Health
Malaria Control: Need For Motoring And Evaluation
Damiete Oruwari is a fish
erman from Ido, a community in Asari-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State.
As much as he could remember, fishing had been the key profession of his family. Unfortunately, as unfavourable as the days of his fathers were, the economic hardship made it impossible for them to get the least net to catch fishes, according to the 45 year old primary four drop out.
Narrating his sordid background which was further worsened by the biting economic downturn that affected every segment of the Nigerian economy, Mr Oruwari said what looked like succour came to him when in 2007 the government commenced the distribution of free Long-Lasting Insecticide Nets (LLINs).
According to him, a couple of years before then, he could hardly feed his family of seven, made up of five children, a wife and himself. The major reason was that he could not afford to purchase and maintain a good fishing net from his subsistence fishing.
With the commencement of the distribution of the LLINs, however, his story changed: rather than use the nets for what they were meant for, he adapted them as various forms of fishing nets, sometimes combining two or more, as the case may be.
“What I do is to get as many of the nets, even if I have to beg others or pay them small money. I then sew them into various shapes, depending on what type of net I want. When the ones I used get torn, I get new ones.
They are easier and cheaper to get than the real nets. The only difference is that the real nets last longer because they are meant for fishing.
But it does not matter to me because it helps me to feed my family.
“At least I know that if my family feed well, our, body can withstand some level of malaria. But if we don’t have food, malaria will affect us more. So, I prefer to feed my family than use the net to cover them at night,” he said.
To a large extent, Oruwari’s story is pathetic and there seems to be some sense in his reasoning. But one thing is certain: if he uses the LLINs for the prevention of mosquito bites, which is the sole reason it was made, it will reduce malaria infection on his family.
This scenario including several others, constitute the numerous gaps in malaria control, which had made it difficult to attain the Millemium Development Goals (MDGs) 6, which aims to reduce HIV/AIDs, Malaria and others infections .
One key lesson to be learnt in Oruwari’s scenario is that he is ignorant of the implications of malaria infection. Another one is that not enough measures have been put in place to monitor the extent to which the distributed LLINs are used to prevent mosquito bites.
There is no doubt that so much has been done to either check or eliminate malaria globally, particularly in Africa, which is the worst hit in malaria infection, with Nigeria worst off. Such measures include both preventive and curative. Inspite of this, however, the existence of various forms of gaps as shown in the Oruwari’s Scnerio, has in no small way hampered the achievement of the MDG’s 6.
The result is that the global malaria burden does not portray the level of investment aimed at eliminating the ailment. According to World Malaria Record (WMR) in 2013 and 2014, an estimated 3.3 billion people are at risk of contracting malaria with Nigeria accounting for a quarter of the global malaria burden with 97% of the country’s about 180 million population at risk.
In her presentation in a recent media round table discussion programme on malaria control held in Lagos, the Country Director of “Malaria No More,” Dayo Oluwole, said 25% of the world’s malaria burden is in Nigeria and that out of 1000 children, 128 die annually, while over 4000 maternal deaths occur within the same period.
She said that about 1 billion is lost to productivity every year in Nigeria due to malaria, a quarter of the global malaria burden is in Nigeria, and 32% of global deaths as a result of malaria occur in Nigeria.
Beyond these embarrassing figures, which is basically in the health sector, Oluwole further revealed that the malaria burden cuts across other sectors of human endeavour including sports, economy and education.
Giving an example of what impact malaria could have in sports, Oluwole recalled how Nigeria’s dependable central defender, Kenneth Omeruo, was ruled out of a major warm-up game against Scotland in 2014. The import of this is that malaria is capable of hitting an immeasurable blow on a team if it affects key members of the team in a major championship.
The Malaria Country Director said that malaria also takes its bite on the economy of affected countries: in Africa, for instance, she said annually malaria cost the continent about $ billion in productivity. Nigeria, on the other hand, loses N132 billion. This factor is factored in costs of health care, absenteeism, days lost in education decreases productivity due to brain damage from cerebral malaria and loss of investment and tourism.
“Malaria is bad for business: the disease is responsible for employee absenteeism, healthcare spending and decreased productivity, all of which can negatively impact a company’s reputation. Malaria can strain national economies, impacting some nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by as much as an estimated 5-6%,” she said.
