The Nation Newspaper

Tag: health care

  • PathCare, Synlab promote health care

    PathCare, Synlab promote health care

    Synlab, a leading provider of medical diagnostic services in Europe, has acquired the majority stake in PathCare Nigeria Limited, the largest private pathology laboratory group in Nigeria.

    PathCare is a leader in the field of human laboratory diagnostics, with a special focus on the public-private partnerships. Its strong market position is based on its high quality services, the breadth of its test portfolio and its nationwide network.

    Its Chairman, Dr Richard Ajayi, who talked about the past, present and future of the firm, said PathCare has been in existence for more than a decade. “It came into existence when the health care of the country needed urgent need for its medical needs, the pains in the country was a challenge and it has come to solve problems of many hospitals,” he said.

    As the only internationally (ISO 15189) accredited pathology laboratory in Nigeria, PathCare is constantly innovating and upgrading to provide its customers accurate and reliable results of international standards.

    The transaction with Synlab will allow PathCare Nigeria the ability to offer its Nigeria customers an extended portfolio of specialised tests being sourced from the Synlab network. The company will benefit from the technological advancements and comprehensive cost-effective solutions to enhance the local business with hospitals and other customers.

    PathCare Nigeria operates six laboratories and 21 blood collection points across Nigeria and is engaged in a public private partnership with the leading public hospital in Lagos, a leading city in Africa.

    Synlab’s Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Degott, said: “Nigeria has a population of about 186million, but a large proportion of the population does not yet have access to modern medical diagnostics. PathCare Nigeria’s customers will benefit from an enhanced test portfolio drawing from the breadth and depth  of Synlab’s international expertise.”

    PathCare Managing Director, Dr Pamela Ajayi, said: “We are very pleased to be joining Synlab. There will be huge advantages to having the European Diagnostic Leader in Nigeria, bring the most modern technological advancements in the field within the reach of every Nigeria. PathCare Nigeria will continue to push the boundaries. The launch of this premier facility in Lagos with some of the most sophisticated technology in cytology and microbiology is just the beginning.

    “We also expect this investment to have a positive impact on healthcare development in the country. With our partnership with Synlab the lack of accurate laboratory testing will be put an end to. Since the existence of Pathcare we have had a huge amount of people who use our services and are still asking us to expand our services to other state in the country and we will do that.

    “We need to make our impact felt and that is one of the reason we have come to partnership with Synlab because it is a phenomenon group, a group that can escalate our growth in term of the incredible range of test, the amount of researches done in that organisaton is something that can transform health care in Nigeria by enabling us to leap frog from where we are currently to a new space where Synlab personalised medicine is possible.”

    Pathcare with Synlab, she said, are moving from an era where there are no testing like this to a place where they can test and treat certain conditions very effectively.

  • Ebonyi residents relish NYSC’s health care outreach

    Ebonyi residents relish NYSC’s health care outreach

    The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has flagged off its health initiative for rural dwellers in Ebonyi State with a pledge by the state coordinator, Mrs Iluebbey Ememie that the service will continue to provide free medicare to people of the state.

    The state coordinator while flagging off the programme at Onueke, Ezza Local Government Area, said the programme was carefully thought-out and packaged by the DG of NYSC and his management team to  bring free medical care to the doorsteps of the poor and vulnerable persons in communities who lack access to the medical care due to no finances to do so.

    She said the programme was first held in 2015 in Abakaliki Local Government Area of the state.

    According to her, the programme has recorded many successes as it has received so many positive feedbacks from communities where it has held.

    “I make bold to state to inform you that feedback from communities where the HIRD have held in the state since its inaugural edition abound in the joy of the beneficiaries whose health have been improved and their lives made better.

    She said that buoyed by the positive feedbacks and successes recorded by the scheme, the DG of NYSC Brig Gen SZ Karaure have resolved that the programme will be held regularly.

    She, therefore, urged members of the public to take advantage of the programme which she noted is free to enrich their health.

