Reunion Wire

An NGO, Hacey Health Initiative, says students require proper guidance and counselling in their choice of career paths to achieve fulfillment and contribute positively to socio-economic growth.

Ms Mercy Kalu, Programme Officer, HACEY’s PAVE Project Officer, said this during a Career Day Programme at Saint Francis School, Iwaya, Lagos, on Wednesday.

According to her, the event aims to assist students understand the process of effective career choice, clarify their future objectives, and appropriate action to implement these objectives.

She noted that an opinion sampling conducted showed that many of the students lacked clarity about their future career paths, while some were pushed to a career choice by their parents.

‘It is important for a child to make this decision themselves as it encourages confidence and self-reliance in future plans,’ she said.

Kalu said that the programme was also to deconstruct gender bias that it was safer to invest in educating a boy-child and marry off the girl-child.

‘We als
o engage parents and community leaders in our discussions so that they understand and align with what we are doing with the girl-child, so that we can build a safer society for them,’ she said.

She noted that the event was done under its PAVE Project, a girl-centred, community-based safe space programme, aimed at supporting teenage girls by providing them with essential health, financial, and life skills information, services, and tools.

‘The project establishes safe spaces where girls can access knowledge and resources related to sexual health, mental health, and career development.

‘They receive mentoring and are referred for additional support services as needed,’ she said.

Similarly, Mrs Oluwanifemi Sowole, a psychologist, said that passion, skills, personality, values were some factors that influence career choice.

Sowole emphasised the vital role played by parents and teachers in identifying and nurturing gifts of children to enable them excel in their chosen career.

Also, Mr Samuel Facon, Princi
pal of the school, commended the organisers for their interest in the future of the students.

Facon advised the students to utilise the opportunity properly, saying ‘ whatever career you choose, make sure you have the passion and capability for it.

‘Don’t go to science class because your friends are there. Stay in your area of strengths and you will excel in your chosen career,’ he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) says it plans to reposition Nigeria’s technology ecosystem to emerge as a global digital talent power house.

NITDA Director-General, Malam Kashifu Inuwa, said this on Wednesday in Abuja at a media parley with the theme ‘Exceptional Media Relations, Strengthening Bonds Beyond Headlines’.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the media parley was organised to discuss NITDA’s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan for 2024-2027.

Inuwa said the roadmap was designed in line with President Bola Tinubu’s eight priority areas targeted at diversifying the nation’s economy.

He added that the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy also rolled out five strategic objectives to achieve development in the IT sector.

The NITDA boss said the agency crafted the eight pillars Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan as a comprehensive document that reflected commitment to uplifting Nigeria to a premier status in the global digital economy.

He said
this would be done by harnessing the potential of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Inuwa said the agency had also developed the National Digital Literacy Framework in line with the first pillar, which was aimed at fostering digital literacy and cultivation of talents.

According to him, the framework has an ambitious target of achieving 95 per cent digital literacy by 2030, and that can make us surpass India in technology, among other initiatives.

‘We are working with the Ministry of Education to review the curriculum across the formal education, from nursery to university so that we can infuse digital literacy in our formal education.

‘By doing that, we can empower Nigerians to have digital skills before graduating.

‘We are also conceptualising other initiatives which include the Digital Literacy for All Initiative which will be unveiled soon,’ director-general said.

He added that the initiative would ensure Nigerians were educated on IT outside the formal education and have access to quality digital c
ontent.

‘This can help them have the knowledge to navigate around digital technology and digital economy.

‘The talents and digital literacy are quick wins and can easily create value for our citizens, but for the future, we need to invest heavily in research.’

The director-general said that apart from digital literacy, the agency was working to ensure digital sovereignty, to develop all digital innovation in the country.

‘We conducted skills gap assessment to identify skills in high demand locally and globally, and based on that, we have identified 12 tech skills in high demand and we used that to design three million tech talent initiative.

‘The initiative is to train three million Nigerians on those 12 identified tech talents in high demand.

‘The idea is that when we train them, some will be able to serve local market and some leave Nigeria to get job somewhere for brain export not brain drain,’ Inuwa said.

He recalled that India started brain export about 20 years ago, adding that’ presently, almost
25 per cent of sea level executives in big technology companies are Indians and they have dominated the global technology ecosystem.

