Rsg Set To Review Public Health Laws

There are strong indications that the Rivers State Ministry of Health has commenced steps to review some of the outdated public health laws in the state, Commissiioner for Health, Dr Sampson Parker has said.

The Commissioner gave the hint in a phone-in programme organised by the Silverbird Communications at the weekend in Port Harcourt.

Dr Parker said the measure has became necessary to tackle the menace of non-communicable diseases and to align with the free medicare policy of the state government.

He said,” we are preparing a system to tackle the non-communicable diseases that is why the government is making huge investments in the health care sector”.

Dr Parker opined that the world is moving away gradually from the era of communicable disease to non -communicable disease like cancer and other terminal diseases.

He argued that since  the state government  evolved the free medical programme to tackle the menace of these diseases and  provide succour for the citizenry, member of  the public should register in any nearby medical centre to enjoy the scheme.

The Commissioner for Health while condenming the archaic beliefs over some diseases like cancer noted that the government has begun a Home Based Care System to sensitise the rural populace on the rising level of non-communicable diseases.

He further submitted that the state government has begun equipping the medical centres to provide free cancer screening tests for men and women in the state.

Meanwhile,a Pathologist and Consultant Haematologist in the Braithwate Medical Specialist Hospital(BMSH), Dr Oko Ugo says cancer has overtaken heart disease as the highest killer in the world.

Quoting statistics from International Agency for the Prevention of Cancer, the medical expert disclosed that about 100,000 Nigerian, die annually from cancer while one out of four persons in the world would be diagonised of cancer.

She also advised the womenfolk to go for regular pap test  for cervix cancer, which according to her is one of the highest killer of women in recent times.

Dr Ugo also recommended regular breast checks for both menopausal women and those under childbirth for frequent  five point code examination to prevent cancer of the breast.