Category: Medical

The Federal Government on Thursday in Abuja inaugurated three policy documents to improve vision and eye health in the country.

The inauguration was with support from Sightsavers Nigeria and other partners as part of activities to commemorate the 2023 World Sight Day.

Dr Tunji Alausa, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, said the policy documents and unveiling of the Refractive Error Initiative were part of government’s strategic guidelines to improve eye health in the country.

The documents included: The National Eye Health Strategic Development Plan (2024-2028); Diabetic Retinopathy Screening and Management Guideline; and the Nigeria Glaucoma Guidelines and Toolkit.

Alausa said about 24 million Nigerians were living with treatable sight loss, majorly caused by untreated cataract and uncorrected refractive errors, hence the initiatives would aide in addressing it.

He said: “These initiatives will build the foundations to deliver change across the life course.

“Access to eye health services for school children through school eye health programmes, establishing the potential to unlock learning for millions of children being held behind.

“Integration of eye health services into primary healthcare to ensure treatment of basic issues and delivery of spectacles, ensuring working age people and the elderly access timely treatment, and early detection and referral of those with cataracts.”

According to him, these interventions will be coordinated through the National Eye Health Programme (NEHP) in the ministry.

He added that the 3 to 4-year long-term road map to improve access to refractive error services to build capacity of personnel, improve population education, reduce the cost and strengthen surveillance would be implemented in collaboration with partners.

“This will be implemented by the NEHP in partnership with multiple stakeholders, expand training of primary health workers in eye health, provide key platform for the delivery and integration of eye care services.

“Development of a sustainable procurement and delivery process for spectacles by upgrading existing eye care departments one state at a time.

“A philanthropy component will dispense free glasses to the poor to be verified by social registers.

“A spectacle revolving system from a seed of donated glasses will provide subsidised glasses to other citizens,” he said.

Alausa added that the initiative was to strengthen the eye health system to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), empowering Nigerians to learn, earn and thrive.

Dr Oteri Okolo, the National Coordinator, NEHP Programme at the ministry, said about 1.3 persons in Nigeria were blind, hence the commitment to eye health activities through implementation of national policies, plans and guidelines for systematic implementation nationwide.

Okolo said the National Eye Health Strategic Development Plan (2024-2028) policy document represents the commitment of the government to the attainment of the highest quality of eye health for its people.

She explained that the diabetic retinopathy screening and management guideline was a framework critical to making the needed impact by increasing the opportunity for prevention and prompt treatment at early stages.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Glaucoma Guidelines and Toolkit outlines collective action, based on an integrated patient-focused model is meant to tackle Glaucoma in the country.

“Implementation of both guidelines by the NEHP will begin in a few weeks with an initial training of healthcare providers with funding and technical support from Novartis, Sightsavers and Glaucoma Net of the International Centre for Eye Health, London, through the Institute for Advanced Medical Research and Training, University of Abuja.

“We hope for full implementation and whole country scale up in the nearest future as government and the private sector increases investment in eye health.

“Government cannot do this alone. Quality services to tackle glaucoma should be present in all secondary and tertiary facilities while registers for all diabetic patients embedded with a call, re-call system for annual screening and scheduled treatment where indicated is the goal,” she said.

In his part, Dr Sunday Isiyaku, the Country Director at Sightsavers, emphasised the importance of eye health on the lives of individuals, families and communities, help nations to thrive, reduce poverty and inequality.

Isiyaku added that prioritising and investing in eye health will enable the country to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC), the Sustainable Development Goals and meaningful development.

He, therefore, pledged that Sightsavers would support the Federal Ministry of Health implement the national policies to improve vision and eye health of its citizens.

“The national eye health strategy is a roadmap to improving eye health services.

“This strategy is a guiding document to steer the direction of eye health for the next five years,” he said.

The highlight of the event was the unveiling by the First Lady, Mrs Oluremi Tinubu, as a Vision Champion. (NAN)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

WHO Representative to Nigeria, Walter Kazadi, has stressed the importance of the media in advancing understanding of mental health and substance disorders.

