2015. It is however sad that Nigeria was one of the 26 countries that made no progress.’’
He said the reason his association is canvassing for everybody to be involved is because with a total of 58, 000 maternal deaths in 2015, Nigeria is currently the leading contributor of maternal deaths in the world, being responsible for 19 percent of the global maternal mortality burden.
“In figurative terms, this is like two planes crashes per week with 500 people on board each plane. For every maternal death, there are at least 14 perinatal deaths. The situation warrants the declaration of a state of emergency to address such colossal loss of young Nigerian women and babies. The most unfortunate part of this disaster is that more than 90 percent of these deaths are avoidable, given the right attitude and commitment of all stakeholders.
‘’AFEMSON believes that the cooperation of women organisations, religious bodies, and national and international aids agencies and most importantly the political will are vital in reducing this carnage.
“The sub-themes are chosen to help in improving the quality of care and identifying avoidable factors in maternal and peri-natal deaths. Fetal monitoring is to provide a good opportunity to update specialists on the 21st century methods of peri-natal care to help reduce the current high stillbirth rate in Nigeria,” said Prof Kuti.
Former Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko, who was the special guest of honour, said from experience and the success of ‘Abiye’, political will and public financing were vital to the attainment of Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria and the developed world, being that maternal and perinatal care are part of.
Dr. Mimiko, who was given a commendation award at the event, said political leadership should muster and develop the needed political will and deplore public fund towards Universal Health Coverage.
Drawing copious references from data and reports of global and national agencies on the Gains and Challenges of Universal Health Coverage, Mimiko said players and policy makers have all agreed that, “Universal Health Coverage delivers substantial health, economic and political benefits across populations,” which means that “public finance must be deplored to the pursuit of coverage” in other to reap associated health, economic and political benefits.”
He added: “Universal Health Coverage, as has been said earlier, is a goal.
“Movement towards it must be incremental in coverage and in benefit package. Since matching resources with health needs will always be a continuous exercise, setting priority becomes unavoidable. Every nation moving towards Universal Health Coverage will require an irreducible minimum health benefit package. Most will start from the most cost effective interventions like immunisation and the need of vulnerable groups like maternal and child health. Maternal health is doubtlessly a cost-effective intervention.
“Beyond the economic dictates of investment in it, maternal health is a moral imperative. Giving birth, is a process of perpetuating the human race. It is a divine instruction. Genesis 1:28 states: ‘’… be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth…”
Mimiko, who referred to various interventions of his administration, said women, children and adolescents must be given priority in universal health coverage as they are the most vulnerable of the population.
He added that the attainment of the health target of the SDGs, “is inextricably tied to universal health coverage”.
Mimiko, who traced his achievements in the health sector to his conviction that maternal and perinatal deaths could be prevented, if the society paid attention to delivering affordable health care, said: “Working with other stakeholders, I put in place processes that have to a large extent proved that even in resources challenged settings like ours we can post reasonable outcomes in maternal and perinatal death reduction.”
Mimiko added: “As posited in Centre for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS), report on the first year of his government’s Abiye’s safe motherhood initiative, progress in universal care is possible with right leadership. I root out traditional birth attendants. I empowered them with new source of livelihood and income.
“We put together the Agbebiye (Safe Birth Attendant) programme, which is essentially to incentivise through cash, training (in alternative vocation) and start-up microfinance, referral of pregnant women to designated public facilities and ensure delivery at such facilities. They are, therefore, given dignified exit out of the trade of maternity services. The programme started in February 2014 and as at December 2015, there has been 14,802 referrals of pregnant women by Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) and Mission Home Built Attendants (MHBA) to Public Health facilities. Of these, there were 29 sets of twins, 13 sets of triplets and one set of quadruplets.’’
He continued: “This brings me to the issue of health financing. Public versus social health insurance financing for universal health coverage (UHC) is an issue. But, it is well established that there is no single path towards Universal Health Coverage. Variants occur due to many factors of history, social cohesion, prevalent socio-political preferences etc. One must however emphasise the need for increasing public expenditure in health care.”
Mimiko said like Prof David Heyman, Head of Global Health Security, Chatham House, puts it, “by its very nature, (Universal Health Coverage) creates a larger role for the state in ensuring a free health financing system that market alone cannot provide. Market cannot be effective driver of heath care.
