FAMINE, DISEASE OUTBREAK LOOMS IN NIGERIA
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that malnutrition, thirst and diseases threaten the lives of millions of children in North-east Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen.
“In north-east Nigeria, with Boko Haram violence which continues to contribute to large-scale displacement around 5.2 million people remain severely food insecure, with 450,000 children expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition this year,” the agency said.
BREAST FEEDING REDUCES RISK OF HEART ATTACK
Breastfeeding is not only healthy for babies, it may also reduce a mother’s risk of having a heart attack or stroke later in life, says researcher in Journal of the American Heart Association.
The conclusion of a new study of 300,000 Chinese women indicated that women who breastfed their babies had about a 10 per cent lower risk of developing heart disease or stroke compared to those who did not.
Previous studies have also suggested that mothers get short-term health benefits such as weight loss and lower cholesterol, blood pressure and glucose levels after pregnancy, from breastfeeding.
KATSINA TO IMMUNIZE CHILDREN AGAINST POLIO
The Katsina State Government intends to immunise no fewer than two million children during the next round of Immunisation Plus Days (IPDs).
Abba Musa, the Assistant Health Educator, Katsina State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, said the exercise is meant for children below five years and would be conducted between July 8 and July 11 across the state.
The team of vaccinators would be going from house-to-house to administer the Oral Polio Vaccines (OPV) to the targeted children in all the 34 local government areas.
DOCTORS, NURSES GET TRAINING ON PAIN MANAGEMENT
The University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, is training some doctors, nurses and other staffers on pain management to equip them to assess the condition and provide high-quality first line treatment.
Adefemi Afolabi, Staff Champion Coordinator of the Pain-Free Hospital Initiative (PFHI), said the program is being conducted in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and the American Cancer Society.
The course is to train physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare providers on how to assess pain levels and dispense medication.
BAUCHI RELEASES N13 MILLION FOR RURAL HEALTH FACILITIES
The Bauchi State Government has released N13 million to Dass Local Government Area to improve health facilities under the National States Health Investment Project (NSHIP).
The funding was provided under the World Bank assisted Additional Financing of NSHIP.
About N13 million was disbursed to 15 Primary Healthcare Centres and one General Hospital in Dass LGA by the state Government.
ENERGY DRINKS DANGEROUS TO HEALTH
Energy drinks are detrimental to health, Salomi Mathew, a lecturer at the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Niger State, said.
Mr. Mathew, of the Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, cautioned youth against indulging in the act.
He said taking energy drinks to stimulate the body instead of resting, relaxing or sleeping is detrimental to one’s general well-being as this takes its toll on the brain and heart which can cause systolic and diastolic blood pressure thus making the heart collapse.
LASSA FEVER: ONE DEAD, 65 UNDER SURVEILLANCE
The Anambra State government has confirmed the death of a nursing student killed by Lassa Fever. The government also said 65 others were being monitored.
Emmanuel Okafor, the Director of Public Health, State Ministry of Health, said the victim was bleeding from the gums, nostril and vagina and was confirmed a Lassa Fever victim at General Hospital, Irua, in Edo State where she was referred for treatment before she died on June 17.
5.6 million children at risk of waterborne diseases
As the rainy season begins, United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has warned that more than 5.6 million children are at increased risk of contracting waterborne diseases, such as cholera and diarrhoea infections, in conflict-affected areas of countries around Lake Chad.
The humanitarian agency said that the threat of disease outbreaks in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria coincides with growing regional insecurity and increased population movements particularly in Nigeria’s northeast.
“Unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene conditions can lead to cholera outbreaks and to Hepatitis E, a deadly disease for pregnant women and their babies, while standing water pools can attract malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Staving off disease is our top priority,” it said.
GROUP CALLS FOR LAW AGAINST FGM
Preston Development Foundation, a non-governmental organisation in Nigeria, has called for the federal government to take stringent measures against female genital mutilation in the country.
A survey conducted by the United Nations Population Funds, UNFPA, in 2015 showed that the practice was high in the South-West with Osun State still ranked highest in the prevalence with over 76.3 per cent.
U.S. SUPPORTS FAMILIES AFFECTED BY HIV/AIDS
The U.S. Diplomatic Mission to Nigeria has awarded a N2.9 million micro grant to support children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in some parts of Lagos State.
The Mission gave the grant to 50 women caregivers to support the economic wellbeing of families, especially vulnerable children orphaned by HIV/AIDS, in five local communities in Apapa Local Government Area of Lagos.
The U.S. also signed a $469 million (about N147.5 billion) Country Operation Plan to support HIV prevention, care and treatment programmes in Nigeria.
The COP was signed by the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, Ambassador-at-Large, Deborah Birx, and the Director-General of Nigeria’s National Agency for the Control of AIDS, Sani Aliyu.
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