Author: Franca Ofili

Nutrition

By Franca Ofili

Awka, June 27, 2024(NAN)The Federal Government has concluded the  training of  no fewer than 60 Anambra health workers on nutrition to enhance optimal maternal, infant and young child nutrition communication.

Mrs Ladidi Bako-Aiyegbusi, Director, Head of Nutrition Division, Federal Ministry of Health, spoke at the closing of the eight-day training on Thursday in Awka, Anambra.

According to her, the training is in eight states with no fewer than 480 participants.

Bako-Aiyegbusi said that the eight-day capacity building exercise for health workers was to enhance optimal Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) in the country.

She said the training was aimed at increasing quality and cost-effective nutrition services for pregnant and lactating women, adolescent girls and children under five years of age.

“The project, funded by the World Bank at the tune of 232 million dollars in partnership with the Federal Government, is implementing a five-year nutrition programme tagged “Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRiN).”

Bako-Aiyegbusi said the project was to increase quality and cost-effective nutrition services for pregnant and lactating women, adolescent girls, and children under five years of age.

She said that the objective of MIYCM course was to provide basic training on maternal Infant and Young Child Nutrition for those who care for mothers and young children (0-59 months)

According to her, the training will provide participants up to date information on MIYCN best practices based on its policy, strategy and guidelines.

She said MIYCN course would also help to maximise the impacts on child growth and micronutrient status by focusing on maternal nutrition, delivery practices, and improved infant and young child feeding.

According to her, nutrition is in the front burner because people are bothered about the poor indices of nutrition in the country.

She identified poor knowledge as the cause of poor nutrition in the country.

“We have realised that the key thing that is leading to the poor indices of nutrition is poor knowledge of individual households in the communities on healthy feeding practices.

“More than 40 per cent do not have adequate knowledge to prepare a delicious meal for their families especially for the infants.’’

According to her, most families do not know how to prepare foods to meet the nutritional values.

“Most people over cook their food making the nutritional value useless; we are not supposed to cook food until the whole ingredients gets over cooked.’’

She advised the participants to practice what they learnt.

The director appreciated the state team for their support to carryout successful training on nutrition and urged them to start planning for the step down training at the primary facilities.

According to her, the Federal Government will support two more trainings with 120 service providers from the secondary facilities.

“Thereafter, we will want the state to be supported by their respective partners to do step down at the primary level.

“In addition with support from the partners, the Federal Government will support the state to train health workers from selected basic health care designated centres, ” she said.

Mrs Chisom Uchem, Executive Secretary, Anambra State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, said that the participants were well equipped with information on nutrition for infants and young children.

Uchem advised the male participants to ensure that they educated their fellow men to assist their women in ensuring that their children were properly fed to get the proper nutrition needed.

“I am happy that men are among the participants so I urged you to be ambassador of nutrition in the state,” she said.

Also, Mrs Uzoamaka Eviken, State Nutrition Officer, thanked the Federal Government for the training.

Eviken said that fund had been a big challenge for such trainings and Federal Government made it possible.

She said that the training would go a long ways as the participants had gotten enough knowledge of child nutrition.

“With this knowledge, every one of us will pass it to our homes, facilities and schools,” Eviken said.

More so, Dr Uliagbafusii Placid, Director, Disease Control and Immunisation, Anambra, who spoke on behalf of the participants, said that the training came at the right time as the state faced the challenges of malnutrition.

“This training came at the right time as the state has faced with the challenges of malnutrition.

“We have learnt that we can use locally made products to feed our children well especially the in the first 1000 days of birth.

“We will get to the grassroots to educate them as we now know that there are better ways our people can cater for their children to be healthy,” he said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

FNO/CJ/

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Edited by Chijioke Okoronkwo

Alcohol
By Franca Ofili
Abuja, June, 25, 2024(NAN) The  World Health Organisation (WHO) report says that 2.6 million deaths per year were attributable to alcohol consumption, accounting for 4.7 per cent of all deaths.

WHO, in a statement on Tuesday, said that alcohol consumption also accounted for 0.6 million deaths to psychoactive drug use.

