Health
Ebola: FG Launches 30 Vehicles For Emergency Response
Minister of State for
Health, Mr Khaliru Alhassan, last Monday in Abuja launched 30 surveillance and operational vehicles for emergency response to Ebola Virus and other diseases.
Alhassan, while speaking at the launching, said the vehicles were meant to help the country respond to any possible emergence of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).
“The vehicles will be deployed to the country’s borders to ensure appropriate monitoring of people coming and going through the borders.
“The vehicles will be distributed particularly to major borders to ensure that health workers are properly equipped to do their job effectively,’’ the minister said.
He credited the success of halting the spread of EVD in Nigeria to the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan. Alhassan also said the efforts of the Lagos State and Rivers Governments, as well as the immediate past Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, were very impressive.
He however said while the World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared Nigeria free of EVD, the situation still called for more vigilance.
The minister said there was the need to be more vigilant, considering that EVD was still affecting neighbouring countries like Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, amongst others.
“As long as EVD is still ravaging countries around Nigeria, it remains a threat, and we don’t have to wait for emergencies of diseases breaking out before we plan for response.
“We have agreed to continue to progressively invest in disease surveillance, preparedness and response,” he said. Alhassan said the Federal Government was committed to supporting the six geo-political zones to establish isolation centres and put in place some of the materials required to curtail EVD outbreaks.
“The Federal Government will continue to strengthen reference laboratories across the six geo-political zones of the country to facilitate diagnosis of diseases,” he said.
The minister however appealed to state governments to emulate the Federal Government in its efforts at preventing EVD and other related diseases from getting to their various states.
“The state governments should emulate the Federal Government to continue to strengthen their surveillance, preparedness and response to outbreaks of diseases,” Alhassan said.
He also commended Nigerians for contributing to the curtailing of EVD, and further encouraged them to be vigilant. The minister, however, said the Federal Government would provide more logistics, vehicles and motorcycles to ensure all the borders were reached and were well secured.
Flashback: Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Education, Mr Minabelem Michael-West (right), with Chairman, Rivers State House of Assembly Committee on Education, Hon. Augustine Ngo, at a sensitasation seminar on Ebola Virus, organised by the ministry for teachers of primary and secondary schools in Port Harcourt, recently. Photo: Ibioye Diama.
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.