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  • WHO raises alarm as Zika virus spreads “explosively”

    WHO raises alarm as Zika virus spreads “explosively”

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the Zika virus, linked to severe birth defects in thousands of babies in Brazil, is “spreading explosively” and can infect as many as four million people.

    THE WHO Director-General, Margaret Chan, said this at a meeting on Friday with the agency’s executive board in Geneva, adding that the spread of the mosquito-borne disease had gone from a mild threat to one of alarming proportions.

    She said that to help determine its response, WHO would convene an emergency meeting on Monday, because the level of alarm was extremely high.

    Chan told the Geneva gathering that in 2015, the virus was detected in the Americas, where it was now spreading explosively.

    She stressed that as of today, cases have been reported in 23 countries and territories in the region.

    She recalled that WHO was criticised in 2015 for reacting too slowly to West Africa’s Ebola epidemic, which killed more than 10,000 people, and it promised to cut its response time.

    “We are not going to wait for the science to tell us there is a link with birth defects.

    “We need to take actions now,” Chan said, referring to the condition called microcephaly in which babies were born with abnormally small heads and brains that have not developed properly.

    Chan promised a quick action from the WHO, stressing that this has become urgent because there is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, which is like dengue and causes mild fever, rash and red eyes.

    “An estimated 80 per cent of people infected have no symptoms.

    “Much of the effort against the illness focuses on protecting people from mosquitoes and reducing mosquito populations,’’ she said.

    Meanwhile, WHO Assistant Director, Bruce Aylward, said there was no confirmation yet in the area of vaccines.

    He said there were no indications if there had been some work done by some groups looking at the feasibility of a Zika virus vaccine.

    Aylward said it would take six to nine months to confirm whether Zika was the actual cause of the birth defects, or if the two were just associated.

  • WHO predicts up to four million Zika cases

    Three to four million people could be infected with Zika virus in the Americas this year, the World Health Organization has predicted.

    Most will not develop symptoms, but the virus, spread by mosquitoes, has been linked to brain defects in babies, the BBC reports.

    Meanwhile, the United States said it hopes to start vaccine trials in people by the end of the year.

    WHO director general, Dr. Margaret Chan, said Zika had gone “from a mild threat to one of alarming proportions.”

    She has set up a Zika “emergency team” after the “explosive” spread of the virus.

    It will meet on Monday to decide whether Zika should be treated as a global emergency.

    The last time an international emergency was declared was for the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which has killed more than 11,000 people.

    Zika was first detected in Uganda in 1947, but has never caused an outbreak on this scale.

    Brazil reported the first cases of Zika in South America in May 2015.

    Most cases result in no symptoms and it is hard to test for, but WHO officials said between 500,000 and 1.5 million people had been infected in the country.

    The virus has since spread to more than 20 countries in the region.

  • WHO convenes emergency meeting on Zika virus

    WHO convenes emergency meeting on Zika virus

    The World Health Organisation said it had convened a meeting of an expert committee to determine if the Zika virus outbreak in the Americas constitutes a global health emergency.

    WHO Chief, Margaret Chan, said on Thursday, during an interaction with member state representatives in Geneva, that the level of alarm was extremely high.

    She said the meeting had become necessary because the disease, which has been tentatively linked to a spike in babies born with malformed heads in Brazil, has spread to 23 countries and territories in the Americas.

  • Lassa fever: WHO calls for intensive awareness campaign

    Lassa fever: WHO calls for intensive awareness campaign

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday urged governments at all levels to intensify public awareness campaigns on Lassa fever in the rural areas.

    Mrs. Faith Irehi, WHO Coordinator in Edo, made the call during a sensitisation campaign on Lassa fever in Etsako West Local Government Area of the state.

    “Following the recent outbreak of Lassa fever in Etsako West and other parts of the country, governments need to sensitise the public on the need to maintain good personal hygiene, especially in the rural areas.

    “What we need to do is to ensure that our people are well informed as everyone needs to know what to do to prevent the disease from affecting them.’’ Irehi said that people living in the rural areas were at greater risk of contracting the disease especially those who lived where rats and rodents are often found.

    She also advised communities to improve on their hygiene level and protect their foods from the excreta and urine of rodents, particularly the `Natal Multimammate’ mouse.

    The `Natal Multimammate’ specie of mouse was found to be the natural host of the Lassa fever virus.

    The WHO coordinator cautioned people against bush burning and spreading `garri’ outside, saying that this was common with people living in the rural areas.

    “The key thing is prevention because we are still coming to the peak; February and March are actually the period for bush burning.

