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Tag: World Health Organization {WHO}

  • ‘Nigeria has highest burden of Tuberculosis in Africa’

    The National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP) department of the Federal Ministry of Health has said that Nigeria has the highest number of people infected with Tuberculosis (TB) in Africa.

    The National Coordinator of the NTBLCP, Dr. Adebola Lawason, who made  this known at the workshop organized in collaboration with Breakthrough Action and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for health reporters in Nasarawa on Monday said that Nigeria is the 6th highest burden of TB patients globally and the first in Africa.

    Represented by Mrs. O. Shofowora, she said: “Tuberculosis is one of the top 10 causes of death nationwide, and Nigeria is classified among the 30 countries of the world with high burden of TB, Multi-Drug Resistant TB (MDR-TB) and TB/HIV.

    “Tuberculosis is caused by a bacteria known as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which affects mostly the lungs. It is called Pulmonary Tuberculosis.

    “Our goal is to achieve a 50% reduction in the TB prevalence rate and a 75% reduction in TB mortality rate, that is, excluding those that are co-infected with HIV by 2025.”

    A 2017 global report by the World Health Organization (WHO) reveals that an estimated two out of every 1,000 Nigerian will have TB every year. This is an estimated figure; the actual figure might be scarier.

    She further added that: “In Nigeria, in 2017, out of over 407,000 people we are supposed to reach who have TB, we got only 104,000; the remaining 396,000 is still at large. Out of the 104,000, we have recorded 10% deaths.

    “Most people who are infected the most with TB are within the reproductive ages of 15 years to 44 years.

    “Also, one single person with Pulmonary TB can infect between 10-15 people in a year. This is an estimate.

    “At least 18 people die every hour as a result of untreated and unattended cases of TB. The awareness of TB is very low, and some people don’t even want to know.

    Read Also: Tuberculosis-infected inmate freed

    “The TB bacteria can be suspended in the air for up to 8 hours; that is, between 4-8 hours. The bacteria cannot strive under sunlight or in a place that is well ventilated.”

    The prevalence of Tuberculosis is very high in the country because the level awareness is low primarily because of the insufficiency of funds for the programme at the national, state, and local government levels.

    She urged everyone – private sector, philanthropist, etc., to join the fight to end the spread of this deadly disease as government cannot do it alone.

    “TB is transmitted when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or spites into the atmosphere.

    “Persistent cough of up to two weeks or more may be due to TB and may need further investigation. Our health seeking behavior is that we go to the chemist first before going to the hospital; we need to change this behavior.

    “Loss of weight, excessive sweat, loss of appetite are part of the signs of TB. TB is curable and the patient is not infectious after two to three weeks of treatment. The test and drugs are also free at least in all public hospitals and some private hospitals.

    “If anyone shows some of the signs of TB, all the person needs to do is subject himself to test. If it is confirmed to be TB, the drugs will be given to him for free.

    “Once a patient is put under a medication, he or she must finish the drugs so that the bacteria is totally expunged from the body.

    “Preventive measures: Avoid poorly ventilated and overcrowded environments. Cover your mouth properly when coughing and not spitting indiscriminately in the public.

    “Early detection of TB, diagnosed promptly, and early commencement of treatment will reduce the ability of the patient to infect other. Also, eating a balanced diet to avoid malnutrition,” she added.

    The toll-free number to call is 08002255282 if you have any of the above signs or symptoms for further guidance.

  • Bayelsa, UNICEF roll out fresh programmes to reduce child mortality

    The Bayelsa State Government and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) have rolled out additional programmes to deliver proper health care services to pregnant women, newborns and children to reduce mother and child mortalities in the state.

    The Commissioner for Health, Prof. Ebitimitula Etebu, who spoke while inaugurating the second round of the 2018 Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week (MNCHW) at the Ogbia, said the programme was focused at protecting women and children.

    He said the event was a week-long programme organized to deliver integrated, high impact, low cost, result-oriented, effective, preventive and curative health care services.

    He said the programme was geared towards shoring up maternal and child health indices in the areas of intervention embarked upon by the government.