“This is what United States is learning the hard way by the controversies surrounding its healthcare system. This is perhaps why it is the one and only high income country of eight countries in which maternal mortality rate has been on the rise. It is reported to have recorded an increase in maternal mortality rate of approximately 26.6 percent from 2000 to 2014. Could this dismal picture be the consequence of promotion of market dictates over public funding of health care? Time will tell. An improved maternal health outcome also implies some reduction in peri-natal mortality.”
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‘How to stop heart attack deaths’
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the major cause of death worldwide. The disease is on the rise in Nigeria, raising demand for care.
This was the submission of medical experts at the inauguration of Gray’s Cardiology Centre at Ikeja Lagos. The centre which is dedicated to providing comprehensive cardiovascular care in Nigeria.
Taking the lead, the centre’s Medical Director, Dr. Soe Moe Aung, said there were modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors that cause cardiovascular disease.
“ Majority of cardiovascular diseases is caused by risk factors that can be controlled, treated or modified. However, there are also some major risk factors that cannot be controlled. Some risk factors such as family history, ethnicity and age, cannot be changed nor modified while the six main controllable risk factors for cardiovascular disease include: smoking, High LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, and low HDL, or “good” cholesterol, uncontrolled hypertension (high blood pressure), physical inactivity, obesity, uncontrolled diabetes and uncontrolled stress and anger,” said Dr. Aung.
Dr Aung said the alarming rate of the jump in the prevalence in cases and deaths from CVD compelled the Reddington Group to set up the centre in G.R.A, Ikeja) so that more people can be reached and helped.
“The Reddington Group has always been the pioneer in cardiovascular care in Nigeria. The first Cath lab in Nigeria was established in the Reddington Hospital in 2009. Since then we have been providing diagnosis and treatments in all aspects of cardiology. In terms of interventional cardiology, we have been offering various procedures including coronary as well as peripheral angiography, angioplasty, stenting, percutaneous closure of ASD and permanent pacemaker and ICD implantations,” Dr Aung said.
The centre’s Clinical Director, Dr. Usim Okechukwu, said people would not die from CVD if medical help was readily available, as cases could be managed by a dynamic team that could help save so many lives from an early or untimely death and restore them back to a productive healthy life.
Okechukwu shared some cases the hospital had managed:
“Many times we listen to news to hear about the sudden death of one important personality or the other. From the sudden death of a Vice Chancellor who collapsed in his office to that of a banker who slumped while jogging on the streets and had his life cut short because there was no immediate rescue. Our stories today showcase individuals who have been saved by team effort and appropriate care despite the many limitations in the workings of our country.
‘’Time is muscle we say in matter that concerns the heart. Damage to the heart is an ongoing process. From the development of chest pain, we usually aim to effect lifesaving treatment within six hours or at most 12 hours. The heart is slowly and irreparably damaged.
“I will share the firststoryof a director in a commercial bank in Nigeria. Late morning at about 11am while in a board meeting, he developed a severe left sided chest pain. He immediately knew something was wrong and being a well-informed gentleman, headed straight to the hospital in Victoria Island (VI). We did some quick investigations including an electrocardiogram and cardiac enzymes which confirmed he was having a heart attack. He was immediately taken to the Cardiac Catheterisations suite where our Interventional Cardiology team had just completed the first morning intervention. He immediately had an angiography where the blockage of one of the main heart arteries was confirmed and identified. He had wires passed immediately to reopen the blocked artery and a stent (metal device) was inserted to permanently keep the artery open.
‘’He had a complete resolution of his symptoms. He had received this life saving procedure in about three hours from the onset of his symptoms. He has since gone back to work, living a healthy life and having a distinguished career.
‘’Our second story is about an Indian gentleman, a worker in one of the factories, who while on his way to work developed a severe left sided chest pain. He had a history of diabetes and hypertension. He was also wise to know that chest pain ought to receive immediate help. He was brought into the emergency room of the hospital and series of investigations confirmed an ongoing Myocardial Infarction (heart Attack). Our Interventional cardiology team was quickly assembled and he was taken straight into the catheterisation Lab where he had coronary angiography and angioplasty with stent deployment. He went home a day after, completely symptom free, hale and hearty.
