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Tag: Killer diseases

  • Avoidable killer diseases

    Avoidable killer diseases

    •Concerted efforts needed to check malaria, TB, HIV, Lassa fever, etc.

    An in-depth report by the Leadership Weekend newspaper vividly illustrated, once again, the continued fragility and inefficacy of Nigeria’s healthcare system. Consequently, diseases such as malaria, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), tuberculosis, and Lassa fever, which have been virtually wiped out in many medium and high income countries, remain endemic here. Given Nigeria’s level of resource endowment, including her annual revenue earnings, there is no excusable reason why these diseases should persist, killing large numbers of our citizens.

    The deaths are clearly avoidable with more efficient and prudent management of fiscal allocations to the health sector, as well as greater effectiveness in running the sector, including personnel management, drug procurement and production, as well as a higher sense of seriousness and purpose.

    Nigeria reportedly records about 200,000 deaths as a result of malaria annually, making it one of the deadliest killer diseases in the country. The country accounts for 31 per cent of global malaria deaths, a situation attributed by experts to environmental challenges, gaps in healthcare infrastructure, as well as systemic failures.

    In the same vein, there are at least 400,000 new infections of HIV yearly and, as of 2022, an estimated 1.9 million people were living with the disease in Nigeria. The country has the highest burden of HIV in West and Central Africa, with the situation worsened by inaccurate and misleading information about the disease, the stigma associated with it, and lack of adequate facilities to treat those infected.

    It is also of little comfort that Nigeria ranks among 10 nations globally in incidence of tuberculosis burden, with over 200,000 new cases recorded annually. The impact of free tuberculosis testing and treatment is limited but inadequate funding and logistical challenges further compound the problem.

    The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) reported over 7,000 cases of Lassa fever in 2024, with about 20 per cent of infected persons dying. With Edo, Ondo and Ebonyi states reported as epicenters of the disease, it is transmitted through contact with infected rodents or contaminated food, and worsened by weak surveillance systems and ineffective rodent control.

    The prevalence of these diseases has negative economic consequences due to reduced productivity of afflicted persons. Thus, Malaria No More UK , for instance, contends that potential benefits of malaria eradication in Africa will see the rise of the continent’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by an additional $126.9 billion if the UN target of reducing malaria by 90 per cent is achieved.

    Read Also: Surveyor General, Hydrograhper General strengthen partnership to protect Nigeria’s maritime interests

    While increased allocation to the healthcare sector is a necessary condition to address these challenges, it is not a sufficient condition to achieve the desired objective of effectively checking them.

    To ensure that allocation of funds to contain these and other healthcare challenges achieve maximum impact, it is important to decisively check the incidence of corruption and criminal diversion of such resources, as well as mitigate waste and inefficiency. Other measures advocated by experts to enhance improved healthcare delivery include better public education on health issues, more effective regulation of drug sales to check the operations of street vendors and unlicensed chemists, as well as concerted efforts to enhance the morale of medical personnel through better welfare to stem the current high rate of migration of healthcare workers to other countries.

    It has been noted with deep concern that Nigeria relies heavily on international health donors for her disease control efforts such that 95 per cent of funding for the Nigeria Medical Research Institute (NMRI) reportedly comes from such organisations as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Ongoing initiatives by the President Donald Trump administration to ban the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which covers 96 per cent of treatment costs for infected persons in Nigeria, illustrates the urgent need for increased domestic funding for health care research and local drug production in Nigeria.

    No less critical is the need to enhance private sector support to boost provision of healthcare as well as enhance the spread of the country’s National Health Insurance (NHIS) to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure for qualitative healthcare services.

  • Nigeria loses 2,300 children to killer diseases daily

    Nigeria loses over 2,300 children under the age of five and 145 women of child-bearing age to maternal and child killer diseases daily, the Niger State Nutrition Officer, Mrs. Amina Isah stated yesterday.