    Etebu named some of the interventions outlined for the week as Vitamin A supplementation in children, de-worming of children and nutritional assessment of children.

    He said others were Iron/folate supplementation for pregnant women, routine immunization, birth registration and Intermittent treatment of malaria in pregnant women.

    He said the programme would include HIV counseling and testing, counseling on key household practices (KHHP) such as hand washing and provision of reproductive health service especially family planning service.

    Read Also: Bayelsa legalises security outfits

    Also speaking, the state Coordinator, World Health Organization (WHO), who was represented by Bumiegha Suowari enjoined all women to embrace the programme and make Ogbia a healthy place.

    She said WHO and other partners were  always available in the state to support the health programmes technically and financially.

    She said: “I enjoin the chiefs and the entire people of Ogbia LGA to embrace this program. Let me mention that in Ogbia LGA there are a lot places where we go and deliver health care services but a lot of people does not make good use of it.

    “A lot of people just ignore. A lot of people said they don’t want it. A lot of people are noncomplying to the health care services. In Emeyal 1, the people that are not taking immunization program are too many. We have gone to the CDC chairman, had several dialogues. We have gone to do several community engagement meetings but it is of no avail.

    “I want to use medium to tell the chiefs to go back there, gather your people, sensitize them and let them embrace every health care program that is coming to them. It is beneficial, it is free so that the entire people will be healthy devoured of all diseases”.

    Speaking further, the Executive Director, Public Enlightenment Project, Mrs. Lilian Ezenwa said: ‘For this round of MNCH week, we have been able to provide 10,000 bottles of vitamin A, multivitamins and prenatal for our women. It is one thing for government to spend money organizing programs like this for us, it is another thing for partners to support with commodities.

    “But the benefits will not come until we the mothers come out and access these commodities for our use and for our children. Therefore, I am appealing to all women here present, the nursing mothers, the pregnant mothers to please make good use of this opportunity.

    “Visit every health care facility closest to you and receive these products for yourselves and for the wellbeing of your children. When we do that, we live healthier lives, our children will grow to be stronger and better and we will all break out of poverty.

    “On behalf of vitamin A angel and Public Enlightenment Project, I pledge our continued support for every time that you need commodities”, she noted.

    UNICEF Technical Resource Person for Bayelsa State, Odo Chikwuemeka said the purpose of the MNCH was to reduce sicknesses and death among women and children.

    “The purpose of it is to reduce what we called malnutrition- child not eating well that is among our children”.

  • WHO road safety report reveals rise in road traffic deaths

    A new report on road safety by the World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed a rise in road traffic deaths with an annual 1.35 million fatalities.
     The WHO Global status report on road safety 2018 which was made available to The Nation highlights that road traffic injuries are now the leading killer of children and young people aged 5-29 years.
    The road safety 2018 status report documents that no single low income country have a reduction in overall road traffic deaths while the risk of road traffic death remains three times higher in low income countries than high and middle income countries. 
    The report which explains that countries where progress had been made regarding road safety can be attributed to better legislation around key risks such as speeding, drinking and driving, and failing to use seat-belts, motorcycle helmets and child restraints, safer infrastructure like sidewalks and dedicated lanes for cyclists and motorcyclists, improved vehicle standards such as those that mandate electronic stability control and advanced braking; and enhanced post-crash care. 
    However, the report noted that the low income countries could not achieve a reduction in death rate because these measures were lacking. 
    “In fact, the risk of a road traffic death remains three times higher in low-income countries than in high-income countries. The rates are highest in Africa (26.6 per 100 000 population) and lowest in Europe (9.3 per 100 000 population). On the other hand, since the previous edition of the report which was in 2015, three regions of the world have reported a decline in road traffic death rates: Americas, Europe and the Western Pacific.”

