The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Dr. Faisal Shuaib

  • Agency decries high child, maternal mortality rate

    Dr Faisal Shuaib, Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), has decried the high rate in maternal and child mortality rate in the country.

    Shuaib made the condemnation on Monday in Abuja, while presenting the agency’s strategic approach to rapidly reduce maternal and child mortality at community levels.

    The executive director declared a state of public health concern on maternal, newborn and child deaths occurring at primary health care (PHC) and community levels.

    “Every day in Nigeria, approximately 145 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, this is equivalent to having 1 Boeing 737-300 series airplane, fully loaded with 145 women crashing every single day in Nigeria, killing everyone on board.

    “Every day in Nigeria, approximately 2,300 children under five years die mainly from preventable causes.

    “Similarly, this is equivalent to having 15 Boeing 737-300 series airplanes fully loaded with 145 children under five years old, crashing every single day in Nigeria and killing all the children on board.

    “One out of every eight Nigerian children dies before having a chance to celebrate his or her 5th birthday.

    “Having noted the high rate of maternal, newborn and under-five child mortality and the insufficiency of our efforts to reverse the trend, I hereby declare a state of public health concern on maternal, newborn and child deaths occurring at the primary health care (PHC) and community levels.’’Shuaib said the establishment of a National Coordination Centre within the NPHCDA to provide oversight on Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal, Child, Adolescent Health plus Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) activities at PHC level, would help tackle the challenge of preventable deaths.

    Also, a traditional ruler from Bayelsa His Royal Highness Alfred Diette-Spiff, who was a special guest at the event, commended efforts by the federal and some state governments to address mortality rates.

    He said child birth should be a pleasant experience for mothers and a happy moment for the family and the nation.

    “Childbirth should be a very pleasant experience for mothers and a happy occasion for the family and nation, but when you have to say a prayer instead as though the mothers are being condemned; it is time we take action.

    “I am happy that the Federal Government has risen to this challenge and taken the bold step to get all of us together.

    “Some states have also taken the bold step already; our state Bayelsa has launched their programme about 6-7 weeks ago.

    “Every pregnant woman is put on a small stipend to encourage them go for ante-natal.

    “So this is the right step in the right direction, as we have decided to take the bull by the horn, and having put our hands to the plough, there is no turning back,’’.

    Dr Eugene Kongnyuy , United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Acting Country Representative, said the new project aligns with the vision of UNFPA, and its three transformative resources, one of which he said was to prevent or end maternal deaths.

  • Measles: FG earmarks N3.5bn, target 33m under five children

    Measles: FG earmarks N3.5bn, target 33m under five children

    Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire has revealed that, the federal government has set aside N3.5 billion for measles vaccination of 33 million under five children across the country.

    The minister told journalists in Kaduna on Tuesday shortly after he demonstrated the vaccination at Miyetti Allah primary healthcare centre, Rigasa, Igabi local government area of Kaduna State that, N2.5 billion has already being released to ensure the success of the programme.

    Represented by the Executive Director, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, the minister said, the early release of N2.5 billion has enabled the ministry to make adequate preparation for the success of the vaccination between now and early 2018.

    According to him, “measles is one of the leading causes of death among young children especially those under five years of age. Despite the availability of safe and effective vaccines, Nigeria accounts for the highest burden of measles globally with 3.3 million unimmunized children.

    “This is due to persistently low routine immunization coverage and the fact that several measles supplemental immunization campaigns conducted to provide a second opportunity to reach unimmunized children has failed to achieve the required 95 percent coverage.

    “The federal ministry of health is however confident that, this 2017/2018 campaign will be different going by the high quality preparation and financial commitment by all levels of government.

    “The sum of N3.5 billion was earmarked for this measles vaccination campaign across the country. But N2.5 billion has been released to enable us adequately prepare for the exercise and that is a signal that, the exercise will be a huge success.

    “We are here in Kaduna flagging-off the campaign for the Northwest. For this zone, it will run between Thursday 9th and Wednesday 15th November while we have stagger campaign in the other zones between now and 2018″, he stressed.

    Declaring the exercise open earlier, Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai said, 1,498,332 children in the state are expected to be vaccinated during the one week exercise.

    El-Rufai, who spoke through his deputy, Arch. Barnabas Bala Bantex reiterated the commitment of his administration towards provision of quality healthcare services to the people of the state as evident in prompt release of N38, 402,675 as counterpart funding from the state for the exercise.

    According to the governor, “we have released our counterpart funding to ensure each child is vaccinated so they can be prevented from preventable killer diseases.

    “Measles is highly contagious. It can kill children directly through weakening their immune system. Immunising our children remains one of the cost effective means of curbing under five mortality rate in our state and the country.

