Health
2013: Year Of Doctors’ Strikes
For the average Nigerian, the health sector in 2013, could best be described as a Nightmare, the year in retrospect was punctuated with horrific strike actions, which the average Nigerian could ill afford in 2014.
Often times, patients were turned back, sent to private hospitals or left to their own fate at the gates and corridors of health facilities, reason being that they could not afford to attend private clinics or be flown abroad, which the elite resorted to.
Strike actions, it would seem were a way of life for medical doctors and other health professionals, because they could always find reason to go on strike would seem.
For reasons ranged from poor remunerations, to poor conditions of service, poor funding poor infrastructure, disharmony between health professionals and even kidnap of health professionals for each of these reasons, health workers would down tools.
However, the health unions insist that their actions were for the good of all Nigerians.
Chairman of Nigerian Medical Association, Rivers State, Dr. Ibitrokoemi Korubo, said “we are not angling for better pay, were it would not be done for that, we wont even go to work at all.
We are pushing for improved equipment, funding of hospitals and manpower development”.
Dr. Korubo pointed out that the Nigerian government needed to live up to its responsibility and support the development of the health sector.
The NMA boss observed that doctors were working round the clock to provide improved services to their patients and added that doctors have made landmark break through in medical science.
“Doctors in Nigeria have done very well, we have had two cases of cure for sickle cell by Nigeria doctors without help from any foreign doctors, we’ve successfully done heart transplant despite our challenges”, he said.
He noted that for any meaningful development to take place in any society, its population must be healthy, “without a healthy population, social insecurity and crime would increase”, he added.
He further said, “we want equal opportunity for all Nigerians, if a Commissioner can travel abroad for a headache, the common man should be able to that as well, otherwise we want a law that abolishes overseas referrals”.
He continued, “we should have a law where if you serve in government, you cannot go abroad for medicals. Everyone should have equal opportunity”.
On professional disharmony, he said “we know what the health structure should be, we have other health professionals, the Nurses pharmacists, laboratory scientists and others who help us achieve our goals, and the health hierachyal structure is clear, so we should not have a health sector that is different from practices else where”.
He appealed to the public for their trust saying, “we want the public to trust us, this is not about us and if the federal government does not come up with solutions that meet our demand, come next Monday, January 6, 2014, we are embarking on a full scale strike action”.
“Our issues are clear”, he added.
The year 2013, began with a strike action in the health sector and closed with yet another strike between December 18 to December 22, 2013.
Sadly, it seems 2014 would again open with a strike action if the NMA makes good its promise.
Mr Augustine Umhenin (left), helping his wife out of the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital as doctors begin warning strike in Abuja, recently.With them is the son.
Tonye Nria-Dappa
Two United States scientists who unraveled the human micro RNA have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2024.
Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun won the coveted prize for their work on microRNA as their discoveries help explain how complex life emerged on earth and how the human body is made up of a wide variety of different tissues.
MicroRNAs influence how genes – the instructions for life – are controlled inside organisms, including humans.
Every cell in the human body contains the same raw genetic information, locked in our DNA.
However, despite starting with the identical genetic information, the cells of the human body are wildly different in form and function.
The electrical impulses of nerve cells are distinct from the rhythmic beating of heart cells. The metabolic powerhouse that is a liver cell is distinct to a kidney cell, which filters urea out of the blood.
The light-sensing abilities of cells in the retina are different in skillset to white blood cells that produce antibodies to fight infection.
So much variety can arise from the same starting material because of gene expression.
The US scientists were the first to discover microRNAs and how they exerted control on how genes are expressed differently in different tissues.
The medicine and physiology prize winners are selected by the Nobel Assembly of Sweden’s Karolinska Institute.
They said: “Their groundbreaking discovery revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans.
“It is now known that the human genome codes for over 1,000 microRNAs.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has begun acting to curb effects of antibiotic pollution.
The new guidance on wastewater and solid waste management for antibiotic manufacturing sheds light on this important but neglected challenge ahead of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Meeting on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) taking place on 26 September 2024.
The emergence and spread of AMR caused by antibiotic pollution could undermine the effectiveness of antibiotics globally, including the medicines produced at the manufacturing sites responsible for the pollution.
Despite high antibiotic pollution levels being widely documented, the issue is largely unregulated and quality assurance criteria typically do not address environmental emissions. In addition, once distributed, there is a lack of information provided to consumers on how to dispose of antibiotics when they are not used, for example, when they expire or when a course is finished but there is still antibiotic left over.
“Pharmaceutical waste from antibiotic manufacturing can facilitate the emergence of new drug-resistant bacteria, which can spread globally and threaten our health. Controlling pollution from antibiotic production contributes to keeping these life-saving medicines effective for everyone,” said Dr Yukiko Nakatani, WHO Assistant Director-General for AMR ad interim.
Globally, there is a lack of accessible information on the environmental damage caused by manufacturing of medicines.
“The guidance provides an independent and impartial scientific basis for regulators, procurers, inspectors, and industry themselves to include robust antibiotic pollution control in their standards,” said Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, WHO. “Critically, the strong focus on transparency will equip buyers, investors and the general public to make decisions that account for manufacturers’ efforts to control antibiotic pollution.”
In a concerted effort to curb brain drain, the Kebbi State Government has harmonised medical doctors’ salaries to be at par with their colleagues in the federal government’s tertiary health facilities.
Kebbi State Commissioner for Health, Musa Inusa-Isma’il, disclosed this at the handing over of ambulances to the state-owned health facilities at the Ministry of Health in Birnin Kebbi yesterday.
Inusa Isma’il, according to a statement by Ahmed Idris, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, said the essence of the harmonisation was to retain the existing medical doctors and attract more to the services of the state.
According to him, the doctors across the state had already started enjoying the new salaries from August 2024.
He said the release of the vehicles was in fulfilment of Governor Nasir Idris’ promise to uplift health care services in the state.
“His Excellency said I should inform you, the beneficiaries of this gesture, that the vehicle should be strictly used for the intended purpose. It should not be used for anything else.
“If there is no referral case, each of the vehicles must be parked at the hospital by 6 pm. The governor said you should warn your drivers against reckless driving as well as violating the instructions.
“We should also do everything possible to reciprocate the gesture by working according to the terms and conditions attached,” he advised.
The benefiting health facilities included Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital, Birnin Kebbi; State Teaching Hospital, Kalgo; General Hospital, Argungu; General Hospital, Yauri; General Hospital, Zuru; and General Hospital, Bunza.
In his speech, the permanent secretary of the ministry, Dr Shehu Koko, recalled that the ambulances were handed over to the ministry last Friday by the governor for the onward handover to the benefiting hospitals.
He observed that the ambulances would go a long way in improving the referral system in the state, adding that delays in reaching the secondary and tertiary facilities would be eliminated.
The permanent secretary attributed the high rate of maternal mortality in the country to delays in getting to the health facilities for proper medical care.
“We believe with the provision of these ambulances, part of the gaps we have in our referral system will be addressed, whereby patients who require secondary healthcare could be easily transported to secondary and tertiary health centres, where they can get such help,” he said.
In a goodwill message, Commissioner for Information and Culture Alhaji Yakubu Ahmed expressed gratitude to the governor for the support he has given to the ministry to excel.
While advising the beneficiaries to use the vehicles judiciously, the commissioner advised that services and maintenance of the vehicles must be prompt to derive the maximum benefits from the vehicles.
The commissioner also highlighted some achievements recorded by the government in the last year, including beautification of the state capital, completion of a multimillion-naira ultramodern state secretariat, road construction, construction and renovation of classrooms and upgrading of some health facilities, among others.