[BREAKING]: NIGERIAN HEALTH WOERKERS' UNION SUSPEND STRIKE.

The Joint Health Sector Unions and Assembly of Healthcare Professionals, JOHESU, has suspended its nine-day-old strike.

The union made the decision following a nine-hour meeting with the federal government in Abuja on Saturday.

The national chairman of the union, Biobelemoye Josiah, said the strike had been suspended “in principle”, as a NEC meeting of the union will be held on Tuesday to take the final decision.

He said that the union has reached an agreement with the Federal government and workers are to resume back to work on Wednesday.

The union embarked on a nationwide strike on September 20 to protest among other issues, salaries adjustments, promotion arrears, and improved work environment for its members.

LAGOS UNVEILS THE FIRST DNA FORESINC LAB IN W'AFRICA

The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, on Wednesday inaugurated the state’s DNA Forensic Centre, first of its kind in the West African sub-region.

Unveiling the DNA laboratory, located on Odunlami Street, Lagos Island, the governor said it would not only help in the resolution of crimes but would also be useful in clearing controversies relating to paternity.

Ambode described the laboratory as a significant milestone in his administration’s quest to strengthen the justice system in Lagos and to make the state safe both for the residents and investors.

According to him, the initiative had brought Lagos State at par with other advanced societies around the globe where technology was being exploited to make life easier for the people.

Ambode said, “From the domestic front to our places of work, from the way we learn, to doing business, the use of technology has become a way of life. You will, therefore, understand why our administration had no hesitation in approving this project which serves, amongst other things, as an effective method of bringing perpetrators of crime to book and ensuring quick dispensation of justice.”

The governor noted that the DNA Forensic Centre had been adequately equipped to provide services such as “serological screening of blood and semen; DNA analysis of bone, teeth and hair; maternal and paternal relationship DNA analysis; expert witness and case handling services; paternal and maternal ancestry DNA analysis; cold case file review and mass disaster human identification.”

These service, he said, would come in handy to the police, prosecutors, defense counsel and private citizens.

The governor gave the assurance that his administration would not rest on its oars but would immediately move to the second stage of the project, by creating additional capacity in the areas of “toxicology; trace evidence and controlled substance analysis; fingerprint and latent prints; firearms, ballistics and tool marks; digital forensics; and questioned documents examination.”

The Consul General of the United States Embassy in Lagos, Mr. John Bray, congratulated Ambode and the people of Lagos State for the successful completion of “the first DNA Forensic Centre not only in Nigeria but in West Africa,” saying that the development would enhance justice and progress.

In his welcome address, the Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, said the centre would assist the state to have a reliable DNA database that would enable investigators and law enforcement agencies to identify crime patterns and suspects, and also help to exonerate or convict suspects.

On his own part, the Chief of Defence Staff, Maj. Gen. Abayomi Olonishakin, who was represented by Rear Admiral Lawal Modu Adams, said the centre was a significant milestone in the country’s fight against all forms of crime including terrorism.

Also, the Lagos State acting Commissioner of Police, Mr. Imohimi Edgal, described the completion of the centre as a further demonstration of Lagos State’s penchant for blazing the trail in terms of justice and security reforms.

RESIDENT DOCTORS MEETING ENDS IN DEADLOCK AS STRIKE CONTINUES

The meeting of the executives of the National Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, has been deadlocked.

The meeting was called to review government’s offers to the striking doctors with a view to call off the strike.

The meeting, which started at 11 p.m. in Abuja ended at 7 a.m. for a break.

PREMIUM TIMES observed at the venue of the meeting that the doctors argued all night. Some of them wanted the strike suspended while others wanted it to continue until the federal government meets all their demands.

After the break, the president of the association left the venue, reportedly to the health ministry to get a guarantee letter that could influence their decision.

The meeting is to reconvene at 10 a.m.

The strike, which commenced last week, has crippled activities at public hospitals across Nigeria.

African leaders should be ashamed for seeking medical treatment abroad - SA Health Minister,Motsoaledi blasts BUHARI

South African Health Minister, Aaron Motsoaledi has criticised African leaders for seeking medical treatment abroad.

