Category: Medical

Health experts in cancer care say there is need to upscale the number of mental health staff and support groups for cancer patients in order to improve treatment outcomes.

The experts said this during a Cancer Summit organised by a coalition of NGOs operating under the auspices of the Nigerian Cancer Society (NCS), on Sunday in Lagos.

They also teamed with the Nigerian Medical Association Cancer Committee to expand knowledge and bridge gaps in cancer care and management.

The theme of the summit was: “Building Strategic Frameworks For

Strengthening Cancer Patient Support Groups’ and ‘Breaking the Bad News in the African Region”.

Prof. Ifeoma Okoye, Professor of Radiology, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, , said that an integrated synergy between cancer patients and their caregivers would strengthen health outcomes.

She noted that support groups would strengthen cancer patients’ coping strategies, reduce feelings of isolation, noting that the coalition was working on expanding the number of cancer support groups in Nigeria and Africa.

Okoye, who is also the Founder, Breast Without Spot (BWS), an NGO, said that the Ministry of Health in 2021 created the Nigerian cancer health fund(CHF) to assist indigent patients access treatment for cancer disease.

She noted that lots of people were unaware of the funds which were there to assist them get treatment for breast, cervical and prostate cancer.

Okoye said that research had shown that the three cancers – breast, cervical and prostate cancer- were the most common cancers in the country, noting that there are over 200 cancer diseases.

She called for increased engagement between the Federal Government, private sector and NGOs in cancer care to expand the Nigerian cancer health fund(CHF)

Similarly, Dr Denise Ejoh, Chief Executive Officer, Cormode Cancer Foundation, advised cancer patients to be resilient and always seek medical advice along their journey.

Ejoh, a cancer survivor, said every single cancer patient needs a cancer support group, stressing that the group was critical in assisting them after a medical diagnosis, understanding and bracing up for the journey.

She said that structured group interventions for cancer patients would improve psychological wellbeing, reduce anxiety and depression, and improve quality of life, coping and mental adjustment.

Also, Dr Elizabeth Akin-Odanye, President, Psycho-Oncology Society of Nigeria, said that patients should not equate a cancer diagnosis to a death sentence.

Akin-Odanye said that life was a continuum, advising them to follow treatment and seek psychosocial support.

She appealed to healthcare workers to infuse hope, assuage concerns, be empathetic while treating cancer patients and give appropriate referral to mental health experts when necessary.

Dr Saleh Yuguda, Secretary-General, Nigerian Cancer Society (NCS), said a multidisciplinary approach was needed to manage a cancer patient appropriately.

Yuguda said that multidisciplinary approach was a global best practice in cancer care management, noting that countries that adopted it had higher survival rates.

Dr Samuel Otene, Chairman, Cancer Committee, Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), said that the group would continue to partner organisations in expanding knowledge to bridge gaps toward equitable delivery of cancer care in the country.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Mr Faruk Abubakar, the Secretary General/Registrar, Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN), has reiterated the council’s commitment toward having healthy mothers and babies in the country.

He made the pledge during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday on the occasion of the 2023 International Day of the Midwife.

The day is annually celebrated on May 5 to celebrate midwives’ commitment to saving lives and ensuring the health and wellbeing of women and newborn babies.

The 2023 edition has “Together Again: From Evidence to Reality” as its theme.

The NMCN registrar, therefore, stressed the importance of the day’s celebration, saying

“it is all about having healthy mothers and babies who can compete favourably for the growth of the nation.”

According to him, the more healthy mothers and babies a country can have, the more confidence there will be in the society.

He said that a nation with healthy mothers and infants would enable less or zero incidences of diseases, and that would allow mothers and women generally to be productive and contribute their quota to nation building.

Abubakar, who disclosed that there is no formal collaboration between Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA) and trained midwives in the country, however, said NMCN had been training midwives to replace the TBAs.

He said “this is why we introduced community midwives to work in rural areas’ there is no any collaboration, but rather if we train them and they are available, that is better.

”That is why we are encouraging political leaders to support this crusade, identify a community, train him or her, and send such a person back to that community to contribute his or her quota.

“The council trained 6,700 nurses in the last six years and 21,700 nurses and midwives within that period of time

“This idea will surely replace the traditional birth attendants, that is what we are focusing on, and that is our strategy as a council.”

