By Muhammad Adam

The Adamawa Government has recruited no fewer than 1,000 health workers to improve primary healthcare services in the state.

Dr Sulaiman Bashir, the Executive Chairman of the Adamawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency (SPHACDA), said this while addressing newsmen on the assessment of primary healthcare services in the state on Tuesday in Yola.

Bashir said that the recruitment was part of the government’s efforts to strengthen the provisions of primary healthcare in the state.

Government had in Year 2020 recruited no fewer than 1,000 healthcare staff and deployed them to primary health care facilities in the 21 local government areas of the state.

“The development followed a directive from Gov. Ahmadu Fintiri as part of his administration’s efforts to improve the effectiveness and quality of health services and to tackle morbidity and mortality rate in the state, ” Bashir said.

He said that the newly recruited staff were posted to areas of acute human resource shortages, while several community structures such as the ward development committees and drug revolving fund were reactivated.

Similarly, he said that the state government had embarked on the rehabilitation, the expansion and the construction of no less than 200 health facilities across the state.

He added that the government had also bought and distributed medical equipment worth hundreds of millions of naira to various general and cottage hospitals in the state.

Bashir said that the government had also inaugurated a health insurance scheme programme in the state where both civil servants and citizens would benefit immensely.

He urged the people of the state to avail themselves of the quality services from the agency whose commitment is to improve lives and well-being of the people. (NAN)

By Abujah Racheal

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has reported  574 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 146,928.

The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Monday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the country has tested 1,441,013 people since the first confirmed case relating to the COVID-19 pandemic was announced on Feb. 27 2020.

The health agency also recorded additional eight COVID-19 deaths, raising the total fatality in the country to 1,761 in the last 24 hours.

It stated that the 574 new infections were reported from 20 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The agency said Kwara State topped the list with 98 infections, followed by Lagos 81, Edo 59 and Ondo 44 cases.

Other states affected by the virus   were  FCT-41, Kano-34, Ogun-33, Kaduna-29, Osun-28, Enugu- 23, Rivers-18, Delta-16, Akwa Ibom-15, Bauchi-12, Imo-10, Borno-8, Niger-8, Kebbi-7, Nasarawa-5 Gombe-3 and Ekiti-2.

The health agency stated that 1,816 people recovered and were discharged, bringing the country total recoveries to 123,009.

The NCDC  added that discharges today included community recoveries in Oyo (1,198), Lagos (227) and Kwara State (53) managed in line with its guidelines.

It said that a multi-sectoral national Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), activated at Level 3, was coordinating response activities nationwide.

The Agency said that there were  now 22,158 active cases across the country in the last 24 hours.

NAN recalls that the country last week recorded 100 new COVID-19 deaths which is the highest since the beginning of the second wave.

The data also showed that the tally of 100 deaths last week showed there was a sharp increase when compared to the 69 deaths recorded in the previous week.

The country has confirmed 29 cases of the B.1.1.7 COVID-19 variant and also noted that the B.1.351 variant dominant in South Africa has  not been detected in the country.

The  country is exactly 13 days to the first year anniversary of the COVID-19 Index case, which was recorded on Feb. 27, 2020.

The National snap shot for COVID-19 from the NCDC as at  Feb. 14, was as follows: Cases: 146,354,  Active Cases: 23,408, which is 16 per cent , Discharged: 121,193, which is 82.8 per cent, Deaths: 1,753 which is 1.2 per cent and Testing is at 1,441,013.

In the last one year, the country has experienced two waves of infections and recorded a lot of fatalities.(NAN)

By Ikenna Osuoha

An Abuja-based Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), Initiative for Leadership Development and Change (ILDC) has called for concerted efforts by Nigerians to curtail the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

Chief Ugochukwu Nnam, President of the group, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday.

Nnam reminded Nigerians that the pandemic is not only real but present and wreaking havoc in the country.

He called on Nigerians to always comply with the safety protocols prescribed by Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

“The surest way of staying safe from the disease now is to always wear face mask, wash hands at intervals and keep social distance by avoiding crowds.

“Government cannot be expected to enforce everything totally because government like others all over the world is managing scarce resources to run the economy,” he said.

The ILDC boss who lauded the Federal Ministry of Health and the Presidential Task Force (PTF) for their efforts in containing the pandemic, urged Nigerians to support the efforts.

He said that COVID-19 was not idealistic or a mirage as perceived by some people, but had ravaged the country and even killed some people.

“We must tell ourselves the truth, days are gone when we used to say or argue that we have not seen a patient of COVID-19 before, now they abound here with their proven symptoms.”

Nnam expressed hope that the pandemic would be defeated with the collective efforts of all Nigerians.