    “I want to use this medium to appeal to our people to join us in this campaign by avail their children for the exercise because it is a collective action towards survival of our children. The vaccines have been certified okay by WHO and NAFDAC which means, they are safe for the children”, he assured.

  • FG flags off 2017/2018 national measles vaccination campaign

    FG flags off 2017/2018 national measles vaccination campaign

    The Federal Government will Tuesday flag off the 2017/2018 National measles campaign.

    Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire will flag off the campaign in Kaduna state.

    The Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Faisal Shuaib announced this in Abuja Monday in a statement issued by Mr.Saadu Salahu Head, Public Relation Unit, NPHCDA.

    Dr. Faisal said that a total of 33 million Nigerian children aged 9months to 59months are to be immunized against measles by the end of the campaign. He disclosed that 95% coverage is the Federal Government`s target for the 2017/2018 campaign, against the 84.5% coverage attained in the 2015 campaign.

    Read: FG to launch new Family Planning Campaign

    The Executive Director explained that the measles vaccine would be administered to children aged 9 months to 59 months at health centers, fixed health posts, churches, mosques, motor parks, public places, schools and homes.

    Dr. Faisal disclosed that a time table phasing and staggering the campaign had been introduced as part of the efforts to ensure highest quality, coverage and effective measles campaign in the country.

    According to him, North West Zone will conduct its own campaign from 9th to 21st of this month. It will be followed by the North East from 30th November to 12th December, 2017, while the North Central campaign will take place from 1st to 20th February, 2018. All states in the Southern part of the country will conduct their measles vaccination campaign from 8th to 20th March, 2018.

    Dr. Faisal described measles as a dangerous and infectious disease that spreads rapidly from one infected child to another and a major cause of blindness, malnutrition and death among children. He therefore appealed to all Parents, Guardians, Caregivers and Nigerians in general to make their children and wards available for the measles vaccination campaign.

    Among personalities expected at the flag off are the Executive Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar III other traditional and religious leaders, members of the National Assembly, NGOs and Civil Society organizations.

    Read Also: Military not involved in vaccination – FG

  • Agency assures donors of transparency, accountability

    The National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) has assured donors of improved transparency and accountability in delivering primary healthcare services in Nigeria.

    The Executive Director, NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuaib, made this known while briefing newsmen in Abuja on Friday.

    The NPHCDA boss said he has been working to reposition the agency to imbibe the culture of transparency, accountability, performance management and value for money.

    He said the priority of the agency was to create a system that makes people more comfortable to donate more money to the agency to reverse the country’s maternal and newborn child mortality index.

    According to him, in the last few years, there has been a cloud of mistrust, lack of credibility over the agency.

    “We see it as a priority to dispel this cloud; we want to re-establish the agency as a bold and innovative organisation that will provide leadership that harness PHC system in Nigeria.

    “While moving forward to achieve our mandate, we are going to work our talk, honour our commitment and we will ensure that we do business with integrity and probity.

    “We will ensure that the funds are utilised judiciously. We call on the partners to join the new leadership and match the ideas of the agency in changing the narrative,’’ he said.

    The Federal Government on February 16 signed a 70 million Euro grant agreement with the European Union to improve access to effective healthcare, nutrition and push for polio eradication programmes.

    The grant will strengthen 774 PHCs and it will contribute to the revitalisation of the 774 PHCs; promote maternal and newborn health in Adamawa, Kebbi and Bauchi states.

    NAN also reports that the grants’ benefitting states are Adamawa, Bauchi, Kebbi, Sokoto and Anambra.

    The grant would be implemented by the NPHCDA, WHO, UNICEF and state ministries of health of the benefiting states.

  • Buhari appoints Shuaib head of NPHCDA

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday approved the appointment of Dr. Faisal Shuaib as the Executive Secretary of National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA).

    A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu said that Dr. Shuaib is a medical doctor and public health specialist and currently a Senior Program Officer (Africa) for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) at Seattle, USA.

    He said: “At the BMGF, Dr. Shuaib is responsible for developing and implementing strategies on polio outbreak response activities in Africa. Prior to joining the foundation, Dr. Shuaib coordinated Nigeria’s successful response to the outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) as the Incident Manager of the Ebola Emergency Operations Centre in 2014.

    “He was also a member of the six-man panel established to assess the response of the World Health Organization (WHO) to the global Ebola outbreak in 2014 and provided technical advice to the Federal Ministry of Health and NPHCDA in areas of immunization and polio eradication activities between 2012 and 2015.

    “Dr. Shuaib had in the past also worked as a research associate at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.” he said.