The registrar also said that Nigeria can achieve zero maternal mortality with increased commitment and political will.

He explained that the major constraint to achieving zero maternal mortality is the absence of skilled trained midwives.

He encouraged states and local governments to also work toward training nurses and midwives and not to leave the responsibility to Federal Government alone.

He said “if all the three tiers of government remain committed, achieving zero maternal mortality is possible.”

Abubakar said the council had increased the admission quota of students into midwifery schools, colleges and faculty of nursing in schools.

He stressed that “the major challenges of the council are inadequate budgetary provision and shortage of manpower.

Meanwhile, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in its statement to mark the 2023 International Day of the Midwife, said Nigeria needs 70,000 more midwives to close the shortage gap.

The statement indicated that the Fund’s Executive Director, Dr Natalia Kanem, quoted the 2021 State of the World’s Midwifery Report as putting the shortage of midwives in the country at 30,000, which is six per 10,000 people.

“To close the gap by 2030, about 70,000 more midwives are needed; but with current estimates, only 40,000 more will be created.

“This shortage is particularly acute in Northern Nigeria where essential needs for maternal and reproductive healthcare are unmet.”

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

In September 2022, the Police Command in Niger arrested two suspects for allegedly operating an illegal health science college in Bosso Local Government Area of the state.

The suspects were operating a school known as Excellence College of Health Sciences and Technology, somewhere in Maikunkele.

The school was allegedly established in 2020 and commenced admission in 2021 without any authorisation or certification from appropriate government bodies.

The operators of the school allegedly forged a certificate of registration to deceived members of the public to register and gain admission into the school.

As at the time of the arrests, about 100 unsuspecting students had enrolled into the college after paying N78, 000 each for tuition and other charges.

Similarly, in July 2022, the Kano State Government shut down at least 26 illegal private health training institutions.

The State Ministry of Health in a statement explained that the institutions were established without recourse to extant regulations governing the establishment and operation of such institutions.

According to Kano State Government, the unrecognised institutions lacked definite sites and offered dubious programmes against the established curricula while extorting exorbitant fees from students and their parents.

In Kaduna State, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina Mohammed-Baloni, recently announced plans to fish out and shut down unequipped and unregistered schools and colleges of health sciences in the state.

The commissioner also said the government had closed some of the schools some time ago because they did not meet the minimum criteria to exist and operate.

Similarly, the Gombe State Government, in 2022 banned 10 health training institutions from teaching and awarding certificates to students of health-related fields over alleged non-accreditation.

The state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Zubairu Umar had explained that because the institutions were not accredited by regulatory bodies and they did not have the required facilities to train health workers.

These are just few among several of such illegal institutions that scattered all over the country.

Health experts have expressed concern over the high incidence of death arising from handling of patients by unprofessional health workers.

They have tried to establish a link between such deaths and health workers who obtained their certificates from illegal and substandard health training centres.

They particularly argued that any functional health system relies on skilled manpower to deliver the much-needed services.

Worried by the development, the Federal Government, through the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) said it was taking measures to sanitise the system.

Consequently, NBTE convened a one-day meeting with provosts, proprietors, principals of health institutions and registrars of health professional bodies in Kaduna.

The Executive Secretary of the board, Prof. Idris Bugaje told meeting that the authorities will not fold its arms and watch some elements flout regulations on establishment of diploma awarding institutions.

He warned that anybody who decided to call its programme National Diploma (ND) or Higher National Diploma (HND) without NBTE registration and accreditation is creating a serious problem for himself or herself.

According to him, NBTE is determined to clean up the system because `health is the wealth of any nation`.

“This is why we invited all the provosts and proprietors of health colleges, both legal and illegal and professional bodies, to discuss the challenges and develop a common roadmap to address them.

“If it is the registration conditions that are too stringent, let us know so that we can review what can be reviewed without compromising standards.

“We will give a moratorium for every health institution to go and regularise its registration, after which, we will bring the full ambit of the law and security agencies at our disposal to close the illegal ones”, he told the meeting.

The executive secretary said that the NBTE had already reviewed Bank Guarantee mandatory requirement for registration downwards from N100 million to N25 million.

He disclosed that some of the operators of illegal health colleges were currently being investigated by the Department of State Services (DSS) in two states.