‘’The third person was a 66-year-old gentleman resident in Abuja. He had recently had a heart attack and though he survived, he had a recurrent left sided chest which made his life miserable. His doctors referred him to us for further treatment and he was flown down. He had a coronary angiography which identified the blocked and narrowed arteries which was fixed. His relief was so heartfelt that his gratitude to the team is still resounding in our minds. And he still calls to say a word of thanks’’.
Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said the Grays Cardiology centre is a welcome development in country.
“Grays Cardiology Centre sets the bar higher, in that it goes beyond the routine, to bring state-of-the art diagnostic and intervention capacity to Nigeria. We are proud that services that would have been found only in the top hospitals of technologically advanced countries, can be rendered right here, in the country, without need for passport, visa, airfare or other hurdles and expenses”.
“I wish to congratulate the Board and management of Reddington Hospital for this bold and commendable step and my best wishes go to all who provide and receive treatment here.”
Dr. Osagie tasked the Reddington team to expand their service across the country, “There is more to be done. With a population of 170 million people and the well-known needs of Nigeria, other entrepreneurs are invited to come in, and Reddington is invited to expand. Along the pattern of the Apollo hospital chain in India, I ask you to consider developing a model in which you can also provide services to indigent patients, subsidised by your paying patients, as your corporate social responsibility.”
The CEO Reddington Hospital, Dr Yemi Onabowale said what brought about the creation of the Gray’s Cardiology Centre and why it was established on the Lagos mainland is due to the, “impact of our services in the communities that we serve over the years. We found out that the need for cardiac care irrespective of age remains compelling. The fact that most med-technology driven healthcare centres are located on the Island. So Reddington Group took a decision to establish an independent cardiology centre on the Lagos mainland named Gray’s Cardiology Centre.
“It is an obligation of improving patients’ chances of healthy survival, bettering the quality of their care, and giving more people the tools and education they need to prevent cardiovascular disease in themselves and their loved ones in an ethical and affordable manner,” he said.
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Avoidable deaths
•The Calabar viewing centre electrocution should never have happened. Governments nationwide should take steps against such tragic recurrence
The popular viewing centre was on Access High School Road, Calabar. Little did the 120-odd cheering denizens packed inside it, watching the Manchester United Vs Anderlecht Europa Cup quarter-final match, realise it could turn high access to sudden death! When the smoke cleared, no less than 10 lay dead, according to the police. Tens of others suffered severe burns.
Yet, that accident need not have happened. The tragedy, however, is that there is no guarantee it would not happen again, for the objective situations that triggered that mishap are replicated in poor neighbourhoods nationwide. That is why our governments should take pro-active measures to avert a recurrence.
From news reports, the match was in high gear when there was a cut in public power supply. Then, came a bang on the roof of the make-shift centre, made of corrugated iron roofs. It was a high-tension cable, which had fallen off the University of Calabar (UNICAL) 11 KV feeder. It was around 9:30 pm.
The viewers knew what had happened. But in the ardour of the moment, with pumping adrenalin often accompanying such high-competitive matches, they asked the operator to put on the generating set. In another moment, the public lights came on again. But that transformed into instant electrocution for the unlucky ones that had contact with the iron sheets! The stampede to rush out of the tent claimed some casualties too.
Again, this was a death that shouldn’t have happened. But we deeply console with the families of those who lost their lives, suffered burns and general trauma. May the souls of the dead rest in peace; and may God comfort those they left behind. The Cross River State government too owes it a duty to the hospitalised to get good care. It is the least it can do under the circumstance and it should do it with cheer.
Yet, as that saying goes, prevention is better than cure. A little more attention to urban planning, in the Calabar metropolis, should have exposed that spot as accident-waiting-to-happen. A corrugated iron shack, built under high-tension wires, was always going to be problematic.
To start with, the profile of the shack suggests there might not have been a government approval for the structure. If someone, somewhere had asked some probing questions, and taken action, perhaps the shack would have been dismantled, and the viewing centre would not be there. Even if a cable had fallen, as it did, the casualty rate, if any, wouldn’t have been so high.
That is the right thing to do. But that, given the reality in many of Nigeria’s urban centres, where growth and expansion always trump planning, is easier said than done.
All over the country, there are fully built-up areas, under high tension wires. At night, these cables hum and buzz, as they ferry high-tension electricity. The people underneath are aware of the danger. But poverty and sheer fatalism make them wish the danger away.
