Health
Rotary Donates Water Toilet Facilities To Elekahia
Rotary club of Port
Harcourt has constructed a water sanitation project and six room toilet facilities at the Elekehia community market, in Port Harcourt city local government area.
Speaking during the commissioning and formal handover of the project at the Elekahia Market recently, the District Governor of Rotary District 9140, Charles Onianwa, commended the Rotary club of Port Harcourt for carrying out the project to alleviate the plight of the traders.
The district governor who was represented by Rotarian Sam Mba said the projects were in line with the objectives of Rotary international which is centred on humanitarian services.
In his remark, the President of the Rotary Club of Port Harcourt, Rotarian Chidi Ikeji said the project was intended to provide convenience to the traders and promote good sanitation habits among them.
He said the Rotary club of Port Harcourt had earlier engaged in other community development services, such as the medical outreach programmes, in Oroworokwo and other parts of Port Harcourt and pledged the commitment of the Club to humanitarian engagements.
Receiving the facilities on behalf of the traders, the Women Leader, Amaeli women council in Elekahia Mrs Mary Amadi, thanked the Rotary club of Port Harcourt for the project which included a 7KVA Generator to power the facilities.
She said drinking water and toilet facilities had been major challenges of the traders noting that the construction of water and toilet facilities put smiles on the faces of the traders.
Also speaking, the Paramount Ruler of Elekahia Community, Chief Anthony Akarolo, thanked Rotary Club of Port Harcourt for the projects and advised the traders to make judicious use of them.
Also, the Rotary Club of Port Harcourt, District, 9140, Nigeria, has trained nurses a one-day workshop, covering the 23 local government areas of Rivers State.
Speaking, the President of the club, Rotarian, Chidi Ikeji said the workshop, tagged, Maternal and child Health, wa designed to train nurses on the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of the Human Immuno Virus (HIV), and the effective ways of administering immunisation. Ikeji said, the programmes was part of the club’s community service project.
In his paper, titled, HIV/AIDS: prevention of mother to child transmission, Dr Golden Owhonda said it was needful to train nurses at this time, “because studies have shown that Nigerians’ access to PMTCT was still at its lowest. There is therefore need to create access to the service and the service is a simple intervention that is very effective”.
He stated that, the service was a hospital-based service adding that more nurses need to be trained for more access to service.
“If we are able to create heavy access, we would be able to interrupt the virus and achieve elimination especially as it concerns the transmission of the virus from mother to the unborn child,” he said.
In her paper, the Director, Immunization, Rivers State Primary Health Care Management Board, Dr Wilson C, said immunication was one of the most cost-effective healthcare interventions. A proven tool for controlling and eliminating life threatening infectious, diseases while preventing and estimated 2.5 million deaths”.
She charged the nurse to diligent in the administration of vaccines.
Tonye Nria Dappa/Taneh Beemene
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.