    Mrs Iluebbey commended the state Governor, David Umahi for his support to the NYSC scheme in the state by providing a conducive atmosphere for the scheme to thrive.

    Earlier in a his remarks, the Chairman of Ezza Local Government Area, Sunday Ogodo described the programme as a sign of te love the NYSC have for the people of the area as the programme have held twice in the council.

    Represented by the supervisory councillor for Health, Malachi Agu, the chairman who assured of full participation of the people of the council also commended the NYSC for its laudable contributions in the education sector.

    Doctors from the scheme also gave health talks on hypertension and hygiene to the participants.

    One of the participants, James Nkwuda thaked the service for the programme which he noted have saved him the trouble of going to Abakaliki to receive treatment for the sickness he has been having.

    “I was wondering how I will raise money to go for treatment, you know this is farminf season and the little money I had went into farming. So the coming of the programme to Onueke has been of great help to me as I was treated free of charge with lots of drugs that I am not sure I can finish.”

     

  • Ebonyi residents relish NYSC’s health care outreach

    Ebonyi residents relish NYSC’s health care outreach

    The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has flagged off its health initiative for rural dwellers in Ebonyi State with a pledge by the state coordinator, Mrs Iluebbey Ememie that the service will continue to provide free medicare to people of the state.

    The state coordinator while flagging off the programme at Onueke, Ezza Local Government Area, said the programme was carefully thought-out and packaged by the DG of NYSC and his management team to  bring free medical care to the doorsteps of the poor and vulnerable persons in communities who lack access to the medical care due to no finances to do so.

    She said the programme was first held in 2015 in Abakaliki Local Government Area of the state.

    According to her, the programme has recorded many successes as it has received so many positive feedbacks from communities where it has held.

    “I make bold to state to inform you that feedback from communities where the HIRD have held in the state since its inaugural edition abound in the joy of the beneficiaries whose health have been improved and their lives made better.

    She said that buoyed by the positive feedbacks and successes recorded by the scheme, the DG of NYSC Brig Gen SZ Karaure have resolved that the programme will be held regularly.

    She, therefore, urged members of the public to take advantage of the programme which she noted is free to enrich their health.

    Mrs Iluebbey commended the state Governor, David Umahi for his support to the NYSC scheme in the state by providing a conducive atmosphere for the scheme to thrive.

    Earlier in a his remarks, the Chairman of Ezza Local Government Area, Sunday Ogodo described the programme as a sign of te love the NYSC have for the people of the area as the programme have held twice in the council.

    Represented by the supervisory councillor for Health, Malachi Agu, the chairman who assured of full participation of the people of the council also commended the NYSC for its laudable contributions in the education sector.

    Doctors from the scheme also gave health talks on hypertension and hygiene to the participants.

    One of the participants, James Nkwuda thaked the service for the programme which he noted have saved him the trouble of going to Abakaliki to receive treatment for the sickness he has been having.

    “I was wondering how I will raise money to go for treatment, you know this is farminf season and the little money I had went into farming. So the coming of the programme to Onueke has been of great help to me as I was treated free of charge with lots of drugs that I am not sure I can finish.”

     

  • Minister urges governors to invest in health care

    WINISTER of Health Prof. Isaac Adewole has urged governors to give priority attention to the health care by deploying more resources to it, saying such steps will help to curb high rate of maternal mortality

    Adewole, who spoke yesterday at a reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child , adolescent health and nutrition meeting in Abuja with stakeholders organised by Future Assured, a non-governmental organisation owned by the President’s wife, Hajia Aisha Buhari, lamented the increasing rate of maternal mortality in Nigeria.

    The minister hailed the first lady for the initiative, saying: “This is the change we desire. Wives of leaders must, as of necessity, compliment their husbands by providing the much needed support to promote efficient delivery of electoral promises to Nigerians.

    “Health is a cardinal deliverable of this administration and it is, therefore, not surprising that the wife of Mr. President is focusing on health of the vulnerable groups – women and children – through her NGO, Future Assured.”

