Experts decry low funding of health sector

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07/06/2013

As Nigeria joined the rest of the world to mark the 2013 World Malaria Day, Kuka Pharmaceuticals, marketer of one of the best anti-malaria drugs in the country (Zeramal QS), has vowed to do everything in its capacity to continue the campaign against the scourge of malaria diseases in the country.

Disclosing this in an interview with pressmen in his office in Lagos recently, Pharm. Chris Ukah, managing director of the company, described malaria as a dreaded disease which people fail to take notice of. He said that malaria is one of the top three killers of children in the developing world, adding that every minute a child dies of malaria.

Speaking further, Pharm. Ukah expressed concern at the report of the World Health Organization (WHO), which stated that in 2010 alone, malaria caused about 660,000 deaths, mostly among African children. He further noted that more than 264,000 of the 660,000 deaths occurred in Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo. He, however, added that, if things are done correctly, malaria is both preventable and curable.

Pharm. Ukah noted that the WHO and Ministry of Health of countries where malaria infestation is endemic have been doing a lot in the fight against malaria, but added that a lot is needed to be done, especially in the area of treatment of malaria.

The Kuka Pharma boss stated that “according to a WHO report, about 300 million cases of malaria are recorded annually, resulting to over a million deaths, of which Africa is said to account for 90 per cent of them, mostly in young children and pregnant mothers.

Quoting extensively from the WHO report, he said: “The huge budget allotted to fighting malaria by authorities in government in Africa constitutes a major drain in public health care expenditure of majority of countries in Africa. For instance, in Nigeria, official statistics estimates that the Federal Government loses over N300 billion annually to the malaria scourge. Therefore, when you talk of the concern it gives Nigerians, I think it is a huge threat to every home and to the social and economic emancipation of countries in Africa. However, efforts currently being made by authorities in the health sector at the global, continental and national circles, through the agency of WHO, are welcome developments towards the eradication of malaria on the continent. Meanwhile, in Nigeria, the efforts of the director-general of NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii, to sanitise the health sector, especially in the area of reducing existence of counterfeit and adulterated drugs, using cutting-edge technologies is also highly commendable.”

While speaking on the theme of the 2013 World Malaria Day “Invest in the future: Defeat malaria,” Pharm. Ukah explained that approximately half of the world’s population is at risk of malaria. He, however, disclosed that Kuka Pharmaceuticals has taken it upon itself to partner with the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN), Pharmaceutical Association of Nigeria Students (PANS), and other relevant health bodies to organise seminars, sensitisation programmes and awareness campaign programmes on the need to live in a malaria-free environment by staying off mosquito bites, proper waste disposal and environmental sanitation.

When asked on the affordability and safety of Zeramal QS, Pharm. Ukah explained that the product is a flagship anti-malaria brand from Kuka Pharmaceuticals. He added that Zeramal Qs was introduced into the Nigerian market late last year and has been well received across the wide spectrum of the Nigerian end users because of its efficacy in the treatment of uncomplicated malaria. “The product is highly affordable and it cannot be faked, as it is covered by Mobile Authentication Service Technology (MAS), which affords end-users to scratch and text the pin on the pack for confirmation.”

Enhancing asthma control in Nigeria

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07/06/2013

On Tuesday, May 7, Nigerians joined the rest of the world to mark the 2013 World Asthma Day.

The annual event is organised by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) and partners to improve asthma awareness and care around the world.

The theme of the 2013 World Asthma Day is: “You Can Control Your Asthma” with GINA introducing a sub-theme, “It’s Time to Control Asthma.”

Asthma is a disease that affects the lungs and causes repeated episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness and nighttime or early morning coughing.

Speaking at an event organised to mark the day in Nigeria, Professor Greg Erhabor, a consultant chest physician at Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife, declared that no fewer than 50 million Nigerians are suffering from asthma, lamenting that the disease had not only become a national problem but an international one.

Prof. Erhabour, who is the president of the Asthma and Chest Care Foundation, a nongovernmental organisation, bemoaned that the Nigerian government was not doing enough on asthma spread, diagnosis and treatment, stressing that past administrations in the country only concerned themselves with the eradication of communicable diseases, while neglecting non-communicable diseases like asthma.

He said that, with the rise in westernisation, cases of the disease had been on the increase in the country.

While the number of Nigerians affected by this health condition is quite contentious because of the absence of reliable data on virtually all health issues in the country, it is quite appropriate to state that the incidence of asthmna, like most of the other non-communicable diseases, is on the rise, and a lot can be done to curb this disease in Nigeria.

According to the Global Burden of asthma report, a compilation of public data on the prevalence and impact of asthma around the world, “an estimated 300 million people worldwide have asthma, and children constitute a reasonable percentage of those afflicted.” According to the report, the prevalence of asthma is increasing throughout the world, especially as communities get urbanised.

Although asthma often runs in the family, and thus can be inherited, there are still other environmental factors that contribute to people developing this condition, and also having asthma attacks, as patients.

For instance, research has proven that smoking during pregnancy increases the chance of a child developing asthma.

It must be stated that, though asthma cannot be cured, with correct treatment, monitoring and avoiding triggers, the disease can be controlled.

A patient’s asthma is under control when he/she has no (or minimal) asthma symptoms, has no (or very infrequent) asthma attacks, has no (or minimal) need to use ‘reliever’ medication and has no need to wake up at night, due to asthma. It also includes the ability of the patient to do normal physical activity and exercise.

Even though asthma is a chronic and lifelong disease, if it is well managed, patients can live life normally. The control of the condition is the goal of treatment and can be achieved in the vast majority of asthma patients, with proper management.

Controlling asthma also means protecting patients from asthma-related triggers and aggravating factors. Factors that aggravate asthma include secondhand tobacco smoke, fumes from vehicles’ exhaust, among others.

To take care of these factors, as well as enhance treatment for the condition, it may be necessary for Nigeria to have a national guideline for asthma control.

The guideline can help in curbing the environmental factors that trigger attacks, as well as set a standard for the management of asthma by physicians in the country.

Government must also ensure uninterrupted and adequate supply of affordable and quality medicines for asthma. Nigerians should not die from this condition because it can be properly managed.

Quite a lot should also be done on education. Education on the health condition should be for both care givers and patients.

Physicians should be able to educate patients living with this chronic condition on how to manage it and thus be able to stay out of hospital wards.

As the 2013 World Asthma Day GINA sub-theme states, “It’s Time to Control Asthma.”

Making research- industry partnership work (R&D)

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07/06/2013

The rise of a global knowledge economy has intensified the need for strategic partnerships between universities and the industry. It is true that the business of tomorrow would wear an academic gown. Such partnerships should be designed to run longer, invest more, look farther ahead and enhance the competitiveness of companies, universities and the state economies within which they operate. These partnerships seek to transform the role of the research university/organisation in the 21st century, anchoring it as a vital centre of competence, to help tackle social challenges and drive economic growth.

In the West African region, our task is to first make this belief possible, to find champions of change, showcase models that worked, adapt these models to our unique setting and to demonstrate that we have something to offer and that we could do so profitably.

The West African Pharmaceutical Innovation Project (WAPIP) is a joint venture private sector driven initiative whose mandate is to drive the development of active and effective linkages between the pharmaceutical industry and research organisations within the West African region. The project executes the West African Pharmaceutical Innovation Awards (WAPIP AWARDS) and also provides the necessary apparatus for an effective integration of business development services in pharmaceutical research undertakings.

Achieving effective research-industry partnership is a big leap. It requires each side to engage far beyond the conventional exchange of research for funding. When they work well, strategic partnerships merge the discovery-driven culture of the university with the innovation-driven environment of the company. To make this chemistry work, each side must overcome the cultural and communications divide that tends to impair industry- university partnerships of all types and undercut their potential.

The team at WAPIP seeks to address the challenge of bridging the pharmaceutical industry-university divide by highlighting what makes universities/research organisations attractive as industry partners, what structures make for excellent partnerships and what approach produces seamless interactions. These would be done within our unique circumstances.