    According to her, 500 out of these children die from malnourishment, adding that this development has made the country the second largest contributor to the under-five and maternal mortality rate in the world.

    Isah stated this during a capacity building training on Health and Nutrition challenges and funding gaps to promote effective reportage of health and nutrition issues for health reporters.

    Giving the nutritional status of children in Niger State, the Nutritional Officer said that 409,993 children in the state are stunted, 65,815 children are wasted, while 186,655 children are underweight. He added that 9,040 children have been diagnosed of acute malnutrition.

    She expressed concern that Niger State has moved from medium burden to high burden state, which has placed her as a priority state for nutrition intervention in Nigeria.

    Proffering a way forward,  Isah said the state can stop malnutrition if the government and relevant health partners adopt a comprehensive costed state multi-sectoral nutrition strategic action plan, ensure adequate funding,  comprehensive response treatment and prevention programs.

    The Project Director of the Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), Mrs. Beatrice Eluaka in her address, said stunting is now a global indicator for measuring country’s development, adding that Nigeria’s indicator is not encouraging.

    Eluaka however commended the federal and state governments of Niger, Kaduna and Nasarawa for the adoption and domestication of the National Strategic Plan of Action for Nutrition (NSPAN) and for creating budget lines for nutrition in the state Ministries of health and other line ministries.

  • Other killer-diseases next as polio is gone

    Other killer-diseases next as polio is gone

    After the country was certified polio-free, the authorities have mounted a vaccination campaign to tackle other childhood killer- diseases, reports GRACE OBIKE

    It was just as well that after polio was kicked out of the country, the health authorities did not go to sleep. In fact, Minister of Health Dr. Isaac Adewole, just weeks on the job, led a road show to drive the importance of vaccination home. After all, even with polio out of the way, there are still such killer diseases as pneumonia, measles, diphtheria, tetanus and tuberculosis.

    In the campaign, the federal government aims to immunise as many as 39 million Nigerian children against measles and hopefully give the scourge the polio treatment.

    The campaign took place all over the country, but in Abuja the Minister led volunteers, staff of the Primary Health Care board, Non-Governmental Organisations and other donor agencies into the streets, schools, mosques and churches to immunise children between the ages of nine months and five years.

    Dr Adewole said that measles has not only caused untold hardship and death in the country but has ravaged the country for so long, adding that the Federal Government intends to educate Nigerians on the fact that vaccines are safer and cheaper to prevent measles than to treat the complications of measles like pneumonia, deafness, blindness, etc.

    The minister also said the new administration of President Muhammadu Buhari intends to take health care to the doorsteps of every Nigerian, knowing the fact that over 65% of the populace are poor and unable to transport themselves to hospitals and healthcare centres.

    He said, “This as I learnt is the first time that a minister of health will be in attendance of such an event; it is quite significant, it shows the commitment of the present administration to bring health to the doorsteps of our people. Since our mantra is change, there must be a change, my presence is an indication of our commitment to change.

    “Measles has ravaged our land, decimated our children, inflicted untold miseries on our children and killed many of them, as of year 2000, estimate indicated that about 523,000 children died from measles, this will be unacceptable to any serious government and therefore we join the campaign of the WHO to contribute to the elimination of measles by 2020.

    “For this campaign, the goal is to immunise 39 million Nigerian children, this we shall do and if their is the need to go beyond that, we will do so, I want to assure you that we should make sure that this becomes a routine, so that we do not have to conduct follow-up campaigns every now and then, we should spread the gospel that the vaccine is safe and cheaper to prevent measles than treat the complications of measles like pneumonia, deafness, blindness etc.

    “It is going to be an administration with a change, change in the sense that we want to cover Nigerians, we want to target poor people, over 65% of our people are poor and so we must take health to their doorsteps, we recognise the fact that many of them cannot pay for the cost of transportation, so our duty as a responsible administration is to put health at their doorsteps, so that they can contribute meaningfully as Nigerians to the development of our great nation.”