As regards education, Oluwole said children miss up to 10 million school days per year due to malaria. Also, malaria leads to anemia, a side-effect of frequent malaria, which interferes with children’s ability to concentrate and learn and causes chronic fatigue .
In order to control malaria, therefore, so much has not only been invested by countries, governments organizations and various stakeholders in terms of funding, but also in strategies, some of which had taken relatively longer time and planning to put the ailment under control thus far.
One of such organizations is malaria no more (MNM), an international organization with a focus on creating a world where no one dies from mosquito bites which has taken up the initiative to involve the media in malaria response and control.
To address the issue of ignorance, MNA, in collaboration with Exxon Mobile and other key stakeholders incorporated the media on effective dissemination of information on malaria. With support from media partners, MNA also bought and distributed 4.9 million LLINs in 16 countries.
In Rivers State, as part of responses aimed at achieving the targets set to control malaria, the state government has also distributed anti-malaria drugs/commodities and carried out anti-malaria measure such as provision of 7.4 doses of ACT for malaria case management; provided 1.8 million RDT kits for malaria diagnoses as well as 1.6 doses of SPs for malaria prevention pregnancy.
By The Tide’s investigation, the state also provided 7.6 million LLINs for prevention of malaria transmission through mosquito bites, made available 20,990 doses of injectable Artesunate, confirmed malaria by laboratory diagnosis using Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) Kits and microscopy before treatment, training and use of Community Directed Distributors (CDDs) in communities to diagnose and treat malaria in six local government areas (LGAs).
Also, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) was into supporting 10 states in Nigeria through a UNITAID funded project to facilitate adoption of infectable antesunate.
The implication of these attention on malaria only goes to re-emphasis the focus on all stratagies but that of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E). At best, this area had always been given lip service by most stakeholders involved in malaria control. At given points, provision has been made by stakeholders but there had not been strict monitoring and evaluation mechanism to ascertain the efficacy of such provisions.
This, obviously, gives the likes of Mr Oruwari some of who either sell malaria commodities or allow same to rot away to have a filled day fustrating the efforts to malaria control. It should also amount to an unequivocal declaration on the need to make M & E in malaria control a key strategy like others.
One way to achieve this is for countries, states, local government areas and stakeholders to come up with legislation aimed at checking the rightful use of malaria commodities for the purposes they are meant for. In the case of Mr Oruwari, for instance, if there was such a legislation, and an effective monitoring mechanism put in place, he would have been apprehended and made to face the law.
Beyond legislation, however, there is also the need to involve the media more in a two-pronged awareness creation: the first, to create adequate in the use and benefits of malaria commodities while also making people aware of the consequences that await defaulters.
Sogbeba Dokubo
Health
Taraba Confirms Lassa Fever Outbreak
The authorities in Taraba State Ministry of Health yesterday confirmed the outbreak of Lassa Fever in the State.
Making the confirmation in an interview, State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Gbangsheya Buma disclosed that out of the nine suspected cases that were recorded last Friday, eight turned out positive for the viral haemorrhagic fever.
Buma stated that the state Ministry of Health is closely monitoring the situation in collaboration with the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, NCDC, and the Federal Medical Center, Jalingo, FMC, authorities to contain the spread of the disease.
“It is not a surprising thing, this is the season, and we have made preparations, though the outbreak may be overwhelming.
“I just received support from NCDC; they have sent some people here to provide technical support with the aim of stopping the progress of the disease.
“We are actually on top of it. We have provided support as a state to the FMC to provide free treatment to patients of Lassa fever,” he said.
Acting Head of Clinical Services at FMC Jalingo, Joseph Kuni, provided further insight on the outbreak, revealing that the center currently has ten patients in its isolation ward, with some awaiting test results.
Kuni said, “From January to February, the center had recorded 19 deaths from the isolation center.
“From January to February, we sent 105 samples, and 60 of them came out positive for Lassa Fever while 39 came out negative. The remaining ones are still being awaited.”
He explained that due to a fire outbreak that affected the modular laboratory last year, the center cannot perform tests locally, so they send samples to Bauchi or Abuja for testing.