No doubt a challenging task, the project seeks to build on a growing pool of academic research about the state of industry-university collaborations. One of such is from that summarised in the report presented by the Science Business Innovation Board in Europe. (see www.wapip.org)

WAPIP OBJECTIVES

To create ownership for pharmaceutical innovation amongst industry, research organisations, government and other stakeholders.
To develop guidelines for the development of effective pharmaceutical research-industry collaborations.
To create and manage an annual Pharmaceutical Innovation Awards programme for research undertakings that meet certain guidelines within various categories.
To promote the need for an effective integration of business development services in everyday operations of public and private research organisations.
To help create and maintain a database of potential innovations within the West African pharmaceutical industry and to promote the commercialisation of such innovations.
To provide the platform for the development of bio-entrepreneurs and acquisition of skills required for financial and knowledge management within the pharmaceutical industry.
To help would-be-researchers find collaborative relationships with other researchers and obtain support from the industry.
To contribute to the growth of the West African economy through a thriving African Phyto-Pharmaceutical Industry.

SERVICE AREAS

As a company limited by guarantee, WAPIP would offer business advisory services to client organisationsto help achieve research-industry collaborations in four major areas:

a. Collaborations that impact teaching and learning for both research and industry.

b. Collaborations that develop new funding streams for research organisations.

c. Collaborations that help rethink the role of the research institution or university.

d. Strategic collaborations.

Specific business service offerings would include project management services on:

a. Research contract for product development, quality control studies, pre-clinical and clinical studies,etc.

b. Collaborative research and subsequent licensing for commercialisation (e.g. pilot scale studies and clinical trials).

c. Licensing and commercialisation of existing research products.

Business Advisory

The WAPIP Business Advisory Unit is managed by Onel Consults Limited in collaboration with other partners in the project. The unit is essentially a consultancy unit that provides the requisite business, legal and technical skill set that would be required in translating products of research to useful products on the shelves.

The Business Advisory Unit provides trainings and consultancy services on intellectual property right issues, research-industry collaborations, product development and commercialisation. Other services include the creation of business plans, spin-off companies, marketing studies and agency services for the provision of seed financing and venture investments.

Working as a network of business development and management consultants, researchers, clinicians,lawyers and venture financing experts, the unit is such that would help create the effective linkages required for a successful research-industry partnership.

HUMAN RESOURCE

In Nigeria, the defunct Xechem Nigeria Pharmaceutical Ltd in partnership with the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) showed with NICOSAN™ that Nigeria could develop and manufacture herbal medicine with global acceptance. NICOSAN™ attained orphan drug status in the EU and in the USA. It is reported to be much safer than Hydroxyurea (Hydrea®), the only other popularly available medication that can decrease the frequency of painful crises in adults and children with the sickle cell anaemia disease. This fact cannot be overstated. No doubt, there are present challenges but the implications of some similar results in this manner would tremendously change the landscape and the mind set of pharmaceutical endeavour in Nigeria.

The major milestone in the course of the discovery of NICOSAN™ was the clinical trial establishing its safety and efficacy in human beings. These clinical trials were conducted in Nigeria and in the United States of America. In Nigeria, clinical trials are the major hindrance to developing herbal medicines that are globally acceptable and which can be prescribed by physicians. With a robust regulatory structure, very large population and relatively cheaper operational cost, it is safe to say that Nigeria is a good destination for clinical trials. Though the cost of organising a clinical trial is high, a proactive thrust focusing on robust public-private collaborations would go a long way in overcoming the limitations.

At the centre of these noble intentions is capacity development. People drive research-industry partnerships; people lead research organisations, universities and industry. There is therefore the need for us to have sufficient faith to compel action, to harbour a clear vision and the will to persevere; to persevere at relevant capacity development and proactive collaboration.

The late Chief M.K.O Abiolarecognised this need and in 1990 sponsored a trip to China for some top professionals in the Nigerian pharmaceutical research and development industry. Then he foresaw a nation that could garner great economic muscle from her medicinal plants, while meeting her healthcare needs. The four-man team was led by the late Dr. Fred Adenika (a pharmacist and the first chairman of the board of NIPRD), who later wrote a book on the China experience and the Nigerian challenge (Developing Traditional Medicine in Nigeria, Lessons from China 1990).Years later, NIPRD via NICOSAN™ showed that this was not a wasted investment, though we are yet to reach the zenith.

A Chinese proverb says that “the journey of a thousand miles starts with but one step.”This is no doubt an uncertain journey of discovery and knowledge. It promises to be long, exhausting and often frustrating; but ultimately, one hopes it would be rewarding and fruitful. Though we must caution ourselves not to expect miracles, we however know that in Africa, the impossible is possible.

Pharmacists should see one another as brothers and sisters – Pharm. Akinbile

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06/06/2013

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By Adebayo Oladejo

Pharmacists across the nation have been advised to see one another as brothers and sisters, whether community, hospital, academic or industrial pharmacists, adding that they belong to the same large family and that the future of the profession depends on how they handle their internal differences.

Pharm. Adebambo Akinbile, chairman, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Osun State Chapter, made the call recently in an exclusive interview with Pharmanews.

Pharm. Akinbile, who is also the chief pharmacist, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Health Centre, Ile-Ife, also advised that the 86^th PSN annual conference holding in Kwara State should not be a jamboree, stressing that all motions written should be debated and thrashed out. He added that the issue of allowing hospital and academic pharmacists to operate restricted community pharmacies should be thoroughly debated and an appropriate decision taken. He explained that dodging or suppressing an issue like that is a time bomb that may negatively impact the profession in the future.

Below is a full text of the interview.

Please, can you tell us a bit about yourself, including your academic background?

My name is Adebambo Akinbile. I am 41 years old and from Ikire, Osun State, Nigeria. I went to Baptist Primary School, Fatima College, Ikire, Nigeria. I graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University Ile – Ife in 1994 and also went back for a Masters in Public Health and graduated in 2010.I am currently a chief pharmacist at OAU Health Centre, Ile-Ife, Osun State.

What are those things you hope to achieve before the end of your tenure as PSN Chairman?

As Chairman of PSN, I hope to be able to raise the bar in responsible and committed service to the society. I organised the best PSN week, so far, in the history of the state. The programme was graced by the presence of five traditional rulers led by HRM Oba OlatundeFalabi, Akire of Ikireland FPSN. The speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. Oyeleke Ogunsola and the chairman, House Committee on Health for the State of Osun were also in attendance. I hope to replicate this in next year’s edition. I also hope to complete the PSN house by the end of my tenure.

After your election as PSN chairman, what are the changes you noticed in the society?

One of my members, Alhaji Pharm. Olufemi Ismail Adebayo, became the national chairman of ACPN. Two of our members also got elected as the vice chairman and PRO of NAHAP. Thirdly, Pharm. Mrs Omolara Ajayi became the permanent secretary of the Hospitals’ Management Board. Also, participation in activities of the society has increased.The Association of Lady Pharmacists has been reinvigorated by the election of Pharm Bose Ibikunle as the chairperson.

Presently, what are the major challenges facing pharmacists in your state?

The major challenges include the reluctance of some pharmacists in the state to register, due to their belief that they do not need the licence to practise. Many also do not see the reason why hospital and academic pharmacists cannot practise community pharmacy after closing from work, while people who are barely literate operate community pharmacies, masquerading as patent medicine shops.

In terms of membership participation, have you been getting the needed cooperation?

The cooperation has been massive. I want to thank the Fellows of the Society in the state for their support. Also, I give kudos to Hon. Leke Ogunsola for his support during the last conference in Abeokuta. He single-handedly bore the cost of transportation for majority of the delegates to Abeokuta. Also, His Royal Majesty, the Akire of Ikireland, Oba Olatunde Falabi, Lambeloye (III) FPSN, has been a pillar of support. I must not fail to mention numerous pharmaceutical companies who have partnered with us. Also, the Association of Lady Pharmacists (ALPS) has embarked on a radio programme to enlighten the people about public health.