    He noted: “Every minute of every day, somewhere in the world, a pregnant woman dies as a result of complications arising during pregnancy or child birth and the majority of these deaths are avoidable in Nigeria.

    “Current statistics indicate that our Maternal Mortality Ratio is 576 per 100,000 live births (NDHS 2013). Maternal Mortality Ratio remains unacceptably high despite significant reduction in Maternal Mortality globally, in the past one and a half decade.”

    According to the minister, the major causes of maternal mortality in Nigeria are largely preventable if there are adequate resources.

    He added that one out of every four Nigerian women that died from pregnancy related complications are due to excessive bleeding after childbirth.

    “Other causes of death such as infections, hypertension, unsafe abortion and obstructed labour can be averted if there is a strong health system. For example, a significant proportion of state governments do not have up to 10 per cent of skilled birth attendants during delivery. This is probably the most important game changer, if we are to reverse maternal mortality trend in this state.

    “A strong advocacy by Your Excellencies to our governors to invest in health as they do to other physical infrastructure like roads will be desirable.”

  • Free health care for the aged

    Free health care for the aged

    Help to the Aged Foundation (HAF), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has provided free health care services for the aged in Lemode-Ijoko Village in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State.

    The health care initiative was part of its outreach programmes for the aged and the third of its kind this year since its inception  seven years ago.

    The outreach, which also included feeding the aged, also witnessed free eye tests and provision of free eye glasses for some of them with various signs of eye discomfort.

    The initiator of the programme, Jumoke Kolawole, said the initiative was borne out of her desire to take care of the aged in the society as they cannot fend for themselves, even as she decried lack of care by government and the entire society.

    Doctors and health practitioners were on ground to check the health status of the aged, provide drugs for them and a nutritionist was around to tell them the benefits of consumption of healthy foods.

    Kolawole said the suffering of the aged around her gave her the vision to begin the foundation, adding that the idea to establish the foundation began in 2004 when she was a student at the Lagos State University (LASU).

    She said: “In 2004, Baba Abu was a 67 year-old-man. He had come in a trailer carrying cows from Kano to Alaba Rago, Iyaba Iba in search of greener pastures. He lived at the corridor of a storey building in the community and usually slept on the floor with four young boys.

    “I was going for lectures on that day (I lived off campus just opposite LASU gate). I stood by the road waiting to cross because there was a bit of traffic when I noticed an elderly man who had a bowl on his head. Baba was hawking pure water and someone called to buy pure water in one of the slowly moving buses on the road; Baba ran towards him and didn’t catch up with the moving bus while another younger guy ran faster and sold.  Yet another passenger in another vehicle screamed pure water! And before Baba could get to the intending buyer, another younger hawker had outran Baba and sold his.”

    Those experiences and encounters, according to her, led to the establishment of  HAF as a welfare intervention support to the elderly with a mission to provide support, assist, and care for older people, particularly those in need due to abandonment, frailty, vulnerability, lack of adequate resources and medical problem.

    “We sought to achieve this by ensuring they have access to health and social care that they need. We sometimes give stipends, and empower them for sustainability and independence as our interventions also included providing practical help, counselling, companionship and emotional support to older people in their homes sometimes. We try to ensure that they have opportunities to live a fulfilled, healthier, longer life and enjoy a sense of well-being,” she said.

    She revealed that the cost has always been on her and some volunteers who seek support from individuals and government to make the foundation achieve its aim.

    A beneficiary of the outreach, 63-year-old Mrs Bola Adewale appreciated the foundation for coming to their community, even as she called on government to support HAF so that more communities could be assisted.

    Mr Kazeem Adekoya, a pensioner and also a beneficiary said he was glad that some people are taking care of the aged in their own little way as that will be the first time that such was happening in the community.

     

  • Obaseki launches primary health care committee

    Obaseki launches primary health care committee

    Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, yesterday, inaugurated a committee on  Remodelling Primary Health Care (PHC) to facilitate the proper functioning of PHCs.