Additionally, Kuni confirmed that one medical doctor from the hospital was affected but has since been treated and discharged.
Kuni emphasised the need for more assistance considering the alarming number of cases, particularly from the central part of the state.
Warning that Lassa Fever is endemic in Nigeria, Kuni said with sporadic outbreaks occurring primarily during the dry season, and it is transmitted to humans through contact with contaminated food or household items.
Health
Experts Warn On Excess Consumption Of Sweetened Beverages
Drinking two litres or more per week of artificially sweetened beverages — the equivalent of a medium-sized fast-food diet soda a day — raises the risk of an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation by 20 percent when compared to people who drank none, a new study found.
Known as A-fib, atrial fibrillation is an irregular heartbeat often described by many people who have it as a “quiver,” “flutter” or “flip-flop” of the heart in the chest.
Drinking a similar number of added-sugar beverages raised the risk of the condition by 10 percent, while drinking about four ounces of pure, unsweetened juices, such as orange or vegetable juice, was associated with an 8 percent lower risk of atrial fibrillation, the study found.
“This is the first study to report an association between no- and low-calorie sweeteners and also sugar-sweetened beverages and increased risk of atrial fibrillation,” said Penny Kris-Etherton, a professor emeritus of nutritional sciences at the Pennsylvania State University, in a statement. She was not involved in the new study.
While the study could only show an association between sweetened drinks and A-fib, the relationship remained after accounting for any genetic susceptibility to the condition. A 2017 study found people with European ancestry had about a 22 percent risk of inheriting the condition.
This heart condition may affect one in four women after menopause, the study further reveals”We still need more research on these beverages to confirm these findings and to fully understand all the health consequences on heart disease and other health conditions,” Kris-Etherton said.
“In the meantime, water is the best choice, and, based on this study, no- and low-calorie sweetened beverages should be limited or avoided,” she added.
Atrial fibrillation is dangerous and on the rise and is the leading cause of stroke in the United States. In addition, strokes connected to A-fib tend to be “more severe than strokes with other underlying causes,” according to the united states centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
Atrial fibrillation can also lead to blood clots, heart failure and “can increase the risk for heart attack, for dementia, for kidney disease. All of those things are likely long term risks,” Dr. Gregory Marcus, Professor of Medicine at University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine and associate chief of cardiology for research at UCSF Health, told The Tide’s in an interview.
Health
Ogun Seals College’s Nursing Department Over Illegal Operations
The Nursing Department of the Harvarde College of Science Business and Management Studies in Abeokuta has been shut.
The department was sealed yesterday for operating without accreditation from the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN).
The enforcement team comprised officials of enforcement team of the Ogun Ministry of Health and members of the State Nursing and Midwifery Committee (SNMC).
Speaking during the enforcement exercise, the Permanent Secretary, Ogun Ministry of Health, Dr Kayode Oladehinde, said that the private institution had been offering a degree programme in Nursing Sciences.
He added that this had been going on for about six years without accreditation from the regulatory body.
Oladehinde, represented by the Acting Director of Nursing Services, Mrs Serifat Aminu, said that such unauthorised programme contributed to quackery in nursing and posed a threat to public health.
According to him, the nursing department of the institution will remain sealed until fully accredited.
He described a degree in Nursing obtained from Harvarde College and similar institutions without NMCN accreditation as worthless, stating that graduates would be unable to obtain a valid license to practice in Nigeria and other parts of the world.
“We have discovered that many institutions, including Harvarde College, offer nursing degrees to unsuspecting students.
“Our mission is to clamp down on such institutions because they end up producing quacks in the nursing profession.
“This is dangerous for society. Unfortunately, most students are unaware that their time is being wasted,” he said.
The permanent secretary advised parents and candidates desiring to pursue nursing or related programmes to conduct due diligence by checking the NMCN website for a list of accredited institutions, saying the regulatory body updated the list yearly.
He warned parents to be cautious of institutions making false claims, assuring that the Ogun government would continue to work diligently against quackery in both the education and practice of the nursing profession in the state.
Responding, a 300-level student, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed shock at the institution’s lack of accreditation, regretting the amount of money her parents had spent on the
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