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B10 HealthCare /<strong>Independent</strong>ngr @independentngr www.independent.ng WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2017 INDEPENDENT Chioma Umeha +2348023135460 chioma.umeha@ independentnig.com CHIOMA UMEHA To reduce the growing proportion of new HIV infections among children, Nigerian journalists have been called to increase reports which promote issues bordering on the Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission (eMTCT) of HIV. Journalists Alliance for the Prevention of Mother to Child Transimission of HIV/AIDS (JAPIN) in Calabar, Cross River State, made the call recently during a three-day workshop it organised to assess individual and collective efforts towards eMTCT of HIV with emphasis on communications through the mass media. Lamenting that Nigeria has the second highest global burden of HIV/AIDS and also contributes the largest proportion of new vertically acquired HIV infections among children, JAP- IN said stressed media’s role in halting the trend. The meeting brought together journalists from various media organisations across the country among other stakeholders in HIV industry who expressed worry over the country’s poor indices infant HIV infections. For instance, Dr. Sunday Aboje, National Coordinator, National AIDS/STI Control Programme, (NASCP) Federal Ministry of Health, in his presentation, said that Nigeria is still home to the highest number of children living with HIV/ AIDS worldwide. Dr Aboje, who was represented by Assistant Chief Scientific Officer of the agency, Taiwo Olakunle, said “Nigeria has the second highest burden of HIV globally with 3.4 million people estimated to be living with HIV; 1.7 million HIV positive women and 380,000 children less than 15 years. “Nigeria has the largest number of paediatric HIV cases in the world. Nigeria also contributes the largest proportion of new vertically acquired HIV infections among children. “The country has come a long way in its effort to control the Consumption of contaminated food, unclean water and intake of overdose drugs has been identified as the major causes of various categories of hepatitis in human body. Dr. Johnson Ogunmade said this during an annual health seminar and get-together organised for Ogun State Ministry of Health community health practitioners with the theme; ‘Reducing prevalence of hepatitis disease: Role of Community Health Practitioners’ held in Abeokuta. Ogunmade said hepatitis A Child HIV: JAPIN Seeks More Media Report To Halt New Infections Participants at the workshop. Inset: Symbol of solidarityfor People living with HIV. Nigeria has the largest number of paediatric HIV cases in the world. Nigeria also contributes the largest proportion of new vertically acquired HIV infections among children Contaminated Food, Drug Abuse Increase Risk Of Hepatitis - Experts which was the most commonest among the five categories in the country was as a result of drug abuse, unclean environment and intake of contaminated food and water, adding that hepatitis B if not quickly diagnosed can kill even faster than HIV/AIDs and can easily be transmitted through body fluid. He said hepatitis C and D can be transmitted through unprotected sex and blood transfusion respectively, while that of hepatitis E could be transmitted through water-borne diseases, saying that symptoms to watch out for all categories of hepatitis include fatigue, fever, nossia, vomiting, pale, stooling, abdominal pains and lost of appartite. Charging participants to always advise their patients to imbibed good hygiene life style, maintain cleaner environment, avoid the intake of contaminated food, watching of fruits before consumption and stay away from undercooked food, Dr Ogunmade said that hepatitis disease can HIV/AIDS epidemic, particularly in PMTCT. Beginning with the pioneer 11 PMTCT-provider tertiary health facilities in 2002, the country now has 7,265 health facilities providing PMTCT services at all levels of the health care system.” Aboje, however, stated that Nigeria’s target on eliminating new HIV cases in children among other things for 2018 was to ensure 50 per cent of HIV-exposed children have access to HIV prophylaxis treatment and early infant diagnosis services. He also declared that funding, inadequate political commitment, and funding at state and LGA levels, weak health infrastructure as well as inadequate engagement of the private health sector as some challenges against eliminating new HIV cases in children. However, Geoffrey Njoku, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Communications Expert, expressed grave concern on many pregnant positive women who miss out on Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART). The Communications Expert urged journalists to create greater awareness on the role of comprehensive package of PMTCT interventions in eliminating child HIV infections. The comprehensive package of PMTCT interventions includes HIV testing services (HTS), care of HIV-exposed infants comprising early infant diagnosis and linkage to treatment (EID/T). Others are family planning services, antiretroviral (ARV) and Cotrimoxazole prophylaxis for mother-infant pairs, cervical cancer screening and use of lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) for