    Read Also: 420m people diabetic, says WHO

    The report when compared to the previous report in the series released in 2015 revealed that 22 additional countries had amended their laws on one or more risk factors to bring them in line with best practice while 46 countries representing three billion people have laws setting speed limits that align with best practice.
    The report also states that, “45 countries representing 2.3 billion people currently have drink-driving laws that align with best practice;  49 countries representing 2.7 billion people, currently have laws on motorcycle helmet use that align with best practice; 105 countries representing 5.3 billion people, currently have laws on seat-belt use that align with best practice.
    “33 countries representing 652 million people, currently have laws on the use of child restraint systems that align with best practice;114 countries currently undertake some systematic assessment or star rating of existing roads; Only 40 countries representing 1 billion people, have implemented at least 7 or all of the 8 priority UN vehicle safety standards;  More than half of countries (62 per cent) have a telephone number with full country coverage to activate the emergency care system and 52 per cent of countries have a formal process to train and certify pre-hospital care providers.”
    The WHO global status reports on road safety which is released every two to three years is meant to serve as the key monitoring tool for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020.    

  • Nigeria to have WHO approved laboratory Centre for test

    Nigeria will soon have a World Health Organization (WHO) approved reference laboratory for confirmation of test carried out in the country.

    Currently, test are sent to Dakar, Senegal, WHO reference Centre for West Africa for confirmation of suspected outbreaks of diseases.

    Speaking on Monday, on the Elimination of Yellow fever Epidemics (EYE), strategy on the current campaign on suspected yellow fever outbreak in Edo state, the Executive Secretary of the Primary Health Care Development Agency (PHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib said that the government is prioritizing the idea of a WHO reference laboratory in the country.

    Nigeria is one of the 27 countries in Africa with high risks of yellow fever.

    Shuaib noted that with the level of works out into it, the laboratory should be ready in the next six months.

    He said, “We are prioritizing it but no matter how difficult it is to set up a laboratory, it makes no sense that with all the human and material resources we have in Nigeria, we have to go to Dakar for co formation. Again this is part of the rot that has taken place in the health sector over the last few decades.

    “There use to be a time that we would produce yellow fever vaccine in Nigeria. Now we don’t produce any vaccine in Nigeria again. These are the problems we have with successive government that have not prioritized technology. And you aware that this government has a board that is focused on local vaccine production. This board will ensure we begin to produce vaccines again within the shortest possible time.

    Read Also: WHO, UNDP decry impact of Ozone layer depletion

    In terms of laboratory in Nigeria, where we can confirm cases of yellow fever. We are looking at a timeline of six months. We will do whatever it takes to ensure that this is implemented within the next six months.

    “The federal government has prioritized the  set up of this mechanism to ensure that we get a reference laboratory. With NPHCDA working with NCDC, we feel is something that is committed to make happen. There should be no excuses, no reasons why Nigeria should not be confirming yellow fever cases in Nigeria,” he said.

    He also noted that the country is targeting 90% immunization coverage through the mass campaign programme.

    While noting that 21 states are classified as high risk, Shuaib said that the country has enough stock of preventive vaccines against yellow fever.

    He stressed that the goal of the yellow fever preventive mass vaccination campaign is to “reduce yellow fever transmission.

    He also revealed that the ongoing campaign is the third in line with government efforts towards achieving a total coverage of the country.

    He therefore assured the general public that all the agencies involved are working swiftly to contain the spread and prevent further outbreaks.

  • WHO launches vaccination drive in Zimbabwe to stem cholera outbreak

    The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday started a drive to vaccinate 1.4 million Zimbabweans amid a cholera outbreak that has killed 49 people in the capital Harare so far.

    Almost 140 people have been infected with the disease that is most often transmitted by contaminated water, according to the WHO.
    The vaccination campaign will be rolled out in two rounds, focusing on the most heavily affected suburbs of Harare and Chitungwiza, located 30 kilometres Southeast of the capital.

    To ensure longer-term immunity, a second dose will be provided in all areas at a later stage, according to the WHO.

    The organisation is also working with the Zimbabwean government to provide affected communities with access to clean water and providing antibiotics to clinics, among other measures.

    With almost 8,000 cholera cases suspected, the cash-strapped Zimbabwean government declared a health emergency in early September.

     

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    Cholera can cause severe diarrhoea and vomiting and can be fatal for children, the elderly and the sick.

    A 2008 cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe lasted over a year and killed more than 4,000 people.