According to it, notably, 2 million of alcohol and 0.4 million of drug-attributable deaths were among men.

“WHO’s Global status report on alcohol and health and treatment of substance use disorders provides a comprehensive update based on 2019 data on the public health impact of alcohol

“It also shows drug use and situation with alcohol consumption and treatment of substance use disorders worldwide.

” The report shows that an estimated 400 million people lived with alcohol and drug use disorders globally.

” Of this, 209 million people lived with alcohol dependence,” it said.

Dr Tedros  Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said that substance use severely harmed individual health, increasing the risk of chronic diseases, mental health conditions, and tragically resulting in millions of preventable deaths every year.

“It places a heavy burden on families and communities, increasing exposure to accidents, injuries, and violence.

“To build a healthier, more equitable society, we must urgently commit to bold actions that reduce the negative health and social consequences of alcohol consumption and make treatment for substance use disorders accessible and affordable,” Ghebreyesus said.

According to him, the report highlights the urgent need to accelerate actions globally towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target by 2030 by reducing alcohol and drug consumption and improving access to quality treatment for substance use disorders.

Ghebreyesus said that the report highlighted that in spite of some reduction in the alcohol-related death rates since 2010, the overall number of deaths due to alcohol consumption remained unacceptably high.

He said that it amounted to 2.6 million in 2019, with the highest numbers in the European Region and the African region.

“The death rates due to alcohol consumption per litre of alcohol consumed are highest in low-income countries and lowest in high-income countries.

“Of all deaths attributable to alcohol in 2019, an estimated 1.6 million deaths were from noncommunicable diseases, including 474,000 deaths from cardiovascular diseases and 401,000 from cancer,” he said.

The WHO boss said that some 724,000 deaths were due to injuries, such as those from traffic crashes, self-harm and interpersonal violence. Another 284 000 deaths were linked to communicable diseases.

“For example, alcohol consumption has been shown to increase the risk of HIV transmission resulting from an increased risk of unprotected sex and by increasing the risk of TB infection and mortality by suppressing a wide range of immune responses.

“The highest proportion of 13 per cent of alcohol-attributable deaths in 2019 were among young people aged 23 years to 39 years.

“Total alcohol per capita consumption in the world population decreased slightly from 5.7 litres in 2010 to 5.5 litres in 2019,” he said.

According to him, the highest levels of per capita consumption in 2019 were observed in the WHO European Region (9.2 litres) and the Region of Americas (7.5 litres).

Ghebreyesus said that the level of alcohol consumption per capita among drinkers amounts on average to 27 grams of pure alcohol per day, roughly equivalent to two glasses of wine, two bottles of beer (33cl) or two servings of spirits (4cl).

He said that the level and frequency of drinking was associated with increased risks of numerous health conditions and associated mortality and disability.

“In 2019, 38 per cent of current drinkers had engaged in heavy episodic drinking, defined as consuming at least 60g of pure alcohol on one or more occasions in the preceding month.

“Roughly equivalent to 4 or 5 glasses of wine, bottles of beer or servings of spirits. Continuous heavy drinking was highly prevalent among men.

“Globally, 23.5 per cent of all 15–19-year-olds were current drinkers.

“Rates of current drinking were highest among 15–19-year-olds in the European region (45.9 per cent) followed by the Americas (43.9 per cent),” he said.

Ghebreyesus said that the  effective treatment options for substance use disorders existed but treatment coverage remained incredibly low.

He said that the proportion of people in contact with substance use treatment services ranged from less than one per cent to no more than 35 per cent  in 2019, in countries providing this data.

Ghebreyesus said that most of the 145 countries that reported data did not have a specific budget line or data on governmental expenditures for treatment of substance use disorders.

He said that  although mutual help and peer support groups were useful resources for people with substance use disorders, almost half of responding countries reported that they did not offer such support groups for substance use disorders.

“Stigma, discrimination and misconceptions about the efficacy of treatment contribute to these critical gaps in treatment provision, as well as the continued low prioritization of substance use disorders by health and development agencies,” he said.

