The President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr Francis Adedayo Faduyile, has called on the federal government to declare a state of emergency in the medical industry, following reports that ministry of health officials from Saudi Arabia came to Nigeria to recruit Nigerian doctors to work for them.
Speaking to an interviewer from The Punch, Faduyile blamed the federal and state governments for not taking care of doctors’ wellbeing.
He said, “When you train doctors and you don’t have facilities for them to work, they will get frustrated. A lot of doctors are roaming the streets because they are unable to secure a good place to work.”
Dr Francis Adedayo Faduyile
He added that a country that puts a premium on health will not allow its workforce to be taken away so carelessly, especially as it costs a lot of money to train a doctor.
The NMA president said that the association currently have some consultants who are unemployed in the country and the federal and state governments refuse to employ them, adding that this is not proper.
“Saudi Arabia has the confidence to come to take our readymade products; even those employed are leaving the country on a daily basis to seek for greener pastures, ” he lamented.
Faduyile further stated that seven doctors leave for the United Kingdom, Australia, United States of America and some African countries every week. The implication of this, according to him, is that all that the taxpayers have put in place to have well trained doctors are taken for granted and Nigerians are suffering unnecessarily.
The NMA president added that there are no enough doctors in the nation. “The ones that are on ground are leaving for greener pastures, which means that there will be a crisis in the health industry, because it is not just the young doctors that are leaving even the specialist are also leaving,” he said.
He also lamented that most general hospitals owned by state governments were not interested in employing health workers.
“The few doctors that are left are overworked, underpaid, poorly motivated, and a lot of them are looking elsewhere. The NMA has called on the government several times to declare a state of emergency in the health sector, but I think what the government has been doing is to pay lip service to the health sector. We told the president last year that the budgetary allocation for the health sector was low. Although it was increased, that will not take us anywhere,” Faduyile said.
Speaking at the official partnership signing ceremony, which held recently at World Wide Commercial Ventures head office in Matori, Lagos, Santosh Kumar, managing director, WWCV explained that the partnership combines the strength of quality products offered by Daily- Need Industries and the experience in sales and distribution offered by Worldwide.
“Worldwide as a company is committed to take quality medicines across Nigeria to serve patient needs & Daily-Need Industries is a reputable indigenous company with quality products. It is a long term partnership and we are happy to be associate with them,” he said.
When further asked to comment on the rise of local pharma companies under the same umbrella alongside their foreign counterparts in the last three years, Kumar noted that it is one of the core values of World Wide Commercial Ventures in terms of thinking and planning for long term.
A cross section of management officials from both companies.
“We are mindful of the Drug Distribution Policy of the Federal Government of Nigeria and the best way we can contribute to the attainment of this national goal and industry development is to collaborate with local pharma companies to help distribute their quality products to deserving patients in Nigeria,” he remarked
Mr Oluwatosin Jolayemi, managing director, Daily-Need Industry seemed to be in agreement with the WWCV boss when he stated further that through the new partnership, more people in the country would easily get access to his company’s quality and affordable products.
After taking a cursory look at the market, Jolayemi emphasized that Daily-Need has taken a position that the only way to take advantage, at least to a reasonable capacity, is to go into partnership that could give the company visibility, reach and a good market share.
“That is why we felt that with our capacity and the new facility, we needed somebody to help do a bigger spread of our products. It didn’t really take us long to decide on the choice of WWCVL. They are apparently the biggest in the market when it comes to distribution of pharmaceutical products.
“I mean the credential says a lot about them as they are known to distribute for most of the multinationals in the country,” he stressed.
Also in attendance were Pharm Lucky Ubokor, superintendent pharmacist, WWCV; Kartik Sunder, head, business development & trade channel marketing; Naveen Pala, head, business service unit, WWCV and Pharm. Sola Akinloye, national sales manager, Daily-Need Industries.
World Wide Commercial Ventures Limited (WWCVL) is a licensed vendor to all major healthcare providers in Nigeria. It has also been described as a one-stop solution for warehousing, pharma marketing, supply chain, Sales& Marketing regulatory , port clearance, transportation logistics and inventory management.
WWCVL houses many great companies such as GSK, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, Danone, Sanofi, Pfizer, MSD, Novo Nordisk, Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen, Allergan, Roche, Drugfield and Shalina Healthcare. Daily Need is the latest addition to the family.
The Director General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye recently announced to the general public that Fan Milk’s Fanyogo Gin and Ginger, whose image had been circulating online, is neither known nor registered by the Agency.
The viral image showed the said Fanyogo Gin and Ginger to contain 12.5% alcohol.
According to a statement released by the NAFDAC DG, the Agency carried out a thorough investigation at the facility of Fan Milk, and confirmed that no such product was being developed by the company and no stock of packaging materials of Fanyogo Gin and Ginger were found in the premises.
Image of Fanyogo Gin and Ginger
Adeyeye added that Fan Milk issued a letter to NAFDAC saying that the image circulating in the news and social media had absolutely nothing to do with them and should be tagged as false, mischievous and malicious.
The NAFDAC statement further notes that Fan Milk has dissociated itself from the circulating image, as the product in it is not among any of the current Fan Milk’s products currently produced in Nigeria and anywhere within the West Africa Cluster.
The letter from Fan Milk, according to the NAFDAC DG, states that the images are the imaginations of some mischief makers that have seized the opportunity to distort the social media space.
Adeyeye urged members of the public to disregard the image, while promising to continue to ensure the safety, wholesomeness and quality of processed foods and other regulated products offered for sale to the public.
The Executive Director, Niger State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Usman Ndanusa, has confirmed that cerebrospinal meningitis has claimed eight lives in Borgu Local Government Area of the state.
Mr Ndanusa, who is a Pharmacist, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Minna.
He said it is absurd that the disease keeps on claiming lives annually because people see it as a jinx or evil spirit that can be handled traditionally instead of by orthodox medicine.
Doctors at National Hospital attending to patients
He said the agency has begun sensitisation to curb the epidemic so that it does not spread to neighbouring local government areas.
According to him, Magama, Borgu, Agwara and Mariga Rijau local government areas were usually flashpoints of the disease but only Borgu has so far lost eight people to the scourge from March till date.
Mr Ndanusa, however, regretted that the agency has not embarked in cerebrospinal meningitis immunization this year because they do not have the vaccine.
“While we are awaiting the federal government intervention for the vaccine we are calling on all and sundry to live a healthy lifestyle while the heat lasts.
“The agency has carried out sensitization to market places, garages and Local Government Areas,” he said.
Similarly, Mr Ndanusa called on residents to prevent the disease by living a healthy lifestyle.
“A rich immune system can help prevent an infection from the viruses and bacteria that cause meningitis.
“People should strive to eat fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins aside this, good exercise is very necessary as well as regular bath,” he said.
Mr Ndanusa also advised the people to drink plenty of water and try to get quality sleep by making sure their houses are well ventilated.
A recent study conducted by scientists from the University of Minnesota has shown that stress in childhood and adulthood has a combined effect on health and hormones.
According to findings published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, adults who report high levels of stress and also had stressful childhoods are most likely to show hormone patterns associated with negative health outcomes.
One of the ways that our brain responds to daily stressors is by releasing a hormone called cortisol; cortisol is the body’s main stress hormone.
Cortisol level peaks in the morning and gradually declines throughout the day. But sometimes this system can become dysregulated, resulting in a flatter cortisol pattern that is associated with negative health outcomes.
A young woman loooking stressed
Ethan Young, a researcher at the University of Minnesota, said that the amount of a person’s exposure to early life stress plays a significant role in the development of unhealthy patterns of cortisol release. He added, however, that this is only true if individuals also are experiencing higher levels of current stress, indicating that the combination of higher early life stress and higher current life stress leads to the most unhealthy cortisol profiles.
To conduct the experiment, Young and his colleagues examined data from 90 individuals who were part of a high-risk birth cohort participating in the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation.
The researchers specifically wanted to understand how stressful events affect the brain’s stress response system later in life. They sought to know whether the total amount of stress experienced across the lifespan that mattered, or whether it was exposure to stress during sensitive periods of development, specifically in early childhood that had the biggest impact.
According to the findings from Sciencedaily, the researchers assessed data from the Life Events Schedule (LES), which surveys individuals’ stressful life events, including financial trouble, relationship problems, and physical danger and mortality.
Trained coders rated the level of disruption of each event on a scale from 0 to 3 to create an overall score for that measurement period. The participants’ mothers completed the interview when the participants were 12, 18, 30, 42, 48, 54, and 64 months old, when they were in Grades 1, 2, 3, and 6; and when they were 16 and 17 years old. The participants completed the LES themselves when they were 23, 26, 28, 32, 34, and 37 years old.
The researchers grouped participants’ LES scores into specific periods: early childhood (1-5 years), middle childhood (Grades 1-6), adolescence (16 and 17 years), early adulthood (23-34 years), and current (37 years).
At age 37, the participants also provided daily cortisol data over a 2-day period. They collected a saliva sample immediately when they woke up and again 30 minutes and 1 hour later; they also took samples in the afternoon and before going to bed. Saliva samples were sent to a lab for cortisol-level testing.
At the end of the experiment the researchers found that neither total life stress nor early childhood stress predicted cortisol level patterns at age 37. Rather, cortisol patterns depended on both early childhood stress and stress at age 37.
Participants who experienced relatively low levels of stress in early childhood showed relatively similar cortisol patterns regardless of their stress level in adulthood. On the other hand, participants who had been exposed to relatively high levels of early childhood stress showed flatter daily cortisol patterns, but only if they also reported high levels of stress as adults.
The researchers also investigated whether life stress in middle childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood were associated with adult cortisol patterns, and found no meaningful relationships.
These findings suggest that early childhood may be a particularly sensitive time in which stressful life events such as those related to trauma or poverty can calibrate the brain’s stress-response system, with health consequences that last into adulthood.
The Orthopaedic Department of the Babcock University Teaching Hospital (BUTH) in Ilishan-Remo, Ogun, said on Tuesday that it had successfully carried out its first spine surgery.
This is coming barely three months after the hospital recorded its first total knee replacement surgical procedure.
Babcock University Teaching Hospital Performs First Successful Spinal Surgery
Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Kelechukwu Onuoha, Consultant Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgeon with BUTH, said the surgery was carried out under general anaesthesia on a middle-aged female patient with multi-level “spinal stenosis”.
Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spaces within the spine, which can put pressure on the nerves that travel through the spine.
The condition occurs most often in the lower back and the neck.
Some people with spinal stenosis may not have symptoms.
Mr Onuoha described the procedure as a revision spinal surgery L2 – L5 lumber spinal decompression and instrumentation.
“The 59-years-old patient, who asked for protection of her identity, had undergone a spinal surgery five years earlier in another hospital,” he said.
The surgeon added that the procedure lasted five hours and was carried out in the BUTH’s new orthopaedic theatre.
According to Mr Onuoha, the patient, who is Nigerian, has been discharged and is undergoing rehabilitation.
A recent study conducted by some scientists from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has shown that reheated cooking oil might trigger cell changes that can promote late-stage breast cancer growth.
Breast cancer occurs when cells in the breast grow out of control and form a tumor. If the cells are capable of invading the surrounding tissue or spreading to other areas of the body, doctors deem the disease to be malignant. Breast cancer can occur in both men and women, but it’s far more common in women.
While there are over 100,000 new cases of cancer in Nigeria annually, American Cancer Society (ACS) estimated that doctors will diagnose around 268,600 new cases of invasive breast cancer in 2019. About one in eight women in the U.S. will develop breast cancer during their lifetime.
Reused Cooking Oil Could Cause Breast Cancer Spread
To conduct the experiment, the scientists fed all of the lab mice a low fat diet for a week. Then, they gave some of the mice unheated fresh soybean oil for 16 weeks, while the rest ingested thermally abused oil instead.
The researchers then tested “thermally abused frying oil,” which is cooking oil that has undergone reheating to high temperatures multiple times, in laboratory mice and found that it increased metastatic breast cancer growth.
They chose to use soybean oil because the restaurant industry commonly uses it for deep frying.
To simulate breast cancer, they injected 4T1 breast cancer cells into a tibia of each mouse. These breast cancer cells are very aggressive and have a high rate of metastasis to multiple distant sites. As a result, they often appear in the lymph nodes, liver, and lungs.
At 20 days after the injection of the tumor cells, there was a notable difference in the rate of metastatic growth between the two groups of mice.
In the mice who had eaten thermally abused oil, the metastatic growth of the tibia tumors was four times greater than that of the tumors in the mice who consumed the fresh oil.
