The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), says Lassa fever fatalities have risen sharply in 2026, in spite of a decline in new confirmed cases in the latest reporting week.

The NCDC, in its Epidemiological Week 13 report, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja, disclosed that 167 deaths have been recorded so far within the year.

The Nigerian Public Health Institute says the case fatality rate (CFR) is 25.2 per cent, significantly higher than the 18.5 per cent recorded during the same period in 2025.

According to the report, 26 new confirmed cases were recorded in week 13, a decrease from 51 cases reported in the previous week.

The cases were reported across seven states: Edo, Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Ebonyi, Benue, and Kaduna.

However, the agency noted that the overall burden of the disease remained high, with a total of 663 confirmed cases out of 3,831 suspected cases reported across 22 states and 93 local government areas in 2026.

”The number of suspected and confirmed cases has increased compared to the same period in 2025,” the report stated.

The NCDC identified Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Edo, and Benue as the most affected states, accounting for 85 per cent of all confirmed cases.

It added that young adults between the ages of 21 and 30 remained the most affected group, with a median age of 30 years.

The report also highlighted persistent challenges driving the high fatality rate, including late presentation of cases, poor health-seeking behaviour, and high cost of treatment.

Other factors the report said include poor environmental sanitation and low awareness levels in high-burden communities.

In spite of these concerns, no new infections among healthcare workers were recorded during the reporting week.

In response to the outbreak, the NCDC said it had activated a multi-partner incident management system to coordinate national response efforts.

It also said that the agency in collaboration with partners such as WHO, UNICEF, and MSF, had intensified surveillance, contact tracing, and public awareness campaigns.

It added that targeted interventions, including a healthcare worker protection plan and infection prevention strategies, were being implemented in high-burden states.

The agency urged state governments to strengthen year-round community engagement and called on healthcare workers to maintain a high index of suspicion for Lassa fever to ensure early detection and treatment.

Public health experts are of the opinion that rising fatality rates in spite of improved response efforts underscore the urgent need to address systemic gaps in early diagnosis and access to care.

Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness caused by the Lassa virus and is primarily transmitted through contact with food or household items contaminated by rodents.

Nigeria records cases of the disease annually, particularly during the dry season when human exposure to infected rodents increases.

Health authorities say early detection, prompt treatment and strict infection control measures remain critical to reducing mortality and preventing outbreaks. (NAN)

Nigeria’s fragile healthcare system faces another major disruption as the National Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, has declared a total and indefinite strike beginning midnight, Tuesday, April 7, accusing the Federal Government of provoking yet another avoidable industrial crisis.

The decision was reached during an Extraordinary National Executive Council (e-NEC) meeting held virtually on April 4, where the association strongly condemned the Federal Government’s move to discontinue the Professional Allowance Table (PAT), describing it as both “unfortunate” and unjustifiable.

After what it termed exhaustive deliberations, NARD resolved to embark on a comprehensive industrial action, warning that the government’s action threatens the welfare of doctors and the stability of the nation’s health sector.

What they want

At the heart of the dispute is the controversial removal of the PAT, a key component of doctors’ remuneration. The association is demanding an immediate reversal of the policy, alongside the payment of long-standing financial obligations owed to its members.

Specifically, NARD is calling for the prompt settlement of promotion and salary arrears affecting doctors in various centres, the immediate conclusion of payments under the 2026 Medical Residency Training Fund,MRTF, and the clearance of outstanding 19 months’ arrears of the Professional Allowance.

In a statement signed by its Secretary-General, Dr. Shuaibu Ibrahim, the association urged its members nationwide to remain united and resolute, stressing that the strike is a necessary step to confront what it described as persistent injustice.

The looming strike raises fresh concerns over access to healthcare services across the country, with patients likely to bear the brunt if urgent dialogue fails to avert the shutdown.

The Enugu State Government has placed its health system on high alert following the death of 10 health care workers in neighbouring Benue State due to the ongoing Lassa fever outbreak.

The Commissioner for Health, Prof George Ugwu, disclosed this on Wednesday during a press briefing, noting that while Enugu has recorded nine suspected cases with no confirmed infections this season, the proximity to affected states necessitated an emergency response.

“The national outlook of the disease remains grim, with 1,469 suspected cases, 318 confirmed, and over 70 deaths reported across Taraba, Ondo, Bauchi, Edo, Nasarawa, Kogi, and Ebonyi states,” Ugwu said.

Highlighting the situation in Benue, he added, “Because of our proximity to these affected areas, particularly our shared borders with Benue and Ebonyi states, we are now in a high alert phase.

Surveillance has been elevated to ‘Enhanced Mode’ in all local government areas, especially in the hotspots.”

As part of proactive measures, he said all public and private health facilities had been directed to make patient triaging mandatory

The commissioner said tertiary institutions must establish holding areas for suspected cases, and health workers are to maintain a high index of suspicion for persistent fevers unresponsive to malaria treatment, strictly following Infection Prevention and Control guidelines.

Facilities must provide a holding area for suspected cases and immediately alert the state. Use appropriate Personal Protective Equipment when attending to suspected cases,” Ugwu added.

The Ministry of Health also advised residents to maintain rodent-free environments, practise safe food storage, avoid consuming rats, refrain from self-medication, and seek prompt medical attention for symptoms such as headache, vomiting, or bleeding.

Ugwu assured that essential commodities, including PPEs, medicines, and body bags, had been pre-positioned, while Rapid Response Teams are on 24-hour standby.

He also urged the media to avoid sensational reporting and encouraged the public to report suspected cases through official emergency lines.

Culled from punch

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, Monday, raised fresh alarm over a sharp spike in Lassa fever infections, confirming that new cases surged by 57 per cent in one week as the country recorded 31 deaths within the first five epidemiological weeks of 2026.

