The Managing Director of NNPC Foundation, Mrs. Emmanuella Arukwe, has expressed concern over rising prevalence of heart disease fatalities in the country.
Arukwe spoke at the 53rd annual general meeting and scientific conference organised by the Nigerian Cardiac Society (NCS) on Wednesday in Port Harcourt.
The theme of the conference was “Socio-Economic Burden of Rising Cardiovascular Disease Profile in Sub-Saharan Africa”.
Represented by Mrs. Dominion Eugenia, the Foundation’s Executive Director of Finance, Arukwe said the foundation was supporting healthcare initiatives to lower mortality rates.
She said data from global heath institutions revealed more than 18 million annual deaths from cardiac failure, making the disease the leading cause of global deaths at 32 per cent.
“In Africa, cardiovascular diseases cause about 11 per cent deaths, with rising prevalence attributed to lifestyle changes and urbanisation.
“In Nigeria, an estimated 12 per cent of the adult population suffers from various cardiovascular conditions”, she said.
The Managing Director stressed the pressing need for enhanced healthcare interventions and public awareness, noting the foundation’s decision to collaborate with NCS and health facilities nationwide to tackle the disease.
“NNPC Foundation is dedicated to fostering health and wellbeing, advancing education, supporting environmental sustainability and empowering communities.
“Our healthcare initiatives aim to enhance access to quality medical services, support innovative research, and improve overall health outcomes for communities across Nigeria.
“We are committed to easing the financial burden on individuals facing economic challenges and ensuring access to essential treatments for eneryone”, she said.
On his part, NCS President, Prof. Augustine Odili, said that cardiologists at the conference would brainstorm solutions to reduce the increasing cardiovascular mortality rate in the country.
He added that they would come up with cost-effective methods to enhance the cardiovascular health of Nigerians.
“Nigeria’s economic situation necessitates low-cost measures that can make maximum impact for the people.
“This conference gathered stakeholders from various sectors, including policymakers, academia, civil society organisations and individuals living with heart conditions to advocate for healthier hearts”, he remarked.
Retired Justice Mary Peter-Odili, who chaired the meeting, warned that heart disease was nearing epidemic levels in the country and called for collective action.
Peter-Odili, the Pro-Chancellor, Rivers State University, noted the alarming trend of children being born with treatable heart conditions due to inadequate healthcare infrastructure.
She advocated for the establishment of Regional Cardiovascular Disease Centres of Excellence to provide advanced care.
“These centres can be hubs for research, training, and the provision of high-quality care, setting new standards for cardiovascular health”, she advised.
Rivers Deputy Governor, Prof. Ngozi Odu, reiterated the State Government’s commitment to improving access to healthcare.
She said funds had been allocated to strengthen medical institutions to address cardiovascular disease and other health conditions in the state.
“However, there is need for people to adopt healthier lifestyles and reduce their intake of processed foods, drinks and GMOs”, she advised.
In a keynote address, Prof. Amam Mbakwem, Vice President of World Heart Federation, said that high blood pressure, kidney issues and elevated fasting glucose levels were among the conditions contributing to heart disease.

Following cases of flooding in parts of the country, the Rivers State Government has expressed its readiness to tackle floods in the State.
State Commissioner for Water Resources and Rural Development, Samuel Eyiba, revealed this while addressing members of the socio-cultural group, Orashi National Congress and the apex socio-cultural organisation in Ekpeye land, the Uzugbani Ekpeye Worldwide, during separate courtesy calls on him , in his office, in Port-Harcourt, at the weekend.
Eyiba, who lamented the negative impact of the 2023 flooding on some families in the State, particularly in the Orashi region, said they are yet to recover from the loss, assuring however that the Governor Fubara-led administration would not allow any part of the State to suffer another disaster due to flooding.
Eyiba disclosed that plans were in top gear by the Ministry to synergise with other Ministries and relevant agencies to move residents to safer places as part of measures to mitigate the impact of the forecast flood.
Earlier in his speech, the President General, Orashi National Congress, Emeni Ibe, lauded the Commissioner for the proactive steps taken on issues of flooding, particularly in the Orashi area while also expressing appreciation to Governor Fubara for sponsoring the body’s recent visit to Abuja.