Lead researcher William G. Helferich, a professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition, noted that there were twice as many lung tumors, which were also more aggressive and invasive than those in the fresh-oil group.
Helferich said:”I just assumed these nodules in the lungs were little clones but they weren’t. They’d undergone transformation to become more aggressive, the metastases in the fresh-oil group were there, but they weren’t as invasive or aggressive, and the proliferation wasn’t as extensive.”
According to the findings reported on MedicalNews today that repeated reheating of cooking oil changes its composition and releases acrolein, which is a toxic and potentially carcinogenic chemical.
Restaurants and other food outlets often reuse soybean oil multiple times before replacing it with fresh oil in the frying vats.
These factors are what led the researchers to investigate whether thermally abused oil could have any effect on breast cancer growth.
Although the results are preliminary, they added to a knowledge base that will grow deeper as research in this area continues.
Ashley W. Oyirifi, a co-lead author and graduate student said of the study:”We’re trying to add to this conversation and help people understand that it might not be just some inherent biological mechanism but a lifestyle factor. If diet provides an opportunity to reduce breast cancer survivors’ risk, it offers them agency over their own health”.
a) Severe constricting chest pain, often radiating from the precordium to the left shoulder and down the arm, due to insufficient blood supply to the heart that is usually caused by coronary disease
b) An often fatal form of arrhythmia characterized by rapid, irregular fibrillar twitching of the ventricles of the heart instead
of normal contractions, resulting in a loss of pulse
c) The cardiovascular condition in which the heart ability to pump blood weakens
The President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Pharm. (Mazi) Sam I. Ohuabunwa, has advised the management of the National Agency for Food and Drug, Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to continue to resist the temptation of turning the organisation into a fund raising institution.
Ohuabunwa, who was the guest speaker, at the Silver Jubilee celebration of NAFDAC, which held on 28 March 2019,at the Lagos City Hall, Catholic Mission Street, Lagos, delivered a paper titled: “Effective Regulation as a Tool for National Development: The NAFDAC Example”.
Citing decree no 15 of 1993 as amended by decree no 19 of 1999 and now Act Cap N1, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN), 2004; he said NAFDAC is mandated to carry out a broad range of functions, principally to regulate and control the importation, exportation, manufacture, advertisement, distribution, sales and use of drugs, cosmetics, medical devises, bottled water, chemicals and detergents (Regulated Products).
While lauding the good performance of the agency so far, especially during the administration of late Prof. Dora Akunyili, who actually popularized NAFDAC, by making it a household name, Ohuabunwa said the management and staff members of the agency, must always be cautious of falling into the temptation of unscrupulous manufacturers, who want their substandard products approved by all means.
Still on assessment of NAFDAC’s regulatory roles vis-à-vis national development, the PSN President said NAFDAC is expected to monitor the foods, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and bottled water industries to ensure that their products (locally produced or imported) are registered, also that their products are of good quality on a consistent basis.
Ohanbunwa addresing-Nafdac at the celebration of Silver Jubilee
As a participant in the industry and in the economy for several years and as past chairman of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN), Ohuabunwa said he firmly believe that the industry has benefitted from the regulatory activities of NAFDAC in many respects.
He also admonished the management of NAFDAC to continue to improve its customer focus, treat all customers as partners and try to give them a good experience at each encounter.
“NAFDAC must further improve its responsiveness to customers’ mails, requests and complaints. As an agency that preaches standards, it must itself have standards when dealing with its stakeholders. There must be enforceable timelines and waiting period for registration of products or receiving other approvals. It must continue to simplify regulations”, he quipped.
Speaking on products’ registration fees, he called the attention of the agency’s management to the high cost of doing business in Nigeria, making Nigerian products globally uncompetitive. He therefore charged NAFDAC to be conscious of this while fixing her fees. The concession in fees given to small businesses is a good gesture.
In conclusion, Ohuabunwa said the reputation of NAFDAC as corruption free zone during the days of Dora Akunyili must be rebuilt. “It is important that NAFDAC thinks globally but acts locally. It is visionary to target American standards but the US FDA is over hundred years old while NAFDAC is just 25. We all need to go through a learning curve and so NAFDAC must always bear that in mind while introducing new regulations and standards”.
Perhaps, in tandem with the popular maxim that the only constant thing in life is change, World Wide Commercial Ventures Limited (WWCVL) has undergone a rebranding process with company’s logo now reflecting ‘Worldwide Healthcare.’
The recent development is coming on the heel of some laurels and special recognitions bestowed on WWCVL, arguably the leading pharmaceuticals distribution and logistics company in the country.
Top on the list of honours was a Compliance Award given by National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for WWCVL’s commitment and adherence to regulatory body’s directives over the years. This was closely followed by another special recognition – the prestigious ‘Companies to inspire Africa – 2019’ Award list – by London Stock Exchange Group.
L-R: The old logo and the new one
Speaking with Pharmanews on the rebranding process, Santosh Kumar, managing director, WWCV explained that the management of the company wanted to work on a logo that is contemporary and truly reflects its business model which is not just pharmaceuticals but total healthcare products distribution.
“Thus the need for the recent logo rebranding. This logo retains our core identity of “Worldwide” and also reflects our ambitions to be the ONE STOP SHOP for all healthcare products distribution in Nigeria,” he said.
When asked to comment on whether the rebranding process would have implication on the brand ‘WWCVL’ or ‘Imperial’, its parent company, the managing director remarked that there was no change in the company name or registrations.
“We are only adopting a new logo. Imperial logistics is still our parent company,” he reassured.
When asked to shed more light on the NAFDAC Compliance Award WWCVL as a company was given weeks before the logo change, Kumar announced that the regulatory body’s Compliance Award is one of the major milestone achievements for the company.
“This award is an endorsement of our deep commitment to compliance, and receiving such award from regulators has been hugely satisfying”, he stressed.
In the meantime, the company recently got a new addition to the list of partners they are working with in the pharmaceutical industry, by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Daily-Need Industry, a foremost pharmaceutical company.
“Apple has properties that no other fruit has individually. Apple combines everything other fruits have, and this makes it a unique fruit. Consumption of apples makes one healthy and keeps the doctor away.”
The saying that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” is known to many people. However, its source remains uncertain. While some believe it originated from Wales in the 18th century: many more believe its origin dates back to a much earlier time. This debate notwithstanding, there is a consensus in the scientific world that the saying is indeed accurate. Apples are so nutritious that, if eaten regularly, you may never need to visit a doctor for health complications.
The nutritional and health benefits of the apple have been acclaimed from the earliest of times. Hippocrates, the Greek physician considered the father of medicine, was a proponent of nutritional healing. His favourite remedies are said to be apples, dates, and barley mush. Martin Luther, too, was once quoted as saying, “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”
Apple is such a popular fruit that virtually everybody eats it. Apple fruits are cultivated in most parts of the world and there are more than 7,500 varieties, with about 2,500 varieties grown in the USA. Indeed, they have been cultivated for thousands of years throughout Asia and Europe, and they make appearances in the cultural history of many ancient civilisations, including the Greeks, Romans, and Nordic tribes. They also come in a variety of colours, including red, yellow, and green.
Scientific Proofs
Nutritional scientists have proven the health benefits of apples, beyond doubt, over the generations. In a recent study published in the British Medical Journal, it was discovered that prescribing an apple a day to all adults aged 50 and over would prevent or delay around 8,500 vascular deaths such as heart attacks and strokes every year.
Nature has put many health-promoting ingredients in the apple fruit, thereby making it an ideal fruit for everyone. Apple contains quercetin, an antioxidant that
protects the brain cells from free radical damage that could result in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinsonism. It prevents cells from initiating cancer. Additionally, pectin contained in apples lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol and increases the good cholesterol, thereby keeping down the blood pressure.
The phytonutrients in apples can help regulate blood sugar through a variety of mechanisms. Apple also slows down carbohydrate digestion. Quercetin and other flavonoids found in apples inhibit carbohydratedigesting enzymes like alpha-amylase andalphaglucoside. Moreover, the polyphenols in apples have been shown to lessen absorption of glucose from the digestive tract; to stimulate the beta cells of the pancreas to secrete insulin; and to increase uptake of glucose from the blood.
All of these mechanisms triggered by apple polyphenols can make it easier for you to regulate your blood sugar. Apple also supplies galacturonic acid, which lowers the body’s need for insulin.
Cancer Blocker
Apple has outstanding ability, among other fruits, in the lowering of lung cancer risk. It lowers the risk of particularly lung cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer and liver cancer Apple also has health benefits in asthma cases. One recent study shows that children with asthma who drank apple juice on a daily basis suffered from less wheezing than children who drank apple juice- only once per month. Another study showed that children born to women who eat a lot of apples during pregnancy have lower rates of asthma than children whose mothers ate few apples.
Apple’s anti-asthma benefits are definitely associated with the antioxidant anti-inflammatory nutrients found in the fruit. It also contains a flavanoid called phoridzin, which increases bone density.
Those who want to lose weight should eat apples. Recent research has shown that people report less hunger after eating apples. When apples are eaten before a meal, the caloric intake at that meal is decreased. Therefore, it helps us manage our hunger and feeling more satisfied with our food.
Low Sugar, High Fibre
Apples have relatively low glycemic index (GI) of 38, compared with other fruits like orange (43), mango (55), pawpaw (58), banana (62), pineapple (66), and watermelon (72).
The GI tells you how quickly food turns into sugar in your system. High GI foods spike your blood sugar rapidly, while low GI foods have less effect. Diabetics, rapidly, while low GI foods have less effect. Diabetics, in particular, should take more of fruits with low GI, like apples,and reduce consumption of the ones with higher GI.
Apple fruits are equally rich in fibres which help to protect mucous membrane of the colon from exposure to toxic substances by binding cancer-causing chemicals
in the colon. The fibre found in apple may combine with other apple nutrients to provide you with the health benefits that are particularly important in the prevention of heart disease through healthy regulation of blood fat levels.
Vitamins Powerhouse
Apple fruit contains good quantities of vitamin C and beta-carotene, which are powerful antioxidants. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents. It also rids the body of harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals.
In addition, apple fruit is a good source of B complex vitamins, such as riboflavin, thiamin and pyridoxine (vitamin B6). It also contains small amounts of minerals like potassium, phosphorus and calcium. Potassium is an important component of cells and body fluids, helping to control heart rate and blood pressure; this counters the bad influences of sodium.
Apple has properties that no other fruit has individually. It combines everything other fruits have, and this makes it a unique fruit. Consumption of apples makes one healthy and keeps the doctor away. This cannot be said of oranges, bananas, mangoes and other fruits.
The big question is, how many apples do you eat in a month?
The greatest ability in business is to get along with others and to influence their actions.
– John Hancock
Today’s selling is genuine influence – nothing more, nothing less! The more you win the hearts of prospects and customers, the more they go with you. The more you discover how to genuinely influence people, the more you win them to your side.
George O. Emetuche
In 1997, the world mourned two great women. One was a noble Catholic nun, Mother Teresa, who also was a Nobel Peace Prize recipient. The other, Princess Diana, who was from the royal family of England; though simple in nature, she circulated among the high and mighty.
I watched the funeral of these noble women on CNN and it was reported that over two billion people watched each of the events! Why did many people mourn these women? The reasons are obvious. Mother Teresa left her affluent family background to do great missionary and charity work through the Missionaries of Charity she founded in 1950. She did great charity work at Calcutta, where she spent the last years of her missionary life. She touched lives. She used her mission to help the poor.
Royalty, in most cases, is conservative; but Princess Diana was different. She connected with everybody. She was in touch with the wealthy, the powerful, the weak, the poor, the sick and everyone! Princess Diana used her position to raise funds for charitable causes, such as care for people with leprosy and AIDS research. Even though she was of royalty, she was able to connect with ordinary people. The names of Mother Teresa and Princess Diana still ring a bell till today even after they passed on over twenty years ago! This is what I call real influence.
The life you live is a legacy. If you want to be remembered even after you have gone, then start now to add value to your world.
Selling is influence
In our everyday life, whether in sales, business or relationships, we influence people in one way or the other – in our quest to make them do what we desire. There is a lot of influence in the act and art of buying and selling. Influence plays a major role in the art of selling. Learning genuine ways to influence customers and prospects should be the foremost task you must pursue as a salesman. When you discover ways to influence people, you connect with them.
One of the skills I explore as a salesman is to trigger emotion and logic in the prospect’s mind. I make him or her connect emotionally and logically with the product or service. By so doing, I position myself in a way the buyer will want to buy the product and not a scenario where I will be struggling to sell the product or service to him. Nothing attracts buyers more than benefits and friendly relationships. The salesman must have the ability to show benefits and solutions his products will offer, and at the same time cultivate an amiable atmosphere that will ensure long-term business relationship. This is the winning strategy of today’s selling. This is how to influence prospects or customers positively.
