The Garki National Hospital, Abuja, said on Thursday that it had about 22 human corpses abandoned by their relatives.
The hospital’s Group Medical Director, Dr. Elijah Miner said this during a visit of a delegation from the National Human Rights Commission to his office.
Miner said some of the deceased were victims of bomb blasts.The NHRC delegation was led by the Executive Secretary, Prof Bem Angwe.
He said two of the 22 corpses were infants and that some the bodies had been in the hospital’s morgue for about five years.
He said some of the corpses were brought to the hospital without head and could not be identified.
He said the hospital was planning to bury the corpses, having secured a court warrant to dispose of the bodies.
Angwe urged Nigerians to desist from abandoning the remains of their relations in hospital morgues across the country.
In a statement, NHRC’s Chief Press Officer, Fatimah Agwai Mohammad, quoted Angwe as arguing that it was incumbent on family members of the deceased to pay their last respect to their deceased relatives by giving them decent burials.
Angwe commended the management of the hospital for not rejecting indigent patients due to lack of funds, saying “this singular act has changed the perception of people about the hospital”.
He urged the Federal Government and well meaning Nigerians to make conscious efforts to upgrade the quality of health care delivery system and make it a priority.
Angwe regretted that Nigerians have been subjected to buying drugs from unauthorised sources resulting in needless deaths due to inadequacies that exist in our health care system.
He assured the hospital management that his agency would work out modalities to ensure that patients, who were treated on compassionate grounds, but failed to fulfil their financial obligations, were made to do so.
Angwe who urged the government to put in place accessible and quality healthcare system to address issues of avoidable deaths, assured Nigerians that the NHRC would issue an advisory to the Federal Government in this regard so that even the indigent members of the society would not have hiccups in enjoying quality healthcare.
The hospital’s Medical Director, Dr. Essen Nyomudime, said the institution’s management was determined to transform the hospital from average healthcare facility to “a centre of excellence even though the hospital does not enjoy any subvention from the government”.
Nyomudime said the goal of the hospital was to save lives hence it could not afford to turn back patients who could not afford to pay their medical bills, adding that “in the past few years, the hospital has given out over N27m as discount on medical services.”
He disclosed that so far, “the hospital has carried out 43 open heart surgeries, 12 kidney transplants, and has also done some IVF at very subsidized rates.”
Malaria Has Been One Of The Most Fearsome Killing Diseases In Modern Society, Where Africa Is Mostly Under Attack, Due To Its Climate, Sanitary Conditions And Constant Development Of Malaria Vectors – Mosquitoes. However, Recent Scientific News Have Seen Two Important And New Developments Presented In This Long-Lasting Battle Against This Parasite.
First one is a vaccine trial in humans, conducted for the first time ever, offering a potential protection against the most present malaria parasite, Plasmodium vivax. The results are so far modest, but promising, as the trial still has to show its efficiency in the time to come. The second important discovery is related to the control methods which are the most effective thus far. The recent evidence has shown that it might be used for much longer, than it was first expected.
The scientific study conducted at the Walter Reed Institute of Research announced that the 30 volunteers had received three trial vaccine doses and were then bitten by the mosquitos which carry P. vivax, 14 days after the received final dose. The results presented in the PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases journal suggest none of the volunteers suffered serious side effects from the vaccine, although fatigue and headaches were quite common, and all developed a significant immune response.
Unfortunately, the inoculation didn’t prevent the volunteers from catching the malaria, even though the development of the disease was significantly delayed when compared to the six other unvaccinated controls. These results particularly apply to the ten volunteers who were given the highest dosage. P. vivax used for the first human trial is not considered to be the most killing malaria parasite, unlike its relative Plasmodium falciparum, for which the vaccine development is currently more advanced.
However, P. vivax can make the untreated individuals very sick and the symptoms may relapse. The mentioned Plasmodium species were responsible for the loss of more than 400 000 lives in the previous year, where mostly children suffered from this parasite.