    WHO country representative Dr. Fiona Bracca explained that the measles vaccine has been in use for over 50 years and it is safe, effective and inexpensive, over the past three years, measles vaccination has prevented an estimated 17 million deaths globally, making it one of the most cost effective, intervention plans in public health. The efforts in the African region has resulted in over 90% reduction measles however the continent continuous to experience measles outbreak that pose a real challenge towards achieving elimination efforts in the region and country as a whole.

    She said, “WHO recommends that every child should receive at least two doses of measles vaccine and we are happy to note that many countries including Nigeria have reached many children through mass vaccination campaigns.”

    Representative of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Acting Secretary of Health, Mrs Odeh Achu stated that the administration has been doing everything possible to improve the health of women and children in the FCT.

    She also added, “This intervention has shown to be cost effective, have high impact and result oriented in respect of improving child health in the FCT and Nigeria as a whole. In the FCT presently like in the other states of the federation, the FCT is shifting away from the stand alone vertical campaign to a more integrated approach that is why it has embarked on other programs that positively impacts the lives of women and children like the free anti-natal care programme, the free under five distribution of long lasting insecticide nets to households.

    “This event is yet another avenue for the FCTA to further strengthen action that will increase health care delivery to the people of the FCT, although modest achievements have been recorded in certain areas, it is my believe that we still need to do more, I am aware that the vitamin A coverage was 87% in 2010 as against the 76.6% in 2015. The FCT cumulative penta three coverage rate was 92% in 2015 and 83% in 2009.

    “The FCT Administration has placed for attainment the global target of measles elimination by the year 2020, all the necessary arrangement that will ensure the availability of relevant supplies to meet the demands for this intervention. No eligible child should be allowed to miss any of the interventions that will be provided.”

     

  • Ebonyi moves to tackle ‘killer diseases’

    Ebonyi moves to tackle ‘killer diseases’

    The Ebonyi State government has vowed to tackle  childhood killer-diseases  such as malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea.

    The Ministry of Health, in conjunction with Malaria Care and Society for Family Health, organised a ‘Training-the-Trainers’ programme on integrated community management of common childhood illnesses.

    At the opening of the worshop, the governor’s wife Mrs. Rachael Umahi, said the programme was designed to sensitise managers of healthcare delivery at the community level on effective management of childhood illnesses.

    Mrs. Umahi said patent proprietary medicine vendors were selected as participants because they were closer to the rural populace and it would equip them with current trends in medicare and management of childhood illnesses.

    She urged other stakeholders to complement the government’s efforts at promoting effective healthcare delivery.

    Mrs. Umahi hailed USAID, Federal Ministry of Health and other collaborators for choosing two local government areas, Ikwo and Onicha, as pilot areas to demonstrate that the management of common childhood illnesses could be improved upon.

    She said the government would provide the enabling environment for the dispensation of quality healthcare services to the rural dwellers, especially women and children.

     

  • Lagos trains rado medics on killer-diseases

    The Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board (LSTMB) has trained some traditional medicine practitioners to identify and manage some killer-diseases, such as  diabetes, hypertension, sickle cell disorder (SCD), malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

    Its chairman, Dr Bunmi Omoseyindemi, said the capacity building initiative for traditional medicine practitioners will have a far-reaching effect on the capacity of participants and the society.

    He said practitioners in Ikeja division of LSTMB administrative category, which consists of Ikeja, Agege and Alimosho local government areas and Mosan-Okunola and Ejigbo Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), were exposed to modern methods of diagnosing diseases. “This training is for Ikeja Division of traditional medicine practitioners. The next will be at Ikorodu, Epe and Badagry respectively,” Omoseyindemi said.

    The six killer diseases, the chairman noted, were the priority of heads of governments of African Union (AU) and as such, this year’s African Traditional Medicine Day was dedicated to all people suffering from the diseases.