women. Responding, participants decried situations where government officials are unavailable when specific data is needed for particular stories, prompting journalists to go for internet sourced information and data. They therefore called on government to make available accurate data to aid in the reportage of issues. Dr Abiola Davies, HIV/AIDS Specialist and a senior representative of UNICEF, who was also one of the workshop facilitators, charged journalists to read wide, get accurate data on issues of PMTCT/eMTCT and attend training to obtain accurate information to authenticate their reports. Sola Ogundipe, the National Coordinator of JAPIN and Health Editor with Vanguard Newspapers, enjoined journalists to network with their peers and take advantages of the information available on the internet and the social media to be informed of trends in reporting on issues of PMTCT. The meeting was organised with support from United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF). be greatly reduced when people imbibed the habit of regular hand washing. Speaking earlier, the Chairman, National Association of Community Health Practitioners of Nigeria (NACHPN) Ogun State Ministry of Health Branch, Comrade Afuape Olusola said the training was aimed at eradicating hepatitis in the state, saying that to accomplish it, campaign against hepatitis must start from the Community Health workers who are closer to the rural dwellers.
INDEPENDENT WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2017 /<strong>Independent</strong>ngr @independentngr www.independent.ng B11 FG Commissions Ultra-Modern Medical Warehouse In Abuja The Federal Government has commissioned an ultra-modern medical warehouse in Abuja for storage of drugs and other medical commodities that it procured or those donated by partners before final distribution to the end users. Commissioning the facility on Monday, Prof. Isaac Adewole, the Minister of Health, said that the facility, named ‘Premier Medical Warehouse’ was a product of joint effort between the Federal Government and partners. “I want to declare publically that within this country, I am yet to see facility like this, so I truly agree that this is the work of our partnership”. Adewole explained that there are three things that constitute good health system, Human Resources, Drugs/ Commodities available in the facility and Data emanating from the facility. The three things are complementing one another and it is only when the three are put to gather that a strong health system would have been built. “A facility that have human resources and there are no commodities, people will go there only once, they are not likely to come back, if there is no data you cannot really fine tune what is going on, you cannot determine progress and so to me what we are doing is actually to put in place a strong system that will deliver commodity in good qualities or in good shape to our people”. The Minister thanked the US Government and Globalfund for supporting the project. He assured that the Ministry will work with private stakeholders in the management of the facility. He said that the facility in Abuja will take care of the northern part of the country while the other one in Lagos would services the entire southern part of the Nigeria. Adewole said “for us in the Ministry we would ensure that we put all that is necessary to ensure that this facility is put to use, we would advertise it, we would let people know and we would provide oversight for the management”. The Minister said that facility would also provide opportunity for building capacity so that overtime, the Ministry would be able to replicate it in other part of the country. In his remark the US Mission Director in Nigeria, Mr. Stephen Haykins said that the Premier Warehouse in Abuja and Lagos would overcome the challenges of warehousing and distribution of drugs in Nigeria. Akinboboye Emerges First Black To Chair Cardiovascular Disease Board The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) has announced the appointment of Olakunle Akinboboye, MD as chair of the ABIM Cardiovascular Board. The appointment of Akinboboye by the 81 years old ABIM, is the first by the body to have a black Chair of the Cardiovascular Disease Board. The Cardiovascular Board is charged with certifying all deserving cardiologists in the United States. The Board which comprises 12 members from all over the country is charged with the responsibility of conducting, certifying examination for all trainees in cardiology nationwide and also carrying out periodic knowledge assessments of all practicing cardiologists in the United States. It is one of the specialty boards of the ABIM. ABIM’s specialty boards are where the frontline work, at the discipline-specific level is done with the roles to define, refine and set standards, perform oversight assessment, build partnerships and also responsible for the broad definition of their discipline across certification and maintenance of certification. Dr. Akinboboye is certified in cardiovascular disease, hypertension and sleep medicine, an associate professor of clinical medicine at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York. He is also the medical director of Queens Heart Institute/ Laurelton Heart specialist in Rosedale, Queens, New York. A past-president of the National