Health
Covid-19: ‘People Taking Herbal Concortions Risk Organ Failures’
Rivers State Commissioner for Health, Prof Princewill Chike, has stated that people who prefer to take herbal concoctions as treatment for Covid-19 stand the risk of experiencing various forms of organ failures in the future.
He, therefore, called on the public to protect the vulnerable in society by always observing all Covid-19 protocols.
Making the call recently, when a team of the Presidential Steering Committee on Covid-19, Abuja, paid him a courtesy visit in his office, Chike decried situations in which people proffer alternative herbal solutions to treat Covid-19”.
According to the Commissioner, “research-minded people have it that we will soon have very high incidences of kidney, liver and organ failures because of the level of native concoctions people took within this period in the name of treating Covid-19.
While noting that the medical field is not for mediocres because it deals with life, he stated that the field is rather to empathise with humanity on health-related issues in order to save life.
“It baffles me when I hear people say or argue that there is no covid, meanwhile, the Third Wave is ravaging the country with death rate on the increase. If care is not taken in Nigeria, we may encounter the Fourth Wave of Covid”, the Commissioner said.
Speaking earlier, the leader of the Presidential Steering Committee on Covid-19, Dr Levin Damisah said the purpose of the visit was to engage the State in efforts to enforce the containment measure of Covid-19.
“We do not want to bring lockdown as first yy, knowing that Rivers State is very key to the socio-economic life of this country. So, whatever we need to do to keep the good work going is what we are here for”, he explained.
Damisah expressed worry over the recent data showing that there is so much mortality rate associated with the Delta Variant, which, he said, has recorded over 2,600 deaths in the last two months.
He further noted that the team offers its support for the State to leverage on identifying the challenges facing Covid-19 prevention, containment and mitigation in the State, as well as proffer solutions.
By: Sogbeba Dokubo
Health
Getting Trimmed Naturally
There are a lot of misconceptions about weight gain.
The first is that weight gain comes from extra calories we do consume that we do not expend. Experts say we eat too much and exercise little. So if one get fatter, then, surely he or she must be eating too much.
The other misconception is that once we cut our food, then, we will naturally become trimmed. All these are hinged on the diet theory, which only works for some time.
Over the past 40 years, studies have shown that you can not get clinically significant effect from cutting down on your calories. Even though experts are saying that sloth is responsible for weight gain- they overlook one basic truth that dieting only works for a short period.
The new study that seems to break those myths about body fat is now revealing some stunning facts. The kind of food we eat makes us fat. Two scientists at University of Pennsylvania, Mitchell Lazar and Cardiologist Allan Sniderman at McGill University, all in the United States have shown that food that we eat often makes us pack in flesh. These include bread, plain baked potatoes, and plain pasta, rice, sweet corn. They confirmed that fatty foods are not the enemy but easily digested carbohydrates, while steak, burgers, cheese or sour cream help us lose weight and keep our heart healthy.
This sounds ironical, but it has been discovered that those who do diet and avoid those foods end up getting hungry. What happens is that when you conserve energy or burn less energy, you are bound to add more flesh. Many public health authorities want us to practise energy balance, which is a new way to say that you should not take more calories than one expends.
No matter how one counts what he or she eats, it is impossible to determine calories and know when we are over board. No matter how good you are at counting calories, you can’t do it. So its couple of sips of soft drinks and few bites of humburger that can make you add weight. That means it at the point when we eat extra than the body want that the body store excess as fat.
The myth of exercising to reduce weight is really making waves. Exercise is helpful but it is not the main ingredient for fat burning. The funny truth is that the two things we tell people to do in order to lose weight-eat less and exercise more- are the exact two things that make one more hungry. Thus, there is need for balance. If one must exercise, then it should be done moderately so as to allow the body to recover the strenght.
The reality is that insulin is the primary hormone that makes one to add weight, especially one eats food that spikes insulin like bread, biscuits, sweets, soft drinks. It is refined carbohydrates that raise insulin levels in the body. Explained in simple terms, your fat tissue is more like your wallet, and your meals are like going to the ATM. You know how you use the ATM: You put the cash in your wallet and gradually spend it, and when you get too low on cash, you go back to the ATM. It is the insulin that locks the money in your wallet, so you keep going to the ATM, and your fat cells are getting fatter and fatter. More often, you become hungry and you eat again because the insulin can not get at the fatty acids leading to weight gain.
Low carb diet is key if you are to get trimmed. In Africa where stables are more of carbohydrate it is best to choose those with fibre. It is difficult to follow the Atkins diet like eating skinless chicken and green salad, melted mozzarella cheese and all those western diet.
An example of a workable diet is to include eggs more often and cut down on processed foods, especially processed carbohydrate. Complex carbohydrate, and vegetables have more fibre and make you get filled quickly. Instead of Irish potato, go for sweet potatoes, oats that have more fibre. I advise people to eat garri than processed plantain and wheat meals. By the way, processed wheat can worsen the body ails.
By: Kelvin Nengia
Health
Eye Expert Cautions On Rays From Electronics
An optometrist, Dr. Matthew Daniels says many Nigerians are suffering from refractive eye problem which can be corrected.
Besides, he disclosed that most of the eye problems common these days come from rays from long use of electronic devices.
The one time Chairman of Business Development Committee of the Nigeria Optometery Association(NOA) explained that rays emitted from electronic devices such as phones, television, computers have effects on the eyes.
He urged for caution and toning down of light from phones and computers so as to reduce eye irritation and other eye maladies that may affect sight.
In a chat with The Tide, Dr. Daniels said the refractive eye error maybe long sight or short sight which can be corrected.
However, he decried that most Nigerians do not take the health of their sight seriously and as such, suffer from eye defects which could have been treated without much expenses.
Commenting on the planned program me by the Federal Government to provide eye glasses to Nigerians, Dr Daniels observed that it may be difficult to provide free eye glasses to five million Nigerians.
For him, what the people need is more eye clinics and hospitals at the grassroots, as he lamented that most eye sight challenges are common in the rural areas.
By: Kevin Nengia
Health
WHO Raises Alarm Over Increased Incidence Of TB, Others
The World Health Organisation(WHO) has raised alarm over increased incidence of tuberculosis, HIV and malaria as it charged member countries to make health an urgent matter of policy focus.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General made the charge at the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 78) in New York stressing need to put health for all on the highest political agenda.
WHO’s DG appeal comes as the world faces multiple humanitarian and climate-related crises which are threatening lives and livelihoods around the world.
The world health apex body observed that progress in reducing infant and maternal mortality has stagnated (in some regions, while progress in tackling infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria has also declined.
It noted that many parts of the world are also witnessing rollbacks in sexual and reproductive health and rights, as
access to life-saving tools is becoming uneven across the world, with millions unable to afford or obtain needed care.
In addition it said no communicable diseases and mental disorders, which account for over 70% of deaths globally, threaten social and economic development across the world.
“Ill health robs individuals, families, communities and entire nations of opportunities to grow and flourish,” Dr Tedros said.
The body decried that billions of people cannot access or afford essential health services and as such are exposed to poverty, abd other preventable and treatable diseases like TB.
WHO’s call to accelerate the achievement of health targets comes ahead of the Sustainable Development Goals Summit (SDG Summit) and an unprecedented number of health-focused high-level meetings at UNGA, aimed at strengthening pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response, delivering universal health coverage (UHC) and ending TB.
As government leaders gather to make commitments around three major health issues, they have a chance to demonstrate that health is an investment, not a cost, and is fundamental to thriving, resilient families, societies and economies.
“If COVID-19 taught us nothing else, it’s that when health is at risk, everything is at risk,” WHO DG said .
Recalling the effect of the Covid19 pandemic, he lamented the enormous economic, social and political upheaval, and effect on progress towards the health-related targets in the Sustainable Development Goals.
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The European Union (EU) says it will end its five-year Agents for Citizen-Driven Transformation (ACT) programme aimed at enhancing the capacity of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Nigeria, on April 14. Mr Damilare Babalola, the National Programme Manager, ACT, said this on Tuesday at a brief event in Port Harcourt. Babalola said that the conclusion of the programme would automatically mean an end for the 21 CSOs based in Rivers. He stated that the EU-funded programme, valued at 13.1 million euros, was executed by the British Council across 10 states, with a presence in the 36 states of the federation. “The programmes’ goals are to assist CSOs in becoming more credible, accountable and effective agents of change, for sustainable development in Nigeria. “The implementation focussed on providing capacity-building skills, referred to as capacity development support to CSOs, to enhance their effectiveness. “Additionally, it aimed to evaluate the regulatory environment for CSOs and promote strategic coordination among them and other key stakeholders in terms of collaboration and advocate, for appropriate legislation and regulations,” he explained. Babalola identified the benefitting states as Adamawa, Borno, Edo, Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). “The ACT programme commenced in 2019 and will officially conclude on April 14, marking the end of five-years of active implementation in the country. “Rivers was among the states where we initiated the programme during our phase two launch in 2020, and we are here to formally close the ACT programme in the state. “ACT has addressed significant challenges affecting the effectiveness and impact of civil societies, especially in creating an enabling regulatory environment,” he added. He expressed confidence that in spite of ACT’s departure from the country, civil society groups have gained sufficient capacity to effectively carry out their responsibilities in their respective focus areas within the communities. The programme manager noted that 273 CSOs benefitted from the programme across the country, with 233 CSOs receiving capacity-building training and 40 others trained to enhance regulatory conditions. In his remark, ACT Rivers Focal Person, Mr Temple Oraeki, emphasised the importance of CSOs collaborating with the state government and international donor agencies to advance their programmes and projects within the communities. “The 21 CSOs, comprising of eight community-based organisations and three network coalitions in Rivers, now serve as our ambassadors, equipped to make positive impact in society. “Therefore, we are leaving behind organisations that are credible partners for the government and international donor agencies to execute their programmes in communities,” he said. Gov. Siminialayi Fubara of Rivers, expressed the state’s readiness to engage with CSOs to implement government policies and programmes in the various communities where they operate. Represented by Diokuma Ismael, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Fubara lauded the EU and British Council for their interventions in the state. “The success of the ACT programme has undoubtedly enhanced the value of civil society organisations in the state and nationwide. “We are prepared to partner with the CSOs that have impacted communities, once all necessary documentations are concluded. “However, it is crucial for CSOs to adhere to proper regulations, to enable the government to identify with them for sustainable development,” he said. Fubara urged the civil society groups to align with the state government’s policy to drive positive change in the communities.
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