‘Nigeria can do same because we have even more competitive advantage than India. We have the population, better accent, better time zone and if we position ourselves, we can beat India in technology.’

The NITDA boss added that the agency had a mid-term target of achieving 70 per cent digital literacy by 2027.

He said that the strategic plan intended to position Nigeria as a digitally inclined nation in line with the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ of the present administration.

He added that IT was an enabler that would ensure development in other sectors.

He said the pillars of the strategic plan included building a robust technology research ecosystem, strengthening policy implementation and legal frameworks as well as promotion of inclusive access to digital infrastructure and services.

‘Others are strengthening cybersecurity and enhancing digital trust, nurturing an innovative a
nd entrepreneurial ecosystem, forging strategic partnerships and collaborations, as well as cultivating a vibrant organisational culture and an agile workforce in NITDA.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Forum of the 19 Northern States Governors’ Wives has endorsed the Drug Prevention, Treatment, and Care strategy of the Re-Orientation Advocacy of Nigeria (RAN).

Mr Charles Folayan, Executive Director of RAN, announced this while speaking with newsmen in Abuja on Thursday.

He stated that the partnership followed the Northern Governors Wives Forum stakeholders’ meeting on Substance Abuse, held in Gombe on May 14 at the Government House.

Folayan mentioned that RAN presented on the successes and aspirations of the organisation in their efforts to prevent drug abuse, particularly in the 19 Northern states.

Folayan said that the Chairperson of the Forum, Hajia Asmau Inuwa-Yahaya called on all stakeholders and well-meaning Nigerians to support their efforts on rehabilitation and reintegration of people with drug use disorder.

Folayan called for treatment and care of victims of drugs, adding that RAN focuses on the wives of the Governor in the region to end drug abuse.

He said RAN is currently working with
two of the governor’s wives in the region.

The director said that RAN is seeking the involvement of others in the establishment of modern social and rehabilitation centres in their various states.

According to him, some of the Governor’s wives who responded to the partnership proposal of RAN, agreed on the need to step up prevention and treatment programmes in Nigeria.

‘They expressed their acceptance to work with RAN and their partners on the project.

‘RAN earlier in the year entered into partnership with Annmom Foundation USA, and formed a joint task with the Federal Ministry of Health and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on drug prevention

He said the organisation is also in partnership with the Nigeria Police Force and other relevant government agencies, on drug prevention, treatment and care programmes.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

APIN Public Health Initiatives, an NGO, says there is need to create awareness on the link between HIV and hypertension.

Dr Abiodun Isah, Technical Officer, Clinical Services, APIN, spoke with newsmen on Thursday in Abuja in commemoration of the World 2024 World Hypertension Day.

Isah highlighted the increased risk of non-communicable disease complications associated with HIV.

He said there was need to integrate HIV and non-communicable disease services to improve care for those living with HIV.

According to him, early detection and proactive management will mitigate the adverse health outcomes of hypertension and HIV/AIDS.

‘Regular blood pressure monitoring is a critical component of HIV management because of the impact of factors like diet and lifestyle on blood pressure levels.”

Isah said that as Nigeria battled with the dual burden of HIV/AIDS and hypertension, the integration of care for both conditions emerged as a pressing need.

He highlighted the importance of expanding access to healthcare se
rvices for the effective management of chronic diseases, acknowledging the limitations of a healthcare system primarily structured for acute infections.

‘With a significant number of people living with HIV in APIN’s care experiencing Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) such as hypertension, diabetes, renal diseases, cervical cancer, and mental health issues, we are strengthening the HIV-NCD service integration programme.

‘Currently supporting 308,497 active people living with HIV across 423 health facilities in Nigeria, APIN aims to address the interconnected health challenges faced by this population.”

Isah said the impact of HIV infection on the cardiovascular system underscored its potential to heighten susceptibility to hypertension-induced end-organ damage, including cerebrovascular accidents (stroke), nephropathy (kidney damage) and myocardial infarction.

He said there was significant risk factor associated with hypertension among people living with HIV and how it could contribute to challenges in HIV
drug therapy, adherence, morbidity and mortality.

‘Despite advancements in HIV treatment, disparities persist in monitoring and managing cardiovascular risk factors among individuals with HIV.

‘Challenges to adequate care include fragmented healthcare systems, limited awareness of cardiovascular risks, and prevailing socio-economic factors.”