Such trial has been a challenge for both volunteers and the researchers. Research team had to arrange the feeding process of mosquitos where their diet would be the blood of the P. vivax infected Thai patient. Unlike P. falciparum, P. vivax cannot be grown in the laboratory conditions but has to be transferred from a diseased patients to mosquitos, and then to the volunteers.
The first author of the study, Lt. Col. Jason stated that the study represented the very first vaccine study which tested the P. vivax vaccine effectiveness in the human candidates, by using the controlled malaria infection. The only drug used for the treatment of P. vivax dormant stages thus far is primaquine, which successfully prevents relapses.
The fear doesn’t only come from the malaria parasites, but also from their vectors, the mosquitos. Mosquitos are known to be one of the fastest resistance-developing creatures, by becoming immune to various insecticides. This additional problems supports the development malaria in Africa, but thanks to the recent human trials, we may develop a new, efficient treatment for this fearsome killing disease.
By Gabriel Olawale In its bid to support prevention of un-der five deaths due to diarrhea in Nigeria, Reckitt Benkisser, RB, is investing N1.2 billion in a nationwide hygiene programme. Speaking in Lagos during the RB Charity Ball for Save the Children Initiative, the General Manager, RB West Africa, Rahul Murgai, said it’s sad to note that diarrhea still kills more than 194, 000 children under five annually in Nigeria when it can be prevented with simple hygiene practice. Murgai said: “To address these challenges, RB and save the children has entered into a global strategic partnership to invest close to N7.2 billion in Nigeria, India and Pakistan, from which Nigeria will be a recipient of close to N1.2 billion.” Murgai explained that statistics have shown that “about N455 billion is lost, which is almost 1.3 per cent of the GDP, due to poor health and hygiene conditions in the country. What this means from a human index perspective is that there are nearly 96,000 lives, nearly 100,000 small children under the age of five who die due to diarrhea. This translates into a startling figure of one child dying every minute due to the lack of preventable diseases, getting support in terms of curing children in terms of diarrhea.” On his part, the Marketing Director, RB West Africa, Oguzhan Silivrili said the company was running a pilot scheme in Shomolu LGA, Lagos State and all these seven points as prescribed by the WHO are being implemented. Before the test and scheme commenced, the prevalence of diarrhea in Shomolu was 7.3 per cent, “all these initiatives will bring it down by about 50 per cent and bring down the mortality factor by 80 per cent. If this is done, then we have a model in which companies and more NGOs can work with the Federal Government and make it a pan-Nigeria initiative. “Our objective is to promote the culture of health and good hygiene and by doing so, we believe we can build a healthier and more prosperous Nigeria. The children of tomorrow will see a far stronger nation, which is both healthy and wealthy,” he noted.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/03/rb-commits-n1-2b-to-stop-diarrhoea-in-children/
The problem of counterfeit and substandard medicines in Africa is huge. It is estimated that up to one-third of medicines in some parts of the continent are counterfeit and even more are substandard – meaning they are either ineffective, of subpar quality or, worst of all, harmful to patients. Every year, 122,000 African children under the age of five die because of counterfeit antimalarials alone. Beyond deaths, poor-quality medicines place an enormous economic strain on families and health systems and are also contributing to the rise of drug resistant strains of various diseases, including malaria, tuberculosis and other common infections. •Dr. Patrick Lukulay The Centre for Pharmaceutical Advancement and Training (CePAT) in Accra, Ghana, is an incredible example of an Africa-led solution to this major public health challenge in Africa. It aims to help build a cadre of well-trained regulatory and pharmaceutical professionals that can help detect counterfeit and substandard medicines in Africa and advocate for their removal from the market. In this piece, Dr. Patrick Lukulay, USP’s Vice President for Global Health Impact Programmes in Africa, highlights the importance of improving quality of medicines in Africa through expansion of this Centre. When we are unwell and visit our local pharmacies or dispensaries, we expect to get safe and effective medicines that make us feel better. That is, after all, what medicines are supposed to do. However, for far too many people living in Africa, this is not the reality. Fake and substandard medicines are flooding our markets. In fact, it is estimated that up to one-third of medicines used in some parts of Africa are counterfeit and even more are of poor quality. In effect, this means many Africans have more than a 30 percent chance of getting medicines that are partially effective, completely ineffective, or downright harmful to their health. Growing up in Sierra Leone, I saw this reality all too often. The effects of poor-quality medicines are many and massive. It is estimated that at least 122,000 African children under the age of five lose their lives every year as a result of counterfeit antimalarials alone. Poor quality medicines also place an enormous economic strain on families who must pay additional money for more (hopefully) effective medicines or pay for hospitalizations as a result of ineffective or harmful medicines. At a broader level, counterfeit and substandard medicines are contributing to the rise of drug-resistant strains of deadly diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis and common