    Speaking during the inauguration at the Government House, Benin, Obaseki said the state of PHCs in the state was not ideal and that the system needed to be overhauled.

    He said the remodelling  would reduce the burden on secondary and tertiary health centres and the cost of accessing health services.

    The governor said the remodelling initiative was aimed at achieving one standardised PHC in each of the 18 councils during its pilot stage.

    He, therefore, urged the committee to conduct an assessment of facilities at the PHCs, including cold stores, identify challenges confronting the centres, as well as evolving implementable plans.

    Obaseki told committee members to bring their experience to bear and come up with the ‘New Vision of Primary Health Care housed under One Roof in the state’.

    The governor added that a committee on the Edo Health Insurance Scheme would be set up as part of plans to improve access to health care services in the state.

    In her remarks, the Chairman of the committee, Prof. Obehi Okojie, thanked the governor for the opportunity given to them to serve.

    Okojie said that the health indices in the country were appalling, noting that the strengthening of the PHCs would help Nigeria to solve 70 per cent of its health problems.

    She said the committee would live up to its responsibility and carry out a systematic review of existing health data, with a view to evolving a functional PHC system in the state.

  • Obaseki reaffirms commitment to improved health care delivery

    Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has restated his administration’s willingness to improve health care delivery in the state, noting that health care is one of his government’s foci.

    This was as he received the management of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) South-South Zonal Office on a courtesy visit at the Edo State Government House yesterday, where he declared his administration’s health care goals for the state and policies to help achieve the goals.

    He said: “We have decided to domesticate the National Health Act to improve accessibility of health care services for all in the state. We will also develop a health masterplan, which will incorporate the resolutions made in our recent health workshop”.

    In addition, Governor Obaseki said his administration would also revitalise Primary Health Care (PHC) centres in the states.

    He noted that having functional PHC centres would reduce diseases, as it was germane to the health care system.

    On health insurance, he revealed that the government does not have the resources to do so fully, after which he called on NHIS to work with the state in repositioning its health care system.

    Meanwhile, the General Manager of NHIS South-South Zonal office, Dr Akingbade Olufemi commended the governor for prioritising health care among his agenda for the state, noting that the state’s investment in health care would guarantee healthy people, who would be able to take up the over 200,000 jobs promised by the present administration.

    He added that the state government should find a way to make health care compulsory and revitalise the primary health care system in the state.

    When this was done, he concluded, the government would be able to take care of the 3.4 million people in the state.

  • How to achieve success in health care delivery, by Obi

    How to achieve success in health care delivery, by Obi

    Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has mentioned two p-words: planning and prioritisation, as being at the root of a successful health care delivery. Without them, every health care policy will fail, he told fresh graduates of the University of Nigeria, College of Medicine at the college campus in Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu.

    Obi who delivered a keynote address at the event, urged the graduates to resolve to make the world a better place.

    Recalling his days as governor, Obi said his success was due to his collaboration with develop-ment partners, organisations and the Church.

    He said it was also necessary to prune down the cost of governance, which he described as “too high”, in Nigeria.

    Using the Church as an example, he said Anambra was able to record a first in external examinations because of the return of schools to the Church, which was followed up by massive funding towards the rehabilitation of the returned schools.

    In health, he said before he became governor not one medical institution was accredited in the state and that working closely with the Church, he was able to secure accreditation of 11 health institutions, including two hospitals. He revealed that he was working on the accreditation of the third hospital- Ekwulobia General Hospital, before he handed over.

    Speaking further, Obi also explained his pains at discovering that the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu University admitted students who could not graduate due to lack of a teaching hospital. He said  that under two years he built one that was acclaimed as of the best in the country.

    Obi who thanked the staff and students of the University of Nigeria, challenged the new students to keep the flag of the university flying by seeking to be the best wherever they find themselves.

  • ‘Use World Bank grant on health care’

    A civil society group, Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health (PACFAH), has urged states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to use a recent grant from the World Bank for primary health care.