What do you think pharmacists have been doing right or wrong that needs to be addressed in the campaign against fake drugs?

Fake drugs cannot be eliminated, as long as the open drug markets are still thriving. The distribution network has to be perfected for fake drugs to be eliminated. Also, I look forward to a time that drugs will solely be handled by pharmacists who are the true drug custodians, and nobody else. Drug manufacturing companies should resist the temptation of dumping drugs in open markets. Pharmacists should also come together to operate mega drug distribution outlets.

Many people have canvassed for stiffer penalties to be meted out to drug counterfeiters. Do you support the motion?

Yes, for it to serve as a deterrent, it is important to make the penalties stiffer. In some countries like China, it is the death penalty because a counterfeiter kills people in thousands.

What is your expectation of the 86^th PSN annual national conference coming up in Kwara State this November?

The 86^th PSN annual conference should not be a jamboree. All motions written should be debated and thrashed out. I am still hopeful that the issue of allowing hospital and academic pharmacists to operate restricted community pharmacies would be thoroughly debated and an appropriate decision taken. A hospital and academic pharmacist, who operates after closing from work, is a blessing to his/her community. Dodging or suppressing the issue is a time bomb that may scatter the profession in the future.

Are there ways by which this conference can be improved for better participation, if we are to use past outings as a reference point?

The conference can be improved by devoting a whole day for village meeting and Annual General Meeting (AGM); every motion should be debated and passed on merit and there should be no sentiment. Exhibition of drugs should be limited, as some people are only interested in buying drugs during the conference.

Finally, your advice for pharmacists (young and old) in Nigeria…

My advice is for pharmacists to see one another as brothers and sisters; whether community, hospital, academic or industrial pharmacists, we belong to the same large family. The future of the profession depends on how we handle our internal differences. I pray for the new president, Pharm. Olumide Akintayo FPSN, that God will give him the desired wisdom to pilot the affairs of the society. The time to tell ourselves the truth is now.

Pharm. Adebambo Akinbile

NMCN tasks nurses on professional excellence amidst challenges

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06/06/2013

By TemitopeObayendo

The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) has charged all nurses across the country to aim at achieving professional excellence, amidst several challenges rocking the profession, which are capable of distracting the nurses from their core responsibility as caregivers in the society.

NMCN representative, Ms Ijeoma Ohajuru, made this remark, while addressing nurse leaders in Lagos at the 3^rd interactive forum for nurse leaders in Lagos State, organised by Healthy Living Communications, which was held at the Nigerian Institute for Medical Research (NIMR),Yaba, Lagos, on April 19^th, 2013.

Attesting to the fact that technological advancement is on the rise in the health care delivery system where the nurse is a key player, she said professional excellence in nursing would only be achievable through Professional Development Programmes (PDP), as these encourage nurses to apply learning directly to their field of practice.

She defined professional development as “the conscious updating of professional knowledge and the improvement of professional competence throughout a person’s work life.”

Since PDP is a must for every nurse to attain professional excellence, she highlighted the various means through which this could be obtained to include:in-house courses and external courses, which are further divided into: work-based learning; distance learning programmes; self-directed private study; preparation and delivery of lectures and presentations; attendance at lectures; seminars or conferences.

“The sole essence of PDP is to assist nurses in the continued acquisition of new knowledge, extension of professional responsibilities, expansion of personal skills and the improvement of problem solving approaches in profession” she explained.

Encouraging nurses to overlook their challenges, while striving to attain professional excellence, she enumerated some of the difficulties encountered in the process of professional development to include shortage of manpower, inadequate infrastructure, poor remuneration, hostile work environment and lack of academic backing for graduates of hospital based programme.

She also added that this PDP is mandatory for all nurses, especially those in government employment, because the renewal of their licenses will not be possible, except they have undertaken at least two modules within three years.

Speaking on the topic “The challenges of the nurse leaders today”, Mrs A.O. Oluwatayo, a retired matron, urged younger nurses to upgrade their academic portfolio by going for their degrees and masters in nursing science, adding that this will serve as a great relief to the shortage of human resources currently delaying the commencement of the colleges of nursing.

Oluwatayo, who recalled from the last nurse leaders conference she attended, said the commencement of the colleges of nursing was one of the main issues discussed, and the major factor delaying this operation is the lack of nurses to serve as lecturers in the colleges. Thus, she encouraged as many nurses as possible, who are still agile, to upgrade themselves for this purpose and others.

On the roles of nurse leaders in the hospital, she highlighted them as follows: envisioning goals, affirming values, motivating, managing, achieving workable unity, explaining, modeling and renewing.

Earlier, Mr. Emmanuel Oriakhi, managing director, Healthy Living Communications, appreciated the nurses for attending the conference, despite their tight schedules and assignments. He said the issues of focus in the forum have been geared towards uplifting nursing practitioners and the nursing profession, as a whole.

“I have received several testimonies of how many lives have been transformed professionally by the issues discussed at this forum. Of particular note is the awareness on the need for nurses to improve their education, as a way of not only advancing professionally, but also competing and coping with other healthcare professionals,” he remarked.

L-R, Ms Ijeoma Ohajuru, NMCN representative, Mr. Emmanuel Oriakhi, managing director, Healthy Living Communications, and Mrs A.O. Oluwatayo at the event.

New Heights Pharmaceuticals donates Omron devices worth N1.4m to Lagos State Government

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06/06/2013

It was a beehive of activities at Adeyemi Bero Auditorium in Alausa Secretariat, Lagos venue of the three-day free hypertension, blood sugar, weight and cholesterol test jointly organised by the Lagos State Government in and New Heights Pharmaceuticals, official partner of Omron health devices in Nigeria.

The exercise, which commenced from 8^th April, 2013, attracted hundreds of civil servants in various ministries at the government house and environs.

Speaking with newsmen, Pharm. Ogheneochuko Omaruaye, managing director of New Heights Pharmaceuticals, declared that despite the fact that 16 million Nigerian adults are suffering from hypertension, about 92 per cent of the population is ignorant of their status.

The pharmacist made this disclosure during the donation of several blood pressure monitors worth N1.4m to the Lagos State Primary Care Board, in commemoration of the 2013 World Health Day in Lagos.

According to Omaruaye, the idea behind the free medical check-up and donation of blood pressure monitors is in tandem with the World Health Organisation (WHO) call for intensified efforts to prevent and control high bloodpressure.

“High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure. All over the world, one in three adults has high blood pressure. In Nigeria, 16 million adults are estimated to be hypertensive and 92 per cent are not even aware.

“We havetherefore decided to add our voice to the campaign for proper monitoring of blood pressure through associating with the Lagos State Ministry of Health and the Primary Health Board,” Omaruaye said.

Curbing the spread of preventable diseases

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06/06/2013

By Gracia Obi

Why do two million children still die yearly from diseases that could be prevented at a cost of less than 30 dollars (N4,500) per child in Nigeria? Gracia Obi finds answers to the question.

As Nigeria is proving tough in the fight towards polio eradication, a World Health Organization (WHO) official, Mr. Ray Nihat, stressed that, considering the amount of money involved, there could be no other alternative than curbing the spread of preventable diseases.

To this effect, Nihar stressed that WHO would issue a standing recommendation to all nations under the International Health Regulations to make tangible efforts to curb the spread of the diseases through prompt interventions.

As regards polio, media reports indicate that although only Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan are known as polio affected countries, Angola, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan are also suspected of having some polio infections.

Therefore Nihar said that, as part of efforts to ensure the total eradication of the disease, Nigerians traveling abroad would be compelled to take the oral polio vaccine from May.

“Children and adults traveling out of Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan must be certified as having been vaccinated against polio, to reduce the substantial risk of the virus spreading to polio-free countries,” he said.

In spite of this proactive measure, medical experts insist that the best way to fight polio in Nigeria is by expanding the polio immunisation coverage, adding that vaccine-preventable diseases account for 22 per cent of child deaths in the country.