Give Them Reasons to Buy
Customers want to know why they are buying your product. A customer wants answers to the six-word phrase, ‘‘What is in it for me?’’ He wants convincing answers that will make him buy from you. Customers don’t like to be sold to. They always want to buy! They want you to make them see value in what they are buying. They want you to make them feel secured and comfortable in dealing with you. They want to see and believe that you care about them and their interests.
Sales activity is a process of cordial interaction and mutual benefit. Until the salesman captures the attention of the prospect in this aspect, the sales might not be closed.
The More You Influence, The More You Sell
Your aim in your sales activities is to influence your prospects to be interested in what you are selling or saying. To be a selling champion, you should learn the art of influence. You should master when, how and where to dwell at any given time you are with your prospects or customers. People are motivated to act most times. It is your duty to know what would activate the buying in your prospect’s or customer’s mind.
John Maxwell says ‘‘Leadership is influence.’’ You can’t lead if you can’t influence. Same way, you may not sell where there is no form of influence. If you are doing well in your sales activities, it means that you have the ability to influence your customers and prospects better than your competitors. If you are a top salesman in your company, it means you have mastered the secret in the power of influence. Influence keeps you on top and makes you successful.
Keep influencing people positively!
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Many challenges in promoting collaboration among healthcare professionals have been identified. There are systemic determinants which can determine whether and to what degree collaborative practice is possible. These include compensation schemes, professional practice regulation, institutional policies, and the physical environment. These factors may be beyond the control of the team.
NANNM President, comrade Abdrafiu Adeniji
There are also factors within the team, and therefore in control of the team. These include members having different interests, goals, expectations, styles, and experiences which can complicate communication and generate conflict.
Inter-professional teams may also include members with varying levels of authority, prestige, salary, and other factors that add a further challenge of managing and negotiating power arrangements.
Other barriers identified by Daniel and Rosenstein (2008) and Hamid (2014) include:
* Personality differences
* Hierarchy
* Disruptive behaviour
* Culture and ethnicity
* Generational differences
Gender
* Historical inter-professional and intra-professional rivalries
* Differences in language and jargon
* Differences in schedules and professional routines
* Varying levels of preparation, qualifications, and status
* Differences in requirements, regulations, and norms of professional education
* Fears of diluted professional identity
* Differences in accountability, payment, and rewards
* Concerns regarding clinical responsibility
* Complexity of care
* Emphasis on rapid decision making
* Differences in history and cultural context
* Historical inter professional and intra professional rivalries
* Differences in language and jargon
* Differences in professional routines
* Varying levels of preparation, qualifications and status
* Fears of diluted professional identity
It is therefore expedient for team leaders to manage these diverse interests and capitalise on the strengths of the team composition. A team leader may be able to facilitate the negotiation of authority and responsibility which are issues rooted in the complex interactions of the team.
Nurturing collaboration in healthcare
nurturing collaborative practice among healthcare professionals involves identifying and maximising the key determinants of collaboration. These include:
Structural determinants: The physical and organisational environment in which an interdisciplinary team operates can impact the degree and nature of collaborative interactions. Environment can be taken to include physical spaces, temporal arrangements, schedules, processes, organised activities, and communication tools that may either encourage or discourage effective team collaboration. Organisational structure can include the architectural considerations (physical structure, functionality, and aesthetics) and management considerations (defined relationships between team members and between teams) and has both formal and informal parts.
Psychological Determinants: Human interactions are a key component of collaboration. The determinants of collaboration include a host of psychological factors. The term ‘‘psychological environment’’ is used to include culture in a broad sense (attitudes and behaviours) and at all levels (organisational, professional, team, and individual). These ‘‘interactional determinants’’ include team members’
Willingness to collaborate.
Mutual trust and respect.
Communication.
More on psychology
Two principal issues are involved in the psychology of healthcare teams. First, professional groups have educational determinants. These encompass distinct cultures because of specialised training, professional identity, as well as positions and roles within the healthcare system, thus inter professional role boundaries, power differences, and conflicts between the priorities of professional and team membership can result.
Secondly, the potential for lack of respect, trust, and poor communication in which conflict and psychological safety may play a role.
Collaborative practice may also be promoted through education and skills training. There is the need for understanding of role boundaries and expectations within the team and learning how to balance the needs of professional identity and team identity. An approach that de-emphasises individual professional needs and roles in favour of team goals and collaboration will promote a more patient-centred model of care.
There is need to develop the ability to engage in effective formal and informal communication, including negotiation and conflict resolution skills; ability to use a language of respect and dignity, and knowing what terminology and communication approaches to use with different professions and different individuals.
Effective use of language plays an important role in collaborative communication. Use of inclusive language may reflect underlying notions of connectedness with the team. Knowledge and use of appropriate technical terminology may also be important for clear communication and for generating mutual respect and confidence, particularly in highly technical and specialised environments.
Inter Professional Education (IPE): This is the education of professionals from multiple disciplines, together with a goal of improving their ability to work with one another collaboratively. IPE is very crucial in nurturing healthcare teams that will work collaboratively. Collaborative practice is both encouraged and enabled through education and communication-related skill training. Inter Professional Education imparts both collaborative skills and a sense of collective responsibility among the professions involved. There is the need to revisit the “Ife philosophy of medical education”.
Conclusion
A collaborative, inter-professional team brings about lots of benefits and supports high quality and safe care, reduction in costs, patient and staff satisfaction and engagement, as well as organisational efficiency and innovation. It puts the patient at the centre of the healthcare team’s focus and allows all health professionals, with the patient, to collaboratively provide input, be part of the decision making, and improve outcomes.
Provision of physical and structural opportunities, a psychologically supportive environment, and appropriate education and training are all important to promoting collaborative practice.
There is a need to focus on addressing inequalities and asymmetries in power and influence between the patient and the healthcare provider and among different providers for them to contribute towards the design of a better framework for communication and collaboration between the different actors. Organisational structures in the health system need to be redesigned so as to better nurture collaborative relationships which support integrated working and decision-making between providers, healthcare professionals and patients.
A patient-centred and team-focused, inter professional collaborative practice represents a new playing field for today’s healthcare plans and hospitals. Leadership is integral to creating a motivated team. The ultimate goal is still the highest pursuit of the healthcare mission and the workforce must be equipped with tools and resources to handle the challenges of the healthcare environment.
Permit me to end with the story behind the “Ubuntu” philosophy in southern Africa. An anthropologist proposed a game to a group of African tribal children. He placed a basket of sweets near a tree and made the children stand 100 metres away. He then announced that whoever reaches the tree and the basket first would get all the sweets in the basket. When he said “ready steady go”, the children all held each other’s hands, ran together towards the tree, divided the sweets equally among themselves and enjoyed it.
When the anthropologist asked them why they did so, they answered “Ubuntu” which means “how can one be happy when the others are sad?” “Ubuntu” in South African language means “I am because we are”. This is a strong message for all generations and healthcare professionals. There is need to develop the Ubuntu attitude.
By Comrade Abdrafiu Adeniji, National President, NANNM
Acute water scarcity has hit Lokoja and its environs following the shutdown of the greater Lokoja water treatment plant by the state government since March 27.
A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) who visited some areas of the city on Monday reports that the scarcity affected both residential and commercial premises.
NAN reports that the waterworks built at a cost of N12 billion has the capacity to treat and reticulate 600 million litres of water per day to residents of Lokoja and its environs.
Also, the scarcity has affected the production and distribution of sachet (pure water) as many of the manufacturers used to source their water from the public waterworks.
Many of the manufacturers have closed shops while few still in production have increased the price from N100 per bag to N120 per bag.
Mairuwa water vendor
Some residents were also observed to have started patronising commercial water hawkers popularly called “mairuwa.”
Consequently, a cart of 12 cans of 25-litre volume which was selling for N300 now sells for N350.
However, people living in native areas of Kabawa, Madabo, Augwar Kura, Cantonment, Old Market and others are now sourcing water directly from River Niger.
Speaking on the development, the Public Relations Officer in the state Ministry of Water Resources, Musa Usman, said that the water treatment plant was shut down as a result of electro-mechanical problems.
According to him, four of the six heavy high lift pumps at the plant are down while there is also a major burst on the main supply line.
He said that all the technical hands in the ministry and the waterworks had been deployed to the plant to work on the problems.
When asked when normal water supply would be restored, Mr Usman said it was difficult to give a specific date but gave the assurance that it would be very soon.
He said that the government had provided adequate funds for the operation and maintenance of the water plant.
In appreciation of the love and care shown towards him while in captivity, Pharm. Paul Enebeli, chairman, New Heights Pharmaceuticals, visited Pharmanews corporate head office, Mende, Maryland, to express his heartfelt gratitude to the Managing Director, Pharmanews Ltd., Sir Ifeanyi Atueyi and his wife, Lady Joan Atueyi.
Speaking on the miraculous release of Enebeli, Sir Atueyi said it was an act of God, as he is known to be rich in good works, and God knows how to deliver the good people from trouble.
L-R: Managing Director, Pharmanews Ltd., Sir Ifeanyi Atueyi; Pharm. Paul Enebeli, chairman, New Heights Pharmaceuticals and Lady Joan Atueyi(sitting) flanked by Pharmanews staff, during the visit.
Narrating some instances where Enebeli has been of help to him and his family, Atueyi said he was the person that motivated him to start writing books, and his recent book titled “ Treasures of Life”, was dedicated to the New Heights Chairman, for being a source of inspiration to him.
Sir Atueyi also revealed how Pharm. Enebeli was the saving angel to him and his family last December, when two of his vehicle tyres went flat simultaneously at Igbodo, in Delta State. He said Enebeli had to abandon a meeting he was chairing to come to their aid, if not, they would have been robbed by dangerous boys in that town, because it happened very late at night.
L-R: Managing Director, Pharmanews Ltd., Sir Ifeanyi Atueyi; Pharm. Paul Enebeli, chairman, New Heights Pharmaceuticals and Lady Joan Atueyi, during the visit.
On his ordeal in the hands of the kidnappers, the New Heights boss said it was an harrowing experience for him, and he never prayed anyone should have same, because he saw his obituary in his lifetime.
He explained how he was in the bush for three days with the herdsmen, without food nor water, trekking several kilometres with them, even with threats of being killed, but God rescued him at the appointed time of release.
Pharm. Enebeli, however said that he became a very good friend to his abductors, after spending some time with them, which was part of the factors that enhanced his quick release on the third day.
He therefore appreciated everyone that has contributed in one way or the other to his release, praying God to always protect them from the wicked one.
The University of Benin recently held its maiden alumni inauguration ceremony on 23 March 2019, with a large number of dignitaries in the pharmacy world and beyond, who graced the occasion. The event also marked the investiture of patrons, Board of Trustees and executives into office to guide the affairs of the alumni.
In his welcome address, the Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy University of Benin, Prof. M.U. Uhumwangho, said that the inauguration ceremony was an epoch-making event, signalling the beginning of a new dawn in the history of the faculty.
He also mentioned that having an alumni association of the faculty cannot be overemphasized in today’s fast paced and digital world, to bring about networking, support and welfare of pharmacists.
The Dean, who also doubled as the host of the event, further stated that the alumni association will provide a platform for concerted and coordinated efforts for members to give back for the continued growth and development of the Faculty of Pharmacy, which would ultimately impact positively on future generations of upcoming pharmacists and the society at large.
Some members of the newly inaugurated officials of UNIBEN Faculty of Pharmacy Alumni
The chairman of the occasion, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Benin, Prof. Friday F. Orumwense, who was ably represented by the Deputy Vice- Chancellor (Academics), Prof. M.E. Aziken, appreciated the Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy, for birthing the idea of the inauguration of an alumni association for the faculty and urged the pioneer officials to make a lasting impact.
The Registrar, Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) Pharm. Elijah Mohammed, who spoke on behalf of the guest speaker, Sir (Pharm.) Paul Enebeli, delivered a paper titled: Alumni Networking: Harnessing its potentials. He observed that the Faculty of Pharmacy, UNIBEN has produced very eminent personalities of high repute and the inauguration of alumni was long overdue.
An alumnus of 1984 set, he stressed that a lot has changed between then and now and that a vibrant alumni association was needed to harness the potentials of pharmacists, both here and in the Diaspora to bridge the gap and move the faculty forward even for future generation of pharmacists.