He added that the board had also constituted a standing Disciplinary Committee to try members of staff who were colluding with illegal institutions to give them fake accreditation.

“Already, some senior management staff of the NBTE involved have been suspended and as I speak, while some are facing disciplinary committees, we will leave no stone unturned.

“One of you gave one of our staff N2.5 million to facilitate registration. It is illegal and we are investigating the fraud. I learned the staff has refunded the money but must face the full wrath of the law,” Bugaje said.

Also, the NBTE Director, Inspectorate, Hajiya Bilkisu Daku, said at the session that registration with the board is crucial in the establishment of colleges of health technology offering ND or HND in the country.

Daku added that the board partnered the police, DSS, Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission and other anti-graft agencies to curtail the proliferation of illegal institutions.

It has been argued in some quarters that government established institutions alone cannot develop enough manpower required by the nation’s health sector.

While acknowledging this assertion, NBTE Director, Monotechnic Programmes, Mr Samaila Tanko, said private sector participation in the training of manpower must follow approved channels.

He said NBTE was the agency that regulates all aspects of technical education that falls outside university education.

He said that health training offered by colleges of health technologies and nursing schools was among the training regulated by the NBTE and as they must comply with NBTE regulations.

Dr Sani Barka, Chairman, Association of Heads of Health Training Institutions in Nigeria, said at the event that the proliferation of illegal health colleges in the country was alarming.

Barka, who is the Provost, Gombe State College of Health Sciences and Technology, Kaltungo, commended the NBTE for taking steps to curb the trend.

Also, Dr Bayo Ojo, Chairman, Association of Provosts of Colleges of Health Sciences and Technology of Nigeria, described the move to sanitise the operations of colleges of health sciences as laudable.

Sharing a similar view, Mr Yahaya Tsumi, the Director, Special Duties, Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, said “what the NBTE is doing is a laudable move to check illegal health institutions.

“As a regulatory institution, we are in full support so that the right thing will be done to produce qualified health professionals”, he said.

For a country whose health sector needs to be upgraded, Nigeria can ill-afford poorly trained healthcare workers and care givers at whatever level.

This makes it necessary for all stakeholders to play their part in ensuring that training of health workers is done in environments that boast of global best practices.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Kalumbi Shangula is leading a delegation of medical doctors and local and national health managers on a weeklong fact-finding mission to clinics, health centres and State hospitals in the Otjozondjupa Region.

Shangula and his delegation started the mission on Monday in the Okakarara Constituency.

At the Okakarara State Hospital, Shangula addressed nurses and administration officers saying he is keen to listen to them as well as to see challenges they face in handling the health affairs at the hospital.

“We are also here to see challenges faced at the mortuary, and with the medicine stockpile, old buildings, ambulances and turnover of nurses and administrators at your health facilities,” he said.

The minister further said clinics, heath centres and hospitals in the jurisdictions of Otjiwarongo, Etunda, Otavi, Kombat and Grootfontein were next to be visited on Tuesday, while those in Gam and Tsumkwe settlements were scheduled for Wednesday.

The ministry also plans to commemorate World Tuberculosis Day at the Tsumkwe settlement on Thursday.

Friday will be dedicated to visiting the Omatako and Mangetti Dune health centres in the same Tsumkwe Constituency, Dr Shangula said.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia Tuesday inaugurated a one-million-dollar Catheterization Laboratory for the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital to support accurate imaging for effective treatment of diseases, especially brain aneurysms.

A Catheterization Laboratory, commonly referred to as Cathlab, is an examination room in a hospital or clinic with diagnostic imaging equipment used to visualise the arteries of the heart and treat any stenosis or abnormality found.

The highly advanced laboratory was funded by the Bank of Ghana as part of its corporate social responsibility.

The medical facility is located at the Radiology Department of the Hospital with equipment such as a big detector, dyna CT and roadmap software as well as 3D workstation.

At the inauguration ceremony at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Dr Bawumia lauded the Central Bank for funding the medical facility and expressed confidence that it would help improve healthcare delivery in the country’s premier hospital.

The Vice-President said Ghana was the only country in the West African sub-region offering advanced minimally invasive endovascular treatment for brain aneurysms.

The Cathlab is a valuable asset and a good addition to the overall healthcare infrastructure of Ghana.

He said investing in medical facilities would help retain skilled medical professionals, improve training of local doctors and other allied health personnel to enhance the quality of healthcare to the citizens.