According to him, to accelerate progress towards achievement of SDG target and reduce the health and social burden attributable to substance use, governments and partners need to intensify actions in eight strategic areas.

“The  areas are increase awareness through a coordinated global advocacy campaign, strengthen prevention and treatment capacity of health and social care systems, scale up training of health professionals and re-commit to the implementation of the Global Alcohol Action Plan 2022-2030 with a focus on the SAFER package.

” Others are accelerate international efforts on capacity-building and knowledge transfer, engage civil society organizations, professional associations and people with lived experience.

“Improve multi-level monitoring systems and corresponding research capacity; and scale up resource mobilization, allocation, and innovative funding mechanisms to strengthen capacity of health and social systems,” he said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
FNO/MNA

Edited by Maureen Atuonwu
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Workers

By Franca Ofili

Awka, June 21, 2024(NAN) The Federal Government has begun the training of no fewer than 60 health workers on nutrition to enhance optimal maternal, infant and young child nutrition communication.

Mrs Ladidi Bako-Aiyegbusi, Director and Head of Nutrition Division, Federal Ministry of Health, spoke during the exercise on Thursday in Awka, Anambra.

Bako-Aiyegbusi was represented by Mr Ajibola Babatunde, Team lead from the ministry.

She said that the eight-day capacity building exercise for health workers was to enhance optimal Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) in the country.

According to her, the training is aimed at increasing quality and cost-effective nutrition services for pregnant and lactating women, adolescent girls and children under five years of age.

The project, funded by the World Bank at the tune of 232 million dollars in partnership with the Federal Government, is implementing a five-year nutrition programme tagged “Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria.”

Ladidi Bako-Aiyegbusi said the project was to increase quality and cost-effective nutrition services for pregnant and lactating women, adolescent girls, and children under five years of age.

She said that the objective of MIYCM course was to provide basic training on maternal Infant and Young Child Nutrition for those who care for mothers and young children (0-59 months)

According to her, the training will provide participants up to date information on MIYCN best practices based on its policy, strategy and guidelines.

She said MIYCN course would also help to maximise the impacts on child growth and micronutrient status by focusing on maternal nutrition, delivery practices, and improved infant and young child feeding.

According to her, nutrition is in the front burner because people are bothered about the poor indices of nutrition in the country.

She identified poor knowledge as the cause of poor nutrition in the country.

“We have realised that the key thing that is leading to the poor indices of nutrition is poor knowledge of individual households in the communities on healthy feeding practices.

“The training is targeted at increasing the skill and knowledge of health workers and volunteers on information to educate people on what they should do in order to have good nutrition practice,” she said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

FNO/CJ/

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Edited by Chijioke Okoronkwo

WHO warns against falsified medicines for diabetes treatment, weight loss

Medicine

By Franca Ofili

Abuja, June, 20, 2024 (NAN) The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued a medical product alert on falsified semaglutides, the type of medicines that are used for treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity in some countries.

WHO made this known on Thursday in a statement.

It said that the alert addressed three falsified batches of product of semaglutide class of medicines (of specific brand Ozempic).

It said the medicines have been detected in Brazil in October 2023, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in October 2023, and the United States of America in December 2023.

“WHO Global Surveillance and Monitoring System (GSMS), has been observing increased reports on falsified semaglutide products in all geographical regions since 2022.

“This is the first official notice issued by WHO after confirmation of some of the reports,” it said.

Dr Yukiko Nakatani, WHO Assistant Director-General for Essential Medicines and Health Products, said that WHO advised healthcare professionals, regulatory authorities and the public to be aware of these falsified batches of medicines.

Nakatani called on stakeholders to stop any usage of suspicious medicines and report to relevant authorities.

“The semaglutides, including the specific brand product that has been falsified, are prescribed to people with type 2 diabetes in order to lower their blood sugar levels.

“Semaglutides also reduce the risk of cardiovascular events.

“Most semaglutide products must be injected under the skin on a weekly basis but they are also available as tablets taken by mouth daily,” she said.

According to her, these medicines are shown to suppress appetite in addition to lowering blood sugar levels, and therefore are being increasingly prescribed for weight loss in some countries.