Cutting of Inauguration Ceremony Cake by Management of University of Benin and Newly Elected Officials of UNIBEN Faculty of Pharmacy, Alumni
Also in attendance were the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Ekenwan) Prof. J.O. Abolagba; The Registrar, University of Benin, Mrs O.A. Oshodin ably represented by Mr A.O. Adodo (Deputy Registrar) and the Bursar of University of Benin, Dr V.U. Imagbe ably represented by Mr G.O. Osadolor (Deputy Bursar). The President of UNIBEN National alumni association, Engr Ikenna Obiasor was ably represented by the Vice President South, Chief (Barr) O Ikilo.
The ceremony saw the investiture of five patrons, six members of the Board of Trustees and nine members of executives.
Members of Patrons/Advisers are as follows:
(Dr.) (Pharm.) Ja’ Belo-Osagie (JP) Chairman (Pioneer set of 1975)
Magnus Iwagwu (Pioneer set of 1975)
(Mrs) Isabel Osarieme Macfoy (Pioneer set of 1975)
Sir (Pharm.) Paul Enebeli (1976 set)
Elijah Mohammed (1985 set)
Members of the Board of Trustees are as follows:
Solomon Aigbavboa- Chairman (1990 set)
David Ehikuemen (1987 set)
Osakpomwan Uwubamwen (1993 set)
Chief John Anozie (1994 set)
Prof Michael Uhumwangho- the Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy (1994 set).
Maureen Joe (1995 set)
Members of the Executive are as follows:
President Dr Leo Ugheighele (1987 set)
Vice President Kingsley Jademi (2002 set)
Secretary Aghahowa Osahenrumwen (2014 set)
Assistant Secretary Olung Jacob (2011) set
Treasurer Mary Ehigiator (2014 set)
Financial secretary Collins Ovenseri (2010 set)
Public Relation Officer Francis Odigie (1996 set)
Provost Iyekekpolor Eseosa Williams (2008 set)
Administrator Dr Patrick Igbinaduwa (1995 set)
The secretary of the steering committee, Dr Patrick Igbinaduwa gave the vote of thanks and wished the incoming officials a successful tenure. He also announced that an administrative office has been provided at the faculty for the activities of the alumni.
A Paediatric Neurologist, Okunola Olusola, on Sunday cautioned parents against administering antimalaria medication to children who had not been diagnosed with malaria.
Mr Olusola of Paediatrics Department, University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
He said that it was very wrong to give children antimalaria drugs when they did not have malaria, adding that doing so would not prevent them from the ailment.
“It is drug abuse and there is a greater chance of the parasite developing resistance to the drugs if it is done regularly.
Mother and infant in the maternity ward
“So, the best thing for a mother to do is when a child has a fever, the mother should take the child to an appropriate health facility where the child would be properly screened for malaria.
“There are Rapid Diagnostic Test Kits (RDTS) for malaria that will give the result within 10 minutes.
“RDTs assist in the diagnosis of malaria by providing evidence of the presence of malaria parasites in human blood,’’ he said.
The Paediatrician said there was nothing wrong for a mother to move around with antimalaria drugs anywhere she went but in administering it, malaria must be proven to be present in the child.
Mr Olusola urged mothers to understand that not all fevers were caused by malaria, stressing that some could be symptoms of teething, catarrh and so on.
A recent study reveals that a game-changer drug, Fevipiprant, has shown evidence of lowering patients’ risks of suffering an asthma attack and being admitted to a hospital.
According to Global Asthma Report 2018, asthma has affected around 339 million people worldwide, killing as many as 1,000 people every day.
Asthma is caused by a complex set of interactions between a patient’s genes, cells and environment that lead to an increase in airway smooth muscle mass, a process referred to as “remodelling.”
The prevalence of asthma is on the rise, with low and middle-income countries being the most affected, partly because essential medicines are either unavailable, unaffordable or are of unreliable quality.
Asthma patient seen lying down on the bed
Airways are composed of several different cell types that exist together in a highly ordered state. The airway lumen is lined by epithelial cells and, further inside, the mesenchyme. The latter contains muscle cells that increase in mass during asthma.
Another crucial feature of the airway are the inflammatory cells that are recruited in the event of a foreign body (such as an allergen or virus).
In health, these three elements (epithelial cells, mesenchyme and inflammatory cells) work in harmony to ensure effective airflow and appropriate response to external challenges. In asthma, these harmonic interactions are compromised, resulting in increased muscle mass.
Developing a sound strategy to treat asthma requires a precise understanding of the factors that contribute to the emergence of the disease. This cannot be achieved through experimentation alone because so many factors contribute to the disease. The study however reveals that with mathematical models, hypotheses can be used to help reduce the complexity of the system.
In the clinical trial, Fevipiprant was observed to reduce the number of inflammatory cells and muscle mass.
Himanshu Kaul, post doctoral fellow, University of British Columbia said that to understand this process, he developed a mathematical model that combined the epithelial, mesenchymal and inflammatory elements to understand what is responsible for airway remodelling during asthma.
Explaining further, Kaul said he used “agent-based modeling”, a mathematical approach that relies on rule-sets governing interactions between various model elements.
“I developed a virtual patient with severe asthma and gave them virtual drugs. I made sure that the model was capturing biological reality by first administering virtual Mepolizumab, which killed inflammatory cells in the airways. The virtual patient performance was consistent with clinical results,” said Himanshu Kaul.
He then gave the virtual patient Fevipiprant. However, while it showed the same amount of reduction ininflammatory cells as the clinical trial, it failed to show the same amount of reduction in muscle mass as observed clinically.
This led to the conclusion that Fevipiprant acted not by reducing the inflammation alone, but by also directly impacting muscle mass.
Findings from an experiment conducted by Ruth Saunders at the University of Leicester with muscle cells taken from patients suggested that Fevipiprant reduced the recruitment of cells called myofibroblasts, which add to muscle mass during remodeling.
When this secondary feature was added to the model, the observed reduction in the muscle mass of the virtual patient was consistent with clinical data.
Using this drug could allow patients to reduce their dependence on high-dose steroids, whose side-effects include weight gain, diabetes and high blood pressure.
Sequel to the results of the new survey on the prevalence of HIV in Nigeria, which puts the figure at 1.4 percent among adults aged 15–49 years, a team of local and international scientists have embarked on a research to determine the best approaches in preventing the spread of HIV among Nigerian youths, and also to achieve the UNAIDS 90-90-90 target by 2020.
The team made up of principal investigators including Dr Oliver Ezechi, from the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR); Dr Juliet Iwelunmor, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and Dr Joseph Tucker, from Saint Louis University, observed that there is a gap in youths showing up for HIV testing at clinics, thus, they set up a programme tagged “4 Youth by Youth: Designathon 2019”, to bridge the gap, by getting youths involve in the creation of innovative products, services, and technologies for the expansion of HIV self-testing in Nigeria.
L-R: Dr Oladipupo Fisher, head, Project Lagos State AIDS Control Agency; Dr Juliet Iwelunmor, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and the moderator of the programme, at Digital Training Centre, Oshodi, Lagos.
The 3-day programme, which commenced on Friday, 29 March 2019, will be brought to an end on Sunday, 1 April 2019, at the Digital Training Centre, FIIRO Road, Oshodi, Lagos.
Speaking on the objectives of the programme, Dr Ezechi said, although HIV prevalence has drastically dropped in the country, with the recent statistics released, but it is not yet uhuru, as the rate of testing is still very low among young persons.
“If actually, we want to achieve the USAIDS 90-90-90 target for reducing HIV, what it means is that the first 90 is 90 percent of people having HIV showing up, and the retry point for that is testing and counselling, and young people are not showing up because of stigmatisation.
One of the groups for the competition, being addressed by a youth ambassador at the programme.
“What we are doing today is to bring up a competition among selected young persons between the ages of 14-24, to tell us the best strategy to adopt in getting their peers come for HIV self-testing, which can be done within the confines of their homes”, he explained.
Speaking further on the study titled “Innovative tools to expand HIV self-testing”, Dr Iwelunmor revealed that their goal is to work with Nigerian youths to expand HIV oral self-testing in Nigeria. “The data basically says I in 5 youths has never got tested for HIV, and our goal is to say that everyone should know their status, and one-way they can easily do this is trough HIV self-testing”.
She said the beauty of the research is that they don’t want to tell youths to go testing, but they want youths to come up with ideas they think are innovative, low-cost, and appealing to their fellow youths, to make them go self-testing.
A team of three youths anchoring the programme together.
She explained that they opened entry for the competition since January, called for youths to submit their ideas on expanding HIV testing, and at the end of the day, they got 127 candidates, and finally selected 13 for the competition.
“After this competition, they will move to the next level of the programme which is entrepreneurship, where we will work with them for almost a month, and thereafter, they will essentially become youths entrepreneurs for HIV self-testing in Nigeria”, she stated.
Dr Tucker, who is an infectious diseases physician, said they are really building a movement with the competition, because at the end of the Designathon, they will not be too keen about winners or losers, “but we want all the young people to walk away with the notion that their ideas matter, and small groups will be chosen to get apprenticeship and build capacity for their ideas to be implemented.
“Other groups might volunteer otherwise help connect at the NIMR’s HIV clinic, which runs every second Saturday of every month. So this is another way of getting young people engage, not just during the Designathon, but after the Designathon”, He quipped.
Becky Malgwi, a paediatrician, says infant teething is not associated with diarrhoea.
She said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.
Ms Malgwi, who spoke against the common belief by mothers that infant teething comes with diarrhoea, said teething was not related to any diarrhoea.
New Born Baby
According to her, diarrhoea can be as a result of the dirty things that the baby put in the mouth to try to ease the discomfort in his mouth.
“You know when the teeth are coming out the child will experience discomfort in the area that the teeth is coming out.
“The teething child always tries to take anything they come across to chew and many of those things are not very clean.
“It is the bacteria they put in their mouth that cause the diarrhoea,’’ she said.
According to her, teething in infants can begin from three months of age, even though the first tooth usually does not appear until about six months of age.
She listed some of the symptoms of teething to include mild fever, sore gum, lack of appetite, sleeplessness and a slight rise in temperature.
The paediatrician said teething babies try to chew any object they find to help relieve the pressure on their gums.
She added that the child might refuse to sleep and eat due to the pain.
She advised parents to give pain killers and ensure to keep the teething baby hydrated.
“Breastfeeding can be really soothing for a baby who is unhappy or in pain,’’ she said. (NAN)
Medical experts with specialty in eye care recently revealed that a compound extracted from the Christmas berry primrose plant may help stop the growth of metastatic uveal melanoma, a rare and aggressive cancer of the eye.
Doctors diagnose about 2000 adults with uveal melanoma, every year. In half of cases, the disease metastasizes to the liver. For these, patients treatment options are scarce.
According to the findings, published in the Molecular Cancer Research journal, uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common eye cancer in adults. The cancer forms in melanocytes, the cells that make pigment. Although the condition differs from melanoma of the skin, both cancers are lethal.
Uveal melanoma accounts for about 5 percent of all melanoma cases. Surgery or radiation is the go to treatment for patients with primary (UM) that has not spread to other parts of the body. The cancer most often travels to the liver. Once the cancer has spread, patients often only have a year or so to live as no effective therapies yet exist.
“I’m very optimistic,” said Jeffrey Benovic, PhD, Thomas Eakins Endowed Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at Thomas Jefferson University and an Associate Director with the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (SKCC), who led the new work. “If the results are confirmed in animal models and eventually humans, it could offer a new way to treat metastatic uveal melanoma, patients down the road,” he added.
‘Christmas Berry’ Plant
The researchers tested whether a compound derived from an ornamental plant in the primrose family known as Ardisia crenata, might be able to fight the disease.
The compound, called FR900359, or simply FR, was discovered 30 years ago from the plant’s leaves. FR works by blocking a particular type of G protein that sits on a cell’s membrane, called Gq – an important signaling molecule. But a subset of these proteins are mutated in uveal melanoma, turning on a molecular pathway that leads to cancer growth.
Dominic Lapadula, a graduate student in Dr Benovic’s lab, grew three different types of uveal melanoma cells that have the cancer-spurring mutations in the lab. Then he treated the cells with FR.
“We didn’t expect it would work because previous research suggested a related compound called YM-254890 did not inhibit the mutated forms of the proteins found in uveal melanoma,” said Dominic Lapadula. “But lo and behold, FR very effectively blocked the growth of the uveal melanoma cells.” When the uveal melanoma cells were treated with small amounts of FR, the cells appeared to revert from cancer cells to typical melanocytes. “FR appears to be able to help reset the cells back to their normal state,” Dr Benovic said. “Ideally that’s what you want.”