    Moreover, the West Africa region through its West African Health Organisation (WAHO), has been involved in research studies for some time. “It discovered some potent herbal drugs for malaria, tuberculosis and hypertension, among others,” he said.

    This, he said, made WAHO contract some scientists, such as pharmacists, pharmacologists and pharmacognosists as well as botanists, among others, to develop suitable herbal drugs for the treatment of these diseases.

    “These scientists are to study the plants that have been used over the years by traditional medicine practitioners to treat the diseases,” he said.

    Besides, the plants are available in Nigeria and other West African countries so it can set up mini-industry to produce such drugs.

    Omoseyindemi said the LSTMB has designed a training manual to build capacity of practitioners, adding that many experts supplied needed information as inputs.

    Some of the content in the manual, he said, are the steps to take in diagnosing the diseases.

    The LSTMB chair said the practitioners are to send those who have these diseases to the laboratory for tests before commencing treatment, stressing that it is through the laboratory tests that they would be able to tell what disease a person is suffering from. Moreover, it should not be guess work.

    “After that they can use the result of the tests to start the treatment with the drugs WAHO is formulating. Even in orthodox medicine, it is not the doctors who prepare the drugs. It is the pharmacognosists and pharmacists that produce the drugs,” he stated

    The experts, he said, have joined hands to ensure they formulate herbal drugs for the six prioritised diseases.

    Omoseyindemi said there are herbariums where plants are grown for herbal medicine, adding that experts have done the signature and code for the plants to make them easily recognisable and accessible.

    “People can see the same plants in Nigeria, Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire and in other countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The issue of poisoning, that is toxicity has been done as well as chemical analysis. So we are using common plants in the region,” he said.

    He said the anti-malaria which is presently being used is the artemisimin combination therapies (ACTs), this does not make economic sense as it is quite expensive.

    “It is a Chinese product that was synthesised in Taiwan.  Our scientists, however, have come up with better anti-malaria herbal drugs but they need to call the pharmaceutical industry to buy into it,” he said.

    Omoseyindemi said the same diseases are being tackled in Cote D’Ivoire, Burkinafaso and Ghana, among other countries.

    He said traditional medicine provides  about 70 per cent of healthcare services, adding that this makes it necessary for practitioners to be trained on how to mitigate the diseases.

    “This training will also enhance their knowledge on the diseases and as such make them relevant to the current health system in the country,” he said.

    Omoseyindemi said that with the right knowledge, traditional medicine practitioners would be able to support the orthodox medicine treatment.

  • Lagos trains trado medics on killer-diseases

    The Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board (LSTMB) has trained some traditional medicine practitioners to identify and manage some killer-diseases, such as  diabetes, hypertension, sickle cell disorder (SCD), malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

    Its chairman, Dr Bunmi Omoseyindemi, said the capacity building initiative for traditional medicine practitioners will have a far-reaching effect on the capacity of participants and the society.

    He said practitioners in Ikeja division of LSTMB administrative category, which consists of Ikeja, Agege and Alimosho local government areas and Mosan-Okunola and Ejigbo Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), were exposed to modern methods of diagnosing diseases. “This training is for Ikeja Division of traditional medicine practitioners. The next will be at Ikorodu, Epe and Badagry respectively,” Omoseyindemi said.

    The six killer diseases, the chairman noted, were the priority of heads of governments of African Union (AU) and as such, this year’s African Traditional Medicine Day was dedicated to all people suffering from the diseases.

    Moreover, the West Africa region through its West African Health Organisation (WAHO), has been involved in research studies for some time. “It discovered some potent herbal drugs for malaria, tuberculosis and hypertension, among others,” he said.

    This, he said, made WAHO contract some scientists, such as pharmacists, pharmacologists and pharmacognosists as well as botanists, among others, to develop suitable herbal drugs for the treatment of these diseases.

    “These scientists are to study the plants that have been used over the years by traditional medicine practitioners to treat the diseases,” he said.

