News
Africa Bears 20 per cent Global Disease Burden -Osotimehin
The Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), Dr Babatunde Osotimehin, yesterday, said that with barely 11 per cent of the world’s population, Africa bears 24 per cent of the global burden of diseases.
Osotimehin made the disclosure while addressing the ministerial session at the ongoing Regional Conference on Population and Development in Addis Ababa.
He urged leaders to step up efforts in addressing the overwhelming health challenges facing the continent.
He said “Africa accounts for just one per cent of the world’s financial resources for health and three per cent of the global health work force, which results to limited and inequitable access to health services and very poor health outcomes for our people, particularly the most vulnerable of us.’’
The UNFPA boss said 450 African women and girls die every day in childbirth, accounting for more than half of all preventable maternal deaths worldwide.
“The region also accounts for half of all child deaths and roughly 75 per cent of all HIV-related deaths globally,” he added.
Osotimehin, who was former Nigeria’s health minister, urged leaders to increase funding to tackle challenges related to extreme poverty and income disparities, social exclusion and inequalities and address the needs of the young and the old.
“We also need to address challenges related to the status of women and girls, and to ensure universal access to basic health services, including sexual and reproductive health services, as well as address the unmet needs of some 47 million women in sub-Saharan Africa for family planning,” he added.
According to him, challenges related to urbanisation, migration, complex emergencies and conflict, the environment, food insecurity and climate change also need to be addressed.
“These challenges are linked in a vicious self-perpetuating cycle that must be broken.
“It is unacceptable that in the 21st century, girls are still subjected to harmful practises such as female genital mutilation and child marriage, which violate their rights to health, physical and mental integrity and life.
“Of the 10 countries worldwide with the highest rates of child marriage, eight of them are in Africa, while pregnancy complications remain the leading cause of death among adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 in our region.’’
He appealed to stakeholders for measures to tackle gender inequalities and critical barriers that prevented women and girls from exercising their rights and empowering themselves through a secure, sustainable, prosperous and resilient societies.
“We know that when countries invest in girls and other young people, and in their access to reproductive health information and services, household incomes rise, disease burdens fall, child survival improves and their economies thrive.
“The challenges of responding to the needs of Africa’s more than 50 million adolescent girls are linked to the youth bulge.
“We know that our continent is in demographic transition and there is much anticipation and excitement around the demographic bulge and its potential demographic bonus.
“ We must, however, be strategic, innovative and forward looking if we are to harness this demographic dividend and transform the region.’’
On his part, the Chairman of the AU and Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Dessalegn, assured of improved efforts to ensure that the outcome of the conference and the recommendations of the African common position were implemented.
The chairman said “if properly managed, the so-called youth bulge will represent a golden opportunity for many African countries to experience the demographic dividend, mainly in the form of accelerated economic growth and development.’’
He, however, urged governments to ensure effective implementation of policies that would take advantage of changes in the population structure.
Our correspondent reports that the conference is being attended by government agencies, civil society organisations and experts in population, health, women, gender and children matters across Africa and beyond.
Other participants include leadership of the AU Commission (AUC), the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) being the host and several UN agencies.
The conference, which will end on Friday, is expected to evolve strategies and action plans beyond the 2014 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) agenda.
The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.
This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.
The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.
Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.
The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.
From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.
From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.
Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.
From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.
The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.
The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.
The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the Polytechnic, recently.
Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.
He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.
This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly, Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.
Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.
He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.
The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.
Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.
Chinedu Wosu
-
Sports3 days ago
CAFCL : Rivers United Arrives DR Congo
-
Sports3 days ago
FIFA rankings: S’Eagles drop Position, remain sixth in Africa
-
Sports3 days ago
NPFL club name Iorfa new GM
-
Sports3 days ago
NNL abolishes playoffs for NPFL promotion
-
Sports3 days ago
Kwara Hopeful To Host Confed Cup in Ilorin
-
Sports3 days ago
NSF: Early preparations begin for 2026 National Sports Festival
-
Sports3 days ago
RSG Award Renovation Work At Yakubu Gowon Stadium
-
Sports3 days ago
RSG Pledges To Develop Baseball