Speaking in Zimbabwe at a World Health Organization (WHO) meeting of African health ministers, Mr. Motsoaledi said Africa is the only continent where the leaders travel abroad for health reasons.

He spoke just hours after President Robert Mugabe, known for his frequent medical trips to Singapore opened the meeting. However, Mr. Mugabe was not present at the time Mr. Motsoaledi spoke.

"I have said this before and I will say it again: we are the only continent that has its leaders seeking medical services outside the continent, outside our territory. We must be ashamed of that. This is called health tourism. We must promote our own." In the past year, five African Presidents have gone overseas for medical treatment, including Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari, Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, Benin's President Patrice Talon, Angola's President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and Algeria's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

[PHOTOS]: SEE THE DEPLORABLE STATE OF LAGOS GENERAL HOSPITAL IN AGEGE

IG User, Queen Oloye, who visited the hospital recently, shared the photos above as well as her experience with the staff. She wrote:


"Orile Agege General Hospital Extortion This is the current state of the toilets and bathrooms at OAGH ! In the maternity ward of all places! And only one of the 2toilets and 2bathrooms is functioning! In a ward of over 20 patients!just few days ago,a friend saw a centipede drop in their ward,another friend saw a leech in the only bathroom!a leech for Christ sake!that's the toilet seat new mothers with all the blood and all are supposed to sit on!and at the very end they charge outrageous!#64,700! Excluding all the drugs and drips!cos we pay immediately! Imagine saying we must all pay #9,000 for 2 pints of blood even though we didn't receive any blood and our husbands are mandated to donate blood before they register us for antenatal! Even the pharmacy sells drugs that are not labelled!the rats and mosquitoes are baba NLA! Meanwhile the doctors offices are A.C fitted!if I show u our ward(maternity) u'll weep for our country! Pls rescue us o,before OAGH kills us I must confess, The doctors and nurses are very skilled and friendly !Kudos!"

MEDICAL TOURISM DRAINING NIGERIA'S RESERVES, YEMI OSINBAJO

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has decried the enormous amount of money Nigerians spend on medical tourism in other countries.

He made this known on Thursday in an opening remark at the commencement of a two-day national health dialogue organised by the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism, PTCIJ, the Project for Advocacy in Child and Family Health, PACFaH, and the Project Pink Blue.

The event held at the Musa Yar’adua Centre in Abuja.

The health dialogue was chaired by the vice president, and hosted by the Minister for Health, Isaac Adewole.

The Emir of Kano and former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Muhammadu Sanusi II; acting Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance scheme, Attahiru Ibrahim; the DG of the National Agency for the Control of Aids, NACA, Sani Aliyu; the executive director, Nigeria Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Faisal Shuaib, were among keynote speakers at the health dialogue.

In his speech, Mr. Osinbajo, represented by the director general, Voice of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu, said medical tourism has cost Nigeria billions of dollars.

“We want to stop that trend because it is draining our reserves,” he said.

Thousands of Nigerians travel abroad each year to seek medical treatment as the nation’s health care system remains poorly funded.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday returned from London after nearly four months of medical leave.

The administration has not disclosed the president’s condition or how much is spent treating him, but analysts estimate Nigeria spends several millions of naira for the president’s healthcare abroad.

Mr. Osinbajo said healthcare for Nigerians is important to the Buhari administration.

He explained that the president was interested in health issues, but said poverty was also a major issue to look at.

He urged the states to also join in so as to ensure universal health coverage in the country.

THREE LUTH WORKERS TEST POSITIVE FOR LASSA FEVER

Three health workers, out of the 100 that had contact with a pregnant woman who died of Lassa fever at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, have tested positive for the infection.

LUTH’s Chief Medical Director, Prof. Chris Bode, confirmed this at a joint briefing by the hospital’s management and officials of the Lagos State Ministry of Health on Wednesday.

Bode said the health workers had been admitted to the Isolation Ward at the teaching hospital alongside a female resident doctor who contracted the infection while conducting an autopsy on one of the index cases.