infections. When medicines contain too little of an active ingredient, they do not fully kill the disease-causing bacteria or parasite, leaving the most resistant to multiply within the infected individual – and likely infect others. The development of drug resistance will ultimately make even high-quality medicines ineffective over time, posing a major threat to global public health. Counterfeit and substandard medicines are so pervasive because, unfortunately, they are difficult to detect, particularly in low-resource settings in Africa. Many governments have quality standards in place but are ultimately unable to enforce them. Customs procedures are often quite lax, and most regulatory agencies and laboratories simply do not have the equipment or the technical skills required to conduct rigorous quality control tests. That is why, in 2013, the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) launched the Centre for Pharmaceutical Advancement and Training (CePAT) in Accra, Ghana. Our aim is to build a well-trained cadre of regulatory professionals across the African continent that can assess compliance with and enforce quality standards to ensure that effective, beneficial medicines reach the people who need them most. Over the past three years, we have trained 190 professionals from 32 countries, including 31 from Nigeria. Many of our trainees have in turn helped train additional scientists and regulators back home. In addition to training, CePAT has also screened pharmaceuticals from Ghana and across Africa with the goal of identifying poor-quality medicines before they are on the market and advocating for higher standards at the policy level. In 2013, USP and the Ghanaian Food and Drugs Authority (GFDA) conducted testing in Ghana and found that around 90% of oxytocin — used to prevent massive bleeding in mothers, post-delivery — was substandard. We then successfully worked with the Ministry of Health to ensure that all oxytocin must now be vetted and registered by the GFDA before reaching Ghanaian women. This week, CePAT is further expanding its offerings by opening a microbiology lab, which will enable us to train regulatory professionals across Africa to identify medicines that have been contaminated by micro-organisms such as bacteria. This type of testing has historically been extremely difficult in Africa due to its complexity and the resources needed to conduct the tests. However, this particular pre-assembled microbiology laboratory was designed specifically for use in low-resource settings, making it a potential model for other countries across the continent to replicate. Our success with training and medicines quality screening in Ghana has shown us what is possible when the right resources are in place. What we need – and urgently – is for stakeholders across the continent to make quality assurance a priority. At the national level, we need governments to put strict policies around medicine quality in place and ensure these policies are stringently enforced. Governments also need to equip their laboratories with suitable laboratory equipment and invest in training their regulatory personnel on how to properly detect counterfeit and substandard medicines. In some countries, donor support will be needed to help fund the modernization of regulatory laboratories and build local capacity. At CePAT, we are ready and willing to accept more trainees at our facilities. We are currently sponsoring 12 trainees from six countries every two months, but we could do much more with additional resources for scholarships. It is also important for communities to get involved because ultimately every day, people in Africa are bearing the brunt of the counterfeit and substandard medicine situation. Communities must hold their governments accountable for ensuring quality and keeping poor-quality medicines out of pharmacies and out of homes.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/02/improving-the-quality-of-medicines-in-africa/
LAGOS State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode will be in attendance as the Lagos State government in collaboration with UNICEF launches the Lagos State Violence Against Children, VAC, campaign tomorrow February 24, 2016. The event which holds at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island Lagos is in direct response to the Presidential Launch of the Year of Action to End Violence Against Children in September 2015. Lagos is the first state to launch its own VAC priority response. President Muhammed Buhari had called upon all states to launch their own priority actions to respond to the shocking findings from the Nigeria Violence Against Children Survey. Lagos State Priority Actions sets out the short-term and long-term strategies to be implemented by Lagos state in response to the findings of the VAC survey. Also to grace the occasion is the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) on Violence Against Children, Ms. Marta Santos Pais. Others include UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Ms. Jean Gough; US Mission in Nigeria Dehab Ghebreab , among others.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/02/lagos-unicef-launch-vac-campaign-feb24/
Insight Team, Science and Technology) on February 4, 2016 12:56 am
A diagram showing the HIV virus infecting the red blood cells PHOTO CREDIT: google.com/search
• Inadequate domestic funding, insecurity, poor health workers attitude, stigmatization threaten elimination of mother-to-infant transmission of virus • NACA begins decentralization of services to primary care facilities
In spite of the overwhelming evidence that women with Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) could have children free of the virus through free Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (PMTCT) programme, positive couples in Nigeria are still having children with the virus.
Reasons: Daunting challenges remain including inadequate domestic funding in the face of declining support from donors; insufficient capacity (human resource and infrastructure) to effectively provide prevention, treatment and care programmes; poor health seeking habit among the rural population, particularly Ante Natal Care (ANC) attendance and reluctance of pregnant women to deliver in health facilities.
Other reasons are: pockets of insecurity in some parts of the country, which disrupts service delivery, commodity supply and overall coordination of interventions and programmes; and poor health care workers attitude to People Living with HIV (PLHIV), stigma and discrimination related to HIV and tuberculosis.
According to the latest statistics from the National Agency for Control of AIDS (NACA), in 2014, the coverage of PMTCT was estimated at 30 per cent, with 300,000 children aged zero to 14 living with HIV in the country due to Mother To Child Transmission (MTCT) of HIV; and 60,000 new child infections occurred during 2014 and over 30,000 AIDS-related deaths occurred among children. The situation is worrisome at a time where science and know how exist to prevent MTCT and mitigate its impact.
However, the Director General of NACA, Prof. John Idoko, told The Guardian that towards an AIDS free generation by 2030, Nigeria is committed to: increase domestic funding to achieve a fully funded AIDS response; fully operationalize 90-90-90 strategy to eliminate progression to AIDS, premature death and HIV transmission; ensure comprehensive combination prevention for all populations; expand HIV Counseling and Testing (HCT) antiretroviral treatment (ART) and PMTCT service points; pursue a policy of local manufacture of essential commodities- antiretroviral drugs, HIV test kits and condoms; and address barriers to access to HIV/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) prevention and treatment services.
Idoko said the response to MTCT of HIV in Nigeria needs fast tracking and that services to provide PMTCT are being decentralized to the primary health care level thereby increasing significantly the number of PMTCT sites from 11 tertiary health facilities in 2002 to 6,533 facilities providing PMTCT services in 2014.
He said there has also been consistent improvement in the number of pregnant women tested and who know their result reaching 3,067,514 in 2014, a significant improvement from the 907,387 that were tested in 2010.
The NACA D.G. said there is also a steady increase in the number of HIV positive pregnant women who are receiving treatment- from 12,993 in 2006 to 63,350 in 2014- to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV and a transition of the PMCTC regimens from the single dose to multiple therapies. But, he said the roll of PMTCT has to be further fast tracked to match the needs. “There is need to quickly approve and implement option B plus- all HIV positive pregnant women on ART for life- as a national policy in Nigeria.
Idoko said the challenges remain important but not insurmountable including: preponderance of traditional and religious beliefs and practices which prevent women from going for ANC and from delivering in health facilities resulting in low utilization of maternal and child health-care services.
Other challenges include: Existing funds of PMTCT are largely from external donors because of a poor buy-in at national and state decision making levels; poor integration of HIV in reproductive health and mother and child health services; significant proportion of identified HIV positive pregnant women do not receive treatment because of stigma and discrimination; a sizeable proportion of the HIV positive women are receiving less than optimal drug regime and of children born to HIV positive women are not receiving antiretroviral treatment; limited access to early infant diagnosis testing; and limited health human resource particularly in rural areas
Idoko, however, said there is hope and elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV is not out of reach in Nigeria.
