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Tag: Mustapha Jibril

  • 5,500 people treated for cataract, other eye problems in Niger

    Niger state government has treated over 5,500 people from the three senatorial districts for cataract and other eye problems

    Speaking at the end of the free camp for treatment of eye problems in Kontagora, the state Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello said that 1500 people were operated for cataract cases, 4,000 others were treated for various eye diseases while 1500 glasses were given out.
    He lamented that there is a backlog of cataract cases in the country which is unacceptable adding that every naira spent in vision restoration or curing blindness is likely to generate four times return in economic gain.
    Bello said the free eye camp is for the benefit of the people which is the reason why it is spread across the three senatorial zones in the state.
    The Commissioner of Health, Dr. Mustapha Jibril said the project which is in conjunction with the Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria and the Federal government aim at providing free eye surgeries to 10,000 Nigerians suffering from cataract and cannot afford the cost of treatment.

    Read Also: 28 lives lost in 3 boat mishaps in Niger

    He noted that the eyes are the most important sense organs in the body adding that the state intend to clear the backlog of cataract cases adding that more free eye camps would be organized in the future.
    Jibril said that the ultimate goal of the state government is to strengthen the health system to enable every person living in the state to be able to access quality and affordable care whenever and wherever the need arises.
    He then noted that the state had made appreciable progress across several health system performance indicators.

  • World Breastfeeding Week: ‘Spare Your Wife’s Breast for the Baby’

    Men have been urged to release their wives breast for six months to enable them concentrate on breastfeeding their babies.

    The Niger state Commissioner of Health and Hospital Services, Dr. Mustapha Jibril made this urge in a press briefing to commemorate the World Breastfeeding Week in Minna.

    He said that the role played by men in supporting breastfeeding is very important stressing on the need for men to be educated and have the knowledge about breastfeeding.

    The Commissioner who lamented that less than 40 per cent of breastfeeding mothers breastfeed their babies exclusively said that one tenth of the under five children who die is as a result of them not being breastfed.

    The State Nutritionist, Amina Isah further urged men to support their wives in undertaking some house chores so that the house load in the house would be reduced for them to breastfeed their babies comfortably.

    She then stressed on the need for adequate feeding with the right nutrition urging women to stay away from artificial breast milk and processed food until after the baby is past six months.

  • Niger gov’s wife express dismay over poor cancer care

    Niger gov’s wife express dismay over poor cancer care

    The Wife of the Niger state Governor, Dr. Amina Sani Bello has expressed dismay over poor state of cancer care and the lack of treatment centers in the nation.

    She lamented that  of the six government treatment centers across the nation, only one is functional.
    Bello stated this after the signing of a N400 billion Memorandum of Understanding ( MOU ) between the Niger state government,  Raise Foundation and Roche Products Limited in Minna.
    “It is disheartening that cancer care in Nigeria is a bad thing,  there are 180 million Nigerians yet, we have less than 10 cancer centers across the country. Out of the six government owned, only one is functional but people still travel abroad for treatment which can be received in the country but sadly, we have trained specialists but no facilities”, she said.
    The Governor’s Wife who is also the founder of Raise Foundation expressed optimism that the MOU when implemented will go a long way to reduce the huge financial burden faced by cancer patients and their families.
    The Country Head of Roche Products Limited, Dr. Hamid Oladipo said the MOU would provide an end to end solution to cancer patients in the state while commending the Wife of the Governor for her enlightenment programmes which  will go a long OK no way in educating the people about the disease.
    The State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Mustapha Jibril in his address said Roche Product Limited would take 70 per cent of the cost of the drug component of the project while the state government would take up 30 per cent.
    He stated that this is the first cancer care strategy project in the state adding that although it is starting with breast and cervical cancer, in years to come,  it would expand into other areas.

  • Niger spends N39m to combat Meningitis ‎‎  

     

    Niger Government says it has spent N39 million to combat the outbreak of Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) in the state.
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    The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Mustapha Jibril, told newsmen on Friday in Mina that the state recorded 33 deaths out of its 123 CSM cases.

    Jubril said that a total of 4,100 tablets of Ciprofloxacin were distributed to contacts of suspected cases in the affected areas, including health workers.

     

    According to the commissioner, represented by the Director of Public Health, Dr Muhammed Usman, 12 local government areas were affected by the epidemic.

    “Magama LGA had 70 cases and recorded 31 deaths; in Rijau, 17 cases were recorded with one death; Kontagora had a record of 19 cases with one death.

    “The remaining nine LGAs are Suleja with six cases; Agwara, two cases; Paikoro, one case; Mashegu one case; Tafa, one case; Mariga, one case; Lapai one;  Beji, one; and Bosso Local Government, one case without any death.‎

    “Thirty-three lives were lost in three of the affected local governments,’’ the commissioner said.
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    J‎ibril said that Outbreak Response Centres had been activated to help curtail the spread of the disease.

    He warned Niger residents against sleeping in crowded rooms and to report persistent headache and neck pain to the nearest hospital.

    He advised‎ the public to protect themselves from people with cough and flu as the bacteria causing meningitis could spread from person-to-person through coughing and sneezing‎.
    ‎
    He said that the state was collaborating with the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) and Doctors without Borders to respond to the outbreak.
    ‎‎
    Meningitis is a relatively rare but contagious and deadly infection that affects the delicate membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord.

    Bacterial Meningitis can be deadly among people in close contact, while Viral Meningitis‎ tends to be less severe, with most people recovering completely without specific therapy.
    ‎
    Fungal meningitis is a rare form of meningitis and generally occurs only in people with weakened immune systems.

     

  • 16 die from Cerebrospinal Meningitis outbreak in Niger

    16 people have died from the outbreak of Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) in Niger state. The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Mustapha Jibril disclosed on Tuesday.

    Confirming the deaths from the outbreak of CSM while briefing newsmen in Minna, the commissioner said that 31 cases have been recorded in four local government areas of the state which include Magama, Rijau, Kontagora and Agwara.

    He said that the deaths were recorded in two villages in Magama local government area as a result of refusal of the affected patients to go to health facilities.

    “We have had 23 CSM cases from Magama local government area, four from Rijau, three from Kontagora and one from Agwara. The 16 deaths were recorded in Magama local government area. The death involved seven male and nine female.”

    He added that 384 suspected CSM cases with 8 laboratory confirmation and 49 deaths have been recorded so far in 21 states in the country.

    Jibril said that the first case of death of CSM in Niger state was discovered on the 6th of March by the District Surveillance and Notification Officer in Magama lamenting that the Ministry have problems in persuading the people in the local government to access healthcare as their belief in orthodox treatment is high.

    He added that contrary to belief of the villagers that the sickness was caused by witchcraft, the disease was actually caused by a ‘Type C’ bacterium.

    The Commissioner said that case tracing is ongoing and antibiotics is being given to people in the four local government areas urging anyone who is sick to go to the nearest hospital for treatment.

    “Actions taken by the state include, outbreak response has been activated as the state is working with the World Health Organization in responding to the outbreak, the state is also prepositioning drugs at Magama local government area and case management is ongoing.”