The Vice President urged the Management and Staff of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital to ensure proper maintenance of the medical facility to prolong its service life.

He, thus, entreated other private corporate organisations to partner with Ghana’s premier hospital and other health facilities to bring similar health advancements into fruition.

The Government, he said, over the past six years, had prioritised health with the construction of health facilities, among others, which would position Ghana as a medical tourism hub in the Sub-region.

The recruitment of more than 100,000 health personnel for the Ghana Health Service, restoration of nursing training allowances, resuscitation of the national ambulance service through the implementation of the one constituency, one ambulance policy, under which 307 well-equipped ambulances were procured, were examples of the priority government placed on health.

The Government implemented drone delivery of medical supplies to remote areas, thus, making Ghana the largest medical drone delivery service in the world, Vice President Bawumia said.

Dr Opoku Ware Ampomah, the Chief Executive Officer of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, said the hospital would hold its Centenary Anniversary in October, this year, to celebrate the excellent clinical services and leadership it had provided since its inception.

He commended the Government and the Central Bank, in particular, for funding the renovation of some health facilities in the hospital.

Being the national referral centre its internal processes must be strengthened to ensure excellent services to the citizens, he said.

Dr David Nkansah-Dwamena, the Board Chair, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, said due to non-availability of some cutting-edge medical equipment in the hospital it sometimes referred cases outside the country for management.

He, thus, appealed for state-of-the-art equipment to deliver on its mandate.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A Biopharmaceutical company, Pfizer, says vaccines are critical in supporting global health security to prevent and control more than 30 infectious diseases and reduce hospitalisation of citizens.

Kodjo Soroh, Medical Director, Sub-Saharan Africa, Pfizer, said this in a statement on Tuesday in Lagos in commemoration of World Immunisation Week.

World Immunisation Week, celebrated in the last week of April, aims to highlight the collective action needed to protect people from vaccine-preventable diseases.

This year’s celebration is with the theme; ‘The Big Catch-Up’, representing a global push to vaccinate millions of children and return to pre-pandemic vaccination levels.

Soroh said that this year’s campaign came at a critical turning point for immunisation.

He noted that it was time to get on track after over two years of immunisation backsliding caused by COVID-19 pandemic disruptions.

“We must catch-up, restore and strengthen immunisation services to reach the millions of people missing out on the life-saving benefits of vaccines and stop outbreaks from accelerating.

“We should not forget that vaccines are one of the world’s most powerful and cost-effective public health tools available and have successfully helped to eradicate, eliminate, and manage many deadly infectious diseases.

“Smallpox has been eradicated and polio is nearly gone. Cervical cancer could become the first cancer to be eliminated,” he said.

According to him, vaccines also play a critical role in combating antimicrobial resistance, reduction of antibiotic use by preventing bacterial infections in the first place, such as with the pneumococcal and meningococcal vaccines.

“They can also prevent viral infections such as flu, which can provoke secondary infections requiring antibiotics,” he said.

Soroh also noted Pfizer’s history in vaccine research and development, including a pivotal role in the eradication of polio and smallpox.

“Through the development of innovative delivery systems and technologies (the term often used is `novel vaccines’), we’ve created innovations for preventing deadly bacterial infections.

“Today, more than at any time in history, people are benefiting from safe and effective vaccines to prevent infections and diseases.

“These injections have protected people of all ages, from newborns to seniors. However, our work is not done.

“Many viruses and bacteria still present a serious health risk, and so we continue to focus on research and development in new areas, with the goal of adding more approved vaccines to tackle pathogens.

“By getting vaccinated, you can protect yourself and also avoid spreading preventable diseases to other people in your community,” he said.

According to him, some people cannot get certain vaccines because they are too young, too old, have a weakened immune system or other serious health condition.

“Those people are less likely to catch a preventable disease when you and others around them are vaccinated against it.

“Help protect yourself and the people you love by staying up to date on recommended vaccinations,” he said.

Soroh said that global vaccination coverage figures are improving, but still mask huge inequalities that shouldn’t be ignored.

He said that Pfizer was developing and distributing vaccines throughout the world to help protect many people against life-threatening illness,.

“We’ve already seen that by channeling resources to the most promising public health opportunities, we can have an impact across all areas of life,” he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria