Vanguard, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 ---- 29 Social, environmental factors behind Africa’s low COVID-19 c<strong>as</strong>es — WHO By Sola Ogundipe DESPITE the fragile health systems, African countries have so far been spared the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, even though this is not to say that there have not been fatalities. But the fact is that Africa is much less affected by the coronavirus than the Western world. The rates of infection are lower and Africans seem twice <strong>as</strong> likely to get infected with the virus without suffering any illness according to preliminary results of ongoing studies by the World Health Organisation WHO. Already, the downward trend in COVID-19 c<strong>as</strong>es and the low number of deaths being witnessed in Nigeria, Kenya, Madag<strong>as</strong>car, Senegal and South Africa over the p<strong>as</strong>t two months, h<strong>as</strong> been described <strong>as</strong> a positive development. The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, who made this observation,however warned against complacency. “The downward trend that we have seen in Africa over the p<strong>as</strong>t two months is undoubtedly a positive development and speaks to the robust and decisive public health me<strong>as</strong>ures L-R: Representative of Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr Yusuf Qudus; Chairperson Trauma Care International Foundation, Dr. Deola Phillips; Director, Ogun State Ambulance and Emergency Services, Dr. H<strong>as</strong>san Adelakun; Member Central Executive Council, Loveworld Incorporated, Revd Tom Amenkhienan; and Perm Sec, Ministry of Community Development & Cooperation, Ogun State, Madam Oluseye Fatudimu at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Loveworld Medical Centre held in Aseese, Ogun State recently. taken by governments across the region. “Africa h<strong>as</strong> not witnessed an exponential spread of COVID-19 <strong>as</strong> many initially feared, but the slower spread of infection in the region means we expect the pandemic to continue to smoulder for some time, with occ<strong>as</strong>ional flare-ups.” Moeti said COVID-19 transmission in Africa h<strong>as</strong> group, interacting to accentuate their individual effects, are likely contributing to the pattern seen in Africa. “But we must not become complacent. Other regions of the world have experienced similar trends only to find that <strong>as</strong> social and public health me<strong>as</strong>ures are relaxed, c<strong>as</strong>es start ramping up again.” COVID-19 threatens food security in Lagos, FCT, 2 other States — EXPERTS By Chioma Obinna AS nations continue to battle the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, nutrition experts and other stakeholders in the agricultural sector have raised the alarm over the impact of the pandemic on the food supply chain in Nigeria even <strong>as</strong> they lament that it is having severe consequences on the nutrition of children, lactating and pregnant mothers and women of reproductive age. This is coming on the heels of the latest report of the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, on the impact of the COVID-19 which showed that food insecurity appears to be prevalent across the Federal Capital Territory, Kano, Lagos and Rivers states. The report which contained results from the <strong>labour</strong> force survey of the second quarter of 2020, showed that in Rivers State and the FCT, 79 per cent of and 72 per cent of households respectively reported having to skip meals since the start of the pandemic. Speaking during the 4th Protein Challenge Webinar Series, with the theme: "COVID-19 and Nigeria's Protein Deficiency Situation", the experts expressed worry that the current development would worsen protein deficiency in Nigeria. The experts noted that specifically, Nigeria’s protein deficiency situation revealed that the pandemic is disrupting the agricultural sector coupled with the negative effect on nutrition. They posited that the situation w<strong>as</strong> grim with supply chains for agricultural activities occ<strong>as</strong>ioned by the lockdown, which h<strong>as</strong> skyrocketed food prices across states. been marked by relatively fewer infections, which have been on the decline owing to a variety of socioecological factors <strong>as</strong> well <strong>as</strong> early and strong public health me<strong>as</strong>ures taken by governments across the region. “A mix of socioecological factors such <strong>as</strong> low population density and mobility, hot and humid climate, lower age A Clinician and Public health Physician, Dr Adepeju Adeniran, said the COVID-19 pandemic severely threatened food supply chains <strong>as</strong> the movement of farmers, food transporters and sellers w<strong>as</strong> restricted. Recounting how it affects the supply chain, she said month-long disruptions have created effects that cannot e<strong>as</strong>ily be reversed. Linking COVID-19 to protein deficiency, Adeniran explained that both animal and plant sources of protein are important dietary components of food and that while animal proteins take a long time to produce, husbandry and agricultural practices have improved to reduce the rate