    “We can actually prevent this; People should stop the practices of bush burning and spreading `garri’ outside.

    “They should cook their food well because the things that can cause Lassa fever include contact with the faeces, saliva and secretions from infected people or agents,’’ Irehi advised.

  • WHO urges ‘strong Ebola surveillance’ in West Africa

    WHO urges ‘strong Ebola surveillance’ in West Africa

    The last known chains of transmission in the Ebola virus in West Africa have been stamped out, but “more flare-ups” are expected, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday, calling for continued strong surveillance.

    The announcement by the United Nations’ health agency came 42 days, or two 21-day incubuation cyles of the virus, after the last confirmed patient in Liberia tested negative twice for the deadly disease that has killed more than 11,300 in two years, Reuters reported.

    Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone “remain at high risk of additional small outbreaks of Ebola,” WHO said.

     

  • Oyo, WHO to immunise 2.5m kids

    Oyo, WHO to immunise 2.5m kids

    The Oyo State government has partnered the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to vaccinate no fewer than 2.5 million children against measles during the forthcoming immunisation.

    The exercise will hold from January 28 to February 1 in the 33 local governments.

    The Acting Executive Secretary of the State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Lanre Abass, said this at the measles campaign media workshop in Ibadan, the state capital, yesterday.

    According to him, 15708 health personnel would be on ground to visit homes, schools and religious centres to administer the vaccines.

    Abass said:”Maternal antibody protects infants against measles in the first nine months of life. Measles vaccines are safe and are kept at preserved condition. Cards would be issued to children and we are going to be marking their fingers to prevent them from taking the vaccine twice.”

  • WHO’s book to improve Nigerians’ health

    WHO’s book to improve Nigerians’ health

    How can Nigerians enjoy good health in 2016? It is by adopting the World Health Organisation (WHO) template, report OYEYEMI GBENGA-MUSTAPHA and WALE ADEPOJU. 

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) is the global policeman  for health matters. It has a template for member-countries in healthcare delivery.

    According to the WHO, the right to the highest attainable standard of health  requires a set of social criteria that are  conducive to the health of all people.

    In addition, the availability of health services, safe working conditions, adequate housing and nutritious foods is non-negotiable. This is because achieving the right to health is closely related to that of other human rights- the right to food, housing, work, education, non-discrimination, access to information, and participation.

    Nigerians do not enjoy optimum healthcare. Some do not even have access to.

    To WHO,  the right to health includes both freedoms and entitlements:

    Freedoms include the right to control one’s health and body (e.g. sexual and reproductive rights) and to be free from interference (e.g. freedom from torture and from non-consensual medical treatment and experimentation).

    Entitlements include the right to a system of health protection that gives everyone an equal opportunity to enjoy the highest attainable level of health.

    Health policies and programmes have the ability to either promote or violate human rights, including the right to health, depending on the way they are designed or implemented. Taking steps to respect and protect human rights upholds the health sector’s responsibility to address everyone’s health.

    Disadvantaged populations and the right to health

    According to WHO, vulnerable and marginalised groups in societies are often less likely to enjoy the right to health. Three of the world’s most fatal communicable diseases – malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis – disproportionately affect the world’s poorest populations, placing a tremendous burden on the economies of developing countries. Conversely the burden of non-communicable disease – most often perceived as affecting high-income countries is now increasing disproportionately among lower income countries and populations.

    Within countries, some populations, such as indigenous communities are exposed to greater rates of ill-health and face significant obstacles to accessing quality and affordable healthcare. This population has substantially higher mortality and morbidity rates, due to non communicable diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases, than the general public. People who are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection, including young women, men who have sex with men, and injecting drug users, are often characterised by social and economic disadvantage and discrimination. These vulnerable populations may be the subject of laws and policies that further compound this marginalisation and make it harder to access prevention and care services. Nigeria can do well by looking into this.

    Violations of human rights

     in the health sphere

    Violations or lack of attention to human rights can have serious health consequences. Overt or implicit discrimination in the delivery of health services violates fundamental human rights.Many people with mental disorders are kept in mental institutions against their will, despite having the capacity to make decisions regarding their future. On the other hand, when there are shortages of hospital beds, it is often members of this population that are discharged prematurely, which can lead to high readmission rates and sometimes even death, and also constitutes a violation of their right to receive treatment.

    Similarly, women are frequently denied access to sexual and reproductive healthcare and services in developing and developed countries. This is a human rights violation that is deeply engrained in societal values about women’s sexuality. In addition to denial of care, women in certain societies are sometimes forced into procedures, such as sterilisation, abortions or virginity examinations.