According to the research conducted by experts, higher doses of FR killed the cells, and the results suggest the compound could be an effective drug to treat uveal melanoma one day.
“I’m hopeful FR and related compounds will reset the cancer cells in the mouse model as it did in the cells we grew in the lab,” Dr Benovic said, “getting it one step closer to testing in humans.”
Karen E. Knudsen, PhD, Enterprise Director of the (SKCC), said of the study, “This outstanding work is part of a larger effort within our Center to develop new strategies for combating uveal melanoma. As one of the few cancer centers specializing in this aggressive cancer type, Dr Benovic and team work closely with clinical partners within SKCC to fast track discoveries into the translational setting.”
The Lagos City Hall was filled to capacity on Thursday with captains of industries, government functionaries, local manufacturers of drugs, water, drinks and other household consumables, as the National Agency for Food and Drug, Administration and Control (NAFDAC) celebrated its Silver Jubilee in a colourful way.
The list of dignitaries who graced the occasion included: Esq. Inuwa Abdul-Kabir, chairman, Governing Council, NAFDAC; Alhaji Aliko Dangote, chairman, Dangote Group of Companies; Pharm. (Mazi) Sam Ohuabunwa, president, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN); Pharm. Ahmed Yakasai; immediate past president of PSN; Director General, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) Dr Peter Obi Adigwe; Managing Directors/Chief Executive Officers of Pharmaceutical Companies like – Sir Nnambi Obi, MD, Embassy Pharmaceuticals; Sir Ike Onyechi, Alpha Pharmacy; Dr Okey Akpa; MD SKG Pharma; Pharm. Nnamdi Okafor, MD, May & Baker; Mr Ebuka Okafor, chairman, Vixa Pharmaceuticals; Dr Ifeanyi Okoye, CEO, Juhel Nigeria Ltd.; Pharm. Olakunle Ekundayo, MD/CEO, DrugField Pharma; Dr Obiora Chukwuka, chairman, Greenlife Pharmaceuticals; Chief Emma Umenwa, managing director, Geneith Pharma; Sir Ifeanyi Atueyi, managing director, Pharmanews Ltd, and other stakeholders at the event.
Dignitaries at the occasion unveiling the agency’s new book, along with the NAFDAC DG, Prof. Moji Adeyeye, at the event.
Speaking on the reason for the celebration, Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Moji Adeyeye, said the agency has got a lot to rejoice over, stating that they were able to offset a debt of N3 billion naira, within a year of her resumption in office, as she was able to block several financial linkages in the institution.
Again, she noted that before her assumption of office, NAFDAC used to be the shame of Africa, as it was formerly acknowledged by the World Health Organisation (WHO), however, she said the situation is getting better by the day, as she has been able to put a lot of structures in place.
Sir (Dr) Obiora Chukwuka, chairman, Greenlife Pharmaceuticals; Pharm. Onyeka Onyeibor, managing director, Miral Pharma, and Executive Vice Chairman, Mr Ken Ofulue, at the occasion.
Prof. Adeyeye also mentioned among other achievements of her one year in office, the improvement of staff welfare, noting that no institution can attain an enviable height without good staff welfare package.
She said the celebration is worthy of note because the agency is now SOP driven, customer focused, and now attained level two in SOP, adding that level four is their focus.
L-R: Pharm. Moses Azuike; Managing Director, Pharmanews Ltd., Sir Ifeanyi Atueyi and another guest at the occasion.
Although, the NAFDAC DG, who announced zero tolerance for extortion and corruption in the agency under her watch, flayed some members of the National Assembly for extorting agencies of the federal government, adding that she will not be threatened by such gestures.
On his own part, the Chairman, Governing Council, NAFDAC, Esq. Inuwa Abdul-Kabir, appreciated all guests for sparing their time to felicitate with the agency, and more importantly, he commended founding directors of the agency, who have contributed immensely to the success of NAFDAC at Twenty-five.
He mentioned names of NAFDAC DGs from inception, stating that Prof. Gabriel Osuide, was the pioneer DG, while also honouring Late Prof. Dora Akunyili, for her contribution to build on a foundation of NAFDAC, and for bringing the agency to limelight.
Presenting the Anniversary Guest Lecture titled” 25 Years of Significant Impact of NAFDAC on the Health and Economy of the Country” Mazi Ohuabunwa, x-rayed NAFDAC’s regulation of food and drug in the country vis-a vis national development in the last 25 years, arguing that there is significant reduction in the circulation of fake and substandard products in Nigeria.
Recognising the major role played by the late Prof. Dora Akunyili in popularising the agency, the PSN President said NAFDAC must strive to regain the agency’s reputation back to her era, when NAFDAC was a corruption –free zone.
He urged the management and Council to resist temptation to turn the agency to a fund-raising organisation, while doing their best to rid the country of fake and substandard drugs and other products.
A new research conducted by scientists from Washington University in St. Louis has linked participation in team sports to larger hippocampal volumes in children and less depression in boys ages 9 to 11.
It further explained that adult depression has long been associated with shrinkage of the hippocampus, a brain region that plays an important role in memory and response to stress.
The study established that contrary to the common belief that non-sport activities such as music or art contribute to greater hippocampal volume, engaging in sporting activities is actually much more effective in achieving this.
Lisa Gorham, who is the lead author of the study and a senior majoring in cognitive neuroscience in Arts & Sciences, said the findings are important because they help illuminate the relationships between involvement in sports, volume of a particular brain region and depressive symptoms in kids as young as nine.
According to Deanna Barch, senior author on the study, chair of the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, “The findings raise the intriguing possibility that there is some added benefit of the team or structured component of sports, such as the social interaction or the regularity that these activities provide”.
Children on the football field ready for sports activities
To conduct the study, the team relied on a nationwide sample of 4,191 children ages 9-11 years from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study. Parents provided information on their children’s participation in sports and other activities and on depressive symptoms. Brain scans of the children provided data on their bilateral hippocampal volume.
While other studies have shown the positive impact of exercise on depression and the link with hippocampal volume in adults, this study is among the first to show that participation in team sports may have similar anti-depressant effects in preteen children.
Additionaly, while the results of the study indicated that there was an association between sports involvement and hippocampal volume in girls, it also showed however that, unlike boys, there is no additional association with depression. This might mean that different factors contribute to depression in girls, or that a stronger association to sports involvement might emerge at a later developmental period for girls.
One of the researchers, Cameron Carter, MD, editor of Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of California, Davis, said of the study, “These interesting results provide important clues as to how exercise benefits mood in children and reveals the important role that gender plays in these effects.”
Nigerian Pharmacists and Doctors in the U.S. team up to train health workers on combating Opioid Addiction
Concerned by the scourge of Opioid misuse and addiction in Nigeria, the Nigerian Doctors and Pharmacists in the USA are poised to intervene. Working collaboratively through their respective professional bodies, the Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas (ANPA) and the Nigerian Association of Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Scientists in the Americas (NAPPSA), the group has set up an Opioid Seminar and Naloxone Training Workshop to be held at Abuja, on Tuesday, 9 April 2019.
As noted by the Programme Coordinator, Dr Anthony Ikeme, the goal of this workshop is to equip the Nigerian healthcare professionals (physicians, nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants, principal investigators, study coordinators and biomedical researchers) with the knowledge, skills and tools for combating the challenges of the Opioid addiction epidemic.
NAPPSA & ANPA Logos
The rising misuse of drugs for recreational purposes in Nigeria has been an increasing source of concern for the Nigerian health authorities and healthcare professionals. In buttressing this point, the NAPPSA President, Dr Leo Egbujiobi, cited a recent survey led by the Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Centre for Research and Information on Substance Abuse showed that over the past year alone, nearly 15% of the adult population in Nigeria (around 14.3 million people) reported a “considerable level” of use of psychoactive drug substances. This rate is considerably much higher than the 2016 global average of 5.6% among adults.
The ANPA President, Dr Charmain Emelife, noted that the most common opioid implicated in this crisis is tramadol and codeine-based Syrup. Tramadol and codeine exhibits an effect profile similar to that of other opioid agonists. They bind to receptors in the brain and spinal cord, disrupting pain signals. They also activate the reward areas of the brain by releasing the hormone dopamine, creating a feeling of euphoria or a “high when the drug is taken at higher doses. This can lead to hallucinations, delusions, schizophrenia and organ failure.
In addition to tramadol and codeine, other potent mixtures of several drugs with high risk of fatal overdoses have been reported. Quartz Africa, an online based economic journal, reports the common use of “gutter water,” a widely consumed cocktail mix of codeine, tramadol, rohypnol, cannabis and water or juice. Some young adults are also turning to crude concoctions as alternatives, including smoking lizard parts and dung as well as sniffing glue, petrol, sewage and urine as inhalants.
These concerns are at the heart of this effort by the doctors and pharmacists. It is hoped that the training and the follow up advocacy by the two organisations will complement other efforts by other professional organisations and other government and multilateral agencies to eradicate the scourge of opioid abuse.
ABOUT NAPPSA
Nigerian Association of Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Scientists in the Americas, Inc. (NAPPSA) is an umbrella organization of Nigerian pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists, allied scientists and the academia in the Americas. Her mission is to promote healthy living and disease prevention through effective pharmaceutical care and facilitation of efficient healthcare delivery systems and strategies in America, Nigeria, Africa and the rest of the world.
ABOUT ANPA
ANPA represents the professional interests of 4,000 plus physicians, dentists and allied health professionals of Nigerian birth, ethnicity or empathy in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean providing a platform for medical and scientific dialogue, on issues of health within North America, the Caribbean, and Africa, pertinent to persons of descent from the Nigerian Diaspora. Her mission is to identify and stimulate interest in all matters affecting the health of Nigerians and provide the forum for debating evolving health issues in search for solutions
If you have any questions about this workshop or the organizations involved in this effort, please don’t hesitate to contact any us directly as follows:
In recognition of their outstanding contributions to the Pharmacy profession, Pharmaceutical industry and support to the National Agency for Food and Drug, Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in ensuring access to safe, efficacious and affordable medicines in Nigeria, the President, Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy (NAPharm) Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, and the Immediate Past President (IPP) of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) Pharm. Ahmed I Yakasai, have been decorated with Legacy Award by NAFDAC.
L-R: Yobe State Governor Ibrahim Gaidam; the Immediate Past President (IPP) of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) Pharm. Ahmed I Yakasai and wife, Mrs Khalisa Yakasai; and the President, Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy (NAPharm) Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi (right) at the occasion.
The award presentation took place at the Silver Jubilee celebration of NAFDAC, on 26 March 2019, at Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Aso Rock, Abuja.
Also on the Legacy category list were Late Ambasador (Pharm.) Tanimu Saulawa; Juhel Pharmaceuticals and Drugfield Pharmaceuticals.
L-R: The Immediate Past President (IPP) of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) Pharm. Ahmed I Yakasai; PSN President, Pharm. (Mazi) Sam Ohuabunwa; Mr Isama Tony Isama, special adviser to the senate president and the National Secretary, PSN, Pharm. Emeka Duru at the occasion.
Expressing his profound gratitude to the management of the agency, for conferring such noble award on him, Yakasai, via his Facebook page said he cannot thank NAFDAC enough for the great recognition.
He said :”I must express my sincere appreciation to Gen. Waqar Ahmad Kingravi, High Commissioner of Pakistan, PSN President, Pharm. (Mazi) Sam Ohuabunwa; NMA President, Dr Francis Faduyile; NAE Mohammed, Registrar, PCN; APBN President represented by Dr Omede Idris; MD, GSK, Mr Bhushan; Managing Director, WWCVL, Mr Santosh Kumar; Dr Njide Ndili, country representative, PharmAccess; Mr Mahe Abubakar, DMD, Jaiz Bank; Kabiru M Adamu, MD, Agric Bank; Pharm. Emmanuel Abolo, Dean Rova College; Dr Omokhudu Idogho, MD, SFH; ACP Baba Mohammed; Mr Tony Isama; friends, family members and professional colleagues for been with me on this great occasion”.
No fewer than 23 healthcare professionals were officially inaugurated by the Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy (NAPharm) into its committee on substance abuse.
The occasion took place at Business School Netherlands (BSN) on 26 March 2019.
A cross section of the newly inaugurated members of the committee and some NAPharm executives.