The governments too, often overwhelmed, with millions of denizens fleeing the city centre in search of cheaper rents in the outskirts, know the right thing to do. But they seldom have the political will to do them.
If you decide to pull down the structures, do you have the cash to resettle the people? Even if you have the cash, do you boast the logistics to resettle everyone fairly, such that such an exercise doesn’t lead to another social crisis?
If you apply the big stick and just pull down the houses, how would you guard against crime and other effects of homelessness, and their stupendous social costs? So many a time, an over-stretched government just does nothing and pretends the problem would go away. Well, the result is the Calabar tragedy.
What to do is to take a wholistic look at Nigeria’s endemic crisis of urbanisation and put in place town-planning counter-measures to stem unbridled settlements. This is the real disease. All other results, no matter how grim, are nothing but symptoms.
The government cannot afford to shirk its responsibility of making our cities and towns safe for human habitation. So, if it must enforce stringent environmental planning laws, setting the human rights community whining in antipathy, so be it. Only the living claim human rights. The dead don’t.
Let the Calabar deaths; therefore, signify new thinking in this all-important matter. Enough of needless deaths.
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Reps query police over officers’ deaths, missing ammunition
The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts has expressed dissatisfaction over the non-reportage/ late reportage of deaths of police officers by the police hierarchy.
The committee, led by Kingsley Chinda, at an investigative hearing, frowned at the non- reportage of arms and ammunitions carted away from police personnel during attacks reportedly caused by religious bigots, bandits, hoodlums and militants.
The lawmakers were not pleased that the police echelon reported the deaths and missing arms late, thereby delaying the required actions.
The committee’s hearing followed the report of Auditor General of the Federation (AGF) for the year ended December 31, 2013, which chronicled the police infractions.
Considering the reports, the committee members discovered that after the police officers were killed, various arms and ammunitions were stolen by the bandits.
Failure to promptly report the loss of the arms to the appropriate authorities for immediate action was an act of negligence by the police, the committee members said.
The lawmakers noted that interest shown in the matter in 2013 by the AGF prompted the police to generate reports on some of the occurrences that took place between 2009 and 2012.
No fewer than 128 police officers lost their lives to activities of criminals in various parts of the country in the last three months as at November 2016, the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, said.
Assistant Inspector General, Accounts and Budgets Abdul Salami Iyaji, who represented the IGP to defend the allegations in the report, blamed the delay by the police on technical problems.
“It occurs sometimes that equipment meant to transmit signals could fail us,” he told the lawmakers.
According to him, an occurrence in 2009 was truly not reported promptly by the police until 2013.
On the loss of ammunition, he said officers found to be negligent in the handling of arms were usually sanctioned.
The committee chairman, in his ruling fixed February7, 2017 for continuation of hearings.
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Why rate of deaths from HIV is falling, by minister
Minister of Health Prof Isaac Adewole has attributed the reduction in the number of Nigerians dying from HIV-related diseases to increased awareness of their HIV status and use of drugs.
Adewole spoke at a Joint Stakeholders Summit on Drug Resistance Monitoring, Early Infant Diagnosis and Viral Load in Lagos.
The event was organised by the National HIV/AIDS Control Programme (NASCP).
Adewole said: “More people are getting to know their status and accessing HIV treatment and care; as a result, HIV-related deaths are being averted. However, there is still programmatic challenge, such as therapy adherence and retention in care with attending issues, such as HIV drug resistance, be it pre-ART or acquired among the different population groups.”
On drug resistance, the minister, who was represented by Dr Sunday Aboje, the National Coordinator, National AIDs/STIs Control Programme, said since its inceptions the national HIV response programme, has witnessed significant improvement through commitment of the various stakeholders. “Studies have shown that the surveillance and early identification of these issues which necessitates prompt intervention is required to prevent the untold effect of HIV drug resistance,” he said.
The minister said there were still challenges in the management of HIV, despite the commitment of the government and donor partners to achieving global targets.
According to him, only about 8.9 per cent of infants born to HIV positive women were being tested. “This is due to difficulty with tracking babies of HIV positive mothers delivered outside public health facilities. So also are poor Dried Blood Spots (testing of infant blood samples), viral load testing sample logistic systems and weak mentorship and supportive supervision at the health facility levels, among others,” Adewole said.