He said that APIN was committed to continuously monitoring and evaluating the integration of HIV and NCD services to ensure the delivery of high-quality care.

‘As APIN expands its HIV-NCD integration programme across supported health facilities and states in Nigeria, individuals living with HIV can expect improved access to comprehensive care that prioritises their overall well-being.

‘This initiative demonstrates APIN’s dedication to promoting health equity and enhancing the quality of life for people living with HIV in Nigeria and beyond,’ he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the World Hypertension Day is observed on May 17 annually.

The theme
for this year’s commemoration is ‘Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer!”

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Paying taxes should not be a burden but an investment to collective future, Mr Abdul-Kabir Opeyemi, an expert on Taxation and Revenue, said on Wednesday.

Opeyemi, Special Adviser on Taxation and Revenue to Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

He emphasised the need to make the country’s tax system more transparent and accountable to Nigerians to boost confidence and voluntary compliance.

He said that Nigeria needed a tax system that incentivised investment, job creation, and economic diversification.

According to him, we should not see paying of taxes as a burden and stress, rather we should see it as an investment or contribution to our collective future.

‘I want to use the opportunity to encourage our people to contribute their quota in order to assist the government to fulfill their developmental goals as promised.

‘We want to take tax system to the next level, by investing heavily on infrastructure and sustain
ing the autonomy of Lagos internal revenue service.

‘We also want to ensure that we deepen the technology used in monitoring revenue collection from all sources.

‘An example is, integrating all revenue in generating unit which we call Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) into sharing data, intelligence and the likes,’ he said.

Opeyemi said that the efforts would make the revenue a great deal as well as supporting the government to achieve its goals.

He said that the state was trying to widen the tax length to accommodate people that were not hitherto in the tax length before now.

He encouraged the taxpayers to have a change of mindset, adding that taxes play crucial role in building a better Nigeria and for generations to come.

‘Tax payers need to see that their contributions are being used effectively for public services and infrastructural development.

‘We are doing very well. We have doubled our revenue and are moving closer to our target,’ he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Health experts have called for increased investment and digitisation of Primary Healthcare Centres(PHC) for quality service delivery.

Dr Chidjoke Kaduru, Public Health Physician at Corona Management Systems (CNS), made the call at a Stakeholders’ Validation Meeting on Assessing Primary Healthcare in Nigeria through a State Scoring System in Abuja.

The meeting organised in collaboration with Save the Children International (SCI)., is aimed at looking at the quality of PHCs in Nigeria and to seek ways for possible improvement.

Kaduru said the ‘One Campaign’ group and other stakeholders came together to do the scorecard assessment around primary health care systems and their capacity to deliver services.

According to him, the objective of the assessment is to bring to limelight issues around PHC for the new administration that has shown keen interest in delivering an improved PHC system to navigate the system.

‘The focus then for us, is to generate intelligence that can support that process as much as possi
ble.

‘That way we can also come back a year or two from now to say well we did provide some intelligence to support the process but how well have we fared ?.’

Kaduru said that the key things that were realised at the course of the assessment was that the primary health facilities did not have the capability at the moment to receive and manage funding well enough.

‘We have to find ways of supporting them better around that and also find ways to hold them accountable for it.’

Kaduru said there was a need to improve the involvement of communities with the primary health care system for accountability

because at the moment it is lacking.

He said that at the moment , primary healthcare facilities do not show any capabilities to take on technology and use it well.

‘So we have to build from the ground up not just do on the surface things to say we are using technology.

‘ Otherwise we will not reap the benefits of the technology age you know for our health system. We also have to find ways of improving the co
mmunity health worker landscape.

‘The reality is that no matter how beautiful the infrastructure and the structures are, if the workers are not there to give people the services we will still be missing you know a lot. ‘

Kaduru said that there was a need to improve infrastructure , like potable water, sleeping quarters, electricity in the health facility, those things are bare minimum and putting in a refrigerator to store some of the drugs in the cold chain.

He called for better investment from state governments as well to improve health and a deliberate digital health plan.

Also speaking, Nigeria Country Director of One Campaign, Stanley Achonu said members of the campaign visited three facilities in each Senatorial district of the country on assessment.

Achonu said the next step is to finalise the report and share the findings with government .

He said the findings would be made public adding that objective is to set the baseline for the government and to influence policies.

Source: News Agency of
Nigeria