Aside Dr Lolu Ojo, chairman, other members of the committee include: Prof. Kemi Odukoya (NAPharm); Pharm. Ogheneochuko Omaruaye (PSN); Pharm. Ekomobong Hanson (PSN); Pharm. Chukuten Chukuka (PMG-MAN); Chief (Mrs) Yetunde Morohundiya (ALPs); Pharm. Samule Adekola (ACPN); Pharm. Ignatius Anukwu (NAIP); Pharm. Kingsley Amibor (AHAPN); Pharm. Ukamaka Okafor (PCN); Dr Musa Umar (NAFDAC); Pharm. Joshua Olagunju (PSN-YPG); Dr (Mrs) Moyosore Adejumo (Lagos DPS); Pharm. Tawa Arilesere (independent candidate); Pharm. Rosemary Achikanu (independent candidate);Pharm. Chovwe Emaniru (independent candidate); Pharm. Funmbi Okoya (independent candidate); Dr Ifeanyi Okechukwu (NIROPHARM); Pharm. Ademola Moyosade (independent candidate); Dr Arinola Joda (NAPA); Pharm. Kennedy Izunwa (APIN) and Pharm. (Mrs) Clara Anyanwu (NAFDAC).
While calling for commitment on the part of members, Sir Ifeanyi Atueyi, vice president, NAPharm declared that the committee must learn to serve “because we don’t know when our reward will come.”
Atueyi recalled how the incumbent President of NAPharm had approached him to take the editorial task of the then Journal of Pharmacy.
“At first, I was reluctant but eventually agreed. It was a tasking job that came with no pay package. I accepted it and committed all I have into its success. In fact, I was the one who gave a new look and changed its name from Journal of Pharmacy to Nigerian Journal of Pharmacy.”
“At that time, PSN was not buoyant and had to rely heavily on revenue from the journal for its survival until the idea of having exhibition came on board. All these while, I saw the job as a service which is why God is still blessing me,” he emphasized.
NAPharm Fellows: (L-R) Dr (Mrs) Maggie Ibru; Pharm. Ike Onyechi; Sir Ifeanyi Atueyi and Pharm. Remi Adeseun at the event.
Appreciating the gesture of the vice president and entire Fellows of NAPharm, Ojo announced that the birth of the committee on substance abuse was a great development for Pharmacy and Nigeria.
“We are building a very strong coalition of forces against substance abuse. No doubt, substance abuse is a great plague on the health of our nation. If the scourge is not contained quickly, it is capable of destroying everything that we have laboured to build.
“It is a demonstration of leadership and commitment that is worthy of praise that the Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy has set up this committee involving all stakeholders in Pharmacy,” he noted.
The recent outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) declared last August in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has now increased to over 1000 cases daily, according to report published by the International Rescue Committee (IRC).
IRC is a global humanitarian aid, relief, and development nongovernmental organisation. IRC offers emergency aid and long-term assistance to refugees and those displaced by war, persecution, or natural disaster.
Ebola victims in Congo being carried by health team
The IRC committee via a press release explained some reasons why the outbreak might not be over soon. “The ongoing mistrust facing health workers and the response is a symptom of the years of insecurity they have endured, and a sign that those responding must work even harder to combat the stigma and misunderstanding held by some in the community.”
According to the IRC’S Emergency Report Director, Tariq Riebl in DRC, “It is alarming to have such increase in the number of Ebola cases at this stage”. He further expressed his amazement at the surge in the cases of the disease, noting that they had 58 new cases in the past week, and this is the highest number in a week since the beginning of the outbreak in 2019.
He mentioned mistrust and security issues, as factors that may be preventing citizens from giving accurate report on cases at hand. “It is possible that cases are likely not to be reported and the true figure could even be higher. Despite the hard work being done, this outbreak is far from over”.
Speaking on the incident, IRC’S team in North Kivu said “Data shows that working with the community is the key to stop this outbreak, and if there is no greater engagement, there is possibility of losing lives. The team in North Kivu are trying their best to understand the concerns of people living in the impacted communities and to work with them to quash this outbreak.”
The statement revealed that in the past weeks, IRC teams have organised series of community meetings to understand the concerns of citizens, as well as established focal points within affected neighbourhoods and villages.
While the team sympathised with casualties and their loved ones, they assured residents that though the outbreak is overshooting its expected deadline, they are sure of an end soon. “We are already almost seven months into this outbreak and at this stage we should be seeing the case rate declining, not on the rise. With an optimistic outlook this outbreak is predicted to last another six months – but realistically we could be looking towards another year of fighting this disease.
“The Ministry of Health and partners including the IRC are working around the clock to curtail the outbreak as quickly as possible to reduce the loss of life and further damage to the community.”
With more than 13 million people in need of aid, DRC is one of the world’s most complex, chronic and long-standing humanitarian crises. The IRC has been working in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1996 responding to the humanitarian crisis in the east. It has since evolved into one of the largest providers of humanitarian assistance and post-conflict development, with life-saving programming in health, economic recovery, women’s and children protection, and livelihoods.
Hajiya Maryam Abubakar, Managing Director of Fatimah Clinic and Maternity, Kaduna, and founder, Women for Women Initiative, recently offered free dental and medical services to about 100 drug addicts and mentally challenged persons at the Nigga Rehabilitation Centre in Kaduna, to mark this year’s World Oral Health Day (WOHD).
The medical services, which were carried out by a team of medical experts, comprising doctors, dentists and other health professionals, on 23 March 2019, included scaling, polishing, filling and removal of decayed teeth.
Speaking on the event, Abubakar said the reason why she and her team decided to take the medical mission to a rehabilitation centre is because the patients usually do not have the privilege to go out at will.
She added that oral diseases, such as tooth decay and gum disease, are widespread, yet preventable through proper self-care, regular dental check-ups and managing risk factors.
While encouraging the patients, the Fatimah Clinic and Maternity founder appealed to them to take good care of their health in order to live healthy and long.
Say no to drugs
“Also when you are physically fit and free to go home, you should not go back to the lifestyle that brought you to be at the rehabilitation centre,” Abubakar said.
She further counseled oral health professionals on the important role they have to play in addressing the burden of oral diseases by helping their communities to be protected against all forms of diseases associated with the teeth and the general mouth surrounding.
On his part, the founder of the rehabilitation centre, Malam Lawal Maduru, thanked Hajiya Abubakar and the Women for Women Initiative for the gesture, saying that marking the World Oral Day is very important because it emphasises the need to give attention to dental hygiene.
The 2004 Atlantic hurricane season was one of the worst and deadliest hurricane seasons of the 21st century. There were a total of nine hurricanes and 15 storms and tropical cyclones, half of which brushed or struck the United States and other Caribbean countries, causing about 3,270 deaths and about $61.2 billion damage in property, with the state of Florida being one of the most affected areas. However, on ground to help mitigate the effects of the devastation was a Nigerian-American paediatrician and health administrator, John Oderah Agwunobi.
Agwunobi coordinated and led the state public health emergency response efforts in saving lives and bringing relief to millions of people while serving as the secretary of health of the state of Florida under the administration of Governor Jeb Bush. Quite remarkably, prior to the hurricane of 2004, Agwunobi had led the response to the United States’ first-ever intentional anthrax attack in 2001. Thereafter, he guided the state of Florida’s efforts to prepare for, prevent, respond to and mitigate the effects of a bioterrorism attack.
Dr John Oderah Agwunobi
In December 2005, Agwunobi was confirmed by the US Senate to be the Assistant Secretary of Health (ASH) of the US government and served as a member of the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, holding the rank of a 4-star Admiral.
As the ASH, Agwunobi oversaw the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General, Centres for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health, the FDA, HRSA, Indian Health Service, Office of Minority Health, as well as numerous other Public Health offices and programmes. He also served as the U.S. representative on the World Health Organisation executive board.
In 2007 Agwunobi was appointed as the senior vice president of Walmart stores Inc. and President of the retailer’s $30 billion Health and Wellness business, a position he occupied till 2014. At Walmart, Agwunobi was responsible for a chain of 4,000 retail, specialty and mail order pharmacies; more than 2,500 vision centers and 100 in-store convenient care clinics; and a pharmacy benefits management unit.
Background and education
Dr Agwunobi was born on 4 October, 1964 in Dundee, Agnus, Scotland, to a Nigerian father, Titus Chukwuma Agwunobi from Anambra State; and a Scottish mother – Veronica Marie Stuart Shaw. As the first of five children, he spent his childhood years in the UK before his family relocated to Nigeria, where he had his secondary and tertiary education. He graduated in 1987 with a degree in medicine and surgery from the University of Jos, Plateau State, where his father was a professor of medicine.
Agwunobi moved to the United States in 1989, where he had his paediatric residency training at Howard University Hospital, Washington, DC, from 1990 to 1993. During his residency programme, he also worked at the Children’s National Medical Centre and the District of Columbia General Hospital – then one of US busiest inner-city hospitals.
Agwunobi received his master of business administration degree from Georgetown University Washington DC in 2000 and obtained his Masters of Public Health degree from John Hopkins University, Baltimore, in 2004.
Career
Agwunobi began his professional career in 1993 as an attending paediatrician at the Hospital for Sick Children, a Washington DC-based paediatric rehabilitation hospital and community health care provider. As a pediatrician, he dedicated himself to working with underserved populations and children with special needs, a passion he developed during his residency training.
In July 1998, Agwunobi became the medical director of the Hospital for Sick Children, and a year later, was appointed as the vice president of Medical Affairs and Patient Services. He also served as the medical director for an affiliated managed care plan during the same period, where he maintained a network of more than 2,300 physicians and specialists.
In 2000, Agwunobi was appointed as the deputy secretary, Florida Department of Health, where his passion for leadership and excellence in public health was widely acclaimed. In October 2001, he was appointed as the state of Florida’s Secretary of Health and State Health Officer by Governor Jeb Bush where he served till September, 2005.
As secretary, Dr Agwunobi moved the department toward increased efficiency, customer focus, and productivity. He led the call for a healthier Florida, advocating for improved nutrition and exercise in an effort to address the state’s epidemic of overweight and obesity. As earlier noted, his department’s many successes included responses to the four major hurricanes of 2004, infectious disease outbreaks – West Nile, SARS, and the intentional anthrax attack which occurred a day after his appointment as secretary of health.
Agwunobi also led efforts to decrease the state’s infant mortality rate, lowering tobacco use among youths, addressing racial and ethnic health disparities, and improving overall access to medical and dental care.
Agwunobi served as the 12th assistant secretary for health (ASH) from December 17, 2005 to September 4, 2007. As the ASH, he served as the secretary’s primary advisor on matters involving the nation’s public health. He also oversaw the US Public Health Service and its Commissioned Corps for the secretary.
In addition, Agwunobi has served as vice chair of the U.S. African Development Foundation, a federal agency dedicated to fighting poverty in marginalised populations on the African continent since 2008.
After leaving Walmart Stores in 2014, Dr Agwunobi served as a board advisor to Shopko, a Specialty Retail Stores Holding Corp. in Green Bay, Wisconsin; as well as board director for Magellan Health Services Inc. of Scottsdale, Arizona; and Member “Future” Panel of Leavitt Partners LLC, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
In February 2016, Agwunobi joined Herbalife Nutrition Limited as the chief nutrition officer, and was later appointed co-president of the firm in June 2017. At Herbalife, he is responsible for training, education, science strategy and product development and has been leading the Herbalife Nutrition Institute; the Herbalife Nutrition Advisory Board and the Herbalife Dietetic Advisory Board, working with the company’s scientists to integrate nutrition science into products.
Awards and recognitions
In recognition of his distinguished career, Dr Agwunobi has received honours and awards, including Public Administrator of the Year, APHA Public Health Hero Citation, and Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Paediatrics and a member of American Medical Association. He served as Chair of the Advisory Committee to the Director of Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as on the Board of Directors of the National Quality Forum—an advisory group formed at the recommendation of the President’s Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry.
Dr Agwunobi is happily married to Jennifer Agwunobi and they are blessed with children.
No fewer than 53 Indian Pharmaceutical companies and some notable healthcare professionals showed up at the colourful 3rd International Exhibition for Pharma & Healthcare (IPHEX Africa).
The two-day event, organised under the aegis of Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) in conjunction with Indian High Commission, Indian Pharma Manufacturers Importers of Nigeria (IPMIN) and Association of Pharma Importers in Nigeria (APIN), held recently at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Jaiprakash Pande, director of operations, Africure Pharmaceuticals Limited (middle) flanked by other Indians in one of the exhibition booths.
On display were at the Expo Centre was an array of drugs, nutraceuticals, pharmaceutical formulations, APIs, veterinary drugs, healthcare products as well as some Over-The-Counter (OTC) and prescription-based medicines.
Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, director general, National Agency for Food Drug and Administration Control (NAFDAC) applauded the organisation of the event, saying that it was quite encouraging.
A cross section of participants at the IPHEX Africa Expo.