    Non-Governmental Organisations have placed the blame squarely on the government.

    Amnesty International said “the current cholera epidemic is a terrible consequence of Zimbabwe’s failure to invest in and manage both its basic water and sanitation infrastructure and its health care system.’’

    Zimbabwe’s once-vibrant economy is in tatters after almost four decades of rule by former President Robert Mugabe.
    Mugabe was ousted in a military coup in 2017 and his former right-hand man, Emmerson Mnangagwa, was voted in as president in July elections.

  • Global Fund supports brave commitments to ending tuberculosis

    The Global Fund is joining leaders who converge on New York to commit to speeding up global collaboration in the fight against TB, a preventable disease that killed 1.6 million people in 2017.

    Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, is addressing the first-ever UN High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis.

    Leaders are expected to sign a Declaration that will commit them to bigger efforts and investments needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal target of ending the TB epidemic by 2030.

    The World Health Organization (WHO) has called the meeting an “unprecedented step forward” by governments and partners in the fight against TB.

    “The time has come for the world to reject the notion that a disease that is preventable and curable can continue to kill so many,” said Sands. “I call upon every country to muster the political will and invest the resources needed to meet the targets in the Declaration. We will need more international funding, but we will also need greater domestic resources.”

    Since 2002, the Global Fund has invested more than US$6.2 billion in the fight against TB and now represents about 65 percent of the international response to TB. But to meet the targets in the Declaration, the world will need to invest more in programs that are working, and find new and better drugs and tools to fight TB.

    Today’s meeting is expected to commit to closing the funding gap for the treatment and research of TB, estimated at $3.5 billion this year – an amount that may double by 2022. To reach millions of people who miss treatment every year, the leaders will also commit to finding and treating 40 million people with tuberculosis from 2018 to 2022.

    “We need a step change in our approach to fighting TB,” said Sands. “The Declaration is the result of a generation of activists who are standing up to fight TB, global leaders committing funding and political will, and a new energy amongst the private sector and researchers to find innovative new solutions to end TB. We have a moral imperative to hold them accountable for making this happen, tracking progress against targets across every country.”

    The leaders will commit to developing community-based health services to address human rights-related barriers to health and other challenges that block people from accessing the prevention, care and treatment they need to beat TB.

    “Most of those that are ‘missed’ are the ones that are most vulnerable,” said Lucica Ditiu, Executive Director of the Stop TB Partnership, who was a driving force in the TB community to make today’s meeting a reality. “To succeed, TB services must be based on dialogue with people with TB. We have to look at the person living with TB as a full person, as a peer – with needs, with a family.”

  • Polio survivors commend Yobe, UNICEF, others

    Polio survivors commend Yobe, UNICEF, others

    Survivors of Polio virus in Yobe State have praised the tireless efforts of Yobe State Government and other donor partners like UNICEF, WHO in eradicating the disease in the state.

    The event was put together by Yobe State Primary Healthcare Management Board with support from World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nation Children Education Fund (UNICEF)

    Some of the survivors who spoke at the occasion of the commemoration of world polio day in Damaturu also commended the media for creating awareness for the eradication of the virus across the state.

    The survivors called on parents to ensure that all children are immunised so as to have a polio free society.

    Falmata Tijani, a female survivor in the state pledge to ensure that she will use her condition to influence parents that are still indifferent to accepting the polio vaccine for their children.

    “We are the best people to change the minds of our people who still feel uncomfortable with the polio vaccine because of our condition”, Falmata said.

    For Kyari Modu, “no child will be allowed to be in our position with the awareness that we have now. Our parents didn’t know. It was ignorance from our parents that made some of us in this condition. History will not be fair to us if we allow this to continue. We have to change that by embarking on a serious awareness campaign against polio. Isha Allah we shall succeed”.

    Some of the survivors like Mustapha are happy to have survived the virus, just as he challenged parents to stop careless attitude towards polio vaccination.

    “I am call on parents not to exhibit careless towards vaccinating their children.