The minister said a well-coordinated programme which involved all major implementers would help solve the problems.
“Surmounting these challenges would require improving the implementation of the programme that will ultimately serve as good practice for other countries,” he noted.
Consultant Haematologist, Prof. Sulaiman Akanmu said regular monitoring of drug resistance mutations in the form of studies by institutions would help influence policies. He said: “The studies about drug resistance are important and any institution offering anti-retroviral therapy must expect that resistance will naturally evolve. We must anticipate it and put measures in place to ensure that we are able to contain it.”
Akanmu said the research was important is because before a medic could treat a patient in some countries, he must put him on an anti-retroviral therapy and drug resistance testing to determine the type of drugs to adminster to him.
“That is not feasible in our clime. We really need to give it a public approach system in the sense that we will have to find out what is the common form of resistance that occurs in our patients. We use the report of the resistance testing study to inform policy on what we should consider as first line drug, second line drug and how we should manage what we call third line regimen. That is the reason why you must be able to do drug resistance testing,” he said.
Senior Virologist, Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria, Dr Nicaise Ndembi, said there was the need to design surveys to provide evidence-driven interventions.
Ndembi, however, said the country lacked the data which showed the problem of resistance. “Basically, the concept is that if you have more exposure to anti-retroviral therapy, the virus will select resistant mutations. Thus, the reason we should worry as a nation is because the more we have people being placed on treatment, the more we have cases of more resistance. We need more research studies to know the magnitude of the problem,” he said.
Consultant in Public Health, Prof. Phyllis Kanki identified high cost of laboratory test, lack of patience to attend to or give treatment to patients as some challenges facing HIV treatment.
“All the laboratory tests have a certain cost, no waiving, the other challenge is even though the therapy works pretty well it is still life long treatment. So, you have to exercise huge patience and the healthcare system is not ready to support a patient for many years. Finally, is the patients’ compliance. Patients may have issues with taking the drugs, they may want to stop and that can be a problem for them,” she added.
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Corps members’ deaths
•The NYSC is obsolete. It needs a rethink or acrapping
The deaths of three corps members, in three different National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation camps, in Bayelsa, Kano, and Zamfara states, have reignited the debate as to the utility value of the programme started in 1973 as a way to enhance national unity. With the programme designed in such a way that corps members are sent to serve in far-flung parts of the country, away from their familiar habitats, legitimate worries arise when any of them suffer untowardly. Such is the case with the deaths of Chinyerum Nwenenda Elechi, Ifedolapo Oladepo and Monday Asuquo Ukeme.
According to the Director-General of the NYSC, Brig. General, Suleiman Kazaure: “The deaths of the trio followed brief illnesses and after medical teams in the camps battled to save them in line with established procedures.” Obviously recognising the huge public relations embarrassment the deaths have caused to the NYSC programme, not to talk of the heart-rendering experience of the parents of the deceased, the DG further said: “However, in view of these unfortunate incidents in Bayelsa, Kano, and Zamfara states, management has set up a high-powered committee to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the loss the Corps members”.
While the management of the programme should review some of its programmes and policies to forestall such tragedies, we urge the federal government to review the entire programme with a view to either scrapping it or reorganising it. Such a review is imperative considering that reducing ethnicity which is one of the major essence of initiating the programme, has not been achieved. As is obvious, ethnic bigotry has continued to ravage our country, in spite of the programme.
In essence, should the quest for national unity serve as enough reason to continue to project a programme with so much imperfection? Perhaps a comprehensive review is necessary to determine whether the programme should be made voluntary? Alternatively, shouldn’t prospective corps members have an input as to where to serve? For instance, they can be asked to choose three zones to which they would want to serve? This may save the country the ethnic tensions that arise, each time a corps member suffers an incident that could be subjected to ethnic bias.
There is also compelling economic reasons why the programme should be tinkered with. One of such is the lack of resources to maintain the camps. Indeed, many of the camps are no better that Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, with all its challenges. In many of the orientation camps across the country, basic amenities are sorely lacking, and with the commission perennially short of cash, the situation in the camps can only get more precarious. One manifestation of the lack of resources is the resort to batches, as the facilities are not enough for the teeming graduates being churned out of our universities.