When quizzed by journalists on what NAFDAC is doing to curb continual influx of counterfeit drugs from foreign countries like India, she said that the solution lies in further strengthening of the bilateral arrangement between Nigeria and Indian pharma regulatory bodies.
“This is the bulk of what we discussed today. You know they have their own regulatory bodies that also track and identify people involved in such scheme just as we have same here in Nigeria. This is the more reason we need to work together,” she said.
On complaints that manufacturers and other pharma entrepreneurs are increasingly finding NAFDAC registration frustrating owing to delay, Adeyeye debunked the claim saying that people still have the old picture of the regulatory body in mind.
“NAFDAC has changed now. It is not what many people used to think. Today, no paper or file is delayed anymore. Processing of those papers you mentioned should not take more than 120 days at most,” she stressed.
In the same vein, Udaya Bhaskar, director general, Pharmexcil announced that he was happy with level of support received so far from the Nigerian government and various pharma associations since inception of the IPHEX Africa Expo in the country.
“It has not only improved the relationship between both countries but also enabled a lot of pharmaceutical and other healthcare companies to grow and have direct access to government recognised pharma companies from India,” he said.
Among notable health professionals who graced the events were Pharm. Lolu Ojo, former chairman, Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria (NAIP); Pharm. Ade Popoola, managing director, Reals Pharma; Pharm. Samuel Adekola, chairman, Association of Community Association of Nigeria (ACPN); Pharm. Ernest Okafor, managing director, Nemitt Pharma; Peter Esele, managing director, Pemason Pharma; Aakash Kotari, managing director, Sagar Vitaceuticals; Jaiprakash Pande, director of operations, Africure Pharmaceuticals Limited and Maheesh Vaswani, SK Medicines Limited.
The 15th Biennial Nursing Leaders Conference organised by the Nursing & Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) is billed to come up from 1 to 6 April, 2019, at the Marble Arch Hotels, in Awka, Anambra State.
NMCN Logo
The conference is aimed bringing Nursing leaders from both public and private sectors to discuss current challenges and developments that affect Nursing education and practice.
Themed: Repositioning Nursing and Midwifery Workforce for the Achievement of Universal Health Coverage and Sustainable Development Goals in Nigeria”, the conference will seek solution to bottlenecks in these areas.
All inquiries about registration should be directed to the Registrar/Secretary General: Alh. Faruk Umar Abubakar. You can also visit nmcn.gov.ng to register,
The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) is set to hold its 38th Annual National Scientific Conference in Kano, from 30 June – 6 April, 2019, at the Afficent Event Centre, Kano.
Conference Banner
Tagged: “Kano 2019”, the conference will seek innovative approaches to tackling the menace of drug abuse, as it is themed: Tackling the menace of drug abuse in Nigeria: An Innovative Approach”.
While registration of participants and exhibitors is ongoing, inquiries can be directed to the Conference Planning Committee Chairman, Pharm. Idris Pada.
It may no longer be business as usual for those unscrupulous citizens who have perfected the act of churning out fake drugs, as a Canadian-based Nigerian Pharmacist Bayo Alonge has co-developed a miniature Nano-Scanner that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to identify fake drugs and assess general drug quality on mobile phones.
Pharm. Alonge emerged overall winner of the 2019 deepTech Challenge out of the 4,500 applicants, with the presentation of his anti-fake drugs device called RxAll Solution, having scaled through the regional contest at Cape Town in November 2018, he was selected among the 80 finalists for the finals in Paris in March 2019.
Pharm. Bayo Alonge, presented with his award plaque, by one of the organisers of the competition.
Even at the finals in Paris, the Canadian-based Nigerian pharmacist, was able to prove to the global jury of the best deepTech scientists and investors beyond reasonable doubt that his RxAll startup was of more value than the other Top 80 deepTech startups that were grouped into 12 categories — Aeronautics, Data and AI; Digital Health; Energy; Food; Agriculture and Environment; Global Health; Industrial Biotech; Industry 4.0; New Materials; New Mobility; New Space and Wellbeing.
RxAll competed in these intense finals in the Digital Health group against five other impressive startups, including some that are applying Quantum Computing for therapeutic protein development.
Records revealed that Pharm. Alonge had his Secondary Education at the King’s College Lagos and his Bachelor of Pharmacy, from the Pharmacy School, University of Ibadan, which provided a solid foundation for his innovative technology.
Pharm. Bayo Alonge, displaying his dummy Boarding Pass to Paris for the grand finale of the competition.
The global competition was organised by Hello Tomorrow, tagged: “The world’s best deepTech conference for scientists, technologists and their enablers”, it is an annual challenge that seeks to identify the best deepTech solution in the world, over a six-month period. The conference seeks to discover, initiate and support the deepTech ecosystem, the purpose of which is to scale science-based solutions to solve the world’s biggest problems.
After careful deliberation by judges and deepTech experts from across the 12 competing groups, the unanimous winner of the 2019 best deepTech in the world, represented by the Hello Tomorrow grand prize, was declared as RxAll.
Alonge and the rest of the RxAll team will continue to expand their solution across Africa and SE Asia. They are working with drug regulators and foundations in these regions. They are also selling their solution to individuals in the developed world who are concerned about the drugs they buy online or on the streets.
As Nigeria joins the rest of the World to mark this year’s World Tuberculosis Day (WTBD) scheduled for 24 March, the occasion presents a momentous opportunity for the Nigerian government to finally rise to the challenge of ridding the nation of this world’s deadliest infectious killer disease, in line with the 2019 World TB Day theme “IT’S TIME”.
Currently, the TB burden in the country is anything but encouraging. According to the 2017 Global TB report, Nigeria has a huge TB burden and is ranked 7th among the 30 high TB burdened countries in the world. Nigeria also has the second highest incidence rate in Africa and records about 432 TB-related deaths daily.
These worrisome statistics clearly present TB as a major public health challenge in Nigeria, with its attendant devastating health, social and economic consequences. Taming it therefore requires more than mere rhetoric and emergency palliative measures; it should be a major health intervention project.
While it is gratifying that the government is aware of the TB challenge as evidenced by the Health Minister, Prof. Isaac Adewole, pledging late last year that the federal government would increase allocation to TB control in the 2019 health budget, the real challenge over the years has been inability of government to walk the talk.
It is noteworthy that in the same address at the national summit on Public Private Mix (PPM) in which the health minister made the pledge of increased funding towards the fight against tuberculosis, he also disclosed that the health ministry had earlier established the National TB Control Programme. According to him, managers of the programme had developed a National TB Control Strategy 2015-2020 framework to address the country’s TB burden.
He however curiously added that the framework, which was in line with the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s End TB Strategy and had incorporated the most recent internationally recommended diagnostic and treatment strategies, was expected to help stamp out TB from Nigeria by 2030.
That the Nigerian government decided to shift the goalpost for TB eradication from 2020 to 2030 means that a lot more must be done to ensure national health programmes are properly implemented to ensure pre-determined timelines are kept to ensure that public health objectives are achieved.
World Tuberculosis Day
The burning issues surrounding TB control in Nigeria are the challenges of multi-drug resistant TB, the HIV/AIDs pandemic, as well as the large number of undetected TB cases, which serve as a reservoir for the continuous transmission of the disease. Experts have said each case of undetected TB has the potential of infecting between 10 and 15 persons in a year.
There is an apparent need to scale up enlightenment campaign and educate Nigerians on this condition as a lot can be achieved in terms of prevention and control of TB when more people are aware of what to do when they have the disease or suspect someone close to them has it.
While we commend Global Fund which has committed about 246 billion dollars to TB control response in Nigeria since 2005, we also urge the Nigerian government to devise ways to work better with all stakeholders, especially the private sector, to drive TB out of the nation.
It must however be emphasised that while getting more out of collaborations with stakeholders is crucial for TB control, the government must take the lead in ensuring the control programmes are well-funded. This can be achieverd by making the necessary adequate budgetary provisions, as most of the challenges of TB control in this clime have to do with poor funding.
The time to take these important measures, as the 2019 World TB Day theme states, is now.
Pharm. (Sir) Emeka Achonye is the managing director of Citygate Pharmaceuticals Limited, Aba, Abia State, a dynamic and growing community pharmacy.
Born on 28 March 1947, Achonye started his early education at St. Paul’s Catholic Primary School, Ebute-Metta, Lagos. Thereafter, he attended Lagos City College in 1964 for his secondary education, before it was interrupted by the outbreak of the Nigerian civil war in 1967.
Pharm. Emeka Achonye
During the war, he became a member of the Biafra Navy at Uguta Lake, Imo State. He eventually completed his secondary school education through a United African Company (UAC) scholarship before proceeding to the University of Nigeria (UNN) where he studied Pharmacy and graduated in flying colours in 1977.
Achonye served at the Bauchi Specialist Hospital, Bauchi, as a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and later spent his early working life in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. He started at SmithKline and French (SK & F) and later moved to Roche (now Swipha). He also worked with Cilag/Organon, before establishing his own company, Citygate Pharmaceuticals, in 1987.
During his career in the pharmaceutical industry, he served as a medical representative; area manager; national sales manager and marketing director in multinational pharmaceutical companies and, in the process, garnered extensive industry knowledge which has served him well in managing his own company.
Achonye belongs to the Ancient Order of Catholic Knights of St. Mulumba, ranking 4th degree and he is the Chikwado Omee of Umoko-Dike Okwelle Ekwe-ariri in his home town.
72 year old Chief Achonye who was inspired by Pharmanews Limited to publish the National Pharmacy Mobile Telephone Directory is blessed with seven children, three of whom are pharmacists.
Pharmanews staff and management join his friends and associates to wish him many more great years.
Grace Johnson Pharma Limited, one of the largest and fastest growing pharmaceutical and healthcare wholesale distribution companies, has commissioned a new outlet in Satellite Town, in Amuwo Odofin Area of Lagos State.
The colourful ceremony, which took place on 5 March 2019, witnessed a large turnout of pharmacists, mostly from the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN), Oriade Zone, as well as well-wishers and residents of the area.
Mr Johnson Agu Ekeh, MD, and his wife, Mrs Grace Johnson (middle) flanked by members of staff of the company.
In his welcome address at the event, Mr Johnson Agu Ekeh, managing director of the company, remarked that the commissioning of the ultra-modern outlet, which coincided with the 7th anniversary of the company, had opened a new page in the history of wholesale pharmacy in the area.
Reminiscing on the beginnings and objectives of the company, Ekeh said: “Our intention was to establish a pharmaceutical wholesale company that supplies branded generics and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals to a wide range of customers, including retail pharmacies, and institutional providers, such as hospitals, health systems, and other healthcare providers.
“The history of Grace Johnson Pharma Limited dates back to 5, March 2012, when a decision was taken between me and my partner, who is presently the chairman, board of directors, Pharm. Jude Elue, to establish a company, with focus on finding solution to the challenge of ineffective supply chain system, delay in delivery of pharmaceuticals, product hoarding, insufficiency of products, quackery and stiff market conditions imposed on pharmaceutical retailers.
Inside view of the newly launched outlet
“The need for us to further establish ourselves as a focus-driven company prompted the need to expand and move into this ultra-modern building you are seeing today. As a company, we are committed to the profitability and viability of pharmacies as well as provide support to maintain their positions in the industry. Our competitive edge cuts across efficient customers’ inventory and management, telephone-email-walk in and door-to-door order system.”
Ekeh further promised continued delivery of quality and efficient services to the people of the community and its environs, saying his experience in pharma industry, spanning over 27 years, coupled with the support of his highly professional and experienced staff would bring to bear in their service delivery.
According to him, his journey in the pharmaceutical sector began in 1992 when he started working with Seagar Pharmaceuticals, from where he moved to Mivero Pharmaceuticals. It was after this that he was moved to Sabiz Pharmaceuticals in the year 2000.
“I started as staff at Seagar, but I got promoted to assistant manager at Mivero, while I became the manager at Sabiz. It was at Sabiz that I met my partner and we both planned to start this place. So, to the glory of God, the result is what we are witnessing today,” he said.
Also speaking, Pharm. (Mrs) Obiageri Ikwu, financial secretary, ACPN, Lagos State, and former Zonal Coordinator, ACPN, Oriade Zone, noted that it had been a relatively short, but eventful journey for Grace Johnson Pharma, adding that it is quite challenging starting a business, especially a pharmaceutical business, in Nigeria, while urging the company to stay focused on making a difference.
“I must say that I am overwhelmed today and I don’t know how to describe the feeling I am having right now. Grace Johnson came into the zone seven years ago and today, they have become a household name, and with this edifice, it shows that hard work pays,” she said.
