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NEW Rivers And Improved  Healthcare

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For eight years, the immediate past APC administration in Rivers State neglected the health sector. Rivers people in rural areas were denied access to quality healthcare.  The people had no access to quality secondary healthcare  because  all the General Hospitals in the state   were left to rot.
Statewide improvement  in healthcare delivery  was one of the cardinal pledges that Governor Nyesom Wike made to the good people of Rivers State during the electioneering campaign that led to the flushing out of the failed Amaechi administration.
In the last two years, Governor Wike has worked towards creating  a comprehensive healthcare framework that caters for the needs of Rivers people. The administration has invested in the improvement of health facilities and services across the state, while taking care of the welfare of professionals  in the sector.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was in Rivers State to lay the foundation for the construction of an ultra-modern doctors quarters at the Braithwaite Specialist Memorial Hospital. This project is progressing satisfactorily.
Training of Health Professionals
The administration established a College of Medical Sciences at the Rivers State University and also started the setting up of the State Teaching Hospital with the signing of the bill to actualize it.
Support for Private Medical Practitioners
In order to guarantee that more residents of  Rivers State have access to quality healthcare, Governor  Wike flagged off a private hospitals loan scheme (PHLS).  The first batch of the scheme witnessed  37 hospitals in the state having access to N500 million to upgrade their facilities and improve their services to the people . Seven of the beneficiaries are non-indigenes, while 30 are from Rivers State.
Flagging off the PHLS at the Government House, Port Harcourt, Wike urged the private medical practitioners to apply the loans judiciously.
The state government would pay the interest on the loans on behalf of the beneficiaries, while the beneficiaries will pay the principal sum. This novel  scheme has improved  access to quality healthcare in the State.
Unprecedented Rehabilitation of Secondary Healthcare Facilities
Prior to the advent of the Wike administration, secondary healthcare  had collapsed across the state. These General Hospitals  suffered criminal neglect during the leadership  of the immediate past  administration.  Therefore, Rivers people in rural communities were denied access to quality healthcare.
In line with the vision of the Wike adminstration to create access to quality healthcare for the people of the State, the State government commenced the total rehabilitation of 13 General  Hospitals .
The followings are the hospitals being rehabilitated : General Hospital, Omoku; General Hospital, Nchia; General Hospital, Abua; General Hospital, Isiokpo; General Hospital, Abonnema; General Hospital, Okirika; General Hospital, Opobo; General Hospital,  Bodo; General Hospital, Ngo; General Hospital, Buguma; Psychiatric Hospital , Rumuigbo; General Hospital, Emohua and General Hospital, Eberi.
Rivers people from all walks of life have declared  their support for the governor’s commitment to rebuild the health infrastructure in the state. These hospitals have never witnessed any form of rehabilitation since they were constructed in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Governor Wike declared that his administration would transform the secondary healthcare sector of the state as a means of improving the living standard of the people. The governor said that the state government resolved to revive the secondary healthcare facilities because they were abandoned for over two decades.
Their upgrade would open a new chapter in healthcare delivery in the state  as quality healthcare would be close to the ordinary people in the State.
Recruitment of Medical Personnel/Improvement of Facilities at Braithwaite Specialist Memorial Hospital
Aside the development of physical infrastructure in health facilities  across the state, the Wike administration  has recruited qualified medical  professionals to help the state government  strengthen access  to quality healthcare.
Also, facilities at the Braithwaite Specialist Memorial Hospital (BSMH) have been improved by the administration.  The State government has released  $4million for the purchase and installation of modern equipment at the BSMH.
The administration will implement a phased distribution  of vehicles to doctors  on the payroll of the state government in the course of the year.
International Specialist Hospital
The  State government has also started the process to construct  an international  specialist hospital  to handle life-threatening ailments. The  new specialist hospital will promote medical tourism in the State.
The  hospital will have a helipad, modern equipment for the treatment of cancer, kidney, heart and liver diseases.
Planned Completion of Mother and Child Hospital in Port Harcourt
In addition, the administration has released funds for the completion of the ultra-modern Mother and Child Hospital in Port Harcourt.  The hospital will be ready in four months, following  the termination  of the joint ownership agreement with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
By developing the health sector, the Wike administration  is ensuring  a healthy population, which will in turn galvanise the rapid development  of the state.  Governor Wike has explained at different fora that his investments in the health sector  are to reduce, to the barest minimum, avoidable deaths in rural communities.
Nwakaudu is Special Assistant to Rivers State Governor on Electronic Media.

Simeon Nwakaudu

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Health

‘How Micro RNA Research Won Nobel Prize’

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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.”

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WHO Begins Regulation On Antibiotic Waste

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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.”

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Kebbi Harmonises Doctors’ Salaries To Curb Brain Drain

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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.

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