Health
Journalists Demand Improved Funding Of Health Sector
The Association of Nigeria Health Journalists (ANHEJ) have appealed to the Federal Government to allocate one per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the federation to the health sector as prescribed in the National Health Act.
The group also called for the prompt release of approved funds and judicious use of all monies made available to the sector.
ANHEJ made the calls in Abuja at its maiden Health Communications Conference which had the theme “Persistent Poor Implementation of the Health Sector Budget: The Role of the Media” on Sunday.
President of the association, Marcus Fatunmole, said it had become imperative for government to fully implement the National Health Act, given the worrisome state of health services in the nation.
Fatunmole said that a large percentage of the less-privileged citizens of the country were dying due to poor access to health services adding that Nigeria’s health infrastructures and services would drastically improve if government fully implements the health Act.
“Our maternal mortality rate is the highest in the world, we parade a quarter of global malaria burden and we are among the only three polio-endemic countries in the world.
“ Nigeria at present has one of the highest number of acutely malnourished children in the world; a situation that has been worsened by activities of Boko Haram insurgents.
“Nigeria loses about 2,300 children who are below five years of age and 145 women of child bearing age every day,
“ Our country is faced with increasing growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes and hypertension and mental-related ailment,’’ he said.
Fatunmole appealed to the government to commit enough resources to the sector to allow the masses access health care at affordable cost.
He maintained that Nigeria could not significantly attain the Sustainable Development Goals if the Act, especially the portion demanding “at least one per cent” of the consolidated revenue allocation to the health sector, was not implemented.
He said Part 1 (1) c of the Act states that National Health System shall “provide for persons living in Nigeria the best possible health service within the limits of available resources.
“And that the National Health System in (e) shall “protect, promote and fulfill the rights of the people of Nigeria to have access to health care services.
“The Act furthered in Part 1 (3) sub-section 3 that “without prejudice to the prescription by the Minister in Section 3 (1) of this Act, all Nigerians shall be entitled to basic minimum package of health services.
“The question to ask today is that are all Nigerians truly enjoying any minimum health package”.
On his part, Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, called on the media to continue to advocate for accountability, increased funding and good governance in the sector.
He expressed delight with the initiative and said the ministry would be more open to the media regarding information dissemination among others.
Adewole appealed to the media to put health issues in the front burner to attain the needed improvement in the sector for the benefit of all citizens, adding that investment in health yields more dividends than any sector of the economy.
The minister said “media represents a segment that is considered one of the most important partners in the health sector.
“The role of communications in health goes beyond the traditional reporting and coverage of activities that most people would naturally expect.
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.