    Besides, the plants are available in Nigeria and other West African countries so it can set up mini-industry to produce such drugs.

    Omoseyindemi said the LSTMB has designed a training manual to build capacity of practitioners, adding that many experts supplied needed information as inputs.

    Some of the content in the manual, he said, are the steps to take in diagnosing the diseases.

    The LSTMB chair said the practitioners are to send those who have these diseases to the laboratory for tests before commencing treatment, stressing that it is through the laboratory tests that they would be able to tell what disease a person is suffering from. Moreover, it should not be guess work.

    “After that they can use the result of the tests to start the treatment with the drugs WAHO is formulating. Even in orthodox medicine, it is not the doctors who prepare the drugs. It is the pharmacognosists and pharmacists that produce the drugs,” he stated

    The experts, he said, have joined hands to ensure they formulate herbal drugs for the six prioritised diseases.

    Omoseyindemi said there are herbariums where plants are grown for herbal medicine, adding that experts have done the signature and code for the plants to make them easily recognisable and accessible.

    “People can see the same plants in Nigeria, Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire and in other countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The issue of poisoning, that is toxicity has been done as well as chemical analysis. So we are using common plants in the region,” he said.

    He said the anti-malaria which is presently being used is the artemisimin combination therapies (ACTs), this does not make economic sense as it is quite expensive.

    “It is a Chinese product that was synthesised in Taiwan.  Our scientists, however, have come up with better anti-malaria herbal drugs but they need to call the pharmaceutical industry to buy into it,” he said.

    Omoseyindemi said the same diseases are being tackled in Cote D’Ivoire, Burkinafaso and Ghana, among other countries.

    He said traditional medicine provides  about 70 per cent of healthcare services, adding that this makes it necessary for practitioners to be trained on how to mitigate the diseases.

    “This training will also enhance their knowledge on the diseases and as such make them relevant to the current health system in the country,” he said.

    Omoseyindemi said that with the right knowledge, traditional medicine practitioners would be able to support the orthodox medicine treatment.

  • Killer diseases of our times (2)

    Heart disease

    In recent times, heart attack, heart problems, stroke and cerebrovascular disease were the major killer diseases. The World Health Organization indicates that 31.5% women and 26.8% of men die of heart disease.There are various causes of heart disease but some risk factors are well recognized and these include, excessive fat or salt in one’s diet, lack of physical activity, and obesity.

    Cancer

    Cancer is one of those killer diseases that statistics predict will keep increasing in the next two decades. It is predicted that as many as 17 million people will die of cancer yearly. The chief causative factors are related to diet and consumables.

    Infectious diseases

    Children and young adults tend to die from infectious diseases more than from other killer diseases.

    Tuberculosis

    One third of the world’s population carry Mycobacterium tuberculosis which causes tuberculosis (TB), a disease that kills about 2 million people annually. You can catch it if you breathe from the cough or sneeze of someone with active TB. It may take a long time before the disease manifests. People with immune deficiencies such as AIDS die more easily from TB. The BCG vaccine is used as a preventive measure against TB.

    Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

    COPD causes difficulty in breathing. Smoking is a chief known culprit of COPD. Environmental pollutants are also causative factors, especially through occupational exposure or other constant long-term exposure to hazards. Lung damage can be counteracted or slowed by lung stimulating exercises and immunity strengthening diet.

    .Lower respiratory tract infections

    These lung diseases include tuberculosis, whooping cough, and pneumonia. Children under five years of age are especially vulnerable if they do not have good immunity-strengthening diets. Pneumonia ends the lives of about 4 million people yearly.

    HIV/AIDS

    It appears that 50% of people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide are women. New infections are usually in young people under25years of age. HIV-positive people can survive on antiretroviral drugs for decades.

    Malaria

    Malaria, causes 1-5 million deaths yearly.Many people in tropical areas where mosquitoes thrive have good immunity against malaria. Malaria can be fatal for visitors in endemic areas.