Ibe further solicited support from the Commissioner in the association’s forthcoming campaign on peace, unity and security across the four local government areas of the region, which he said was geared towards the development of the people of his ethnic extraction.
Also speaking, the President General of Uzugbani Ekpeye Worldwide, and retired cardiologist, Dr Ukechukwu Michael Nyemenem, stressed the need for the establishment of permanent refuge camps for evacuated persons from flood affected areas and called on those involved in mapping the flood-prone areas to be timely to nip in the bud the perennial problem of flooding in the axis.
Promising to bring to bear his experience and expertise as a medical doctor, Nyemenem pledged the commitment and collaboration of other stakeholders in the Orashi region with the state government in curbing the menace of flooding.
He expressed optimism that the Commissioner, Samuel Eyiba, being an Orashi son, would make the area proud by championing actions that would improve the environment of the Orashi region in particular and Rivers State in general.
Highlight of the visit was the presentation of a certificate of patron to the commissioner by the Orashi National Congress.
In another development, the Commissioner for Water Resources and Development, Samuel Eyiba, said the State government, through its regulatory agency, would clamp down on quacks in the state’s water sector.
Eyiba issued the warning when the leadership of the Hygienic Water Producers Association of Nigeria(HWAPAN), Rivers State Chapter, visited him in his office in Port Harcourt.
While noting that the activities and production of some water producers were below the Ministry’s standard, he maintained that it is the responsibility of the government to ensure the health and safety of its residents, insisting that it would not relent in sanctioning any producer that would not meet the required standards.
Earlier, the State HWAPAN Chairman, EgbiriOderi, sated that the visit was to familiarize with the Commissioner and pledged his association’s support to work cooperatively with the ministry as partners in progress.
Oderi further disclosed plans to increase the price of sachet water in the State resulting from the high cost of production.

A socio-ethnic movement in the Niger Delta, the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People USA (MOSOP-USA), has demanded for the creation of an autonomous state out of Rivers State, to be known as Bori State.
The demand was contained in a memorandum signed by the President of MOSOP-USA, DineBari Augustine Kpuinem, and submitted to the Senate Committee on Constitution Review.
The movement, in the memorandum, said that in view of the economic viability of Ogoniland, the people of Ogoni deserve an autonomous state and should be constituted into a state to be called as Bori State with Bori as its capital.
Kpuinem argued that the Ogoni people are economically viable, resourceful and independent ethnic entity that can sustain themselves if granted a political autonomous state in the country.
According to the group, the resources derived from Ogoniland would be better managed optimally for the benefit of the Ogoni people if they have the full control and management of their resources as a state.
MOSOP-USA, therefore, demanded that Section 8(1a, b, c and d) of the 1999 Constitution that pertains to the process of state creation be amended to include economic viability, ethnic and cultural distinctiveness and marginalisation as the dominant criteria for the creation of new states.
It also demanded that Section 3(1) of Chapter 1, Part 1 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) should be further amended by including Bori State as among the states in the federation.
The memorandum also sought for the amendment of the First Schedule, Part 1 of the Constitution to include the five local government areas of Eleme, Gokana, Khana, Oyigbo and Tai in the present Rivers State as component units of Bori State.
“It is the view of MOSOP-USA that Section 8 (1a, b, c and d) that pertains to the process of state creation should be amended to include economic viability and ethnic and cultural distinctiveness and marginalisation as the dominant criteria for the creation of new states.
“Following these criteria, MOSOP-USA demands that the distinct and marginalised indigenous people of Ogoni, who have been so recognised by the United Nations, should be constituted into a state to be called Bori State with Bori as the capital”, the memorandum read in part.
MOSOP-USA lamented that no Ogoni has been elected a governor in any state or region since independence, adding that the people of other ethnic nationalities are always imposed on them.
“The Ogoni people had been denied elective position into the office of the governor since independence. It is a known fact that a Yoruba man will elect a Yoruba man to govern them in a Yoruba state. Likewise the Ibos, Hausas, Fulanis, and other major ethnic nationalities.
“The Ogoni people have no state of their own; people of other ethnicities are always imposed on us. No Ogoni man has ever been elected as a governor in any state or region since independence”, MOSOP-USA said.