Major health stories published last week

Nigeria and the rest of the world continued last week to battle the coronavirus pandemic which has infected over 16 million people and caused at least 648,863 deaths globally.

Nigeria has recorded almost 40,000 infections and over 856 deaths from the disease.

Healthcare workers, who are first responders to patients are amongst those infected with the World Health Organisation reporting that over 100,000 of them had been infected in Africa.

The pandemic has disrupted human activities and plans and overshadowed other health issues across the world.

Here is a round-up of some of the health stories which made headlines:

Coronavirus: Nigeria records 438 new cases, total nears 40,000

Nigeria on Saturday recorded 438 new cases of coronavirus with the total confirmed cases now 39,977.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in a post early Sunday said the new cases were recorded in 23 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“438 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-123 Kaduna-50 Rivers-40 Edo-37 Adamawa-25 Oyo-20 Nasarawa-16 Osun-15 Enugu-15 FCT-14 Ekiti-13 Ondo-13 Ebonyi-11 Katsina-10 Abia-9 Delta-8 Kwara-4 Ogun-3 Cross River-3 Kano-3 Bauchi-3 Yobe-2 Sokoto-1 Niger-1,” the agency wrote in a post on Twitter.

Global Fund: Nigeria receives $890m to tackle HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria

Nigeria has received $890 million grant from Global Fund to reduce the burden of HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria over an implementation period of three years, 2021 to 2023.

Osagie Ehanire, Minister of Health, announced the receipt of the grant at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja.

The Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GF) is an innovative international financing mechanism established by the United Nations in 2002, with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

It is a global partnership of governments, civil society and private donors.

It was established for the purpose of attracting, leveraging and investing resources to fund public health interventions to accelerate the eradication of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria in affected high burden countries, towards Sustainable Development Goals.

Over 10, 000 health workers in Africa infected with COVID-19 – WHO

World Health Organisation (WHO) says no fewer than 10,000 health workers in the 40 countries battling the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Africa are infected.

The organisation’s Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo, stated this in a statement posted on its website on Friday.

The UN health agency, which warned of the threat posed by COVID-19 to health workers across Africa, added that “this is a huge challenge medical staff on the frontlines of the outbreak face.

“More than 10,000 health workers in the 40 countries which have reported on such infections have been infected with COVID-19 so far.

“This comes as COVID-19 cases in Africa appear to be gathering pace. There are now more than 750,000 cases, with over 15,000 deaths”.

Pakistan resumes anti-polio campaign as COVID-19 infections decline

Pakistan on Monday resumed vaccinations against polio to protect tens of thousands of children from the crippling disease after months of suspension due to coronavirus outbreak.

The door-to-door campaign to vaccinate 800,000 children under the age of five is scheduled to last three days in polio hot spots.

“Around 32,000 health workers who were trained on preventive measures and safe handling of a child while administering a vaccine will take part in the campaign,’’ an official said.

At least 40 million children had missed the periodic vaccinations since March that widened immunity gap among vulnerable children raising fears that more children may contract the disease.

Africa records 23% increase in COVID-19 cases – WHO

World Health Organisation (WHO) says there is a 23 per cent increase in the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Africa in the past week.

WHO disclosed this in a weekly COVID-19 Situation update for WHO Africa Region, External Situation Report 21, posted on WHO Africa twitter account @WHOAFRO.

According to the report, COVID-19 outbreak has continued to evolve in the WHO African Region since it was first detected in Algeria on Feb. 25, 2020.

Nigeria has 59 labs for COVID-19 test — NCDC

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says there are now 59 laboratories with the capacity to test for COVID-19 across 29 states and the FCT, while two rapid diagnostic are in the pipeline for validation.

Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director-General, NCDC, made this known during the Presidential Tasks Force (PTF) on COVID-19 briefing on Thursday in Abuja.

Mr Ihekweazu said that the centre was working to ensure that testing capacity was available in remaining states across the country.

He stated that the NCDC teams were currently in Zamfara, Kebbi, Gombe, and Taraba states.

Norway contributes N420 m to Nigeria’s One UN COVID-19 response

The Government of Norway is the latest contributor to the One United Nations COVID-19 response with a donation of 9.9 million Norwegian Kroner (420 million Naira) in support of the Nigerian Government.

The UN made this known in a statement jointly issued by Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigerian government on Wednesday in Abuja.

The statement said the donation would bolster support to the Nigeria COVID-19 Multi-Sectoral Pandemic Response Plan and help the government to sustain its efforts in addressing critical issues of the on-going pandemic.

Expect spike in Covid-19 cases in August

There will be a spike in the number of Covid-19 cases in Lagos next month (August), Akin Abayomi, the state commissioner for health has hinted.

Mr Abayomi told reporters at Alausa, Ikeja, that the expected rise would be as a result of modelling carried out on the pandemic in the state.

“Modelling is not always accurate. So, this is just a postulation and I hope Lagos State will soon flatten the curve.

“We are refining the model so that we can get a better grasp when the cases will peak and when we are likely to experience the downward trend of the outbreak,” he said.

Nigerians dying quietly from toxic preservatives in foods —Scientists

FOOD processors and sellers across Nigeria are using toxic chemicals to improve the look of many food items, including cassava flour, beans and fish, scientists have said.

The experts explained that with the practice, millions of people are subjected to the risk of experiencing kidney problems and cancer.

They claim that weak government testing capacities and informal food supply chains leave traders and fishermen with little oversight and offer almost no protection to unwary consumers.

Patients groan as LUTH makes them buy medical supplies for surgery

Patients who are billed to undergo surgical procedures at the Federal Government-owned Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, are being mandated to equip their surgeons before they can be scheduled for their surgeries.

The patients are required to buy disposable goggles, face masks, disposable gowns, polypropylene mesh and Home Medical Equipment — a category of devices used for patients whose care is being managed from home or other private facility managed by a nonprofessional caregiver or family member.

This is separate from the charges they will still pay for the surgery, PUNCH HealthWise reported.