    Diarrhoea

    Poor hygiene leads to transfer of infectious viruses, bacteria, or parasitic worms through drinking water and food causing diarrheal diseases such as cholera and dysentery. Diarrhoea kills about 2 million people each year, mainly through dehydration in children.

    Measles

    Half amillion children die of measles yearly. Vaccination covers children against infection.

    Killer disease can be prevented through education, information, and constant reminders of the populace.

    Minus killer diseases, life expectancy is actually improving in modern times because of improved way of life in many parts of the world and advanced medicine. If we take good care of ourselves, if we avoid or beat killer diseases, there is a good likelihood that we live longer than our ancestors.

    Dr. ‘Bola John is a biomedical scientist based in Nigeria and in the USA. For any comments or questions on this column, please Email bolajohnwritings@yahoo.com or call 07028338910

  • Killer diseases of our times

    Unless you enjoy the thought of dying young, killer diseases are disasters you pray you never have. This 21C came in with many killer diseases. Some of them you can get through your own fault, by what you consume (drink, food, medicines), breathe, use as cosmetics, or expose yourself to in various ways. Some killer diseases can be given to you by other people though you try to love everyone and hope everyone remains sane (our knowledge of diseases has become a double edged sword that can be used for good or can be used for evil). Some killer diseases you get by accident or in other ways.

    There are those killer diseases that come and take someone’s life fast; within weeks. There are the slow killers that are like a green snake in green grass. You do not know you have such a disease, there is no significant symptom and you live normally till suddenly life takes a sharp turn. Then, there are the slow killers that take the victim through years of pain, uncertainty, spending, and hoping. The Nigerian expression against such things is “God forbid bad thing!”

    Some killer diseases kill more people than others. Looking back at deaths caused by diseases in recent times, the high impact killer diseases have been: cardiovascular diseases (causing about 30% of such deaths), infectious and parasitic diseases (causing more than 20% of such deaths); ischemic heart disease (causing more than 10% of such deaths); cancers (causing more than 10% of such deaths); and cerebrovascular disease or stroke (causing about 10% of such deaths). Amongst the legion of killer diseases are also: respiratory diseases, HIV/AIDS, perinatal conditions, digestive diseases, diarrheal diseases, tuberculosis, and malaria.

    Poor nutrition increases the risk of any of these diseases. In poor economies, poor people, based on their faith, often subject themselves to severe fasting in conjunction with their prayers for better life. Fasting is good but make sure severe fasting is good for you before you do it.

    Killer diseases differ in their impact between developed and developing countries. In developing countries, the killer diseases are mainly HIV-AIDS, lower respiratory tract infections, ischemic heart disease, diarrhoea, cerebrovascular disease, childhood diseases, and malaria, tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and measles.In developed countries, the killer diseases are mainly ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lower respiratory tract infections, lung cancer, stomach cancer, hypertensive heart disease, tuberculosis, and suicidal tendencies.

    Killer diseases tend to strike from the age of 40 years and it also appears that the older a victim, the more easily he or she falls to a killer disease. This is why many older people make sure they have a health insurance policy. However, our best insurance may be education. Being well informed about these diseases; their known causes and their symptoms, may help us to control their influence on our lives or even to keep them out altogether. Secondly avoiding what may increase our risk of getting them through our lifestyle (food, drink, recreation, etc.) is another good insurance. Another security is not to have enemies that can use disease as a weapon. One of the greatest fears of the world today is the massive release of biological weapons by humans-gone-wrong. Cultivating good relationships, opting for the ways of peace, and showing good examples of better life are commonsensical means of keeping society healthy.

    In the next few articles we will look at killer diseases. Hopefully, many of us will go on to live peaceful, fruitful, and long lives in good health.

    Dr. ’Bola John is a biomedical scientist based in Nigeria and in the USA. For any comments or questions on this column, please Email bolajohnwritings@yahoo.com or call 07028338910