Unfortunately, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that one-third of children in polio affected countries do not have access to vaccines, insisting that a child has the right to be protected against preventable diseases.

UNICEF notes that efforts to meet the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of reducing child mortality, improving maternal health and reversing the spread of killer diseases remain a paramount health concern.

In the light of this development, stakeholders at the 2012 National Vaccine Summit in Abuja unanimously voiced concern about the high mortality rate among Nigerian children, due to diseases which could have been prevented through vaccination.

In his speech at the summit, Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), noted that lack of public awareness was one of the factors impeding vaccination programmes, calling on stakeholders to educate the public on its benefits.

“It is essential that we all join hands; government at all levels, the private sector, non-governmental organisations, development partners, traditional and religious institutions, to educate our people on the benefits of vaccination,” he said.

“Dispelling false rumours and beliefs, mobilising the necessary resources for vaccination and monitoring the entire process of vaccination are essential for child survival.”

However, the minister of state for health, Dr. Muhammed Pate, told the gathering that the increased immunisation coverage of the country had led to a reduction in the occurrence of vaccine-preventable diseases.

“Measles, which used to ravage our communities, particularly during the hot season, is now much reduced; thanks to integrated measles campaign efforts,” he said.

“Cerebrospinal meningitis, which affected more than 55,000 Nigerians in early 2009, was reduced to less than 1,000 in 2011 and very limited cases have so far been recorded in 2012.”

Pate underscored the importance which the Federal Government attached to its vaccination programme, saying that in 2011, it earmarked N6 billion in the budget for the national vaccination programme.

All the same, Dr. Ado Mohammed, the executive director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), stressed that the country’s vaccination efforts were still facing some challenges.

He listed some of the challenges as dwindling international funding, capacity and infrastructure, logistics, cold chain maintenance and human resource constraints, among others.

“However, efforts are going on to provide plausible solutions to some of the formidable security challenges affecting the polio campaign in some parts of Nigeria.

“We are engaging traditional rulers and religious leaders, as well as all the stakeholders in finding pragmatic solutions to the problem,” he said.

Mohammed said that the NPHCDA was strengthening its routine immunization programme, adding that other ailments, such as measles and malaria, would be included in the programme.

“The agency will continue to partner with all the security agencies and security cover will henceforth be given to polio vaccinators across the country,” he said.

Sharing similar sentiments, the minister of health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, said that the Federal Government was committed to curbing vaccine-preventable deaths in the country.

Speaking at the signing ceremony of N440 million-grant from Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to strengthen routine immunisation in Nigeria, the minister said that efforts had been doubled to safeguard children from deaths arising from preventable diseases.

“There are challenges in the area of polio and other areas but we are determined that by December, there will be zero transmission of wild polio virus,” he said.

The assurances notwithstanding, Mr. Jacques Boyer, the deputy country representative of UNICEF in Nigeria, emphasised that, although Nigeria had made significant progress in boosting child survival strategies, a lot still had to be done in that regard.

“While Nigeria has made significant progress in reducing child mortality rate, some key challenges still remain, and these ought to be addressed, if Nigeria is to achieve the health-related MDGs.

“Childhood killer diseases are still prevalent and vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles, tetanus and whooping cough, are among the major causes of child mortality.

“The level of child mortality can be reduced with simple interventions such as immunisation, which is a very cost-effective child survival strategy,” he noted.

Nevertheless, Boyer said that UNICEF was working to strengthen the country’s immunisation activities via improved cold chain and logistics systems.

He, however, stressed that for Nigeria to reduce under-five deaths, integrated packages of primary health services must be made available to the citizens, particularly women and children.

Boyer, nonetheless, noted that the JICA grants would support the facilitation and monitoring of health sector performance, so as to ensure that children who were currently not immunised were reached by 2013.

Commenting on the JICA grant, Mr. Ryuichi Shoji, the Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, said that his country was a signatory to an agreement on the polio victims in the past decade.

Japan has also contributed to the malaria prevention programme in Nigeria by providing 2.5 million dollars (about N400 million) through UNICEF this year,” he said.

In spite of the foreign grants, donations or interventions, experts hold the view that an effective campaign against polio should entail efforts to tackle perceptible challenges facing the campaign.

They note that such challenges include inadequate vaccination, total refusal of some parents to vaccinate their children and certain religious beliefs, among others.

The experts, nonetheless, insist that pragmatic efforts should be made to address these challenges, as part of the strategies put in place to attain universal vaccine coverage for all Nigerian children by 2015.

The Drugs We Wash Away: Pharmaceuticals, Drinking Water and the Environment

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Solomon Ojigbo

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03/06/2013

You may have read in the press about medicines, like antibiotics and the pill, being found in rivers and lakes, and even in drinking water. Is this true? How do drugs get there, and do they have effects? Is there anything being done to address this? Can I do anything to help?
The animation gives answers to these questions and explains the processes involved. It was conceived for a general educated public with no prior knowledge of the issue, and was funded by the EU within the research project PHARMAS (http://www.ecologic.eu/4276).

Concept and Production: Rodrigo Vidaurre (http://www.ecologic.eu/1566) and Melanie Kemper (http://www.ecologic.eu/498) , Ecologic Institute (http://www.ecologic.eu/)
Script: Rodrigo Vidaurre, Melanie Kemper, Nicolas de Leval Jezierski (http://www.behance.net/nicolasjezierski)
Direction and Animation: Nicolas de Leval Jezierski
Sound Design and Music: Michał Krajczok (http://www.talking-animals.com/the-animals/michal-krajczok.html), Talking Animals (http://www.talking-animals.com/)
Voice-over: Steve Taylor (http://www.voice-pool.com/en/english-voice-over/taylor.html), Voice Pool (http://www.voice-pool.com/en/ )
Funding: European Commission, DG Research & Innovation (http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm)
Language: English
Date: June 2013
Length: 3:46 min

Further information:

“Pharmaceuticals in Drinking-Water”, WHO report, © World Health Organisation, 2012.
http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/2011/pharmaceuticals/en/

“Pharmaceuticals in the Environment — Why Should We Care?”, Daughton C.G. and Ruhoy I.S., 2010. http://www.epa.gov/esd/bios/daughton/IWA-2010.pdf

PHARMAS project website: http://www.pharmas-eu.net/

Keywords: drug, medicine, medication, pharmaceutical, product, substance, water, drinking water, tap water, environmental water, water body, river, lake, exposure, concentration, risk, impact, effect, health, human, environment, pollution, aquatic, wildlife, animal, fish, feminization, ecosystem, prevention, antibiotics, the pill, self-medication, wastewater treatment, sanitation, toilet, pharmacy, disposal

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Concentration Follows Commitment

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01/06/2013

In 1975 a pharmaceutical company interviewed me for the position of marketing manager. During the interview, I brought out a copy of the Nigerian Journal of Pharmacy, the official organ of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), of which I was the editor. I explained to the manager that I was the editor of the journal and did not want to take up any job that would not allow me to continue editing the journal. If he accepted that, then I would work for the company. He hesitated and eventually said, “I can see you are very much committed to PSN and the journal.” “Yes,” I replied, “I promised to handle the journal and I don’t want to let the Society down.” I believe that the manager might have been thinking that this person who is so committed to working for what he is not paid should be the right person to be employed. A letter of appointment was quickly prepared for me. When you are committed to a cause, people and resources follow you.

The following year, I asked my boss for permission to travel to Monrovia, Liberia, for the inauguration of the West African Pharmaceutical Federation (WAPF) in October. He simply replied, “I know you’re committed to the PSN. You should go.” I earned his respect because of my commitment to something of interest to me.

The same commitment was passed on to my own publication when I started Pharmanews in 1979. Sometimes, I think that Pharmanews is even a reward for my dedication to the PSN journal. It is a spiritual law that if you take good care of other people’s business, God will provide you your own and also take care of it. Some employees willfully run down their employer’s business and drain the company, to accumulate capital for their own personal business. This is simply sowing a bad seed which will naturally produce bad fruits.