of production but only to an extent. "Humans consume mostly the adult form of animal proteins so it must take time to produce. Even dairy and eggs can only be produced by adult animals, which must have time to grow and develop. On her part, a nutritionist, at the Department of Home Economics, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, Mrs. Beatrice Oganah-Ikujenyo, who recalled that the first reaction w<strong>as</strong> the lockdown nationwide, said it led to farm produce being trapped at storage and points of production leading to the deterioration of perishable foods and a disconnect in the supply chain. this led to food scarcity and incre<strong>as</strong>e in the price of available foods. Noting that the pandemic h<strong>as</strong> also affected food choices in terms of quantity, variety and food preferences, she said: "Specific nutrient deficiency is likely to occur, especially protein deficiency among the vulnerable such <strong>as</strong> infants, young children, pregnant and lactating mothers." New trauma centre boosts emergency care for road accident victims By Chioma Obinna TRAUMA care and emergency response services in Nigeria recently received a boost with the unveiling of a multispeciality hospital by the Loveworld Medical Missions Services. At the groundbreaking ceremony, a member of the Central Executive Council, Loveworld Incorporated, Revd. Tom Amenkhienan said the hospital, located at Aseese, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway w<strong>as</strong> built to help victims of road cr<strong>as</strong>hes and emergency response services in Nigeria. “Injuries are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in developing and developed countries. About 5.8 million people die each year <strong>as</strong> a result of injuries; overall, injuries are estimated to be the third most common cause of death globally. “Today road traffic injuries are a leading cause of premature death and disability worldwide and in Nigeria, resulting in enormous physical, social, emotional, and economic implications on society. “Road traffic cr<strong>as</strong>hes involving motorcycles and commercial buses are among the leading causes of injuries. Victims of such cr<strong>as</strong>hes form a quota of the patients that will be managed in this hospital. “We are poised to change the narrative on trauma management in Nigeria through this great initiative, ” he added. The Chairperson Trauma Care International Foundation, Dr Deola Phillips explained that the establishment of the centre w<strong>as</strong> informed by the need for integrated and targeted interventions to reduce poor management of traumatic injuries <strong>as</strong> well <strong>as</strong> medical complications. “We had embarked on interventions including public safety education programmes through the Trauma Care International Foundation and medical outreach programmes championed by the Volunteer Medical Corps. He said through the project, efforts are on to mee the needs of critically ill or injured patients, by providing access to resuscitation, emergency surgical procedures, specialised medical and diagnostic facilities, intensive and high dependency care wards, blood banking, and other allied services; all of which will be delivered by highly trained team of specialists.” Twitter partners African organisations against suicide By Gabriel Olawale WORRIED by the alarming rate of suicide in Africa, Twitter is teaming up with organisations in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya in towards addressing the burden. The new initiativeis designed to make it e<strong>as</strong>ier for people to find support resources online for issues on suicide or self-harm on Twitter. The notification includes contact details of the South African Depression and Anxiety Group, SADAG, in South Africa; Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative, MANI, in Nigeria, and Amref Health Africa in Kenya. Speaking on the concept, Head of Public Policy for Sub-Saharan Africa, Twitter, Emmanuel Lubanzadio said that the open Twitter community can be an important source of realtime support for anyone struggling with thoughts of self-harm or suicide. "Addressing mental health requires collaboration between all stakeholders – public, private and not-for-profit. We’re ple<strong>as</strong>ed to partner with SADAG, MANI and Amref Health Africa to encourage people in need to reach out for help, and are grateful for their collaboration and support." Founder of MANI, Victor Ugo, said it w<strong>as</strong> founded in 2016, to serve <strong>as</strong> Nigeria's most influential youth-led mental health network and biggest provider of crisis support services for mental health. “Prior to this moment, we had focused on a sustained approach of mental health education to help Twitter users in Nigeria identify <strong>as</strong> ‘spotters’ and share with us, Tweets that they come across which suggest possible suicide risk or mental health crisis. “So far, this h<strong>as</strong> been an effective enough approach, but we would love to reach more users and on time too and so we are excited to partner with Twitter to connect users in Nigeria needing support with their mental health to our services in real time and on time.”
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