Despite these multiple challenges, the Joint United Nation Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS) estimates that by using an integrated and multipronged approach which includes measures to reduce the number of young women becoming infected with HIV, providing effective contraception to women living with HIV, providing lifelong ARV to HIV positive women, involving communities to reduce stigma and discrimination and increase demand for PMTCT services, Nigeria will eliminate MTCT of HIV by 2020.
UNAIDS estimates that eliminating MTCT of HIV by 2020 will resulting in the following health impact and net return on investment: 240,000 new HIV infection prevented among children; an additional 460,000 new HIV infections prevented in the adult population; a total of 700,000 new HIV infections prevented among adults and children; 340,000 AIDS-related deaths averted; 12 million life year gained; and a net return of $30 billion on investment.
From UNAIDS estimates Nigeria has the second highest burden of HIV in the world – second to South Africa. At the end of 2013, 3.2 million persons were living with HIV with the national HIV prevalence rate being 3.2 per cent. At the end of 2014, Nigeria had placed over 747,382 people on ART. A large population of new HIV infections is also through mother to child transmission: the mother to child transmission rate for MTCT was estimated at 27.3 per cent.
The response to HIV in Nigeria is coordinated through a three-tier system of administration. NACA, under the Presidency, leads the coordination at national level. At the state level, the State Agencies for the control of AIDS (SACAs), under the Office of the Governor, are responsible for the coordination of the multi sectorial response on HIV and AIDS.
NACA and SACAs coordinate joint planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of HIV/AIDS programmes at the national and state levels respectively. At the LGA level the Local action committee on AIDS (LACA) have similar broad mandate as NACA and SACAs to coordinate the HIV/AIDS response. The coordination of HIV response across the national and state levels is guided by the “Three Ones” framework thereby promoting effective coordination and efficiency of the response.
The first multi-sectorial action plan developed by NACA was the HIV/AIDS Emergency Action Plan (HEAP). The HEAP aimed to break down barriers to HIV prevention at the community level and support community- based responses, and provide prevention, care, and support interventions. As a result of developments in the global AIDS response, the National HIV/AIDS Policy (2005) and National HIV/AIDS Strategic Framework (NSF 2005–2009) were developed to engender a more robust response.
Based on national response review findings and recommendations, these two strategic documents were revised in 2010 and in addition, the National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan (NSP 2010 – 2015) was developed.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) indicators were recently used by UNAIDS, Columbia University/Millennium Village Project and Local Health Authorities to validate elimination of mother to child transmission (eMTCT) in Pampaida community (“UN Millennium village”, Kaduna State). This is the first community in Nigeria to report no HIV transmission from mother to child in four consecutive years.
The success of Pampaida with elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV is largely due to the use of ‘development-centred’ approach rather than a ‘project-based’ approach to address the need of the community. With a ‘development-centred’ approach, Pampaida was able to address structural problems, which are critical and central to HIV control – poverty, education, and gender empowerment.
Access to health care was enhanced through girl child education, increased community awareness and male involvement in health decision-making processes. Improved access to cash also improved access to health commodities including food. Gender empowerment increased access of the girl child to school, reduced rate of early girl child marriage. Increased uptake of contraception-increased child spacing, reduced maternal mortality and increased child survival.
An on-going manifestation of the President’s commitment to the welfare of Nigerians was the launching of the President’s Comprehensive Response Plan (PCRP) for HIV/AIDS, which aims to accelerate the implementation of key interventions against HIV, including PMTCT. However, achieving an AIDS free generation will not be possible without eMTCT.
The President clearly recognizes this and emphasizes: “No child deserves to be born with HIV and no mother deserves to die of AIDS, we are equal to the task”. Therefore, in order to increase the momentum in the effort to achieve eMTCT, there is need to enhance political commitment at all levels of government – from the Ward level to the National government. Therefore, this concept note proposes a high level process involving political and other key stakeholders in Nigeria to deliberate on how to advance the eMTCT agenda as articulated in the PCRP and beyond.