    The World Bank, under the programme, tagged: “Saving One Million Lives- Programme,” disbursed $500 billion to the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for improvement of  women and children health.

    The group spoke at a two-day training for reporters in Akwanga, Nasarawa State.

    Its Medical Lead Consultant, Dr. Muhammud Saleh, advised nursing mothers to engage their babies in exclusive breast feeding to avoid malnutrition.

    “Our major concern has to do with family planing, child nutrition, malaria, vaccines and essential medicines.

    “Essentially, primary health care services have been covered in the grant saving one thousand lives initiatives. What is needed is for government to institutionalise a working structure to govern activities and implementation of this grant such that an accountable mechanism is well pronounced for expenditure…

    “The emphasis is on result based programming; the most state that performed better will get more reimbursement. The fund is about $500 billion and 82 per cent of it is going to the state.

    ‘’Most state are now in the process of institutionalising it in the primary care development agency so that a consolidated team can be established and better result achieved. So, we are monitoring them and we cannot allow them to divert it,” he said.

     

  • 10, 000 benefit from group’s free health care

    10, 000 benefit from group’s free health care

    The spate of drug abuse, poor diagnosis and lack of access to quality health care among Nigerians has become worrisome. Most Nigerian youths have become addicted to drug while self-medications have become the order of the day in almost every home.

    According to experts, these have resulted in untimely deaths of individuals and severe medical complications in many.  Worse still, the non-availability of health information has almost made it impossible to prevent even the commonest disease.

    However, in what seems like a rescue mission to improve the quality of health care in Nigeria in consonance with the recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO), INVIVO Health and Beauty Stores introduced a one-stop destination for all health and beauty needs with over 10,000 Nigerians treated free within one year in its three stores located in Lagos, Abuja and Ibadan.

    Speaking during a tour of its facilities in Lagos and Ibadan, the Director, Mr. John Onyeoguzoro, who revealed that plans are underway to treat 2,500,000 Nigerians free annually.

    “Already two more outlets are currently in the pipeline and these will run a pharmacy and treatment room with a resident doctor offering free consultations on daily basis,” he said.

    Onyeoguzoro noted that INVIVO, a subsidiary of Smartmark Limited, was established to address social problems such as lack of access to primary health care; the menace of counterfeit and fake dugs; self-medication and lack of early diagnosis of potentially fatal disease conditions.

    According to him, INVIVO is determined as a patient-centred and health-focused business, to support the government towards achieving its primary health care goals.

    “Health is one of the basic rights of life, but unfortunately a lot of Nigerians don’t have access to it,” he said.

    The Deputy Managing Director explained that the organisation is managed by seasoned professionals who have spent years of their careers in the pharmaceutical sector and understand where gaps exist and to offer solutions.

    Narrating their experiences since inception in 2014, he noted that the incidence of drug abuse is on the rise among young people.

    “There was a time a young boy came here to ask for codeine-based cough and cold syrup. We walked him out because he didn’t come with prescription. We did that because what he asked for are regulated products and subject to abuse.

    Also conducting reporters round its INVIVO health facility in Ibadan, Dr. Funto Ogundapo revealed that no fewer than 3,000 patients have been treated for free in the last 10 months.

    According to Ogundapo, the clinic offers free medical consultancy, partner with Metro free eye checkups and glaucoma screening.

    Other tests she listed included free HIV/Hepatitis B screening, screening for Cervical PAP Smear, Mammography as well as prostrate screening.

    Continuing, she said the clinic also collaborates with Ibadan South West Local Government Primary Health Care Department to provide free immunisation for children aged 0-59 months and offer vaccination for Hepatitis B at a reduced price.

    Noting the importance of health promotion, Ogundapo hinted that the clinic was into preventive, health promotion services and awareness on tests available for each age group and gender.

    “Reproductive, maternal and child services are also available. Counselling and information are given on the use of family planning and contraceptive. Body mass index calculation and weight management counselling are also given with subsequent follow-up of high risk obesity patients for cardiovascular risk assessment for all customers,” she said.