He said this during a two-day training for journalists on mental health in Abuja on Monday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training, attended by 40 journalists, is part of activities to commemorate the 2023 World Mental Health Day.

The day is annually celebrated on Oct. 10 to raise awareness and drive actions that promote and protect mental health as a universal human right.

The global commemoration has “Mental Health is a Universal Human Right” as this year’s theme.

The WHO boss, therefore, said mental health is intrinsic and instrumental to the lives of people as it could influence how they think, feel and act.

Kazadi said journalists play vital role in educating the public on mental health.

He added that “there is need to build your capacity on mental health issues, given the importance of the work you do.”

Dr Tunde Ojo, the National Coordinator, National Mental Health, Ministry of Health, advised journalists to always seek mental health experts’ views and make proper research before writing on issues that affect mental health.

According to him, mental health is a state of complete physical, mental and social welfare and not merely the absence of disease.

Ojo said “even the use of language can cause unintentional harm and reinforce stigma. But when you get it right, you have the power to transform lives.”

He said stories about individuals with mental health challenges could increase awareness and reduce stigma around the condition.

He also encouraged journalists to be empathetic when interviewing someone with mental health and not to ask inciting questions and protect the source when possible.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The International Community of Red Cross(ICRC) has provided 10,000 mental health and psychosocial support services to 10,000 traumatized victims in Borno in eight years.

Ms Comfort Dauda, The ICRC Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Field Officer, made this known in Maiduguri.

She said that ICRC has been providing mental and psychosocial support for people affected by violence of armed conflict in the state, noting that they are in one of the communities to celebrate World Mental Health Day with some of their service users.

She explained that ICRC has also provided basic psychosocial support, psychological first aid, psycho-education, awareness-raising, community-based activities, counseling, group therapy, psychiatric psychological assessments and treatments to the beneficiaries.

”The beneficiaries were drawn from Maiduguri Metropolitan Council, Damboa Dikwa and Monguno and Bama.

”They were provided with 10 weeks of psycho-social support services,” she said.

The official noted that those who accessed the services included IDPs, missing persons, hospital patients suffering weapon wounds; frontline healthcare workers; and people in detention were treated in various health facilities.

“We are supporting such patients in Umaru Shehu Hospital, State Psychiatric Hospital and State Specialist Hospital and University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospitals in the state to provide such services to the victims.

“We also collaborated with the State Psychiatric Hospital to train some social workers and nurses to support people affected by violence on mental health and psychosocial support services.

”We are also collaborating with the State Ministry of Health and Women Affairs to provide psychological support services to women, girls who were sexually violent victims.

“We are currently working in three communities in the MMC including Ngaranam Bayan Quarters and Libya Bayan Texaco where over 340 people with the same symptoms go to the centers to sit down and interact for ten weeks with our mental health and psychosocial support professionals,”she said.

Speaking, Malama Batul Bulama, an IDP, said she recovered from trauma after accessing mental health and psychosocial services provided by the organisation.

Bulama said that before she was treated in one of the centres, she was depressed and had serious health complications after she and her family were displaced in their community by Boko Haram insurgents.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Environmental Health Council of Nigeria (EHCON), says it is partnering with 3DATX Africa, a US based organisation on vehicular emission testing.

Dr Yakubu Baba, Registrar of EHCON stated this at a media dialogue on de-carbonisation control measure on Friday in Abuja.

He said that the partnership would ensure an emission free society and safeguard the health of the populace.

Baba said the essence of the vehicular testing a technological device provided by 3DATX was to protect the health of humans.

According to him, the objective of the vehicular testing technology was to reduce emission to the barest minimum to mitigate the effect of climate change.

He said the project been piloted in Abuja has so far tested no fewer than 100 vehicles at no cost.

“This is a very important instrument and Nigeria is the first to start benefiting in the whole of Africa.

“The beauty of the technology is after identifying the problem the company, and council will also come up with a solution base to make all the Nigerian vehicles emission-free.

“This will enable the country meet global standard on emission free vehicles.

“We need to collaborate so that we can be able to face the issue of climate change squarely, because we have seen the effect.

