Health
LISDEL Wants Budget Lines For Health Security At Grassroots
The need to establish budget lines for health security at the grassroots in Lagos State has been stressed.
Participants at a roundtable discussion on “Improving Financing for Health Security at the Grassroot Levels in Lagos State” lamented the absence of a budget line for Epidemic Preparedness and Response, EPR, in the State.
The roundtable was put together at the instance of the Legislative Advocacy Initiative for Sustainable Development, LISDEL, in collaboration with the Lagos State Ministry of Local Government & Community Affairs, with support from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, GHAI.
Budget Officers of the Local Government Areas and the Local Community Development Areas of the state, were able to have deeper understanding on the need for EPR at the LGA/LCDA level, and to raise the accountability bar for EPR funding in the Year 2022 LG health budget in the face of health security threat that has come to stay.
Noting that the absence of a dedicated budget line for EPR in the State was a major gap, the State Coordinator for LISDEL, Tina Obinna-Anikpe, said epidemic preparedness and respose should emanate from the local government level.
In her presentation titled: “Overview of the Health Security Landscape and PE project in Lagos State”, Obinna-Anikpe, observed that in line with the National Action Plan on Health Security, the local government as the third tier of government that is closest to the people, should have funding in the health budget for EPR in their yearly budget because the local government has its own role to play and some of these roles are based on the currency landscape and gaps in such local governments.
According to her, “So far, no local government has a line item or separate budget for EPR, hence the need for the workshop to galvanise support and stimulate discussion on how funding from the local government can be achieved in the Lagos State Year 2022 budget.
“This is necessary so that the local government is not just a bystander but an active part of the epidemic preparedness and response especially at the grassroots and community level and to also provide a form of support that would strengthen what the state has already been doing.”
“This roundtable is the first of the efforts to actually see that funding is allocated at the local government. It has reflected that the budget officers otherwise known as the planning officers budget personnel are key in ensuring that the budget line is not only created but that continuous accountability in terms of budgeting and spending is done appropriately.
“Engaging them even in the planning stage is one of the key action plans that came is that directive in terms of fast tracking and working together with the Ministry of Local Governments.
“The other relevamt stakeholders and the Primary Healthcare Board and the MOHs will amplify all this effort to bring about the separation of a budget line in addition to the political will.”
Noting that EPR funding should function in the Year 2022 budget, she said LISDEL was providing support to enable the State articulate efforts towards achieving the goal of ensuring that funding for the EPR for the local government is not only established but funded.
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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