Frontpage News (3256)
66% of Lagosians Can’t Afford Quality Healthcare, Says Health Commissioner
The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, has said that about 66 percent of Lagos residents cannot pay for quality healthcare as they live below the poverty threshold. He said this percentage of people in the state could not pay for healthcare and could not be captured in the insurance scheme.
Abayomi, who spoke yesterday at a press briefing organized by the state Ministry of Health, said with the health insurance scheme aimed to ensure accessibility and affordability, only 33 percent of people who were well to do could access it.
Doctors Seek Interventions, Mobilisation of Resources to Tackle Suicidal Behaviour
Meanwhile, stakeholders in mental health advocates have called for the urgent need to establish a national suicide prevention strategy to curb the rising menace, especially among youths in Nigeria.
The stakeholders, including medical professionals, social workers, and non-governmental organizations among others, lamented the rise of suicide rate in the country, which they said could be prevented by putting measures in place to address it. They gave the assertion ahead of the 2019 national conference scheduled to hold on Saturday, 26, at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), with the theme: “Suicide, a Challenge to Developing Country”.
It is good news from the health sector as experts have announced that another strain of wild poliovirus has been eradicated globally. This news was shared by the World Health Organisation in a press statement on Thursday to mark World Polio Day.
The UN health agency said with no case of wild poliovirus type 3 detected anywhere in the world since 2012, the Global Commission for Certification of Poliomyelitis Eradication (GCC) has officially declared the strain as globally eradicated.
Africa ‘highly unlikely’ to meet 2030 deadline on malaria eradication – Survey
Funding gaps across the African continent may hinder the achievement of the global target for malaria elimination by 2030, a new survey has said. The survey, Malaria Futures for Africa (MalaFa), is the first systematic attempt in many years to collate expert African views on malaria policy.
It found that countries in Africa are highly unlikely to meet the 2030 deadline in the fight against malaria if considerable changes did not occur in funding and delivery.
Global Fund: Nigerian govt. pledges $12 million to end HIV, TB, Malaria
The Nigerian government has pledged to release $12 million to end epidemics of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other preventable and treatable disease across the globe. The government announced the commitment at the sixth Replenishment Conference of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) in Lyon, France.
Leaders of countries around the world made commitments through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end these epidemics by 2030.
HIV/AIDS: PEPFAR to partner Nigerian governors for free testing, treatment
Three outfits seeking to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, including USAID, Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in Nigeria and the Department of Defense have sought the buy-in of the 36 Nigerian state governors for the abolition of user fees by all HIV positive persons in the country.
The proposal was tabled during a visit to the secretariat of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) on Tuesday.
Sanwo-Olu, Ehanire, Health Professionals Turn Up at 9th Medic West Africa Expo
The 9th edition of Medic West Africa's annual expo witnessed a massive turnout of hundreds of healthcare professionals and well over 250 renowned exhibitors. Held at the expo center of Eko Hotels and Towers, Victoria Island, Lagos, the two-day event was officially declared open by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State.
There were about 600 delegates and 20 countries represented at the annual health exhibition. From state-of-the-art imaging equipment to the most cost-effective disposables; developments in surgery to advances in prosthetics and pharmaceuticals, the carnival-like occasion was well knitted to the admiration of participants from West African healthcare community.
National Health Dialogue: How states implement health insurance programmes
To boost coverage and participation, Anambra is engaging philanthropists in the implementation of the State’s Health Insurance Scheme (SHIS), Simeon Onyemachi, the Executive Secretary of the scheme has said.
Mr Onyemachi said the state agency is using “the adoption model”, which encourages philanthropists to pay for the health of their community members and relations.
Ehanire: FG to Explore PHC Models that Include Round-the-Clock Healthcare Services
The Honorable Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, has said that the Federal Government is open to exploring Primary Health Care (PHC) models that upgrade Primary health care centers to offer round the clock services. The Minister made this known in Abuja, at the Nigeria Health Watch Maternal Care Stakeholders Summit, theme: Advancing quality maternal care in Nigeria: What are the missing links?
He also said that partnerships that include private medical services or Public-Private Partnerships that increase the reach of healthcare to rural dwellers where the gaps are most evident are also being considered.
Although many people have read about why the intake of excess salt is not good for their health, they found it difficult to reconcile the link between both, as they don’t know the level at which the damage goes.
Recent research at Weill Cornell Medical College for Medicine in New York has suggested that a diet high in salt may promote cognitive decline by destabilizing levels of the protein tau.
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Dental experts have said the phrase “Gain a child, lose a tooth” is an old wife's tale which does not necessarily need to be true for women who take their oral health seriously during pregnancy.
Pregnancy is a life-changing experience that affects nearly every aspect of a woman’s life, including her oral health.
A newly approved three-drug treatment for tuberculosis will be available in 150 countries, including India and South Africa, priced at 1,040 dollars for a complete regimen, more than twice the cost proposed in the past by advocacy groups for other treatments.
The United Nations-backed Stop TB Partnership said on Monday that BPaL would be obtainable in eligible countries through the Global Drug Facility (GDF), a global provider of TB medicines created in 2001 to negotiate lower prices for treatments.
Determined to achieve the Universal Health Coverage in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) said that it has registered about 125,000 enrollees, which are basically staff of the administration, into the FCT Health Insurance Scheme (FHIS).
Speaking at a one-day FHIS stakeholder meeting with participants from Abaji area council, the acting secretary, Health and Human Services Secretariat (HHSS), Alhaji Abdulraheem Musa, disclosed that the registration of area council staff would soon commence.
No fewer than 2, 702, 844 children between nine months to 15 months have been targeted to undergo injectable vaccination during the 2019 measles vaccination campaign by Kano State Ministry of Health.
Briefing reporters on the preparations for the campaign, the permanent secretary of the ministry, Usman Bala Muhammad said the campaign has been scheduled for October 31 to November 12, 2019.