    I feel good to have survived this virus  and called on the society not to discriminate those who have survived the disease and also call on government to Educate and empower us  the affected ones so that we will also be useful in to the society,” Kyari said.

    Speaking at the awareness rally, Yobe State Polio incident manager Dr Umar Chiroma explained that the day is set aside by the United Nations to remember those who fought for the eradication of Polio in the World and also to remind citizens on the importance of children taking the oral vaccine.

     

     

  • Kaduna resident doctors to begin strike

    Kaduna resident doctors to begin strike

    The Association of Residents Doctors in Kaduna State, said on Tuesday that its members would proceed on an indefinite strike from Oct. 2.

    President of the association, Dr Joseph Natsah-Jokshan, who made the announcement at a press briefing in Kaduna, said a 21-day strike notice had been forwarded to the government after a congress meeting of the association on Sept. 9.

    He said the ultimatum was to compel the government to implement the 2011 agreement it entered with the association.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the agreement was on funding, equipping and staffing of hospitals, salary payment, residency training, and implementation of corrected Consolidated Medical Salary Structure among others.

    The NARD president explained that doctors in the state were overstretched, with doctor/population ratio at one to 4,000, as against 600 recommended by the World Health Organization( WHO ).

    “The situation is even worse as one move to rural areas. It is therefore requisite that measures should be put in place to correct this.

    “We are aware of government’s efforts to recruit about 100 doctors into the current workforce and that is highly commendable, but infrastructure and doctors welfare must also be addressed.

    “Currently, Kaduna State has the lowest remuneration among other states in the North West zone and in spite of this, some of our colleagues are owed up to 10 months salary.

    “As a result many doctors have left to other states with better prospect, which further compounded the issues, particularly in rural areas where most of the General Hospitals have only two doctors.

    “This has resulted in a lot of quackery, as most patients are forced to seek medical care elsewhere, with detrimental outcomes and needless loss of lives,” he said.

    On infrastructure, Natsah-Jokshan claimed that the state government has no single intensive care unit in any of its hospitals, while services at accident and emergency units were abysmal due to lack of necessary tools including oxygen.

    “Our struggle was because we have a responsibility to care for the lives of people, but we can only achieve that with effective and efficient health care delivery system.”

  • WHO boosts malaria prevention, control in North-East

    The World Health Organization (WHO) says up to 10,000 lives in Nigeria can be saved by November through targeted steps in malaria prevention and control, if more funds are secured.

    Dr. Pedro Alonso, Director of WHO’s Global Malaria Programme, said to manage malaria in Borno, WHO and its partners were strengthening surveillance systems to monitor cases and outbreaks.

    Alonso said they were also increasing people’s access to care in clinics and to health facilities, and spraying insecticides and distributing bed nets as part of vector control.

    According to him, WHO and partners are also administering malaria drugs to children under five every month from July to October.

    Following more than eight years of conflict in Borno, some 3.7 million people need humanitarian assistance, and all are at risk for malaria, WHO said.

    The UN health agency estimates that through October, 8,500 people are infected weekly, with more expected.

    “The most effective way to reduce deaths in emergencies in fragile States, especially those facing malnutrition, is by boosting malaria prevention and control.

    “However, this is often not viewed as the top priority during an emergency response. We are working with our WHO colleagues and many partners to change this,” Alonso said.

    WHO estimates that over half of recorded deaths there are due to malaria, comprising more than all other diseases combined, including cholera, measles and hepatitis E.

    The vulnerable population, consisting of 58.8 per cent children, stands at risk of disease outbreaks, WHO said.

    WHO said with more than 60 per cent of health facilities only partially functioning, many people have not had access for years to regular health services, including vaccinations and basic medicines.

    In addition to security concerns, deadly malnutrition is rising in parts of the state, the UN health agency said.

    Alonso said “malaria, malnutrition, fragile States and civil strife often feed each other.

    “Wherever we have a humanitarian crisis in a malaria endemic country, we can almost always be sure that malaria is the number one killer.

    “However, malaria is preventable and curable, and increased efforts over the last 15 years have drastically reduced related mortality rates by more than 60 per cent, averting six million deaths.”