Commitment brings about concentration and concentration follows commitment. Look for the activities you give quality time, interest and devotion. You are committed to those activities and they will bring about remarkable results in your life and account for your success.

My understanding of concentration started in the chemistry laboratory in the secondary school. We were severely warned to be very careful with concentrated acids, especially sulphuric acid and hydrochloric acid used in experiments. You dare not allow ‘conc’ acid to drop on your skin or clothes, or you would experience a serious burn. Therefore, they were handled with utmost care. I have seen in the dailies people whose faces were burnt with concentrated acid, beyond recognition, by their spouses or friends. In such cases, plastic surgeons must perform as much restorative surgery as possible but the face can never be fully recovered. Concentration brings about a powerful result, good or bad.

Drinkers know the difference between spirits, wines and beer. Spirits contain alcohol between 20% and 70%; wines between 15% and 22%; while beer contains 3% and 10%. If you drink intoxicating drinks, as I used to do, you know how you feel and behave when you consume beer, wine or spirits at different occasions. The difference is just the concentration of alcohol. There is power in concentration. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Concentration is the secret of strength.”

If you want to think deeply, you need to focus and concentrate on the subject. Avoid distractions. Don’t scatter your thoughts. Charles F. Hannel said, “Thought is energy. Active thought is active energy; concentrated thought is a concentrated energy. Thought concentrated on a definite purpose becomes power.” The most successful people are those who have the habit of concentrating on a single thing at a time, instead of spreading their efforts over many areas.

The habit of concentration helps you to listen well and remember what you see and hear. Can any student who does not make serious efforts to concentrate during lectures ever hope to perform well in the exams?

One factor that promotes relationship is the ability to remember names of people. When someone introduces himself, pay attention to his name. If possible, relate the name immediately to what you can easily remember. Personally, I like to attach meanings to names or ask for the correct pronunciation or spelling. Asking someone more about his name shows you are interested in him. Such concentration on someone’s name assures you of a good memory for recalling names of people.

How do you feel when someone you met casually many years backremembers your name and pronounces it well? If you do so for other people, then you will not lack friends.

Do you exactly know what you want from life? Have you made a definite plan to achieve it? Then concentrate on your goals with great determination. Be committed. Vince Lombardi said, “The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavour.”

I was at a gathering some months ago and someone strangerecognised me and came close to greet me. I looked at him with suspicion, knowing that fraudsters approach people pretending to be friends. He noticed my reaction and quickly said to me, “You will not remember me but I was in your office in Maryland sometime in 1980to discuss adverts in your magazine. Is that magazine still on?” I then relaxed and told him that Pharmanews is still very much alive.
He expressed surprise that I have been able to get it going all these years. Jokingly, I told him that is the only thing I know how to do. Andrew Carnegie once advised: “Put all your eggs in one basket. Then stand by to see that no one kicks the basket over.” This is devotion, commitment and concentration. Haruki Murakami said, “The power to concentrate is the most important thing. Living without this power would be like opening one’s eyes without seeing anything.”

Nature’s way to beauty and health

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31/05/2013

(By Florence Udoh)

Most chemical laden products available in the market are snatching away your skin’s natural radiance and glow. Some African women spend a lot of money on beauty products that only damage the skin. Tomatoes, lemons, gram flour and cucumber can make your face beautiful instantly. Get that glow back on your face with these natural beauty tips writes FLORENCE UDOH with an interview with a dermatologist at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Dr.Abiose Longe.

Cleanse, Tone and Moisturise Daily

The rule of thumb for flawless facial skin still remains a regular cleansing, toning and moisturising routine. When it comes to cleansing, rose water is the best cleansing agent. Take cotton wool, dab it with rose water and apply it on the face to feel fresh and clean immediately. Cleansing your face twice a day will prevent breakout of pimples. Always make it a point to follow your cleansing routine by toning. Tulsi water is a great nourishing toner and you can use it with a piece of cotton wool. Now, make a mixture of onion juice, multanimitti and honey. Use this as a natural moisturiser to bring back freshness and glow on your face.

Use lime juice as a scrub

Mix lime juice with sweet almond oil and sea salt. Use your fingers or a cotton wool and apply it on your face in a circular motion. This natural scrub will remove dead cells from your face, giving a radiant glow. Lime peel also aids in fading scars and pimple marks from the face.

Use besan (gram flour) to get rid of tan

To treat sunburns, you may apply a mixture of one spoon of besan (gram flour) and two tablespoons of curd on your face. Let it dry for half an hour and rinse off with cold water. This face mask is a great aid in making your skin clear, soft and glowing naturally. For sensitive skin, mix curd with this mixture and cleanse the sun-tanned skin with the paste.

Cucumber – A wonderful beauty aid

If you want a happy skin, then cucumber is the answer. You may improve your complexion by applying a paste of cucumber mixed with raw milk. It will take 15 minutes for cucumber juice to seep into your skin, then wash off with fresh water. It also helps in soothing and softening your skin.

Tomato – An antioxidant power blast

Tomatoes are great anti-oxidants. For wrinkle-free skin, mash two large tomatoes and apply evenly on your face. Rinse off after 20 minutes with cold water. To make a paste, use one-day-old curd and mix with a tomato pulp. Apply this face pack daily in the morning to reveal a brighter and sparkling fresh complexion.

Treat oily skin with tomatoes

Tomatoes are great for the skin as they have cooling and astringent properties. They are naturally acidic, so they help balance the skin and get rid of excessive oil. Evenly apply tomato pulp on your face. Let it dry for 15 minutes and wash your face with warm water.

Use cucumber and lemon for removing blemishes

To naturally remove blackheads and have a fairer skin, prepare a paste with equal amounts of cucumber juice and lemon juice. Apply this paste on your face and neck before taking bath. Let your skin absorb it for at least 10 minutes. With regular use, you will notice lesser blackheads and a fairer skin tone.

Natural face pack for dry skin

If you have dry and rough facial skin, prepare a paste of equal amount of mashed muskmelon, pumpkin, cucumber and watermelon. Blend the mixture with milk cream and apply it on your face. Leave the paste to dry for one hour and rinse it using plain water. It lifts away the dry skin, giving a fresh vibrant look to your skin.

How to close pores naturally

Cut an apple into thin slices. Place these on the face and leave for 15 minutes. These soak up the extra oil and help to close pores. You may even make paste of apple peel, honey, vinegar and a dash of multanimitti. Apply for 30 minutes and rinse off with rose water. Your skin will visibly tighten and will develop a healthy, radiant glow.

Pamper yourself with these basics

Water and good sleep are natural facial beauty enhancers.10 to 12 glasses of water per day and six to eight hours of sleep everyday is essential for your skin to revitalise and repair damaged tissues. Set reasonable limits, scale back your to-do list and make time to do the things you enjoy, and remember to smile often and frown less. It will help in curing acne breakouts and other skin problems.

Restricting your consumption of oily and fatty foods, beside the use of the above mentioned beauty tips, would further ensure a naturally gorgeous complexion and spotless facial skin.

Stunting in children can be prevented – UNICEF

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31/05/2013

(By Gracia Obi)

UNICEF has said that remarkable progress has been made in the fight against stunted growth on the hidden face of poverty for 165 million children under the age of five.

According to the agency, stunting in a child is not only about being too short for his or her age, but it means suffering from stunted development of the brain and cognitive capacity.

“Stunting can kill opportunities in life for a child and kill opportunities for development of a nation,” said UNICEF’s Executive Director, Anthony Lake, stressing that “globally, one in four of all children under five is stunted.”

Lake attributed stunting to chronic under-nutrition in crucial periods of growth, revealing that an estimated 80 per cent of the world’s stunted children lived in 14 countries.

He explained that the damage done to a child’s body and brain by stunting “is irreversible, as it drags down performance at school and future earnings,” adding: “it is an injustice often passed from generation to generation that cuts away at national development”.