The CMD also identified the second patient who died of the disease at the hospital as a sickle cell patient that was admitted on August 5.
He added that the victim had just come in from a neighbouring state. According to him, all the other 97 contacts are still under surveillance.

Bode said, “Three of the persons who have symptoms are receiving treatment at the Isolation Ward. They are being cared for by a group of professionals, volunteer doctors, epidemiologists, microbiologists, emotional caregivers and cleaners round-the-clock.

“And I want to assure the concerned public that they are responding well to treatment. This current outbreak is effectively being monitored. Those that are being monitored have been given thermometers to check their temperature. So, let us douse the panic.”

Also at the briefing, the Director, Diseases Control, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Eniola Erinosho, said the state government had taken charge of the body of the first victim from the family and had taken necessary guidelines in the disposal of the body.

Erinosho said the private hospitals where the victims had visited before they were referred to LUTH had been placed under a 21-day surveillance.

He noted that the Lagos State Ministry of Health had directed its Epidemiology Unit to move into LUTH.

“We are on top of the situation and there should be no panic. The index case was referred from Divine Grace Hospital, Imota, in the Ikorodu area of Lagos. We have been there and have taken charge of the situation, but none of the people there has actually come down with the fever.  

“We have about 22 people there. Today is the 14th day of monitoring and we hope that in the next seven days they will be discharged from the monitoring list. At present, we have two suspected cases at the Mainland Hospital but they are under control.”

Erinosho also said that the state government would take over the second corpse in possession of LUTH, while the first victim had been moved to Ilesa, Osun State, in order for the officials there to dispose of the body according to international standards.

He said, “We have been to the house of the late patients and hospitals where they were first admitted. All arrangements have been made to bury the corpse based on international standards.

“In a case like this, we use body bags and we seal the coffin and the relatives will not see the body. From there, we have a special unit in the ministry called the State Environmental Monitoring Unit, which carries out the procedure.”

Erinosho, who advised Nigerians to keep their foodstuffs away from rats, however, urged them not to panic as Lassa fever, according to him, is a curable disease whose treatment is readily available in the country.

Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Primary Health Care, Dr. Olufemi Onanuga, in a statement issued by the LSMOH, confirmed that laboratory results of the two suspected cases at the Mainland Hospital, Yaba, were negative.

Onanuga said the two patients were referred from the General Hospital, Lagos, and a private hospital in Imota in Ikorodu.

Lassa fever is an acute febrile illness, causing bleeding and death in severe cases. It is spread by rats.

7 Ways to Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally

High blood pressure affects about one in three adults for all kinds of reasons, from genetics to stress. While medications can help keep it in check, there are also ways to bring it down naturally. Here are some science-backed tips to ease rising blood pressure, whatever its cause.

Exercise
Regular exercise has all kinds of amazing benefits for the body, and one of the biggest is keeping blood pressure steady. According to the Mayo Clinic, exercising around 30 minutes most days of the week has been shown to lower blood pressure by 4 to 9 millimeters of mercury (mmHg). Exercise helps strengthen the heart, which makes it easier for the vital organ to pump blood.

Breathe easy
Slowing down your breath and breathing deeply may help you relax and lower your blood pressure. Breathing exercises can improve heart rate and make arteries more flexible.

Relax
Being overly stressed doesn’t do your heart any favors. Some research even suggests that extreme bouts of anger or stress can increase a person’s risk for heart problems. The hormones released during the body’s “flight or fight” response can cause the heart to beat faster and constrict the blood vessels which can raise blood pressure, even if it’s just for the short term. If you’re feeling stressed, try some relaxation techniques like yoga or mindfulness.

Put down the coffee—and alcohol
Though some moderate alcohol is thought to provide some heart benefits, overdoing booze consumption can temporarily raise blood pressure, and cause other health problems down the line. Cutting back on caffeine may help, too. Some people are more sensitive to caffeine than others, but it has been shown to increase heart rate and blood pressure in some cases. If you’re feeling off, reconsider that second cup of coffee or soda.

