Category: Health

Cancer scare: “We’ve banned Indomie noodles importation”– NAFDAC

Aminu Imam

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, (NAFDAC) has banned the importation of Indomie noodles into the country. The Director-General of the Agency, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, stated this in an interview with newsmen yesterday. The regulatory body took the action amid investigation by Taiwan and Malaysia authorities, which reportedly discovered ethylene oxide, a cancer-causing agent, in the product. According to the NAFDAC boss, the compound of interest was ethylene oxide said already the Director of Food Lab Services Directorate has been engaged and has started working on…

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Valentine: “Share love, not HIV” – NACA tells Nigerians

Aminu Imam

The Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, Dr. Gambo Aliyu has urged Nigerians to know their HIV status and avoid risky behaviours during the Valentine’s season. Dr. Aliyu was quoted as saying this yesterday, in an issued statement signed by the Head of Public Relations and Protocol of the Agency, Toyin Aderibigbe. The NADA DG said it is important to reduce the trend of new HIV infection in Nigerian youths through abstinence, and the use of condoms. Valentine’s Day is celebrated annually on February 14 to…

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Nigeria records 244 cases of Lassa fever, 37 deaths – NCDC

Aminu Imam

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) registered 244 confirmed cases of Lassa Fever in 16 states and the FCT as of Jan. 22. The Centre’s Director-General, Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa, told newsmen yesterday, in Abuja, that the centre also recorded 37 deaths, a case-fatality rate of 15.1 percent. The Lassa fever infections were recorded in Ondo State (90); Edo (89); Bauchi (13); Taraba (10); Benue (9); Ebonyi (9); Nasarawa (7), and Plateau, (5). Others are Kogi (4); Anambra (2); Delta (1); Oyo (1); Adamawa (1); Enugu (1); Imo…

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4,000 doctors migrating soon – Resident Doctors Association warn

Aminu Imam

…Says it’s now one to 10,000 patients The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, has alerted of the plan by 4,000 of its members to disengage their services in the country and migrate abroad for greener pastures, noting that it was now a ratio of one doctor to 10,000 patients in the country. This came as the association expressed worries over the government’s treatment of members. It said with the government’s nonchalant attitudes to members’ salaries, welfare and other deserved packages, the country may be heading to a point where…

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70% drug importation unhealthy for Nigeria, NAFDAC warns

Aminu Imam

The Director-general of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has decried Nigeria’s continuous dependence on other countries for drugs, as about 70 percent of drugs in the country are imported. The DG, who stated this while fielding questions from newsmen at a media briefing yesterday in Abuja, said it doesn’t mean that the country should not import drugs, but 70 percent is too much. Speaking on the agency’s fight against falsified medicines, Adeyeye recalled that NAFDAC was not at the nation’s ports…

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Nigeria to ban consumption of cow skin ‘ponmo’ for lacking nutritional value – FG

Aminu Imam

The Federal Government says it is proposing a ban on the consumption of cow skin, popularly known as ‘Ponmo’, for lacking any nutritional value. The Head of the Nigerian Institute of Leather and Science Technology (NILEST), Zaria, Kaduna State, Muhammad Yakubu, who made the disclosure, said, “To the best of my knowledge, Nigerians are the only people in the world that overvalue skin as food; after all, Ponmo has no nutritional value”. Ponmo is a popular supplement in soups prepared in many Nigerian homes, especially in the South-western part of…

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Zulum inaugurates abandoned medical center in Biu

Abdul-Azeez Ahmed Kadir

Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno has inaugurated a multi-million naira medical centre in Miringa, Biu Local Government donated by Chevron Nigeria Ltd, but abandoned since 2020. This is contained in a statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the governor, Baba-Sheik Haruna and issued in Abuja on Friday. The governor’s action followed a peaceful protest launched by the people of Miringa on the governor’s convoy on Tuesday while on his way for a 3-day working visit to Biu LGA asking him to put the facility to use. He said…

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Health: Gombe Specialist Hospital Accredited For Postgraduate Training On Obstetrics, Gynecology, Others

Aminu Imam

Umar Kaltungo The Specialist Hospital, Gombe, in Gombe State, has got accreditation for postgraduate training in obstetrics/ gynecology and family medicine by the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria and the West African College of Surgeons. With this development, the Gombe Specialist Hospital has now become the first state-owned hospital in the North-East region to achieve this milestone. The representatives of the two colleges were very impressed with what they saw in the hospital and lauded the State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, for providing state-of-the-art infrastructure and equipment necessary for…

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Nigerians to pay more for telephone calls, as FG slams new tax to finance healthcare

Aminu Imam

The Federal Government has slammed a new tax on phone calls in the nation to fund free healthcare for the Vulnerable Group in Nigeria. This is despite recent moves by telecommunication companies to increase the price of their services as a result of an unfavourable operating climate. The telecom tax, in the equivalent of a minimum of one kobo per second for phone calls, is part of the sources of funds required to finance free healthcare for the Vulnerable Group in Nigeria. This is contained in the National Health Insurance…

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Universal Health Coverage: President Buhari signs National Health Insurance Authority Bill into law

Aminu Imam

…83m poor Nigerians to enjoy coverage President Muhammadu Buhari has signed into law, the recently passed National Health Insurance Authority Bill 2022, repealing thereby, the National Health Insurance Scheme Act, (Cap N42) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004. President Buhari said, at the signing of the new law, that a Fund will be set up “to ensure coverage of 83 million poor Nigerians who cannot afford to pay premiums, as recommended by the Lancet Nigeria Commission”. He further elaborated on how the Fund will be sourced, saying: “For the…

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