NAN reports that available record from NCDC indicates that Nigeria has 145,664 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 120,399 discharged, and 1,747 deaths.(NAN)

By Monday Ajogun

The Edo Government on Monday said that the state has in the last 72 hours, recorded 103 new cases and three more deaths from the COVID-19 in the second wave of the pandemic.

The state’s COVID-19 Incident Manager, Dr Andrew Obi, disclosed this on Monday during a virtual meeting of the state’s COVID-19 Task Force.

Obi said government is intensifying the enforcement of compulsory use of facemasks and other guidelines to contain the second wave of the pandemic.

He noted that the state, within the same timeframe, recorded 60 new recoveries and six more health workers infection.

He urged residents to complement government’s efforts at containing the pandemic by strictly adhering to all safety and health guidelines.

“We also recorded six more health workers infection with 835 active cases who are currently being treated at various treatment and isolation centres in the state.

“With the new health workers infection, we now have a total of 383 health workers that have been infected with the virus since Dec. 1, 2020.

“When the state started tracking the second wave of the pandemic  surpassing 381 health workers infection recorded throughout the first wave, he said. (NAN)

By Justina Auta

Dr Uduak Offiong, a Paediatric Oncologist at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, on Monday called for improved funding and health care services for children suffering from cancer.

Offiong made the appeal during a webinar organised by the Okapi Children Cancer Foundation, in commemoration of the 2021 International Childhood Cancer Day (ICCD).

She explained that ICCD was a global collaborative campaign to raise awareness about childhood cancer and to express support for children and adolescents with cancer, survivors and their families.

She described cancer as the third leading cause of deaths for children and adolescents across the world, hence the need to ensure that suffers have appropriate support for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care.

She listed the common types of cancer in children to include; leukemia, brain and nervous system cancer, lymphoma, bone and kidney cancers.

Offiong said early diagnosis, awareness by families, accessing care, clinical evaluation, diagnosis, determining extent to which a cancer has spread and access to treatment would reduce its burden.

She explained that even though cancer symptoms in children were nonspecific, certain pointers could point to a possible malignancy or specific to the cancer type.

” Unusual lumps or swelling on any part of the body, unexplained paleness and loss of energy, easy bruising and bleeding, ongoing pain in one area of the body, limping.

“Unexplained fever or illness especially if associated with pallor, frequent headache, often with vomiting, sudden eye or vision changes and unexplained weight loss,” she said.

The oncologist, therefore, stressed the need for correct diagnosis and treatment, trained staff, health care services, diagnostic facilities and funding, as essential towards addressing childhood cancer.

Earlier, Kemi Adekanye, Founder, Okapi Children Cancer Foundation said the organisation spends over N500,000 monthly for the care and treatment of children suffering from cancer in the FCT.

Adekanye said the support was from family and friends, urging the government and other organisations to support children suffering from the disease.

Also, Ms Ore Ogunbayi, whose husband the foundation was named after appealed for more support to children suffering from cancer, especially from low income families.

” Cancer is devastating, no child should suffer from it,” she said.

Also, the host, Dr Ozy Okonokhua, Head of Policy and Plans, Department of Medical and Diagnostics Health and Human Services Secretariat, FCTA
said more attention was being given to breast and prostrate cancers, while childhood cancer was neglected.

Okonokhua also stressed the need for more awareness, attention and support on childhood cancer.

On his part, Mr Runice Chidebe of Project Pink Blue, commended the the NGO for its financial and emotional supports for children diagnosed with cancer disease and their families. (NAN)

India is developing about 20 more vaccines against the coronavirus and plans to roll them out in the coming months, the Health Minister, Harsh Vardhan, said on Monday.

Earlier in the day, Indian Ambassador in Moscow Venkatesh Varma said that the country might approve the use of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in the next few weeks.

“At least, 18-20 vaccines are in pre-clinical, clinical and advanced stages. Expect them in the coming months,” Vardhan said.

The minister added that India would soon start to deliver its COVID-19 vaccines to about 25 countries.

On Jan. 3, India’s health authorities authorised two COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use, including the Covishield vaccine, developed by UK drugmaker AstraZeneca and Oxford University and produced by Serum Institute of India, and Covaxin, developed by Indian biotechnology firm Bharat Biotech.

The number of the vaccinated Indians reached 8.2 million, according to the health ministry.

India, with about 1.4 billion people, ranks second in the world in the number of people infected with the coronavirus.

According to the health ministry, the country had confirmed more than 10.9 million COVID-19 cases, with 155,732 deaths. (Spuknit/NAN)

By Cecilia Ologunagba

The World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo, says Sunday  marked one year since COVID-19 hit Africa.