She said that WHO has been observing increased demand for these medicines as well as reports on falsification.

“These falsified products could have harmful effects to people’s health; if the products don’t have the necessary raw components, falsified medicines can lead to health complications resulting from unmanaged blood glucose levels or weight.

“In other cases, another undeclared active ingredient may be contained in the injection device, for example,  insulin, leading to an unpredictable range of health risks or complications,” she said.

Nakatani said that semaglutides were not part of WHO-recommended treatments for diabetes management due to their current high cost.

She said that the cost barrier made these products unsuitable for a public health approach, which aimed to ensure the widest possible access to medicines at the population level.

According to her, it also strikes a balance between the best-established standard of care and what is feasible on a large scale in resource-limited settings.

“Also, there are more affordable treatments available for diabetes, with similar effects to those of semaglutides on blood sugar and cardiovascular risk,” she said.

According to her, WHO is currently working on a rapid advice guideline on possible use of GLP-1 RAs, including semaglutides, for treatment of obesity in adults and as part of a more comprehensive model of care.

“The term GLP-1 RAs stands for glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, which include semaglutides, for a class of medicines used for diabetes treatment to lower blood sugar and support weight loss.

“To protect themselves from falsified medicines and their harmful effects, patients who are using these products can take actions such as buying medicines with prescriptions from licensed physicians and avoid buying medicines from unfamiliar or unverified sources, such as those that may be found online.

“People should always check packaging and expiry dates of medicines when they buy them, and use the products as prescribed

“In the case of injectable semaglutides, patients should ensure they are stored in the refrigerator. All notifications on falsified medicines can be sent to WHO via rapidalert@who.int,” she said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

FNO/AMM
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Edited by Abiemwense Moru

WHO recommends support for donors

Donors

By Franca Ofili

Abuja, June, 14, 2024 (NAN) The World Health Organisation has advised communities to support those who donate blood, so as to encourage others to do same.

Dr Matshidiso Moeti, Regional Director for Africa, said this on Friday, in her message to commemorate the World Blood Donor Day, with the theme: “20 Years of Celebrating Giving: Thank You Blood Donors!”.

Moeti said that such would have the potential to create an exponential increase in the availability of life-saving donor blood, when and where it was needed most.

According to her, blood transfusion plays a critical role in the provision of life-saving healthcare.

“Vulnerable people, such as mothers during childbirth; under-nourished and malaria-affected children; victims of trauma and accidents; and patients suffering from sickle cell and other chronic diseases; particularly benefit from this care,” she said.

Moeti said that it was not merely a date on the calendar; but a celebration of altruism, empathy, and social responsibility.

According to her, It is a day to acknowledge and honour blood donors whose acts help save the lives of others.

“We express our gratitude to blood, plasma, and platelet donors in the African region and the world, for their life-saving donations.

“Moreover, our gratitude is a call to action to motivate more individuals to donate blood.

“We appreciate the gesture and are immensely grateful to all the donors in our region and worldwide; we owe them a debt of gratitude,” she said.

Moeti said that in the past decade, WHO had provided technical and financial support to its Member States, in their efforts to improve blood products availability, quality and safety.

The director said that the Member States in the African Region had made significant progress between 2015 and 2022.

She said that the number of countries that have fully developed a national blood policy, increased from 37 in 2015 to 43 in 2022.

“The average number of blood units collected per 1,000 population increased from 4.5 to 5.2, as compared to the regional target of 10 units per 1,000 population.

“The percentage of countries participating in an external quality assessment scheme for Transfusion-Transmissible Infections (TTIs) increased from 55.3 per cent to 62.2 per cent.

“We sincerely thank our Member States for their efforts,” Moeti said.

According to her, in spite these improvements, countries must address the persistent challenges in the availability of safe blood and blood products.

She said that through collective efforts, they must raise adequate and sustainable funding; continue to build systems and capacities to increase blood donation rates; and separate donated blood into its components that could be stored for long-term use.

Moeti said that currently, African countries collect only 5.2 units of blood for every 1,000 people, below the ten donations or more per 1,000 people recommended by WHO and far from the 33 units of blood per 1,000 people collected in developed countries.