UNICEF’s media affairs officer, Samuel Kaalu, said in the progress report statement that stunted children were more at a higher risk of dying from infectious diseases than other children.

Intertek Prescribed drugs – Whitehouse, New Jersey

By

Solomon Ojigbo

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31/05/2013

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Intertek Pharmaceutical Providers (Whitehouse, NJ) is a contract consulting analytical laboratory that has been serving the pharmaceutical, biotech and allied industries for over 20 years. Specializing within the pre-approval stage of the drug improvement life cycle, Intertek excels in a wide selection of drug merchandise, formulations, gadgets and supply methods. Intertek’s analytical lab in Whitehouse, NJ additionally makes a speciality of analysis and classical approaches to extractable and leachable research. For extra data, go to: http://www.intertek.com/pharmaceutical/evaluation/whitehouse-nj/

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EVERYTHING BIG STARTS WITH SOMETHING LITTLE

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31/05/2013

All of God’s great people in the Bible were faithful in the small things. In Matthew 25 Jesus told the parable of the talents. In it He referred to the one servant who had taken his master’s money and multiplied it. In verse 23, his master said to that man, “…Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” In Zechariah 4:10, the Lord asks the prophet, “For who hath despised the day of small things?” There is a powerful principle in taking small steps.

Many people are not moving with God today simply because they were not willing to take the small steps He placed before them. If you have received a call into any particular area, you should leap at the opportunity – no matter how small – to move in the direction in which the Lord has called you. If you are called to be a youth pastor, and are sitting at home waiting for an invitation from some large church, you should know that it will never come. You need to find the first young person you can, put your arm around him, and begin to minister to him.

Don’t be afraid to take small steps. The Bible promises us that if we are faithful in small matters, one day we will be rulers over many larger things.

The impossible, many times, is just simply the untried.

I can remember a time in my life when I was literally frozen with fear at what God had called me to do. It seemed so huge a task that I was unable to bring myself to face it. A friend came to me and spoke two words that broke that paralysis in my life. He said simply, “Do something!” If you are at a point of paralysis in your life because of what God wants you to do, the word for you today is “Do something!” Don’t worry about the goal, just take the steps that take you past the starting point and soon you’ll get to a point of no return. As you climb higher, you’ll be able to see much farther.

We should all learn to grow wherever we’re planted.

As you begin, don’t be afraid. Eric Hoffer said: “Fear of becoming a has-been keeps some people from becoming anything.” Every great idea is impossible from where you are starting today. But little goals add up, and they add up rapidly. Most people don’t succeed because they are too afraid, even to try. They don’t begin because of that old fear of failure.

Many times, the final goal seems so unreachable that it keeps us from even making an effort. But, once you’ve made your decision and have started, you are more than half-way there. God will begin with you today – no matter what your circumstances. Just think how thankful you would be if you lost everything you have right now and then got it all back again. Wouldn’t you be ready to go? Choose to think eternally, but act daily.

Culled from AN ENEMY CALLED AVERAGE by JOHN L. MASON

Associate with the Right People

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31/05/2013

Your outlook upon life, your estimate of yourself, your estimate of your value are largely coloured by your environment. Your whole career will be modified, shaped, molded by your surroundings, by the character of the people with whom you come in contact every day. – ORISON SWETT MARDEN

Everything in life and business is relationships. Everything you accomplish or fail to accomplish will be bound up with other people in some way. Your ability to form the right relationships with the right people at every stage of your life and career will be the critical determinant of your success and achievement and will have an inordinate impact on how quickly you achieve your goals.

The more people you know, and who know you in a positive way, the more successful you will be at anything you attempt. One person, at the right time, in the right place, can open a door for you that can change your life and save you years of hard work.

No One Does It Alone

A key part of goal setting is for you to identify the people, groups and organisations whose help you will require to achieve your goals. To accomplish goals of any kind, you will need the help oflots of people. Who are they?

There are three general categories of people whose help and cooperation you will require in the years ahead. These are the people in and around your business, your family and friends, and people in groups and organisations outside your business or social circle. You need to develop a strategy to work effectively with each group.

Your Key Business Relationships

Start with your business. Who are the most important people in your business life? What is your plan to develop higher quality relationships with them? Make a list of everyone who works inside and outside of your business – yourboss, colleagues, coworkers, subordinates, and especially, your customers, suppliersand vendors. Which of these people have the greater ability to help you or hurt you in the achievement of your business or career goals?

Sometimes, I ask my audiences how many of the people present are in customer service? Only a few hands go up. I then point out that everyone is in the business of customer service, no matter what they call it or what they do.

Identify Your Customers

A customer can be defined as anyone who you depend upon for success and advancement in your job or business. A customer can also be defined as anyone who depends on you in any way. By this pair of definitions, almost everyone around you is a customer in some way.

For example, your boss is your primary customer at work. Your ability to satisfy your boss will have more of an impact on your future, your income, and your career than any other single skill you have. If you displease everyone else but your boss is delighted with you, you will be safe and secure in your job. If you please everyone inside and outside your company but your boss is unhappy with you, that problem alone can short-circuit your future.

Your Customer Service Strategy

One ofthe best-strategies you can use is to make a list of everything that you believe that you have been hired to do. Answer the question, “Why am I on the payroll?” And write down everything you can think of. Then, take this list to your boss and ask your boss to organise this list in order of his or her priority. What is most important to your boss? What is second most important? What is third most important? And so on.

From that moment onward, discipline yourself to work on your boss’s top task all day long. Make sure that whenever your boss sees you or talks to you, you are working on what he or she has told you is his or her top priority for you. This will do more to help you in your career than any other single decision you make.

Two Key Qualities for Promotability

Inasurveyreported in Success Magazine, a few years ago, 104 chief executive officers were presented with twenty qualities of an ideal employee and asked to select the most important. Eight-six percent of the senior executives selected two qualities as being more important for career success and advancement than any other. First was the ability to set priorities; to separate the relevant from the irrelevant. Second was the ability to get the job done fast; to execute quickly.

Nothing will help you more in your career than to get the reputation for being the kind of person who gets the most important job done quickly and well.

Hard Work on the Wrong Task?

But here’s the catch. Many people are working very hard at their jobs, but they are not working on what their boss considers to be the most important job. The sad fact is that if you do an unimportant job very well, this could hurt your career and even threaten your job.

As conditions change, keep the lines of communication open with your boss. Be sure that what you are doing is still your boss’s top priority. And then make a game of doing it fast. Nothing makes a boss happier than to have someone who gets the job done quickly. Be sure that you are that person.

Your Other Key Customers

Your coworkers, who also depend on your work, are your customers as well. Go to each one of them and ask them if there is anything that you can do to help them. Ask them if there is anything that you could do more of or less of, anything that you could start or stop doing that would help them do their jobs better.

The fact is that people think about themselves and their own fobs all day long. Anytime you offer to help people to do their jobs better or faster, they will be wide open to helping you later. The Law of Sowing and Reaping is not the Law of Reaping and Sowing. There is a particular order to this law. First you put in, and then you get out. First you sow, and then you reap.

You should look for every opportunity in your work to help people and to do nice things for others. Every honest effortyou make to help other people will come back to you in some way, at some time, and often when you least expect it. The most popular people in every organisation are those who are always willing to lend a helping hand.

The more the people next to you, above you, and below you like you and support you, the more you will get paid and the faster you will be promoted. Develop a reputation asa “go-giver,” as well as being a go-getter.

Look for ways to be a valuable resource to the people around you and they will automatically look for ways to helpyou and support you when you most need it.

Culled from GOALS by BRAIN TRACY

New Height Pharmaceuticals partners DIC on hypertension campaign

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21/05/2013

As Nigeria joined the rest of the world to mark the 2013 World Hypertension Day, on May 17^th, themed: “Healthy Heart Beat-Healthy Blood Pressure”, New Height Pharmaceuticals, official business partner for Omron healthcare in Nigeria, has called on all health practitioners, including pharmacists to be part of the campaign against hypertension.