Drink more tea
Sipping tea over the long term may improve your blood pressure by helping the blood vessels relax. In a 2014 study, researchers looked at 25 randomized controlled trials on the link between tea consumption and blood pressure. They concluded that after 12 weeks of drinking tea, people’s blood pressure was lower by 2.6 mmHg systolic and 2.2 mmHg diastolic. They found that green tea was the most beneficial, and black tea came in second.

Eat blueberries
A 2015 study from researchers at Florida State University found that eating one cup of blueberries a day could reduce blood pressure and stiff arteries. In the study, close to 50 women with pre-hypertension or stage 1 hypertension were randomly assigned to get 22 grams of freeze-dried blueberry powder (about equal to one cup of fresh blueberries) or a placebo powder. Those consuming the blueberry powder had an average drop of 7 mmHg in systolic blood pressure. Blueberries are high in phytonutrients, which are naturally occurring plant compounds thought to help protect against disease.

Add yogurt to your diet
Probiotics are plentiful in yogurt, and they may help keep blood pressure at healthy levels. A 2014 research review looked at nine studies on the link between probiotics and blood pressure and found a beneficial effect. Probiotics may lower blood pressure by improving cholesterol and lowering blood sugar.

Lassa fever claims 4 lives in Nasarawa

Lassa Fever

Dr. Daniel Iya, Nasarawa State Commissioner for Health has confirmed that four persons have lost their lives to Lassa fever outbreak in the state.

Iya told newsmen on Monday in Lafia that 16 suspected cases have been recorded in the state, out of which, four were confirmed positive and all of them have died.

He explained that the index case for the current outbreak was recorded in November 2016 and died a day later, while the three others died between Jan. 13 and Jan. 15.

According to Iya, the last three victims were discovered to be relatives of the index case, adding that 36 others, who had contact with the victims were being followed up.

He said the state government was doing its best with the assistance of the federal government through the provision of protective kits for medical personnel taking care of Lassa fever patients as well as drugs for treatment of the disease.

He said the state rapid response team had stepped up sensitization updates for health workers to check the spread of the disease.

Iya urged health workers in the state always follow standard procedures in taking care of patients in the hospital.

He also urged members of the public to report cases of fever promptly to the hospital as early detection was crucial to survival of patients in the case of Lassa fever.

ATTN: Gov Samuel Ortom,''On My Experience At Benue State University Teaching Hospital Makurdi'';

This is a letter written to the Governor by one of her citizens following  her observation/experience at the BSU Teaching hospital.Please read.


The Gov. Samuel Ortom
The Benue people’s House
Benue State

Attention;
Benue State Commissioner of Health
Speaker, BNSHOA
Chairman, Health Committee
BNSHOA


AN OPEN LETTER TO GOV. SAMUEL ORTOM ON MY EXPERIENCE AT THE BSU TEACHING HOSPITAL, MAKURDII must first Congratulate you Sir, on the recent graduation of doctors from the Benue State University College of HealthSciences; this has not been achieved since the launch of that program12 years ago. Under your administration, 152 medical doctors graduated. This is an unprecedented event.

Dear Gov. Ortom, I will also say congratulations on the approval and release of N3.7milion for their registration with the Dental and Medical Council of Nigeria. It shows Sir, that you are a man of the book who believes in legalities. I also pray that as this fourth set of doctors graduate, they will all be absorbed in the BSU Teaching hospital-BSUTH.
As it is characteristic of teaching hospitals, they work in tandem with the university, training doctors in addition to offering medical education to their students and resident physicians.

 Many teaching hospitals also serve as research institutes and I believe BSUTH should be no exception
Dear Gov. Ortom, I am writing to share my mixed experience at the teaching hospital, BSUTH ,this yuletide. I had the rare privilege of taking a loved one under emergency situations to the hospital, being on referral from a hospital in Gboko. I will spare you the near death happenstance from the poor services we received at the private hospital in Gboko, and I will focus on my interface at the BSUTH.