This high level process undertaken by the Presidents aims at a political and social mobilization to end the AIDS epidemic among children and it will start with the launching of a National Action Plan to end Mother to Child Transformation of HIV in Nigeria by 2020 to conform to vision 202020 and the transformation agenda, and progress into a vigorous one week long nationwide campaign of accelerated access to PMTCT services.
The key activities include: development of a Comprehensive National Plan of Action to end Mother to child transmission of HIV in Nigeria by 2020; nationwide HIV testing campaign among pregnant women for a week; publicity and media in support of the campaign; media briefing and press conference; and national launch of eMTCT plan of action.
Former President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, said: “Looking back one will remember that under my stewardship Nigeria has become the first economic power of Africa and through our transformation agenda there has been an improvement in many other development indicators in this country. In my whole political life, HIV/AIDS has been a scourge I passionately tackled and moving forward, I will lead a transformative movement to end the AIDS Epidemic among children in our Country, because it is my clear conviction that no child deserves to be born with HIV in Nigeria. Join me in this fight for AIDS-free generations in our Nation.”
As Nigeria continue to grapple with fixing the healthcare system, low budgetary allocations and limited funding options have impeded efforts to give the sector a lift. Martins Ifijeh writes
When General Ibrahim Babangida overthrew the then military Head of State, Major General Muhammadu Buhari in August 27th, 1985, one of the major reasons cited for the coup was the claim that Buhari’s government was unkind to the health of Nigerians and that only little priority was given to the sector. But in the first year of Babangida’s reign, the health sector was only allocated 2.7 per cent of the total budget, while defense received 7.8 per cent of the budget; an action that suggested Nigerian leaders do not consider the health of the nation as the pivot on which any economy can thrive.
Fast forward to 31 years after, Nigerians are still grappling with low budgetary allocations to the health sector, which has in no small measure reflected on the various health indices of a country that prides itself as the biggest economy in Africa. From maternal health to mortality rate of children under five years, up to mortality rate of men and women in the country, the indices show the country still have huge gaps to fill to be able to meet world standards in healthcare provision.
As part of efforts to close this huge gap hampering the progress of adequate healthcare provision, especially in developing and underdeveloped countries, where diseases outbreaks and its associated effects are a common occurrence, the World Health Organisation (WHO) in its wisdom recommended that countries should allocate at least 13 per cent of their annual budget to the health sector for effective funding of healthcare system. Also, an Abuja Declaration, signed in 2001 by all member countries of the African Union, including Nigeria, recommended that for the continent to be at par with other nations of the world in terms of healthcare provision, 15 per cent of their annual budgeted, at least, be allocated to the health sector.
Even though some countries have started raising their health budgetary allocation towards fully keying into the WHO recommendation of 13 per cent or the Abuja Declaration by the African Union of 15 per cent, Nigeria still lag behind in this regard, which has had direct consequence on the funding capacity of the Health Ministry, thereby making the fight against poor healthcare unrealistic.
Since the beginning of democratic dispensation, the allocation for healthcare in the country has varied between two per cent and six per cent, and in some instances, education and power sector take more budgetary allocations than the health sector, which is arguably the most important sector in a country, as other areas of the economy depends on how healthy the people and the nation are.
With the coming of a new government in power, one would think the priority given to the health sector would finally be restored. However, this year’s allocated amount fell short of what was envisaged, especially in the face of more health challenges affecting the country. From 5.7 per cent allocated to the sector in 2015, the allocation dropped to 4.3 per cent for 2016, which translates into N221.7 billion from the total budget of N6.08 trillion, a figure far below the N1trillion mark that was envisaged by stakeholders in the industry in view of the increased health issues. Experts had also expected that even if the budget would be below the 15 per cent recommended by the AU, it would at least be higher than the previous year, considering the numerous challenges facing the sector.
According to available data, the cost of immunisation alone across the country this year will be $1.4 billion, which when converted using the current dollar rate of $1 to N330, will be about N466 billion; an amount already far above the entire budgetary allocation for the health sector. This is just a small fraction of the several areas needing health interventions in the country.
