Health
Healthcare: Board Woos Firms …Tasks Coys On CSR, PPP
The Rivers State Primary
Health Care Management Board (RSPHCMB), has called on multinational companies operating within the state to deliver on their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to their host communities by partnering with the board in making healthcare service delivery easily accessible and affordable to members of the communities.
Chairman of the Board, Prof. Princewill Chike who made the call at the Obio Cottage Hospital during the inspection of health facilities under the board said the Public Private Partnership (PPP) programme remained the sure way to achieving the goal of effective healthcare delivery in the state.
Chike maintained that should the multinationals partner with the board at the community level as part of their corporate social responsibility, it would not only place the organisations in good books of the people but also reduce violence resulting to health challenges in the state.
Chike who stated that the visit was necessitated by the peaceful protest by Rumukwurushi Community to the Rumukwurushi Health Centre to demand on explanation on the workability of the Community Health Insurance Scheme (CHIS), explained that the state needed a realistic approach to the health needs of the people, saying “the way to go now in terms of health care service is the Health Insurance Scheme where the people are to pay a token to get care”.
While commending the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) on its partnership with the Obio Cottage Hospital and Rumukwurushi Model Primary Health Centre and the Medicines Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Boarder) on partnership with the Orogbum Health Centre where they are building capacity on the sexually abused victims, Chike called on other multinationals including the private sector to join hands in ensuring that every resident of the state has an accessible and affordable health care service.
The Permanent Secretary of the board, Dr. Minima Harry who noted the gains of the CHIS urged the people to embrace the scheme stating that the free medical care programme was no longer realistic given the present economic situation of the state.
Harry said “I will meet with the Rumukwurushi Community on advocacy to encourage them to enroll in the scheme because it has proven to be efficient in Obio Cottage Hospital and the board will love to replicate the scheme in other health facilities across the state. I also call on other corporate organisations to partner with the board for an effective health care delivery”.
Also speaking, the SPDC representative, Dr. Akin Fajola noted that the Obio Cottage Hospital was the state health facility supported by the SPDC to provide health care to the communities around, revealing that since the introduction of the CHIS at the health centre, the facility has attracted more patients from the state and beyond.
The Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Umejiego Chidozie said the hospital records about 100 patients and 300 deliveries every month giving credence to the support by the SPDC.
Chidozie further revealed that the facility has 115 staff with 12 doctors and operates for 24 hours with support from the local government, state government and Non-governmental organisations like the Rotary Club of Trans-Amadi.
Lady Godknows Ogbulu
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.