Speaking to Pharmanews in an exclusive interview at the weekend, during a one-day workshop organised by Drug Information Centre (DIC), for community pharmacists on hypertension, pharm. Omaruaye Ogheneochuko, managing pharmacist, New Heights Pharmaceutical s, urged pharmacists to be actively involved in the creation of awareness on high blood pressure, by providing their clients with information on how to measure their blood pressures at homes.

According to him, “we decided to partner with ACPN to educate and to inform pharmacists on the need for them to join in the advocacy, to create more awareness on hypertension”.

“Aside drug dispensing; we want pharmacists to know that they can also make available more information to their patients on the need for them to be actively involved in measuring and managing their blood pressures at home. As a leading marketer of Omron blood pressure monitors in Nigeria, we felt we should do something to instigate and encourage pharmacists to be involved in increasing the rate of hypertension awareness in the society”.

He further stated that about 70 per cent of the Nigerian population is hypertensive, quoting from a WHO’s information, adding that this is an unfortunate situation, because most of these people are not aware that they are hypertensive, owing to the simple fact that they do not know that they can check their blood pressures at home using an Omron BP monitor.

L-R. Pharm. Adeshina Opanubi, lead consultant, Shyne& Chloe consulting, pharm. Adebayo Ismail, national chairman, ACPN, and Dr. Amam Mbakwem, consultant cardiologist, LUTH, during the 2013 World Hypertension Day Workshop for community pharmacists, organised by Drug Information Centre (DIC), held at Maryland Business Plaza

Court orders Barewa Pharmaceuticals, makers of ‘My Pikin Syrup’ to be liquidated & assets forfeited”

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17/05/2013

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A Federal High Court in Lagos has ruled that Barewa Pharmaceuticals, manufacturer of the deadly My Pikin Syrup, be wound up; and its asset forfeited to the federal government.

Justice Okechukwu Okeke who delivered the judgement , also sentenced Adeyemo Abiodun and Ebele Eromosele, two employees of the company, to seven years imprisonment.

The ruling which was fixed for Thursday, was however shifted to Friday to enable the Justice in charge to conclude writing of the verdict.

Okeke had reserved judgment for Thursday after parties in the suit adopted their written addresses.

The company and two of its employees — Adeyemo Abiodun and Ebele Eromosele – are being prosecuted by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control on a six-count charge.

The accused were re-arraigned on January 7, after the charge was amended following the death of the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kola Gbadegeshin, who was one of the accused.

NAFDAC said that “My Pikin” killed more than 80 children in Nigeria.

The agency called seven witnesses in the trial, while the defence called one.

According to the prosecution, the offences contravened Section 1 (a) of the Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act No. 25 of 1999.

Asthmatic? How can it be effectively managed?

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13/05/2013

As Nigeria, on May 7, joined the rest of the world to mark the 2013 World Asthma Day, experts have unanimously asserted that asthmatics can live their normal lives without experiencing frequent crisis, if they always take their inhalers along with them.

The experts who spoke at a symposium organised by the Elias Nelson Oyedokun Foundation, ENOF, a foundation established in the year 2012, in memory of late Nelson Oyedokun, a 13-year-year-old boy who died from asthma, said asthma is one of the conditions that can be easily managed if the suffers comply with the rules of the condition, by taking their inhalers along with them always to control any attack.

Speaking on the theme for this year’s world asthma day being: “You Can Control Your Asthma,” the commissioner for health, Lagos State, Dr. Jide Idris said asthma deaths are ultimate tragic evidence of uncontrolled asthma and these were mostly preventable if control measures are effectively instituted.

The commissioner, who was represented by Dr. Jemilade Longe, director of disease control, for health in Lagos has also urged parents and guardians to cooperate with healthcare professionals on improved knowledge, awareness and management of childhood asthma to check the chronic condition that is most commonly responsible for absence of pupils from schools across the federation.

He also called on both the public and private sectors to create a conducive work environment devoid of sensitisers that could trigger occupational asthma, as well as contribute to already high incidence of asthma in Nigeria.

Also, operators of companies dealing in strong chemicals that can trigger asthma in adults have also been advised to ensure adequate protection of their staff to prevent them from developing the condition.

According to the commissioner, the prevalence of asthma is increasing throughout the world, especially as communities adopt western lifestyles and become urbanised. “An estimated 300 million people worldwide have asthma according to the Global Burden of Asthma Report, a compilation of public data on the prevalence and impact of asthma around the world. “Children constitute a reasonable percentage of those afflicted”.

Medical Director of Massey Children Hospital, Dr. Abieyuwa Emokpae while noting that strong chemicals like paints can trigger asthma in adults, advised persons at risk of asthma to avoid strong fume, perfume, insecticide, mentholatum, smoke, among others.

In his presentation, a professor of paediatrics, James Renner advised parents to first get a proper diagnosis of asthma and prevent living in denial of the condition.

Secondly, he noted that affected persons should stick to the health plan regarding when to use drug and when not to use the drug. “They should know which drug to use and for what situation. There should be no fears for mother to manage asthmatic children,” said Renner.

In her remarks, Lola Ilaka and founder of the ENOF said the objective of the organisation is to create awareness about asthma and to touch lives, adding that ENOF will train health care providers on improved asthma care and create avenue for people to learn about asthma.

Nigeria health system defective – Dr. Godfrey O. Achilihu

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11/05/2013

Hypertension already affects one billion people worldwide and kills nine million people every year. Prevalence of high blood pressure is highest in some low-income countries in Africa, with over 40 per cent of adults in many African countries thought to be affected. Hypertension is a silent, invisible killer that rarely causes symptoms. A United State Fellowship Trained Cardiologist, Dr. Godfrey O. Achilihu, in an interview with Gracia Obi, x-rays measures in which the government health system can provide these services to the less privileged, with emphasis on women and children.

What would you say of the various problems facing the health care sector in this country?

There are issues, but the problems are not insurmountable. It starts with the decision of the government to address the problems. It also starts with the decision of the medical practitioners to address their part.

Individuals and government can invest in health, because they are spending as much money as they spend abroad. If they do, it will save a lot of capital flight which happens when Nigerian patients go abroad. In fact, it will improve the economic situation of the country.

Considering the high cost of services of medical specialists, don’t you think it is important that a trust fund be established to meet the needs of people who are unable to afford the cost?

Yes, there should be a system that caters for the less privileged. Government should have a fund that caters for the poor in such a manner that no one is left out. It is the case abroad where government caters for the less privileged. In Medicare or Medicaid, government pays for health care. In the United States, Medicare actually pays for it. It seems to me that we are running a system that is defective. In such a defective system, people that work for government are the ones that benefit from the defects of the system. It shouldn’t be the case because this country belongs to all of us. Those in government have access to health care, including the option of going abroad at the expense of the country. But if you don’t work for government, oil companies or banks, you may not get the health care you need, as you are likely unable to afford it.

Government should be able to get corporations to buy into health care provision. For example, a family should be able to afford health insurance, in which you pay a certain level of deduction from you earning. The idea is that it will be very difficult to get someone to pay several millions at a time because he was not expecting the problem. But insurance can help give some equivalent of their health care, when they are sick. This is because the insurance company will offset some of your bills when you are sick. I think that system can be established here in Nigeria.

How can professionals help to create awareness about the availability of these services in this country?

The level of awareness can be raised. Not just about what can be done to help patients but also about the disease symptoms itself. Nigeria should create a system such as “Calling 911” as is the case abroad. An emergency help line should be established. When someone has passed-out in front of you, you can just call 911 and the appropriate authorities will swing into action. When you dial that number, it rings at a central station which will then tell the ambulance where you are. Then help will reach you.

It is true that we, the professionals, have a lot to do. But apart from that, there are certain technologies that are required to make it work. We need consistent power supply. If for example, I want to call someone in Asokoro and there is no electricity supply, how do I get that done? Many factors are involved. Raising awareness can also be done through the churches, mosques, schools and local associations, while the doctors are able to provided intermittent and consistent information about disease processes and symptoms. If somebody tells you they should be able to do something, it is not wise to dismiss it. Or when they say they get out of breath when they do some work, or when their legs get swollen; those are symptoms of heart disease and it should not be dismissed. Particularly when someone complains of chest pain or tiredness, or when they break out in sweat. That is a sign of blockage of an artery in the heart that could lead to massive heart attack that can cause sudden death.