Another aspect of the programme that should be re-examined is the military-style training for persons whose medical status have not been evaluated by competent personnel. With poor funding the camps, unlike in the past, are not equipped to handle basic medical emergencies, yet the intakes are usually taken through the rigour of physical exertions, as the programme is viewed as a quasi-military programme. The continuous increase in intakes as population expands further puts strain on these meagre facilities.
Instead of keeping the NYSC as a relic which is what the programme is turning into, the federal authorities should initiate a comprehensive review. While we all desire national unity, it cannot be wished into existence by merely exposing our young adults to unnecessary risks. The NYSC as is, is obsolete.
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FRSC: Speed limiter is best antidote to accidents, deaths
How do we reduce road accidents? It is by installing speed limiters in vehicles to place a cap on speeding, says Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Corps Marshal Boboye Oyeyemi. He tells ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE that the Speed Limiter Device (SLD) look s promising as more motorists embrace the device. The enforcement began penultimate Saturday.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) kept faith with the October 1, dateline for enforcement of speed device in vehicles across the country.
The corps’ rank and file were on major highways on a stop-and-check of commercial vehicles in compliance with the directive.
The Corps Marshal, Boboye Oyeyemi, and other stakeholders in the transportation sector on September 26, in Abuja, resolved to begin the enforcement of speed limiters on October 1. The limiter is an antidote to road accidents, which have assumed a phenomenal dimension in the country.
An executive summary of the first week of enfiorcement made available to The Nation by FRSC showed that 22, 908 vehicles were checked in the first week of the enforcement. Of this figure, only 1,164 vehicles had the SLD installed in their vehicles, meaning 21,744 vehicles were not with the device, the summary signed by Oyeyemi revealed.
The FRSC chief believed the SLD remained the only tool to aid a drop in accident rate across the country.
He said the tool would help the agency achieve the United Nations Decade of Action Against Road Accidents (2011-2020), to reduce crashes in the country by 50 per cent.
“We have met with all the stakeholders on the issue of the installation of the speed limiter, and they all resolved to comply with the directive. They expressed their satisfaction with all the steps taken to ensure that the device was installed on their trucks, our major concern is to ensure that as many motorists as possible comply,” he said.
The agency according to him, would embark on advisory compliance till next year, adding that the aim is to ensure that as many motorists, especially commercial fleet vehicle owners, comply.
He continued: “We would be embarking only on the advisory enforcement for now. We are going to be issuing tickets for all road traffic violation law and any vehicle caught would be given two weeks final warning deadline, to get the device installed.”
He added that all stakeholders agreed that any operator found contravening the rule after the moratorium, should be sanctioned.
“We shall embark on advisory enforcement till the end of the year and full enforcement will commence by January 1 2017. We are on course; we are going ahead to enforce the directive by October 1,” he added.
To Oyeyemi, the speed limiter was the path to restoring sanity to the nation’s roads.
He carpeted those who are canvassing the adoption of spider technology, as against speed limiter in arresting speed violators, saying that the former would be vandalised in no time.
“People should stop misleading the government and Nigerians simply because of their own personal financial gain. There is a difference between speed camera and a speed limiting device. Spider technology is just a brand name for a speed camera device like a CCTV mounted on the road to capture the speed of any vehicle on the road. It helps to monitor the speed of any vehicle and enable you to know if any particular vehicle has flouted the speed limit of that road.
“So, many people have been extolling its benefits. For instance, when the camera picks the speed of a vehicle, a citation will be given and a ticket issued. But when you look at the level of our infrastructural development, the fact that we do not yet have regular electricity supply and the high level of vandalism of public facilities, then you might want to question the propriety of anyone thinking that speed camera is the best option at this stage of our development.
“Right now, we are producing signage backup for all our road construction companies in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Works. So, how would you set out to install speed cameras with that background? Before you even finish the installation of one area, they would have removed the whole thing. Except if, with the new change mantra of the Federal Government, Nigerians’ orientation changes to start protecting, rather than vandalising public utilities and facilities,” he said.
Oyeyemi said the speed limiter was to restrain the speed of the vehicle. For example, the marginal speed on the highway is 90 km, so the device will ensure that no matter how one accelerates, one will not exceed the prescribed speed.