She said that two countries had reached the regional target of at least 80 per cent of blood supply from Voluntary Non-Remunerated Blood Donors, yet, the demand for blood remained constant, while the supply often falls short.

“This 20th anniversary is fitting to reflect on our achievements, address our challenges, and envision a future where safe blood transfusion is universally accessible.

“Let us also remember the health of blood donors and the quality of care accorded to them.

“This is critical in encouraging them and building the commitment and willingness to donate blood regularly,” Moeti said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
FNO/FON/SOA
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Edited by Florence Onuegbu/Oluwole Sogunle

Life

By Franca Ofili

Abuja, June, 14, 2024(NAN) Mrs Mirian Anabui, Manager Diagnostics Services NNPC Medical Services Limited (NMSL), has described blood donation as a noble act of giving that symbolises the essence of humanity.

Anabui expressed this view on Friday in Abuja at an event to commemorate the 2024 World Blood Donor Day.

The theme of the event was “20 years of Celebrating Giving: Thank You Donors!”

“We stand united in gratitude and admiration for the noble act of giving; the act that sustains lives, fuels hope, and embodies the essence of humanity.

“Today, we come together to celebrate a remarkable milestone: 20 years of giving.

“With each donation, you have provided hope to those in need, strength to the vulnerable, and reassurance to the weary,” she said.

According to her, donors have represented the spirit of solidarity and compassion; demonstrating that a single act of kindness has the power to transform lives and shape the course of our shared humanity.

She urged them to reaffirm their commitment to supporting blood donation initiatives, raising awareness and advocating for equitable access to safe blood supplies for all.

“Together, we can ensure that the legacy of giving continues to thrive and that future generations inherit a world where the gift of life knows no boundaries,’’ she said.

Delivering a lecture, Mr Oyetunde Akinloye, a educator, Blood Safety Consultant, said that the event was to create awareness for blood donations to ensure the quality, safety and availability of blood and blood products.

According to him, there is life in every drop; hence the need to give blood.

Akinloye said that blood services were vital part of the healthcare system, providing life-saving transfusion for a variety of medical conditions.

“However, maintaining a sustainable blood supply can be challenging due to factors like short shelf life of blood products, fluctuations in donor availability and increase demand for blood transfusions.

“Others are fund, high turnover of trained, skilled personnel and infrastructure/equipment,” he said.

According to him, blood transfusion situation in Nigeria lacks of reliable data.

Akinloye said that enhancing blood service sustainably should be a national blood policy.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that certificates was given to donors.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

FNO/CJ/

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Edited by Chijioke Okoronkwo

H5N1 cases increase to 92 in 12 countries–WHO

Influenza

By Franca Ofili
Abuja, June, 12, (NAN) The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the number of dairy herds affected by the avian influenza virus  (H5N1) has almost tripled to 92 in 12 countries.

Also, the number of human cases has increased from 1 to 3 and the number of people being monitored has more than doubled to 500.

Dr Tedros  Ghebreyesus, Director-General, WHO said this on Wednesday during an online media conference.

Ghebreyesus said that since 2003, there have been 893 reported infections of H5N1 in humans, including 11 so far in 2024,  five in Cambodia, three in the U.S., and one each in Australia, China and Vietnam.

According to him, in that time, the virus has not shown signs of having acquired the ability to spread easily among humans.

“That remains the case, which is why, at this time, WHO continues to assess the risk to public health as low.

“In recent years, H5N1 has spread widely among wild birds, poultry, land and marine mammals on several continents,” he said.

Ghebreyesus said that WHO recommended that anyone working with any infected animals, in any country, should have access to, and use, personal protective equipment.

“Follow-up, testing and care of people exposed to the virus should continue systematically.

“Early medical care and support, and thorough and timely investigation of every human infection is essential to evaluate and interrupt potential onward transmission between humans,” he said.

According to him, WHO is monitoring multiple avian flu viruses in humans through the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System.

He said that surveillance of flu viruses among animals globally must also be intensified to rapidly detect any changes to the virus that could pose a greater threat to humans.