The UN health agency disclosed this in a video posted on its regional official Twitter on Sunday.

The video showed the continent’s phenomenal response over the past year as well as key events and moments of COVID-19 since the first case was confirmed in Egypt on Feb. 14, 2020.

It said that by March 24, 42 labs in WHO Africa Region were able to test for COVID-19 while WHO in Africa held innovators’ hackathon on COVID-19 on April 1, 2020.

“ On 7th of April, 2020, COVID-19 cases in Africa surpassed 10,000 while UN solidarity flight delivered COVID-19 supplies to some countries on 14th April, 2020.

“African regulatory agencies expedited COVID-19 clinical trial reviews on April 20 while  Africa COVID-19 cases topped 100,000 on May 22, 2020,’’ it noted.

According to WHO, On July 9, 2020, it urged equitable COVID-19 vaccine access and by July 23, COVID-19 had infected over 10,000 health workers in Africa while confirmed cases rose to one million by Aug, 6, 2020.

“By Sept. 2, Africa had recorded one million COVID-19 survivors while African countries joined COVID-19 vaccine initiative on Sept. 3, 2020.

“On Sept 10, COVID-19 genome sequencing laboratory network was launched, on Sept. 19, COVID-19 herbal medicine trial protocol was endorsed and on Dec. 18, 2020, South Africa reported new SAR-COV 2 variant.’’

According to the UN health agency, Seychelles began nationwide COVID-19 vaccination on Jan. 10, 2021, while Africa COVID-19 cases topped three million on Jan 10, 2021.

“On February 3, 2021 COVAX announced first vaccine distribution forecast.’’

Also in a statement posted on the agency’s website, WHO said that deaths from COVID-19 in Africa surged by 40 per cent in the last month.

It noted that the surge pushed Africa’s death toll toward 100, 000 since the first reported case on the continent on Feb.14, 2020.

“This comes as Africa battles new, more contagious variants and gears up for its largest-ever vaccination drive.

“Over 22,300 deaths were reported in Africa in the last 28 days, compared with nearly 16,000 deaths in the previous 28 days.

“The continent is expected to reach 100,000 deaths in the coming days.

“Thirty-two countries reported a rise in deaths in the last 28 days, while 21 reported flat or falling rates.

“Africa’s COVID-19 fatality rate rose to 3.7 per cent during the last 28 days compared to 2.4 per cent in the previous 28 days and is now well above the global average,” WHO said.

According to WHO, Africa’s second wave of COVID-19 cases which began in October 2020 seems to have peaked on Jan. 6 2021.

“The second wave spread much faster than the first and is far more lethal.’’ (NAN)

By Olayinka Olawale

The Lagos State Government will commence a two-week free mass anti-rabies vaccination campaign to curb the menace of rabies in the state.

The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya, said this on Sunday in Lagos.

Olusanya said that the vaccination campaign was aimed at promoting awareness of rabies among dogs and cats in the state.

She said the programme would be commenced at the Oba Ayangburen’s Palace in Ikorodu area of the state on Feb. 16.

Olusanya said rabies are a deadly disease mostly transmitted to humans through infected dog bites which can result in fatalities if not treated early.

The commissioner noted that the need for the campaign arose as a result of the increase in reported cases of canine rabies across the state.

She said 6,250 vaccines would be administered to dogs and cats that are made available at any of the government veterinary clinics in the five divisions of the state including Badagry, Surulere, Ajah, Ikorodu, and Agege, among others.

“Rabies are one of the oldest communicable under-reported zoonotic diseases. Dogs are responsible for 98 per cent of fatality in humans.

“Annually, hundreds of human deaths are recorded globally, despite the fact that rabies are preventable through vaccination, public awareness and responsible ownership.

“ A total of 6,250 vaccines donated by the World Organisation for Animal Health through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Veterinary Services, will be administered during the campaign.

“The commencement programme takes place at the Oba Ayangburen’s Palace, Ikorodu on Feb. 16 ,” Olusanya said.

The commissioner noted that rabies are most common in countries where stray dogs are present in large numbers especially in Asia and Africa and could be contracted if the saliva from an infected animal gets into an open wound or through the eyes or mouth of a human being.

Olusanya explained that rabies were a fatal disease that causes up to 59,000 deaths globally every year and must be treated with all the seriousness it deserved to curtail spread.

She also said that a concerted effort must be made to control the stray dog population in the urban and rural areas for a significant reduction in the incidence of human and canine rabies in the state.

The commissioner, therefore, urged all dog owners to bring their dogs for vaccination at the designated veterinary clinics in the state.

She further urged them to ensure that they are up to date on vaccination procedure as that is the only way to prevent human beings from getting infected. (NAN)