He said: “So, if your speed is 90, the calibration would be put at 95, to allow for an endurance or tolerance point. No matter how you accelerate, you can’t exceed the speed that has been calibrated on your vehicle. Another thing is that this device is installed once and for all, it is not something you would be renewing every year. If you buy a vehicle for about N1 million or more and you are to buy a speed limiting device for between N20 and N25,000, I think it is cost effective.
“We are talking about safety here and it makes economic sense not only to protect your life but also your investment.The limiter will greatly help reduce the rate of accidents on our roads. The lives of 170 million Nigerians most of who need one form of public transportation or the other must be preserved. Our focus would be commercial vehicles first because they carry large volume of passengers and we tend to lose more lives through them than private car owners.”
The FRSC, he said, has nothing to do with marketing the equipment. “Several marketers are already into it. It is not novel to us. Several major oil marketers, such as Mobil, MRS, Oando and Conoil, among others have keyed into installing speed limiters on their tankers long before now and we have gone ahead to ensure that all independent marketers also joined them. Now, it is compulsory to have speed limiting device on your tanker before you can load petroleum products at any of our major depots of the major marketers. We are going to insist also that it would be impossible for you to load at any tank farms if you don’t have this device. There is also some organised transport operators like the ABC, Peace Transit that have it on their fleet, so what the FRSC has simply done was just to escalate this to the national level and we invited the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to set the approved standard for use in Nigeria, which in agreement with all stakeholders, had been done.
“So, we are working with SON to ensure that the right device is imported into the country. All we want is for you to cut down on your speed because we have found out that the possibility of saving more lives increases once one cuts down on speed and reckless driving. There are 38 accredited marketers and resellers certified by SON and the FRSC to sell the speed limiter so anybody can buy from any authorised sellers,” he said,
The FRSC boss said the speed limiter was fundamental to the government on the grounds that if not installed, there was the likelihood that before the offender got his citation and ticket, he might have killed people. “That is why the speed limiter is, to us, fundamental and regarded as a fitting programme to complement its preparedness for the ‘’ ’Ember’ month’s safe road’’ campaign.
‘’The absence of road signage is becoming increasingly worrisome because they are a major cause of accidents on our roads, especially at night. The FRSC is collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Works and state Ministries of Works to assist in designing appropriate road signs, and we are ensuring that the ones we are producing are reflective, especially at night because we have seen, especially with recent cases, that most of the accidents that occurred at night were as a result of poor visibility of impediments to smooth driving on our highways.
“So, we are committed to saving lives by making sure that our roads are fitted with reflective road signs and our major focus for now are the federal roads and if we have access to these roads, we may install the signages and bill the Federal Ministry of Works to pay us back later. The fact remains that our highways require appropriate road furniture – road signs, road markings and other facilities and this is one of the things that guides a driver, especially at night,” he said.
Road signs, he said, help one to know how many miles one has covered and the speed limit required on the road and, especially, they help in warning drivers of the nature of the roads and what lies ahead.
He added: ‘’Our tracking of accidents, especially those that occurred at nights, have shown that they may have been avoided if there were illuminating road signs, especially around narrow roads or very sharp bends and turns. Driers would have taken necessary precautions that would likely prevent accidents if these were in place. Our assignment is to continue to support the Federal Ministry of Works and the states to ensure that our roads are well fitted with appropriate facilities.’’
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‘Breastfeeding reduces under-five deaths’
A consultant for the EU- UNICEF C4D in Kebbi State Mr Idris Nagia has urged the state authorities to create more awareness on the benefits of breastfeeding.
Speaking to reporters in his office, Nagia said breastfeeding is directly linked to reducing the death toll of children under five.
“With so much at stake, we need to do more to reach women with a simple, powerful message like: Breastfeeding can save your baby’s life. No other preventive intervention is more cost effective in reducing the number of children who die before reaching their fifth birthdays.”
He urged more advocates to join the campaign and to use new and creative ways to communicate with mothers and families, saying, “Raising awareness beyond the confines of the maternity ward is critical to reach these broader audiences.”
Speaking further, Nagia said, “Initiation of breastfeeding within 30 minutes after birth saves mothers from the risk of maternal death and exclusive breastfeeding on demand in the first six months of life without water or any other food will start every baby on a healthy path in life, providing all the nutrients the baby requires for optimum growth and development.”
He said UNICEF has embraced the idea of using all possible means of communication to drive he breastfeeding campaign, and encourages others to do the same.