Speaking in the same vein, Pharm. Emmanuel Uchenna Amma, managing director, FMC Pharmacy, and PRO, ACPN, Oriade Zone, remarked that the opening of Grace Johnson Pharma holds the promise of a brighter future for the pharmaceutical profession, adding that the success was as a result of long term strategic plan.
In her submission, Mrs Grace Johnson, the wife of the managing director, and personal assistant to the MD, described the unveiling as part of the company’s expansion policy, adding that the success was achieved through efficient and innovative delivery of quality products and service that benefit the general public.
She added that the company remains passionate in achieving the its set vision.
…Celebrating 40 years of uninterrupted monthly publication.
Pharmanews Limited was established in 1979 as publishers of health periodicals with Pharmanews as the leading journal. Published every month since its inception in 1979, Pharmanews is a professional health journal targeted primarily at healthcare providers. It is the largest circulating periodical covering all the 36 states of Nigeria, Abuja, and beyond.
Pharmanews continues to break new grounds in health reportage and has established an enviable reputation in the healthcare sector and in the pharmaceutical industry, in particular. Our website (www.pharmanewsonline.com) has become West Africa’s biggest online health news portal, attracting thousands of global visitors, especially healthcare professionals, on daily basis.
In May 2019, Pharmanews will mark her 40th anniversary. The video below is a short survey of what professionals in the Nigerian healthcare sector are saying about Pharmanews at 40. Enjoy!
Stress does not actually come from what is happening but from the meaning you place on it. It is your interpretation of the event that brings stress or removes it. By changing your belief system and therefore, the meaning, the stress can disappear. You have the ability to transform an apparently bad situation to a favourable one by changing your thinking.
Events don’t have inherent meanings. Circumstances don’t have meanings by themselves but it is you who attach meanings to them. That is why an event can be stressful to one person but not so to another person. William Shakespeare in “Hamlet” said, ” Nothing is good or bad, thinking makes it so.” Recently, I was somewhere for a business meeting and my friend was listening to his favourite music from his laptop. Before the meeting started I asked him to please put off that distracting music. He was surprised by my request because, according to him, he normally worked with music on. Personally, I am at my best when there is absolute silence. To him, music at work was a positive belief system and it did not cause him any stress.
During the reorganisation or restructuring of one our big banks, some managers, including my friend, were laid off. He breezed into my office one morning to announce what he termed good news to me. The good news was that he was laid off. I asked him what was good in the news and he told me that it was an opportunity to start his own business and take responsibility for his life. He now has the fredom to manage his time, his talents and resources. To another person, losing job has another meaning. It is losing his source of income and throwing him into the labour market and bringing stress to the family.
I had an experience in 1978 as marketing manager of a pharmaceutical company. I attended an international marketing programme in Cambridge, Mass. USA to advance my knowledge in marketing but my boss was not pleased with my decision and action and that resulted in my resignation. I saw the disengagement from work not as a negative but positive event. It offered me the greatest opportunity to get out of pharmaceutical marketing at the right time into pharmaceutical publishing which I loved to do. God gave me a new drection. I quickly turned what should constitute stress to me and my family to a thing of joy.
What you think and believe about yourself influences how you feel and behave. If you think you are a successful person, you will feel like one and behave as such. If you think you are a failure, you will feel like a failure and act in such a way as to reinforce your belief. Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so he is.” If you have a negative belief about yourself, you look for evidence to justify that belief. For example, if you make a common mistake, you interpret it to be that you are incompetent while a person with a positive belief system takes the mistake as a learning process.
Many people limit their potentials because of limiting self-esteem beliefs which cause stress. You often miss opportunities of service not because you lack the talent or skills but because your negative belief keeps you down. You believe such things as: “I am not good at it.” “I have bad luck.” “Life is tough.” “I know I cannot make it.” Such negative beliefs keep people down and cause stress. They should be avoided.
Thank you.
It was a beehive of activities at the inaugural lecture of Prof. (Mrs) Bolajoko Aina, Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy, held recently at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) auditorium.
Themed “Take one, three times daily! Simple, right?” the presentation was well attended by Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, vice – chancellor, UNILAG; Prof. B. O. Famitoni, deputy vice-chancellor (academic & research); Prof. Ben Oghojato, deputy vice – chancellor (management service); Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, deputy vice – chancellor (development service); Mr Azeez Oladejo, registrar; Mr Olalekan Lawal, Bursar; Dr (Mrs) O. A. Fadehan, librarian; Prof. Afolabi Lesi, provost and Mrs A. O. Ukaiwe, director (academic affairs).
Also in attendance were former Deans of Faculty of Pharmacy such as Prof. H.A.B Coker, Prof. Oluwakemi Odukoya, Prof. Boladale Silva, Prof U. E. Mendie.
Other participants were Dr Arinola Joda, former editor-in-chief of PSN journal; Pharm. Modupe Ologunagba, former chairman, Association of Lady Pharmacists (ALPs), Lagos State branch; Pharm. Ismail Adebayo, former chairman, Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN), Lagos chapter; Pharm. Folorunsho Alaran, marketing manager (West Africa), Shalina Healthcare as well as Mr Ayodeji Aina and Mrs Mary Idowu Sokale, husband and mother of Prof. Aina respectively.
In her address, Aina appreciated the Vice – Chancellor for granting her the rare privilege of delivering the lecture, adding that her dream of remaining in academia started way back in 1982.
L-R: Prof. (Mrs) Bolajoko Aina, dean, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lagos (UNILAG) being presented with an award plaque by Dr Dele Ashiru, chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) while Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, vice – chancellor, UNILAG looks on.
“As an undergraduate in University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), I opted to do my internship at the same faculty after my resolve to remain in academia to harness the opportunity to start my Masters in Pharmaceutics (1982/83).
“Back then, Clinical Pharmacy was not yet available. My interest in academia was roused by a number of factors namely the serene academic environment, simplicity of academics, peaceful and orderly lifestyle of lecturers on Ife campus (which was quite different from the hustle and bustle of Lagos where I was born and bred),” she said.
According to the Dean, the lifestyle being demonstrated by those campus lecturers excited and impressed her as it perfectly suits her personality as an introvert.
While asking the audience to give her a resounding applause, the UNILAG vice- chancellor announced that Prof. Aina has fulfilled her part by paying off her professional debt to the institution.
Prof. (Mrs) Bolajoko Aina (middle) flanked Prof. (Mrs) Bolajoko Aina (middle) flanked by pharmacists and other wellwishers after her lecture.
“She is hereby discharged and acquitted. I officially welcome her into our prestigious class of professors at the University of Preferred Choice – UNILAG” he declared.
Interestingly, Prof. Aina’s inaugural lecture is the 328th series in UNILAG, first for the 2018/2019 Session, sixth at the Faculty of Pharmacy, UNILAG; fifth in Clinical Pharmacy nationwide and first in the department of Clinical Pharmacy and Biopharmacy, University of Lagos.
According to the results released on March 14 2019 by the Government of Nigeria indicate a national HIV prevalence in Nigeria of 1.4% among adults aged 15–49 years. Previous estimates had indicated a national HIV prevalence of 2.8%. UNAIDS and the National Agency for the Control of AIDS estimate that there are 1.9 million people living with HIV in Nigeria.
Speaking in Abuja, Nigeria, the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, welcomed the news that there are fewer people living with HIV in the country than previously estimated and launched the Revised National HIV and AIDS Strategic Framework 2019–2021, which will guide the country’s future response to the epidemic. Nigeria has made good progress in scaling up HIV treatment and prevention services in recent years.
“For the first time, the end of AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 is truly in sight for our country,” said H.E. Muhammadu Buhari, President of Nigeria. “I urge all of us not to relent but to increase the momentum. Let us work collectively and push for the last mile.”
The data from the Nigeria National HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) are based a revised and enhanced methodology. The survey provides a clearer understanding of Nigeria’s HIV epidemic and shines a light on progress and the remaining gaps and challenges.
The Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, welcomed the new estimates and said the improved understanding of the country’s HIV epidemic would allow Nigeria to better reach people living with HIV and people at higher risk of acquiring HIV.
Hiv
“I commend the Government of Nigeria and its partners for conducting this ambitious survey, which provides us with a much better understanding of the country’s HIV epidemic,” said Mr Sidibé. “While it is fantastic news that there are fewer people living with HIV in Nigeria than previously thought, we must not let down our guard. Let us use the results of this survey to better focus our delivery of HIV prevention, treatment and care services to the people in the greatest need and ensure that Nigeria gets on track to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.”
While Nigeria’s national HIV prevalence is 1.4% among adults aged 15–49 years, women aged 15–49 years are more than twice as likely to be living with HIV than men (1.9% versus 0.9%.) The difference in HIV prevalence between women and men is greatest among younger adults, with young women aged 20–24 years more than three times as likely to be living with HIV as young men in the same age group. Among children aged 0–14 years, HIV prevalence according to the new data is 0.2%. Significant efforts have been made in recent years to stop new HIV infections among children.
“The Nigeria National HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) findings provide Nigeria with an accurate national HIV prevalence measure of 1.4%. NAIIS also showed we are able to effectively provide antiretroviral treatment,” said Isaac F. Adewole, Nigeria’s Minister of Health. “Everyone infected with HIV needs to get treatment so they can achieve viral suppression, especially pregnant women. We must ensure pregnant women have access to antenatal services and are tested during every pregnancy. We know we can support HIV-positive mothers, hence ensuring the next generation is free from HIV.”
Nigeria has shown steady progress on increasing access to treatment for people living with HIV, with the adoption of a test and treat policy in 2016. This measure has further accelerated referrals to treatment facilities for people who test positive for the virus. From 2010 to 2017, the country almost tripled the number of people living with HIV having access to antiretroviral therapy, up from 360 000 people in 2010 to more than 1 million people in 2018. However, the new estimates released today indicate that more than half of people living with HIV still do not have suppressed viral loads.
The new data are more accurate as they are based on an expanded surveillance system and a revised and enhanced methodology. In recent years, there has been a significant expansion in the country’s response to HIV. The number of sites providing treatment has more than tripled, the number of sites providing services to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV has increased eightfold and the number of HIV counselling and testing sites has increased fourfold. A total of 11.3 million adults were counselled and tested for HIV in 2016, four times as many as in 2012.
“It is important that all people living with HIV get treatment and achieve viral suppression. To halt the epidemic, we need to act now,” said Sani Aliyu, Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS. “As a government working with our partners, we have what it takes to support people who are HIV-positive, to provide treatment, to protect their families and to help people live long and healthy lives.”
Source: United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
Poised to accelerate progress in the treatment of Tuberculosis (TB), the World Health Organisation (WHO) has released new guidelines to improve the treatment of multidrug resistant TB (MDR-TB).
The WHO Director General, Dr Adhanom Ghebreyesus Tedros, made this development known through a press statement disclosing the efforts of the institution in reducing the prevalence of TB as the World TB Day is commemorated globally on 24 March of every year.
According to him, the new treatment course is more effective and is less likely to provoke adverse side effects. WHO recommends backing up treatment with active monitoring of drug safety and providing counselling support to help patients complete their course of treatment.
WHO
Available statistics revealed that TB is the world’s top infectious disease killer, claiming 4500 lives each day. The heaviest burden is carried by communities facing socio-economic challenges, those working and living in high-risk settings, the poorest and marginalized.
The recommendations are part of a larger package of actions designed to help countries increase the pace of progress to end tuberculosis (TB) and release in advance of World TB Day.
Speaking on the theme of the 2019 World TB Day, “It’s time to end TB”, Tedros explained the effort of the agency in translating commitments made at the 2018 UN High Level Meeting on TB into actions that ensure everyone who needs TB care can get it.
He further noted that since 2000, 54 million lives have been saved, and Tuberculosis deaths fell by one-third. But 10 million people still fall ill with TB each year, with too many missing out on vital care.
Highlighting the key elements of the new guidelines, Tedros listed them below:
“An accountability framework to coordinate actions across sectors and to monitor and review progress; a dashboard to help countries know more about their own epidemics through real-time monitoring by moving to electronic TB surveillance systems; another is a guide for effective prioritization of planning and implementation of impactful TB interventions based on analyses of patient pathways in accessing care; New WHO guidelines on infection control and preventive treatment for latent TB infection; and lastly a civil society task force to ensure effective and meaningful civil society engagement”.
In his contribution, Director, WHO’s Global TB Programme, Dr Tereza Kasaeva, remarked on the guidance, saying it is a set of pragmatic actions that countries can use to accelerate progress and act on the high-level commitments made in the first-ever UN High Level Meeting on TB last September.