Association of Black Cardiologists’ (ABC), Akinboboye also serves as Chair of the Clinical Trials Committee of the organization, He also serves on the International Board of Governors of the American College of Cardiology as the liaison for Africa. PSN Donates Medicines, Food Items To Yobe IDPs Pharmacists under the auspices of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), has donated drugs and food items worth over N50 million to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Yobe state. The gesture is in line with the society’s philosophy of humanitarian service and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). It would be recalled that in 2015, PSN donated drugs, food items and clothes worth over N50 million to Borno State Government for IDPs, while in May 2017, and the society also donated Ceftriaxone injection worth over one million naira to Sokoto State Government to tackle the Meningitis Outbreaks. The donation was formally handed over to the Deputy Governor of the states, Alhaji Danlami Ali, who is also the Chairman of the Task Force on IDPs and Returnees. The deputy governor was represented by the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Mohammed Bello, who was supported by the Permanent Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency and the Director of Pharmaceutical Services, Pharmacist Maisule Kumsani among others. Pharm. Ahmed Yakasai, the President of PSN in a statement in Lagos HealthCare said, “A sense of responsibility demands that we must support our people in need and help the government in championing a whole new agenda to promote the welfare of the citizenry in Nigeria. “Our professional pedigree and orientation makes it too obvious that availability and affordability of essential medicines in any health system confers credibility on same. Yakasai, explained that this is why the association donated drugs, food items and clothes worth over N50 million to Borno State Government for the IDPs in 2015 and Ceftriaxone Injection to the Sokoto state Government for the Meningitis outbreak earlier this year. The PSN boss said: “Established in 1927 in consonance with its philosophy of humanitarian gestures and Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS), the PSN feels compelled to contribute and touch the lives of our brothers and sisters wherever they are in the country, especially those in various IDPs camps. Our correspondent report that Pharmacist Ahmed Yakasai was assisted in delivering the items by the chairman of Yobe state chapter of PSN and other executive members of the association. Pharm. Ahmed Yakasai, President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) responding to questions from journalists after the donation of drugs and food items to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Yobe state. The Ogun State Government has inaugurated a 38-man committee on State Strategic Health Development Plan (SSH- DP), in conjunction with Pathfinder International in order to reduce maternal, child mortality rate in the State. Inaugurating the committee at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Dr. Babatunde Ipaye, the State Commissioner for Health charged them to think out of the box in discharging their responsibilities. Ipaye said the committee had a five-year period to develop a plan for the State towards meeting the expectation of the Federal Ministry of Health in having bottom-top approach to the National Strategic Plan on Health. Ogun Inaugurates Committee On Strategic Health Deveploment The Commissioner charged the committee to deliver the best, saying; “whatever development adopted in the State will be sent to the Federal Government as part of National Health Plan.” “We are modifying the expectation of Federal government plan in such a way that it will have positive impact on our people, not only to fulfil federal government template, but to build on our three-tier programmes of primary, secondary and tertiary health services,” Ipaye said. He further stressed that it was imperative to manage health care of the people, especially at the local communities and to reflect the approach of financing health, particularly the Community Based Health Insurance Scheme (CBHIS), “Araya” which permits indigent people of the State to key into the scheme. Ipaye added that the committee would also provide a template for the State in fortifying the over 477 Primary Health Care Centres with necessary equipment, manpower and international aids that would enable them provide efficient health care services to people in the rural communities. The Health Commissioner said that every Federal constituency of the State would have effective healthcare centres in order to provide comprehensive services to the people. He noted that the programme would focus more on the treatment of Malaria, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Maternal care, Immunization and others through partnerships between the State Government and International bodies for best results. Dr. Nofiu Aigoro, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, urged the committee to fasttrack implementation of health care services delivery for the benefit of the masses, noting that he had confidence in the committee to deliver useful work plan.
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