Health
Doctors, Lab Scientists Bicker Over CBN Circular
A dispute is already brew
ing between the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) over the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) circular authorising Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) to approve licenses for the importation of In-vitro Diagnostics (IVDs).
The recently elected President of NMA, Dr Kayode Obembe, had in an open letter to President Godluck Jonathan warned that the circular would set a “dangerous trend in the nation’s health sector.”
According to him, the circular is very dangerous; it is completely wrong that one would have to go to the MLSCN to get approval in order to import medical laboratory equipment.
“Already, importation of medical products is being regulated by the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).”
However, AMSLN has challenged NMA to go to court rather than threaten the apex bank to withdraw the circular. Its president, Godswill Okara, told newsmen in Abuja that: “If NMA feels very strongly about the circular, it should go to court, contest it and see the way it will be floored.”
He warned that if the CBN should succumb to the NMA pressure and withdraw the circular, his association would challenge the withdrawal in court. Okara further advised the NMA to subject itself to the rule of law, jettison ego-tripping and embrace laudable objectives that would improve the nation’s health sector.
“The dog-in-the-manger attitude would not help the health sector, neither will the first-born mentality often displayed by the NMA and its members. Modern healthcare practice is multi-disciplinary and multi-professional in dimension and scope,” he noted.
“The old concept of the patient belonging to the doctor is now outdated and relates only to the medieval era. The quest to demand for what it wants and also turn around to dictate what others should be given is to say the least reprehensible and nihilistic. NMA does not have the exclusive preserve to strike action.
“The CBN circular, unlike the chauvinistic undertone of everything done by the NMA, is not about the MLSCN or any other professional group, but about the citizens of this country, who spend a whopping $1.7 billion annually seeking quality diagnosis and treatment abroad, and who have continued to clamour for reliable medical diagnosis.”
He added: “The laws of Nigeria specifically mandated and empowered the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria to perform this onerous duty of ensuring that fake and substandard in-vitro diagnostics are eliminated from the Nigerian healthcare sector.
“Sections 4e and 19d of the Medical Laboratory Science Council Law Act 11, 2003 (Cap M2S, LFN 2014) specifically mandates the MLSCN to “regulate the production, importation, sales and stocking of diagnostic reagents and chemicals and make rules for the maintenance of good standard of medical laboratory practice and services.
This is “with respect to regulation and control of private practice, including statutory inspection, approval and monitoring of all medical laboratories, including those adjoined to clinics, private and public health institutions.”
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.