The emergency unit received us in their traditional way of attending to accident and emergency cases, and although I expected a quicker response, I commend the attention to details they subsequently displayed in reviewing the patient. This experience would soon form a basis for my week long desperate and unbelievable engagements with the personnel as well as the infrastructure at the teaching hospital.

Sir, my patient required a couple of OTC drugs including normal saline water, we could not access these at the hospital’s Pharmacy. She is an accident victim who was rendered immobile and required an xray before further diagnosis could be made but the xray department were not operational due to faulty equipments. This situation compelled us to, painfully, take her to the Federal Medical Centre for the xray. 

These unfortunately became the trend throughout my sojourn at the BSUTH. EVERY drug, test, hospital need, surgical need and even personal need could only be bought from the pharmacies outside the hospital. The hospital seems to have totally run out of supplies and equipment. The only thing it had going was the expertise and willingness of the medical personnel.

Conservatively, my family spent close to two hundred thousand naira in the purchase of all the aforementioned from the other pharmacies outside BSUTH. These monies, including several others, could easily have been raked in by the teaching hospital and in turn may have facilitated to create a better funded institution.

On the quality of personnel service, I had the fortune of knowing some doctors who were graduates of my alma mater and would immediately call them at the dire need of medical attention requiring judgement on supply and drug options. However, this will be the misfortune of many sick people who would not have this privilege to have medical staff ponder options with them.

My surmised position of this will be the need to employ more staff at the hospital most especially nurses. There is presently a dearth of nursing care and I understand it is due to the closure of the nursing schools in the state? I particularly sympathized with an exhausted pharmacist who quickly prayed that more hands were brought on board.

In my engagement with the staff, a few ascribed the desperate situation to the nationally accepted Treasury Single Account which hampers the smooth flow of operations/increased bureaucracy in such institutions like hospitals; others said it was due to the reduction in their monthly allocations, still, some said it was purely bad management, more said no, the management had done the best they could, given the circumstances, and for many junior staff, there was a familiar ‘government worker lackadaisical attitude which manifested in very poor hygiene in the wards, rest rooms, and as seen in the well laid out brown lawns in the hospital compounds owing to long owed salaries from the outsourced companies.

Dear Governor, I believe there were more reversible failures than I witnessed. And that is why I make this appeal to you : we are surrounded by private hospitals that collect more money for far less medical care, therefore I strongly believe that BSUTH is the golden treasure of Benue state health care. It saves lives, provides jobs and more importantly hones our future doctors. It belongs to all, the poor and the rich. We should jealously grow it for what it is worth.
Sir, BSUTH deserves all the attention you can give.


Thanks for your time.


Long Live Gov Samuel OrtomLong live BSUTHLong live Benue State
Sincerely yours,
Benue Indigene
AZEGE,Alu

Dr. Zainab Bagudu, Wife of the Executive Governor of Kebbi State & Founder, Medicaid Cancer Foundation for UNIABUJA Teal-White Seminar,

Dr. Zainab Bagudu, Wife of the Executive Governor of Kebbi State & Founder, Medicaid Cancer Foundation support the UNIABUJA Teal-White Seminar, an initiative of Queen Rita Jonnah - Queen of Emerald Nigeria Culture 2016 is organizing a one day educational seminar holding on 19th January, 2017 @ the University of Abuja is aimed @ educating students on Cervical Cancer Risk Factors, Symptoms, Prevention and treatment if early detected.
Time for the event is 10am @
New Lecture Theatre (NLT), University of Abuja.

Nigeria a laughing stock for cutting health budget by 33%

Minister of Health, Isaac AdewoleThe Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, said on Tuesday that inadequate funding of the health sector by the Federal Government had made Nigeria a laughing stock before the global community.


He cited a specific case with the 2016 budget, which the minister said had the health sector funding further reduced by 33 per cent.

He noted that unless there was a remarkable improvement in 2017, the challenges in the health sector could only worsen.

Adewole spoke at a public hearing organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Healthcare Services on how to avert a crisis in primary healthcare delivery in the country.

The committee is chaired by an All Progressives Congress lawmaker from Imo State, Mr. Chike Okafor.