    Human rights-based approaches

    A human rights-based approach to health provides strategies and solutions to address and rectify inequalities, discriminatory practices and unjust power relations, which are often at the heart of inequitable health outcomes.

    The goal of a human rights-based approach is that all health policies, strategies and programmes are designed with the objective of progressively improving the enjoyment of all people to the right to health. Interventions to reach this objective adhere to rigorous principles and standards, including:

    Non-discrimination: The principle of non-discrimination seeks to guarantee that human rights are exercised without discrimination of any kind based on race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status such as disability, age, marital and family status, sexual orientation and gender identity, health status, place of residence, economic and social situation’.

    Availability: A sufficient quantity of functioning public health and healthcare facilities, goods and services, as well as programmes.

    Accessibility: Health facilities, goods and services accessible to everyone. Accessibility has four overlapping dimensions: Non-discrimination; physical accessibility; economical accessibility (affordability); and information accessibility.

    Acceptability: All health facilities, goods and services must be respectful of medical ethics and culturally appropriate as well as sensitive to gender and life-cycle requirements.

    Quality: Health facilities, goods and services must be scientifically and medically appropriate and of good quality.

    Accountability: States and other duty-bearers are answerable for the observance of human rights.

    Universality: Human rights are universal and inalienable. All people everywhere in the world are entitled to them.

    Policies and programmes must be designed to be responsive to the needs of the population as a result of established accountability. A human rights based-approach identifies relationships in order to empower people to claim their rights and encourage policy makers and service providers to meet their obligations in creating more responsive health systems.

    Federal and state ministries of health expected response

    WHO has made a commitment to mainstream human rights into healthcare programmes and policies on both national and regional levels, by looking at underlying determinants of health as part of a comprehensive approach to health and human rights. In addition, WHO has been actively strengthening its role in providing technical, intellectual and political leadership on the right to health including the following, which Federal and state ministries of health can adapt:

    • Strengthening the capacity of WHO and its Member-states to integrate a human rights-based approach to health;
    • Advancing the right to health in international law and international development processes; and
    • Advocating health-related human rights, including the right to health.
  • Guinea declared free of Ebola

    Guinea declared free of Ebola

    Guinea was declared free of Ebola on Tuesday after more than 2,500 people died from the virus in the West African nation, leaving Liberia as the only country still awaiting a countdown for the end of the epidemic.

    People in the capital, Conakry, greeted the declaration by authorities and the World Health Organization with mixed emotions given the deaths and the damage the virus did to the economy and the country’s health and education sectors.

    “Several of my family members are dead. This situation has shown us how much we must fight for those who are survivors,” Fanta Oulen Camara, who works for Medecins Sans Frontieres Belgium (Doctors Without Borders), told Reuters.

    “After I got better, the hardest thing was to make people welcome me. Most people that normally supported me abandoned me. Even the school where I was an instructor dropped me. It was very hard,” said Camara, 26, who fell ill in March 2014.

    Ebola has orphaned about 6,200 children in Guinea, said Rene Migliani, an official at the national coordination centre for the fight against Ebola.

    There were more than 3,800 Ebola cases in Guinea out of more than 28,600 cases globally with 11,300 deaths, according to figures from the WHO. Almost all the cases and deaths were in Guinea and its neighbours Liberia and Sierra Leone.

    A country is declared Ebola free 42 days after the recovery or death of the final patient and if there are no new infections.

    Liberia has lost more than 4,800 people to the haemorrhagic fever, but if all goes well will be declared virus-free in January. The country was declared Ebola free in May and September, but each time new cases emerged.

    Sierra Leone officially ended its epidemic in November.

  • Iraq’s health systems collapsing – WHO

    Iraq’s health systems collapsing – WHO

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday in Baghdad cautioned that Iraq’s public health, water and sanitation systems were collapsing.

    WHO said Iraq’s prime minister responded to protests this summer over failing public services by launching a campaign against corruption and mismanagement.

    It said less than four months later, there was little sign of improvement in one key sector such as healthcare.

    “With Iraqis fleeing Islamic State in ever greater numbers, the country’s growing population of internal refugees is straining public facilities already ground down by decades of war, sanctions and red tape.

    The human right groups also said that with lower revenues from oil exports and higher costs associated with the battle against Islamic State, the government was failing to help the most vulnerable.

    It said that the situation had become so desperate that thousands of Iraqis forced to flee Anbar province in the west, had opted to bypass the government and seek medical care from non-governmental organisations such as one called Dari.

    The group said based in a modest apartment building in Baghdad’s Karrada Mariam neighbourhood, Dari treated about 50 patients a day, mostly children and the elderly.