So, awareness can be raised in so many ways and we should all be involved in it. There should be seminars on the soccer field, and everywhere. Everyone should know what a defibrillator is. We all should know what should be done when someone collapses. It should be taught in school.

How expensive are some of the corrective measures, like the implanting devices?

Some of the things we do in the area of cardiology are expensive and cannot be afforded to most people. Economic problems can prevent a patient from getting the health care he needs. If we have enough resources and get enough people to pay for some of these things, the prices will reduce and become affordable to more people. The cost of health care in the United States and India is not very high.

However, some people may claim that they cannot afford health care, but they will build a hundred million naira home. Some patients come and they say “Oh, doctor, we cannot afford the cost,” but you find that the following week, they are in India. That is sometimes the problem. I don’t see how going to India will reduce what the cost could have been in Nigeria. When you put the cost of flight together and a few other things, you will find that it cannot be cheaper in India than it is in Nigeria. For many reasons, the best place to get your health care is in Nigeria. If there is an emergency, your family can be reached. More so, knowledge of the patient’s medical history matters. If you bring someone to me from India, I don’t know what the history of his sickness is, and it may be difficult to treat.

Is that different from what the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is doing in this country?

NHIS is a very low level insurance scheme. However, private individuals or corporations can run higher levels of health insurance that would also accessible to people who are not necessarily in that corporation. For example, everybody that is working in some area can cater for their health through that system. A corporation can have a health insurance department that is open to the public. When you need health care, insurance comes into play. NHIS that you spoke of is a low level scheme that makes provision for only primary health care issues. When it comes to funding for ailments that require a lot of money, I don’t think NHIS is positioned for that.

However, that kind of job shouldn’t just be the job of government alone. Health insurance should be run like any other business. If I want to buy insurance, I will buy into that kind of insurance.

Government should be able to provide these services to the less privileged. These should be with emphasis on women and child health because there is no society without women and children. The bedrock of a healthy society is the child. However, opportunities exists to do things right.

NAFDAC seizes drugs worth N3 Million in Abuja

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09/05/2013

By Gracia Obi

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) recently in Abuja seized drugs valued at about N3 Million from drug hawkers in a surprise raid carried out at the popular Karimo market.

A statement by the Acting Director (Special Duties), Abubakar Jimoh, said the drugs seized include analgesics, anti-biotic and aphrodisiacs.

According to him, the drug hawkers were arrested selling drugs in the open market by NAFDAC officials.

“The hawkers violated the law against open hawking of drugs and handling sensitive drugs they are not authorised to handle,” he said. “We also seized drugs like Tramoldine, which is a popularly abused medicine by drug addicts and various brands of aphrodisiacs, some of which are not carrying NAFDAC registration numbers.”

He said NAFDAC officials arrested the drug hawkers while the man who is alleged to the main supplier of the drugs to the illegal market is on the run.

“The Agency’s officials broke into his warehouse, following a tip-off, and carted away different brands of drugs which he has illegally stocked in his warehouse under unhygienic and bad storage conditions,” he said.

Assistant Chief Regulatory Officer of the NAFDAC FCT office, Mr. A.M. Bashir, who led the raid, condemned the practice of open selling of drugs under harsh weather conditions, which he said could alter their properties and render them less efficacious.

“The practice of hawking drugs deteriorates the drugs, affecting their active ingredients and also affecting their potency,” he said. “This is why we carry out regular raids on all the markets, so as to rid the markets of such illegal drugs merchants.”

The Karimo market is located in one of the most densely populated and poorest areas of the FCT and is attractive to criminals of various shades. The drug hawkers stockpile their drugs in wooden shacks that carry no identification about the nature of the business they engaged in, to evade the detection of NAFDAC.

Group sensitises villagers on malaria

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09/05/2013

In order to curb the menace of malaria in the rural areas, Women for Peace (WP), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), is currently visiting villages in the FCT, educating them on how to shield their environments from mosquitoes, the main cause of the disease.

The NGO visited Anagada, Giri, Kabusa, Sheda and Yangozhirecently, and held 45-minute sentitisation sessions with the people of each village, especially women.

Mosquito nets, insecticides, soaps, broom, cutlasses and drugs were shared in each of the villages.

Speaking to Pharmanews, the scribe of the NGO, Rebecca Madami said, “Malaria is a deadly disease.”

She said: “Because of the bushes that edge many villages, it is very prevalent there, yet they don’t know how to prevent its attack. Everybody knows that it is caused by mosquitoes, so the best way of stoping it is through shielding our environments from mosquitoes.”

“So, we are here to sensitise people on how to keep their homes away from mosquitoes. We have taught them how to clean and ensure that their houses are always neat, so that mosquitoes cannot come in; we taught them how to dispose sewages, cut the bushes around their houses and other measures. We also brought materials which we shared to them.”

Obono decries huge amount spent tackling adverse drug reaction

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09/05/2013

Pharm. Margaret Obono, incumbent treasurer of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), has declared that the bulk of annual budget earmarked for the health sector is being spent on hospitalization, due to reported cases of adverse drug reaction (ADR).

Speaking on Essentials of Pharmacovigilance at a workshop organised for pharmacists by Pharmanews Limited on 4^th April, 2013, Obono attributed this report to recent studies, saying that in addition to ADR, drug induced morbidity and mortality have also become a major problem for the health care professionals and the populace.

In defining adverse drug reaction, the former chairman of the Association of Lady Pharmacists (ALPS) described it as any response to a drug which is noxious and unintended and which occurs at doses normally used in man for the prophylaxis, diagnosis or therapy of disease or the modification of physiological function.

“Other issues relevant to this science include substandard medicines, medication errors, lack of efficacy reports, use of medicines for indications that are not approved and for which there is inadequate scientific basis, as well as case reports of acute and chronic poisoning,” she said.

In her presentation, Obono noted that it was on the legal basis for Pharmacovigilance that the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), which was established by Decree 15 of 1993 (as amended), came into existence.

NAFDAC as Act Cap N1 laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2004 was placed with the mandate to “to control and regulate the manufacture, importation, exportation, distribution, advertisement, sale and use of food, drugs, cosmetics, chemicals/detergents, medical devices and all drinks, including packaged water.”

“This mandate further requires NAFDAC to ensure quality, safety and efficacy of the above named regulated products, hence, pharmacovigilance.Thus the National Pharmacovigilance Centre (NPC) was set up in September 2004,” she said.

The PSN treasurer further explained that since no active drug is entirely free from adverse effects, the introduction of an adverse drug reaction reporting system is an essential component of a national health care delivery system. Government shall, therefore, encourage the establishment of adequately equipped pharmacovigilanceunits nation-wide, to collect, evaluate and disseminate relevant information on adverse drug reactions and poisoning.

While discussing pharmacovigilance regulatory system in Nigeria, Pharm Obono opined that it shall be voluntary for the reporting health professionals and traditional herbal medicine practitioners or healthcare providers working in establishments other than the manufacturing or importing/distributing companies.

“ADR reporting is voluntary with no remuneration. It is a professional ethical obligation. In fact, it shall be mandatory for all manufacturers of pharmaceutical products and traditional herbal medicinal products, their local agents in Nigeria, importers, including those of public health medicines, to report to the National Pharmacovigilance Centre any adverse reaction associated with their products in Nigeria or anywhere in the world,’ she emphasised.

The pharmacist declared, among other things, that report on ADR should include response to medicines used in humans which are noxious (harmful) and unintended, lack of efficacy, overdose, misuse and/or abuse of a medicine, medication error and counterfeit or substandard medicine.

Foundation provides cataract surgery for 29 people in Keffi

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09/05/2013