The WHO believes if all health intervention areas in Nigeria are put into consideration and adequately captured in the budget, it would mean the government will spend a minimum of N6,908 per Nigerian in a year. But, as it is, the country still spends just a little above N1,500 per Nigerian on healthcare, which means about 80 per cent of healthcare services is being funded from out-of-pocket expenses of Nigerians.
This puts Nigeria as one of the nations of the world with the least healthcare spending per head when compared with other countries, especially in Africa. For instance, it has been reported that South Africa spends about seven times more per head on healthcare than Nigeria does, while Angola spends about three times more per head than Nigeria.
According to analysts, the United States healthcare spending per head stands at $7000, which is about N2.3 million and that of Switzerland is $6000, which is about N2 million. This, when compared with Nigeria’s N1,500 per head for a whole year, suggests why the country still grapple with the poor health indices and the abysmally poor mortality rates for Africa’s ‘giant’.
No wonder various statistics show that Nigeria has one of the worst health records in the world. The country’s average mortality rate is put at 52 years, whereas in some less economically strong countries, even in Africa, their mortality rates rank way better than Nigeria’s. For instance, while the number of deaths of infants under one year per 1000 live births in Nigeria is about 72.7, according to a 2015 report from World Fact Book, that of Rwanda is 58 deaths per 1000 children under five. That of Malawi is 42 deaths per 1000. Gabon is 46, Togo is 45, Kenya is 39, while Libya is just 11.
These indices perhaps explain why experts believe the recent allocated amount for the health sector was done in bad faith, hence the need for it to be revisited, while other funding options are looked into, especially with the recent gradual withdrawal of some donor organisations, due to Nigeria’s recent status as the strongest economy in the continent.
Speaking with THISDAY, a former Director, Federal Ministry of Health, who preferred to remain anonymous, said one of the major challenges the ministry had during her time was the poor budgetary allocation to the sector, hence the need for the government to up its game so that needless deaths can be prevented through adequate funding.
She urged President Buhari and the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, to review the current percentage allocated to the sector in a bid to raising the figure. “We should raise the figure from last year budget rather than reducing it. If we put the health allocation at eight per cent, or thereabout, it would at least show that we are putting in efforts to addressing the health crisis in the country,” she said.
She also decried a situation in which majority of the amount for health was used for paying health personnel, whereas the public health issues needing tackling were given just a little fraction of the entire amount. “The bulk of the allocation should go to preventive and promotive care,” she added.
She also called for expansion of financial options, as well as strengthening the contribution of private sector in the provision of healthcare in the country. She believed Public Private Partnership was a strategic way of gaining financial options at all operational levels of healthcare.
According to her, when funds are available and used judiciously on healthcare delivery, it would translate into affordable, accessible and effective healthcare delivery.
She said in expanding funding options for the sector, the government should scale up financial schemes that promote universal coverage, as well as scale up support for states to develop state health insurance, to be monitored by the NHIS.
She advised well-meaning Nigerians and organisations to donate towards healthcare. “With these systems in place, out-of-pocket expenditure will gradually face out, as it would reduce the financial burden of most Nigerians, who are known to live on less than $2 per day.
The Radiographers Registration Board of Nigeria (RRBN) has said that Nigeria needs about 100,000 radiographers in order to address health needs and other medical challenges of over 170 million Nigerians.
The board said research across the country has shown that the current number was insignificant and inadequate to address the existing gaps.
RRBN Chief Registrar, Michael Sunday Okpaleke, stated this at the opening ceremony of the Post-Graduate Diploma in ultra sound course 2016/2017 session in Abuja.
"Based on our statistics, we need one radiographer to about a thousand population. We have a population of about 170 million Nigerians and that means we need over 100,000 radiographers in the country if the needs of Nigerians are to be met.
"The profession is attractive and there is no radiographer without a job. As they are graduating from school, they are getting employed. In fact they are appointed on Grade Level 10. So it is attractive, but it is just because radiographers work with radiation which we all know that if not properly used can be harmful. The psyche of working in a radiation environment is what scares people, even though health hazard allowances are paid.
"There is a need to improve on the curriculum of radiographers in order to meet up with global trends. To this effect, we have set up fellowship programmes and training and we have also mandated a 5-man panel of experts to look at our curriculum and the reviewed it.