“ We also want to make Nigeria to benefit from the incentive that is within the UN framework,” he said.

He described the vehicular testing technology as significant in the history of environmental health in the country.

Baba said EHCON had agreement with the company in four areas which included research and development.

“Another segment of our agreement with the company is to develop the capacity of our practitioners which are over 40,000 across the country so that the state government will follow suit.

“The last segment of our relationship is where we can be able to create advocacy to Nigerians on the importance of ensuring that they make their vehicle available for assessment and inspection through this technology, ” he said.

Earlier, Matthew Suleiman, General Manager, 3DATX Corporation identified the device as highly sophisticated for measuring emission gases coming out from vehicle.

He explained that it can be used on generator and has temperature adjustment that processes the gas.

“The whole system is controlled while it is connected to the laptop, so we have software that will show us real time the emissions coming out from the car.

“We are measuring particles, carbonmonoxide, sulphur among others coming out from the vehicle depending on the configuration of the devices, ” he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The University of Namibia’s psychology and social work department in partnership with the Regain Trust on Friday commemorated World Mental Health Day under the theme ‘Leaving no one behind.”

Speaking during the event, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) representative Gift Malunga urged Namibians to dismantle the walls of silence and stigma around mental health and instead build bridges of empathy and support.

Malunga said status of health refers to the overall state of well-being condition of an individual or a group of people, including its physical, mental, and social aspects.

She said mental health is closely tied to sustainable development goals, particularly Goal 3 on good health and well-being and Goal 5 on gender equality.

“Mental health is often overlooked and stigmatised, impacting not only individuals but also families, communities, and society at large. By gathering here today, we send a powerful message that mental health deserves our utmost attention. Nearly one billion people live with mental health conditions, yet it remains one of the most neglected aspects of healthcare. You are defined by your strength and humanity, not your conditions, and we stand in solidarity with you,” Malunga said.

Mulunga said the event was special because it unites a diverse group, including forensic and general psychiatric patients, professional, and students who represent the future of mental health care.

“To the social work students, you are the future of mental health care. Your dedication inspires us, and your role in providing support and compassion will shape a brighter future for those facing mental health challenges,” she added.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), has registered 1,068 Lassa fever infections across 112 local government areas in 28 states of the federation.

The NCDC said this via its official website on Tuesday in its Lassa Fever Situation Report for Week 37 (Sep. 11 -17, 2023).

The centre indicated that 75 per cent of the cases were detected in Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi States.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that Lassa fever is a viral hemorrhagic fever caused by the Lassa virus. It is primarily found in West Africa, particularly in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria.

The virus is transmitted to humans through contact with the urine or feces of infected rodents, specifically the multimammate rat.

According to the NCDC, there are currently 7,352 individuals with suspected cases and the infection has resulted in the unfortunate loss of at least 181 lives in the country.

The centre said that the case-fatality ratio of the infection stood at 16.9 per cent.

“Cumulatively from week 1 to week 37, 2023, 181 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate of 16.9 per cent which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2022 (19.1 per cent).

“In total for 2023, 28 States have recorded at least one confirmed case across 112 local government areas.

“Seventy-five per cent of all confirmed Lassa fever cases were reported from these three states (Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi) while 25 per cent were reported from 25 states with confirmed Lassa fever cases.

“Of the 75 per cent confirmed cases, Ondo reported 35 per cent, Edo 29 per cent, and Bauchi 11 per cent.

“The predominant age group affected is 21-30 years (Range: 1 to 93 years, Median Age: 32 years).

“The male-to-female ratio for confirmed cases is 1:0.9. The number of suspected cases increased compared to that reported for the same period in 2022,” it said.

It is regretted that in 2023 Lassa fever infected 49 healthcare workers across the country.

The agency said that the National Lassa Fever Multi-partner, Multi-sectoral Emergency Operations Centre had been activated to coordinate the response activities at all levels.

It added that prevention of Lassa fever involves avoiding contact with rodents and their droppings, practising good personal hygiene and taking precautions when caring for infected individuals.

The NCDC said that early diagnosis and prompt medical care are crucial in managing the disease and preventing complications.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria