Health
Nurses Want Adequate Vaccines In Health Centres
The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), has urged the Federal Government to equip health facilities with adequate vaccines to help increase the rate of immunisation against vaccine-preventable diseases.
The association also advocated for compulsory immunisation of all health workers.
The Chairman, NANNM, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Chapter, Mrs Oluyemisi Adelaja, made call in an interview with the newsmen in Lagos, Monday.
Speaking against the backdrop of the just concluded 2017 World Immunisation Week a global public health campaign aimed at raising awareness on the importance of immunisation against vaccine-preventable diseases and its role in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Adelaja noted that “Some of the vaccines used in the country were expensive because they are imported.
“Government should resuscitate our research centers and fund them adequately; this way, they can do more research by using plants that are available in the country to invent vaccines.
“Such invented vaccines can be available, affordable and effective in combating these diseases.
“The funds allocated for vaccines by governments are not enough and the funds donated by NGOs are mismanaged by the people in charge; either by diverting the fund or procuring the ones that are almost expiring.
“Also, government at all levels should provide adequate protective medical consumables and gadgets to both federal and state hospitals, as well as primary health centres’’.
She said there was need to sensitise health officers on vaccines and immunisation, as well as get them to be immunised.
“Health workers should be adequately sensitised and be given necessary vaccination as at when due to protect them, their families and all citizens.
“They are on the field and are at risk of contracting diseases.
“Most of the health officers engaged for immunisation do not have adequate knowledge about the cold chain system and the importance of vaccines.
“They also lack the knowledge of maintenance of proper cold chain, thereby reducing the potency of the vaccines; this is majorly because quacks or incompetent staff are recruited to administer the vaccines.’’
Adelaja also condemned some unwholesome practices by some health officers.
She said “There are also sharp practices that need to be stopped; some health officers collect vaccines from health centres and sell to private hospitals.
“Some even hide somewhere to fill the forms with holding fake names and information which they present as the report or statistics.
“These have to be identified and addressed,’’ she said.
Also speaking, Chairman of NANNM, Lagos State Chapter, Mr Olurotimi Awojide, said that the major challenges facing immunisation in Nigeria were misconceptions in some parts of the country.
According to him, most people were not well educated on the importance and need to be immunised.
While noting with dismay the practice of parents with their children and not presenting them for immunisation, Awojide said such ws negating the aim of the immunisation which is to ensure a global infection-free society, especially in children. said such was negating such was “the aim of the immunisation which is to ensure a global infection-free society, especially in children.
“Immunisation is a process of ensuring that children become resistant to infection agents which is usually achieved through the use of vaccines.
“Governments, especially our donors are trying their best to ensure that children are immunised against all childhood killer diseases.
“We still need more funds for the vaccines, competent staff and more awareness on the benefits of immunisation , especially in children.’’
Awojide appealed to health workers in charge of vaccination to always be guided by the ethics of the profession to achieve an infection-free society.
“I am appealing for this, based on unconfirmed anti-professional activities of some health workers.
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.