    Alaa Abdel-Sadaa, Dari President, said so far this year, the group had provided more than 15,000 families with food aid and registered another 8,400 patients at its free medical clinic.

    He said Dari relied partly on donations and supplies from pharmaceutical firms and food manufacturers.

    “On our part, we rely on volunteers and none of its more than 100 medical professionals are paid.

    “We can treat 100 patients with $1,000, and that is difficult for the health ministry or any government hospital to say,” he said.

    Ali Makki, Chief of the NGO Directorate in the Iraqi cabinet, said his office was intensifying efforts to facilitate the work of non-governmental organisations, especially those providing relief and health services.

    Health Ministry Spokesman, Rifaq al-Araji, said non-governmental organisations had helped to ease the pressure.

    He blamed economic sanctions imposed by the UN in 1990 after Iraq invaded Kuwait, subsequent wars and violence, for the poor state of the health care system.

    Ameera Abdel-Muhsin, 50, a housewife, at a state hospital, said “I came to a government hospital because I can’t pay the high cost of private doctors.

    She said the problem was she still had to get medication from a private pharmacy as it is usually not available in government hospitals.

    Another patient, Qasim al-Kinani, 68, said he was admitted to hospital two days ago suffering with kidney failure but his condition was getting worse because of lack of treatment.

    “Look at this farce. I’m sleeping on a bloodstained mattress with a filthy smell. I feel like I’m sleeping in a zoo.”

    He said Al-Yarmouk hospital in western Baghdad was typical, as patients were transported through corridors littered with cigarette butts.

    The war with Islamic State has displaced more than 3 million Iraqis, with most belonging to the minority Sunni sect.

    The problem is also a political one which Iraq is poorly placed to handle following years of sectarian bloodletting between Sunnis and Shi’ite Muslims.

  • FG expresses commitment to measles eradication

    FG expresses commitment to measles eradication

    The Federal Government on Friday said it was committed toward the eradication of measles in the country.

    The Minister of Health, Dr Isaac Adewole, gave the assurance at the launch of the 2015 national measles vaccination campaign organised by the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) in collaboration with FCT Healthcare Agency in Abuja.

    The minister, who noted that the event was to improve the coverage of measles immunisation in the country, expressed concern at the estimated figure of 523,000 deaths in 2000 in Nigeria due to measles.

    He said “measles has inflicted untold injury on our children and killing many of them, in 2000, estimate indicated that about 523,000 of our children die of measles; it is unacceptable by any serious government or administration.

    “We join the World Health Organisation (WHO) to contribute to the elimination of measles by 2020 and we are signatory to this initiative, we have no order role to play than to be actively involved.

    “Since we started the follow up campaign in 2005/2006, we have conducted similar exercises in 2008, 2011, 2013 and this is the fifth national follow up campaign.’’

    Adewole, who explained that the national measles vaccination, billed for five days, would kick start in the Northern part of the country on Nov. 21, while that of the Southern part would commence in January.

    According to him, the immunisation, which is targeted at 39 million Nigerian children on completion, will avail the country to attain the goal of measles elimination by 2020.

    The minister said that the Federal Government was committed to raising the bar of coverage beyond 80 per cent and efforts at ensuring universal health coverage for every Nigerians both young and old.

    He further assured of reaching every Nigerian with available means of healthcare delivery particularly on preventive measures that guaranteed general wellbeing.

    He added that “we do not see health as just health but a vital instrument for promoting economic dividend and development of our country.

    “It will remain a pivotal programme of this administration and I want to assure you of the deep commitment of the President to this programme.

    “It has to be leadership by example; we must be the leaders of the foot soldiers that are doing the job and whatever assistance needed for the success of the programme will be granted.

    “We promise to be accountable, resourceful and accessible by all.’’

    Dr Ado Muhammad , the Executive Director of NPHCDA, urged parents to take their children to various government health centres numbering 610 in the FCT to access the immunisation.

    Muhammad described the vaccination as booster dose for children that took it earlier and targeted at children from ages nine months to five years.

    The FCT Minister, Muhammadu Bello, represented by Mrs Odey Achu, said that the immunisation was a wider opportunity to reach out to children that missed the earlier measles vaccination.

    According to him, the intervention is cost effective, high impact and result-oriented in respect of improving child health in the FCT and Nigeria as a whole.

    The minister added that “this event is to further strengthen actions that will increase healthcare service delivery to the good people of FCT, among others.

    “FCT has made necessary arrangements to ensure availability of vaccines to meet the demand of the programme and no eligible child should be left out of the intervention to meet the 2020 target of measles elimination in the country.’’