    He said WHO malaria experts commissioned a modelling exercise that concluded that joint actions could prevent up to 10,000 deaths in Borno alone.

    In early July, the first of four monthly rounds of mass drug administration reached more than 880,000 of the 1.1 million under-age-five children targeted, he said.

    “WHO hopes for 2.5 million dollars to mobilize the emergency intervention and is relying on the existing polio vaccinator infrastructure to carry out the operation, which faces Boko Haram security threats.

    “We will give one curative dose of antimalarial drugs to a defined population, in this case children under-five.

    “In Borno state, we are giving an antimalarial drug to a child, whether they have malaria infection or not, to ensure they are cleared of parasites at that point and to protect them for four weeks.

    “It’s a necessary temporary fix to reduce malaria deaths for the next six months,” the WHO official said.

    The UN statement said WHO has trained community health workers to offer rapid and read diagnostic tests, provide treatment and advise on prevention.

    WHO quoted Dr Wondi Alemu, WHO Representative in Nigeria, as saying: “We will not know the full impact of our efforts until November.

    “But we are confident that taking these steps will go a long way in reducing deaths and suffering of people from malaria so they can get on with their lives”.

  • WHO updates guidelines on antibiotics, HIV, cancer drugs

    WHO updates guidelines on antibiotics, HIV, cancer drugs

    The World Health Organization (WHO) has released new advice on which antibiotics to use for common infections and which to preserve for the most serious circumstances.

    The advice is among the additions to the WHO Model list of essential medicines for 2017, which includes medicines for HIV, hepatitis C, tuberculosis and leukaemia.

    The updated list added 30 medicines for adults and 25 for children, and specifies new uses for nine already-listed products, bringing the total to 433 drugs deemed essential for addressing the most important public health needs.

    The WHO Essential Medicines List (EML) is used by many countries to increase access to medicines and guide decisions about which products they ensure are available for their populations.

    Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO Assistant Director-General for Health Systems and Innovation, said: “Safe and effective medicines are essential parts of any health system.

    “Making sure all people can access the medicines they need, when and where they need them, is vital to countries’ progress towards universal health coverage.”

    In the biggest revision of the antibiotics section in the EML’s 40-year history, WHO experts have grouped antibiotics into three categories – ACCESS, WATCH and RESERVE – with recommendations on when each category should be used.

    Initially, the new categories applied only to antibiotics used to treat 21 of the most common general infections.

    If shown to be useful, it could be broadened in future versions of the EML to apply to drugs to treat other infections.

    The change aimed to ensure that antibiotics were available when needed, and that the right antibiotics are prescribed for the right infections.

    “It should enhance treatment outcomes, reduce the development of drug-resistant bacteria, and preserve the effectiveness of ‘last resort’ antibiotics that are needed when all others fail.

    “These changes support WHO’s Global action plan on antimicrobial resistance, which aims to fight the development of drug resistance by ensuring the best use of antibiotics.”

    WHO recommended that antibiotics in the ACCESS group be available at all times as treatments for a wide range of common infections.

    “For example, it includes amoxicillin, a widely-used antibiotic to treat infections such as pneumonia,” the UN health agency said.

    The WATCH group includes antibiotics that are recommended as first- or second-choice treatments for a small number of infections.

    “For example, the use of ciprofloxacin, used to treat cystitis (a type of urinary tract infection) and upper respiratory tract infections (such as bacterial sinusitis and bacterial bronchitis), should be dramatically reduced to avoid further development of resistance.”

    The third group, RESERVE, includes antibiotics such as colistin and some cephalosporin that should be considered last-resort options, and used only in the most severe circumstances when all other alternatives have failed, such as for life-threatening infections due to multidrug-resistant bacteria.

    Dr Suzanne Hill, Director of Essential Medicines and Health Products, said: “WHO experts have added 10 antibiotics to the list for adults, and 12 for children.

    “The rise in antibiotic resistance stems from how we are using – and misusing – these medicines.

    “The new WHO list should help health system planners and prescribers ensure people who need antibiotics have access to them, and ensure they get the right one, so that the problem of resistance doesn’t get worse”.