Health
AU, Africa CDC Chart New Path For Public Health
African Union (AU) and the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) yesterday opened the first International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA 2021).
Mr Nekerwon Gweh, Communication and Media Engagement, Africa CDC, said participants at the conference being held virtually in Ethiopia, would discuss how to accelerate progress against COVID-19 and chart a new path for public health on the continent.
He said the conference, which had over 10,000 participants from 140 countries, would also address the latest COVID-19 research as the world grappled with the emergence of Omicron.
Gweh said the three-day conference, which started Dec. 14 and runs till Dec. 16, would feature presentations from African Heads of State, dignitaries and health experts.
“CPHIA 2021 comes at a critical time for Africa and the world. COVID-19 has strained health systems globally, and with dangerously limited access to vaccines across Africa.
“It has laid bare deep inequities in access to healthcare and scientific innovations.
“Less than 20 African countries met the global goal of vaccinating at least 10 per cent of the adult population by Sept. 30,” he stated.
He said while nearly 90 per cent of high income-countries met this target, as of Dec. 3, only seven per cent of the African population had been fully vaccinated.
He added that many countries faced a surge in new infections and the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern Omicron.
Prof. Senait Fisseha, CPHIA 2021 co-chair and Director of Global Programmes, Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, said CPHIA 2021 created a platform that would allow the continent to usher in a new era for science, partnership and innovation.
“The hope is that this will become the preeminent annual health gathering in Africa, where policymakers, researchers, advocates, community organisations and more come together to learn, address challenges and chart a path forward together.
“There are major changes ahead for health on the continent, and this is just the beginning,” Fisseha said.
CPHIA 2021 Co-Chair/Vice-Chancellor, University of Global Health Equity, Prof. Agnes Binagwaho, said Africa had some of the most sophisticated research institutions and talented scientists in the world, who had monitored COVID-19 and shared their knowledge.
Binagwaho said, “CPHIA 2021 will provide the platform to both highlight their incredible contributions and allow for strengthened collaboration across sectors so we can better respond to current and future health crises and achieve health equity.”
Dr John Nkengasong, Director of the Africa CDC, said while African leadership in addressing COVID-19 had been extraordinary, the pandemic had also underscored what the continent had long known to be true.
“We must urgently re-imagine the approach to public health in Africa.
“The first international conference on public health in Africa will be groundbreaking.
“By bringing together the brightest minds on the continent to share new insights and lessons learned, we will capitalise on this unprecedented momentum and create a new public health order for Africa,” Nkengasong said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that CPHIA 2021 is a virtual event and is free for all participants.
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.