Health
FG Committed To Eliminating Tropical Diseases In Nigeria-Minister
The Minister of Health says the Federal Government is committed to eliminating Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in Nigeria.
The Minister of State for Health, Senator Adeleke Mamora, gave the assurance on Monday in Abuja at a round table on eliminating NTDs in the country.
The Tide gathered that progress is being made against neglected tropical diseases, a group of 20 diseases that debilitate, disfigure and kill.
About 43 countries have eliminated at least one NTD where 600 million people no longer require treatment.
Some of these diseases that have plagued humanity for centuries, such as sleeping sickness and Guinea worm disease, are now at an all-time low.
Mamora said it was vital that everyone worked continuously even in these challenging times.
He noted that NTDs could cause severe debilitating and lifelong physical and visual impairment, whereas they could be eliminated.
He said the ministry would ensure effective execution of NTD programmes, whilst guaranteeing that the best of the ministry’s team was deployed to the NTD unit in the Public Health department.
“In addition, the ministry will ensure that medical commodities, including drugs donated, are immediately distributed to the last mile where persons who need them can have access to the items,” he added.
Sen. Ibrahim Oloriegbe, Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, said the meeting preceded the “100 per cent Committed Campaign” scheduled to kick off in Nigeria in January 2022.
He added that President Muhammadu Buahari was expected to join other world leaders in endorsing the Kigali Declaration on NTDs as part of the events to mark the World NTD Day and to commemorate ten years of the London Declaration on NTDs.
Oloriegbe, the Chairman of the National Task Team, said the prevalence of NTDs in the country was not new and it was important that Nigerians were involved in efforts to eliminate the diseases in the country.
“It is now time for us to have improved coordination of the efforts at the various levels aimed at eliminating NTDs in Nigeria.
“This will be by increasing oversight on the implementation of NTD programmes and more importantly accelerating the interventions aimed at eliminating the diseases.
“It is also no longer news that NTDs’ are indeed ‘neglected,’ not just globally but within Nigeria.
“It is time to reverse this trend and pay more attention to the alleviation of the sufferings encountered by people affected by NTDs,” he said.
The chairman House Committee on health added that medical commodities for NTDs expiring at the ministry’s warehouses would no longer be acceptable.
He stressed that must be commitment to developing national strategic plans for NTD, which must be implemented.
“Developmental partners must continue to ensure that their support for Nigeria, being the second highest burden country for NTDs, is sustained,
to move Nigeria from second highest burden to being the last in the next five years.
“Partners also have a duty to report any anomaly or challenges noticed in their line of duty to the national task team on NTDs or directly to my office, as the Chair of the National Task Team.
“We need the organised private sector and corporate organisations to mobilise members to urgently contribute towards this elimination drive.
“NTDs affect the quality of life of the citizens and often times cause severe disabilities,” he added.
He said economic modeling undertaken by The Economist intelligence unit showed the productivity gains that could be achieved across five African countries from the elimination of just two NTDs.
He added that it showed that Ethiopia and Kenya could add 3.2 billion dollars and 1.3 billion dollars to their economies respectively.
“Given that Nigeria’s NTD burden is higher than both these countries, the expected economic gains through reaching the WHO targets would be substantial,” he added.
Senator representing Lagos Central, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, said the elimination of NTDs would help improve the productive capabilities of people living with NTDs.
She said it would also improve the wellbeing of those at risk of these diseases, and that this could help sustain economic growth in the country.
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.