“These systems are only as good as the timely detection and the sharing of viruses and information.

“Collaboration, communication and information sharing between the animal and human health sectors is essential in all countries. This is the meaning of One Health,” he said.

Avian influenza virus infections in humans may cause diseases ranging from mild upper respiratory tract infection to more severe diseases and can be fatal. 

Conjunctivitis, gastrointestinal symptoms, encephalitis and encephalopathy have also been reported.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

FNO/BRM

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Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

Youth ministry creates platform for young people to excel

Young
By Franca Ofili
Abuja, June 10, 2024(NAN) The Minister of State for Youth Development,
Mr Ayodele Olawande, says the ministry is set with a platform where young people
can address issues that affect them and excel.

Olawande told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the young peoples’ platform would include all youth leaders of ethnic groups.

He said that the platform would be used to ascertain what young people have in  their respective areas.

He added that “if we can identify products in your areas that can be used to make or create goods for production, it will be welcomed.

“We can meet with all the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to channel our complaints, for example, the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) gives education scholarship to young people, the youths need to know about it.”

According to him, efforts will be intensified toward improving the National Directorate of
Employment (NDE) training centres to be visible and viable for young people.

On the issue of lack of start-up grant after training, he urged the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to play its part toward ensuring grants to small businesses and entrepreneurs.

He said “we will let SMEDAN know that some of the youths will need money to start their businesses, while some will  need seedlings and fertiliser.”

Olawande explained that in Niger, great farming activities are taking place, noting that the ministry would partner the state government to ensure that young people are engaged.

“Niger produces what they eat and can also produce for people and the governor is doing fantastically well. I will visit my state and do a survey on products that young people can produce and even export.

“Everything cannot be from Federal Government, if we also put the governors on their toes and work together, we will achieve a lot.”

On the issue of “japa”, where people leave the country for greener pasture, he advised that people should go and learn some skills and come back to the country to implement.

“My advise is that when people leave the country, they should acquire knowledge and come back and develop the country.

“So, if you have the opportunity to travel, why can’t you travel and come back and invest in your country?.” (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
FNO/OJI/HA
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Edited by Maureen Ojinaka/Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu

Loan

By Franca Ofili

Abuja, June, 2, 2024(NAN)  The Minister of State for Youth Development, Mr Ayodele Olawande, says that  the student loan scheme is for youths to access interest-free facility for their educational pursuits in  tertiary institutions.

Olawande told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja that it was part of President Bola Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope Agenda” to carry the youths along.

He said that with the scheme, undergraduates would no longer drop out of school because of financial difficulties.

.”If the president said a child will not drop out of school because he or she is not able to pay school fees, I think that is a very big plus for the ministry.’’

Olawande advocated for enabling environment for young people to thrive and achieve their goals in life.

According to him, the country has more than 60 per cent of young people; hence, with enabling environment much can be achieved.

The minister said that the ministry was making critical decisions and suggestions while the president made sure they were put into action.

Olawande said that the scheme had an agency and a chairman.

He said that students could access the portal at https://nelf.gov.ng

“You don’t need to know anybody;   just go and apply.

“They will put it together; send it to the school and it will be sorted out so that one can study properly and pass the exam.’’

According to him, the loan is for students in public tertiary and technical institutions.

Olawande said that everything must not be just education because the country had gotten to the stage were skills was needed.

“China, India, U.S. and others are successful because of the skills the citizens have.

“The government is not saying that everything must be university, polytechnic tertiary institution, it must also go to the technical schools so that the person can have one or two skills.

“Most of the foreigners they bring to Nigeria to come and work which we call graduates are not graduates; they are technicians,” he said.

According to him, in every ministry and parastatals, young people are found there; so, most of the decisions government makes still boils down on the youth.

NAN reports that the student loan, which is being implemented at present, is part of the Higher Education Access Act, assented to by Tinubu in June 2023.

In February, the Act was returned to the National Assembly for a complete overhaul and was passed again and assented to by the president.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

FNO/CJ/

Edited by Chijioke Okoronkwo