The minister said, “We became a laughing stock globally when the 2016 health budget was reduced by 33 per cent.

“The impression is that we are not a serious nation. Each time we talk about primary healthcare, we talk about a pyramid.

“PHC as the foundation, secondary institutions as the building and tertiary institutions as the roof.

“Without the foundation, the pyramid will not stand.”

The government had budgeted N221.7billion for the health sector this year out of the total national budget of N6.06trillion.

In 2015, the health budget was about N259.7bn, up from N216.4bn in 2014.

The percentage of the country’s total budget spent on the health sector has hovered between 4.4 per cent and 5.5 per cent over the years, as against the globally-recommended 15 per cent.

The minister also spoke on reports indicating that the $400million donor funds for polio eradication had been stolen.

He denied that the money was stolen, though Adewole admitted that it was possible the money was not well-managed.

Breaking News : Federal Medical Centre Yola Performs Ground BreakingSurgery In Separating A 2 Month Old Baby Girl With Rare CongenitalAbnormal Defect.Pictures Here.

A Team of Surgeons at the Federal Medical Centre, Yola in the Adamawa State, North-Easter part of Nigeria early this month made a breakthrough, in separating a 2 months baby girl with deformity clinically identified as a rare congenital abnormal defect called "dipygus". Medically, these type of deformity are caused by a malformed fetus that has a double pelvics, one of which is usually not fully developed.Continue to see more pictures.

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Foundation Set To Break Guinness World Record On HIV Test In Benue State.

AHF is a global NGO which was set up to provide free HIV care, treatment, prevention and advocacy and is presently working in 36 countries around the world.
Aids Health Care Foundation(AHF)an NGO, says it is set to break the Guinness World Record on HIV test by testing 10,000 people within eight hours in Benue.read more

Two New Ebola Cases Discovered In Guinea.

Two people have fallen ill with Ebola in Guinea after two weeks with no new confirmed cases of the disease in West Africa, the World Health Organization said on Friday.
WHO spokeswoman, Margaret Harris, told a United Nations briefing in Geneva that one case was in Forecariah, western Guinea, and appeared to be linked to a previously known chain of infection, while the other was in the capital Conakry.read more

Don't Give Up Yet,There's Hope For Parenthood At George's Memorial Medical Centre Lekki.

 


George's Memorial Medical Centre Lekki is offering 25% Price Discount on IVF Treatment this summer from 3rd-31st August, 2015.GMMC, Lekki stands as a leading Healthcare service provider in Nigeria, specializing in Fertility management, Mother and Child care, and Family Medicine.
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HEALTH TIPS: Checkout The 7 Best Ways To Avoid Food Poisoning.

When you are in doubt of the source or good preparation of a meal, you should try to seek more information and in most cases prepare food yourself to clear any doubts you might have.
read more

Wooooh ! Woman Gives Birth To Her Own Baby In The Car While Her Husband Drives…and Films [Video]

 

What do you do when you’re about to give birth and you’re stuck in traffic on a Houston freeway? You give birth.
If you’re lucky, your husband or someone close to you is in the car with you and can pull over to assist with everything that’s going on.
Or if you’re this woman, your husband will just keep driving while making sure he’s still able to film the whole thing for YouTube. At least he helped her get her pants off!
Watch the slightly-graphic-yet-incredible clip below. By the way, the baby was 10-pounds.
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Live From Lagos City Hall.Reception In Honour Of Dr Paul Orhii DG NAFDAC.

Friends of Dr Paul Botwev Orhii organized in a reception in Honour of the D.G on his Re-Appointment as Director General NAFDAC.

As usual we are here with the creme-de-la-creme in the Pharmaceutical industry as well as friends ,captains of industries,and NAFDAC Entertainment Ambassadors.here are few pictures from the event which is going on at the moment. 

More pictures as the event progresses.

Delta State University Teaching Hospital Performs First Kidney Transplant.

The Delta State University Teaching Hospital on Monday carried out its first kidney transplant.
Surgeons and Nephrologists from the hospital in collaboration with a medical team from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in the United States of America operated on both the donor and recipient.
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