Frontpage News (3256)
Training traditional birth attendants will curb maternal mortality – Doctor
Dr Mercy Luka, a medical practitioner, has called for effective training and proper monitoring of activities of Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) to mitigate cases of maternal and child mortality.
Luka made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.
Dozens of health advocates on Thursday gathered in front of Asokoro Hospital, Abuja, to protest the death of one of their colleagues, Kafayat Addulazeez, due to alleged medical negligence.
In anticipation of the protest, over 20 policemen were stationed at the hospital gate.
No fewer than 102 people have been confirmed to be positive with Lassa fever, in addition to 15 deaths recorded in Ondo State between January and February.
Wale Oke, the State Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Akure.
As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to commemorate the 2019 Zero Discrimination Day, the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) has called for legal protection against HIV-related discrimination in the country.
The Director General of the Agency, Sani Aliyu, made the call in a statement on Wednesday to mark the Zero Discrimination Day being celebrated across the globe.
A team of researchers have examined the link between vitamin D and brain function to find out why the nutrient may be the key to memory function. According to medicalnewstoday.com, the researchers published their findings in the journal, Trends in Neurosciences.
The lead author of the study, who also led the research, Dr Thomas Burne of the University of Queensland Brain Institute, St. Lucia, Australia, said that over 1 billion people worldwide suffered vitamin D deficiency. He also confirmed the existence of a well-established link between vitamin D deficiency and impaired cognition.
What informed the mandatory health insurance scheme in the state?
Health insurance is a symbiotic financing scheme for the state; it is a way of mobilizing funds for the sector. The sector is very huge and resource- demanding. So, if there is no financing scheme it would simply amount to a waste of time. This is because, with a proper financing scheme, a number of things would be taken care of, one of which is access to healthcare. In the course of doing that, the quality of care and effectiveness of care would be addressed. If we get it right with the health insurance it would change the entire picture in the health sector because it will address the core issues.
The State Primary Health Care Development Agency (SPHCDA) and The Challenge Initiative (TCI) in Taraba State have inaugurated a committee tasked to design messages for specific target audience to promote access and use of modern contraceptives.
The selected members of the committee who were drawn from the media, health sector, religious organisations and traditional institutions were trained on sensitising the public on family planning.
Bariatric Surgery Prevents Cancer, Infertility, Hypertension, Others, Improves Lifespan
With the rising number of non-communicable diseases in the world, especially Nigeria, medical experts have stressed the need to embrace Bariatric surgery to prevent the adverse effects of these diseases on human lives, which sometimes leads to preventable death.
The team of medical experts from Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital, Lagos, which comprises Bariatric surgeon and anesthesiologist, endocrinologist, cardiologist, pulmonologist and Bariatric dietician, lamented that the surgery, which has been in the country since 2011, has been undermined by Nigerians, adding that its benefits are enormous as it helps in increasing lifespan/expectancy.
Scientists have advanced in the search for natural cures for cancers. Latest findings showed onions, leeks, and garlic slash the chance of getting deadly bowel tumor; a diet rich in whole grains, bran, and cereal fiber reduces the risk of liver cancer by 40 percent; and how chronic stress boosts malignant cell growth.
A study published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology found that Allium vegetables which also include garlic, leeks, chives, and shallots dramatically cut the risk of bowel cancer.
Promasidor supports families of children with disabilities
Written by Super User
Promasidor Nigeria Limited has provided succor to more than 60 parents of children with disabilities through its low-interest microcredit scheme christened We Too Can Grow in advancement of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy.
The Scheme, in partnership with Children’s Developmental Centre, CDC, which supports children and young adults with disabilities, has benefited five cooperative groups to which these families belong, with three more to receive grants. Commenting on the support received from Promasidor at a ceremony held for the cooperatives at the CDC in Lagos, the Project Director, Delphine Misan-Arenyeka stated that the company has shown that it cares for children as well as young adults with disabilities.
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Neonatal mortality, great challenge to developmental goals – Paediatrician
Written by Super User
A Consultant Paediatrician, Dr Olukemi Tongo, on Tuesday said neonatal mortality remained a great challenge to achieving developmental goals.
Tongo, who works at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, made the assertion in an interview with Newsmen in Ibadan. She said that the survival and health of newborn babies were critical to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “Neonatal mortality, which occurs in the first four weeks of life, contributes significantly to under-the-counter deaths. “However, a lot of these deaths are due to preventable causes, including prematurity, neonatal sepsis, jaundice, infections and birth asphyxia,” Tongo said.
Total Health Trust celebrates clients, commits to a healthy Nigeria
Written by Super User
Leading Health Maintenance Organisation (HMO), Total Health Trust, who turns 21 years this year, hosted a cross section of its clients at a cocktail event in Lagos on to appreciate their support. The company reaffirmed its commitment to continuously add value to health insurance in Nigeria. Speaking at the event, CEO, Nick Zaranyika said THT has established itself as the leading provider of managed healthcare in Nigeria and its unrivalled 21-year industry track record has seen THT build a formidable reputation in Nigeria, making it the HMO of choice for over 200,000 members, over 500 corporate clients as well a key partner to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) under whose supervision the company provides cover for selected government institutions.
How Zipline is delivering blood by drones and saving mothers’ lives in Rwanda
Written by Super User
Each day we see disruptive innovations in healthcare and HFN has continued to advocate for and promote radical and life saving innovations in healthcare in Nigeria. With the traffic in Lagos and many large cities in the country, coupled with not very well maintained or even motorable roads in both cities and rural communities, an innovation by a company called Zipline, reported in Rwanda as using drones to deliver blood transfusion is something we sorely need in Nigeria. The article, reproduced below is hoped to be some of the innovations that will be discussed and actively promoted for actualisation at the upcoming March 21st 2019 Digital Health Stakeholders Summit taking Place at Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja Lagos. Read how Information Technology is being employed in Rwanda, here in Africa to save lives by delivering Blood to where it is needed in far flung hospitals, a way that is helping solve the universal challenge of supply chain and logistics in health.
Antibiotic resistance threatens universal health coverage in Africa
Written by Super User
What if we run out of antibiotics to treat people who have multi-drug resistant infections? Would we be able to achieve Universal Health Coverage still? Or if we do not have technology to test for and detect an infection and decide the right antibiotics for a woman with postpartum sepsis? For countries with periodic outbreaks of cerebral meningitis or influenza, would being able to detect the first few cases not make all the difference in epidemic control?
It is in fact the case that many deaths worldwide and especially in Africa can be attributed to antibiotic resistance. A leading French biomedical company called bioMerieux known for their innovative in vitro diagnostics and syndromic testing panels are answering these questions and investing in diagnostics for epidemic-causing diseases and antimicrobial resistance within and outside Africa. At the recently concluded Africa Health Agenda International Conference 2019 (AHAIC2019), their comprehensive BioFire microbial testing panels were featured at the marketplace for innovations.