"So the white paper is available and has been sent to universities and other traditional institutions to ensure that the training of radiographers meets global standards and best practices. Radiography is technology dependent and it changes from time to time. It is dynamic."
Okpeleke maintained that the role of radiographers in any health facility cannot be underestimated as they are very instrumental in the diagnosing diseases for treatment and cure.
"The contribution of radiographers is key and very important as there is no standard health facility that does not have a radiography or x-ray department and when we talk about radiography, we are talking about diseases and their diagnosis with an aim of treating them."
"We do not have enough radiographers in the country and that is why we are doing this training. In fact, we have only five to six universities studying the course in Nigeria. We are also approaching other universities to see if they can appreciate the training and follow suit," Okpaleke stated.
He explained that, in order to scale up the performance of professionals in the field and make it more attractive to Nigerians, especially undergraduates, a 5-man committee has been set up to review the radiography curriculum and offer solutions.
The Registrar said this would enable Nigerian universities to adopt the course as only six universities offer it at undergraduate level at present.
The increased use of consumer electronics and gadgets – radio, television, computer, cell phones and other related appliances – has brought with it negative side effects on users’ health.
However, man has ignored a very vital means of improving his health, walking bare foot on the ground. Mr. Adjei Quaye, health campaigner and naturopath, who made the assertion in a health forum in Lagos said there are natural remedies from herbs and even the ground to bring succour to ailments.
Quaye said there are several man made item that deprive man from getting the much needed electrons from the earth. They include raised beds, synthetic mats, vehicles, synthetic carpeting, baby prams, footwear’s, vinyl covering the floor and even mattresses. He said that the human race is largely being bombarded with electronic gadgets all the hours of the day.
“If you were not using cell phones, someone would be calling, thereby polluting the whole atmosphere with electromagnetic waves. These waves affect our system and these electrons ionise the chemicals that enter the body and turn them to free radicals, which reduces the body’s immunity status.”
Quaye, also physical sciences lecturer at the University of Cape Coast said, “The body is like a ‘system’ made up of organs like the kidney, liver and others, then tissues, cells, molecules, atoms, nucleus and electrons. From the electrons, is produced a magnetic force.
Assuming a liver has 10 electrons, and the free radicals have taken five, it means the immune system gets weaker. So, the issue here is how to get back the lost electrons.”
He said it is all about the general wellbeing of the human body, adding that when the immune system is attacked by free radicals, the body defensive mechanism is compromised. But when the foot is placed on the ground and following the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, energy moves from one place to another, electrons begin to flow to occupy the places where there is shortage.
It flows from the ground to the body for rejuvenation and there is also a healing process. Quaye revealed that to get replacement of the lost electrons, which is synonymous with boosting the immune system, the bare foot should be placed on the floor for as long as possible.
He said studies have shown that in children, for example, those who walk barefoot recover more quickly in case of ill health than those who don’t.
The benefits of going barefoot Pointing out that since the nerves of our organs (eye, liver, kidney, pancreas, etc) terminate in our palms and under the feet, Quaye said man is most likely to activate an organ like the kidney to function well by going barefoot, thereby giving it a natural acupuncture. Insomnia and arthritis patients, He said have shown positive results just by walking barefoot.
The incidence of fibroids, breast and prostate cancers and other disorders may reduce drastically by walking barefoot. He advised that it is a healthy practice for a pregnant woman to go barefoot.
As the activity of walking barefoot increases such other benefits as better sleep, lower stress, more calmness, relief from migraine and headache, reduced cancer incidence, improved blood pressure and improved fertility and sexuality can be attained.
He claimed that, while normalisation of the body’s biological rhythms could be attained, he however warned that diabetic patients should be careful when walking barefoot to avoid cuts.
Quaye said there are several man made item that deprive man from getting the much needed electrons from the earth. They include raised beds, synthetic mats, vehicles, synthetic carpeting, baby prams, footwear’s, vinyl covering the floor and even mattresses. He revealed that health focused manufacturers are making mattresses with magnets to improve blood and oxygen flow in the body.