In its situation report for Epi Week 5, the agency disclosed that confirmed cases rose from 28 in Week 4 to 44 in Week 5, with new infections reported in Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Edo, Plateau, Benue and Ebonyi states.

It noted that cumulatively, Nigeria has recorded 31 deaths as of Week 5, with a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 18.8 per cent, slightly lower than the 19.6 per cent recorded during the same period in 2025.

“The number of new confirmed cases increased from 28 in Epi Week 4 to 44 in Epi Week 5. As of Week 5, 31 deaths have been recorded, with a CFR of 18.8 per cent.”

Nine states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 33 Local Government Areas so far this year. However, 92 per cent of all confirmed cases are concentrated in five states — Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Edo and Plateau.

Bauchi alone accounts for 47 per cent of confirmed cases, followed by Ondo (18 per cent), Taraba (14 per cent), Edo (8 per cent) and Plateau (5 per cent). The remaining eight per cent of cases were reported from four other states.

The disease continues to affect mostly young adults, with the predominant age group being 21–30 years. The median age is 28 years, with cases ranging from one to 74 years-old. The male-to-female ratio stands at 1:0.8.

While the total number of suspected and confirmed cases remains lower than figures recorded during the same period in 2025, health authorities are worried about rising infections among healthcare workers. One new healthcare worker was infected in Week 5.

In response to the rising cases, the NCDC confirmed that the National Lassa Fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Incident Management System, IMS, has been activated to coordinate response efforts nationwide.

The Incident Management System of the National Lassa Fever Emergency Operations Centre has been activated to strengthen coordination at all levels,” the agency said.

A high-level field mission was deployed to Bauchi State with support from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), while IMS structures have also been activated in Benue and Plateau states.

The agency added that it is collaborating with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) and Pro-Health International to investigate and mitigate healthcare worker infections.

Other measures include distribution and pre-positioning of personal protective equipment (PPE), Ribavirin (both injection and tablets), body bags, thermometers, hypochlorite, hand sanitisers and information materials to affected states and treatment centres.

Laboratory networks nationwide are analysing samples to ensure prompt diagnosis, while treatment of confirmed cases is ongoing at designated centres.

Despite intensified response efforts, the NCDC identified late presentation of cases as a major driver of fatalities.

“Late presentation of cases is contributing to the increase in the case fatality rate,” the report noted. “Poor health-seeking behaviour due to the high cost of treatment and clinical management is also a concern.”

Other challenges include poor environmental sanitation in high-burden communities, low awareness levels and increasing infections among healthcare workers

The agency urged state governments to intensify community engagement and awareness campaigns throughout the year rather than during peak outbreak seasons.

“States must bolster efforts all-year-round for community engagement on Lassa fever prevention.”

Healthcare workers were urged to maintain a high index of suspicion and ensure timely referral and treatment of suspected cases, while partners were called upon to strengthen state capacity to prevent, detect and respond promptly to outbreaks.

Culled from punch

No fewer than 31 persons have died from Lassa fever, with over 754 suspected cases reported across 33 local government areas in nine states of the federation.

Data obtained from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control revealed that nine health workers had also been affected by the disease in the first five weeks of 2026.

Nigeria continues to face a Lassa fever outbreak amid concerns over inadequate funding of the health sector by stakeholders.

Lassa fever is an animal-borne, acute viral illness spread by the common African rat, also known as the Mastomys rat species.

It is endemic in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa.

Since the last major outbreak in 2016, there has been a noticeable increase in recurring cases.

According to the World Health Organisation, Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness caused by the Lassa virus, a member of the arenavirus family.

Humans usually become infected through exposure to food or household items contaminated with the urine or faeces of infected Mastomys rats.

“Person-to-person infections and laboratory transmission can also occur, particularly in healthcare settings in the absence of adequate infection prevention and control measures,” the WHO stated.

According to the NCDC, “In total for 2026, nine states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 33 local government areas.

“Ninety-two per cent of all confirmed Lassa fever cases were reported from five states: Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Edo, and Plateau, while eight per cent were reported from four other states with confirmed cases.”

The NCDC provided a breakdown showing that 135 cases were currently being managed at treatment centres, with at least 110 suspected cases undergoing contact tracing and follow-ups.

On its response efforts, the NCDC stated that it had “conducted a high-level field mission to Bauchi State; activated the Incident Management System of the National Lassa Fever Emergency Operations Centre; analysed samples across the laboratory network to guide prompt diagnosis and treatment; and advocated for a budget line to support field activities for Lassa fever prevention and control.”

Culled from punch

The Commissioner for Health and Human Services in Benue State, Dr Paul Ogwuche, has officially declared an outbreak of Lassa fever in the state, as no fewer than 56 suspected cases have been recorded.

The commissioner said the ministry had activated an emergency response to tackle the disease, adding that four healthcare professionals—three nurses and one community health worker—had been infected, while the death toll had risen to three.

Dr Ogwuche, who spoke with journalists in Makurdi on Tuesday, noted that the official declaration of the outbreak followed a noticeable rise in suspected and confirmed cases, including reported fatalities across the state.

He disclosed that the current situation had necessitated urgent public health action to prevent further spread of the disease.

The commissioner, citing epidemiological data released by the ministry, said the total number of suspected Lassa fever cases had risen to 56.

He said, “Eight of these cases have been laboratory confirmed, with three deaths recorded among confirmed patients and one additional probable death under investigation.

“This figure indicates a high case fatality rate among confirmed cases, raising serious concern among health authorities.”

Dr Ogwuche expressed particular worry over the impact of the outbreak on frontline health workers, noting that four healthcare professionals—three nurses and one community health worker—were among those affected.

He also paid tribute to a Benue-born medical doctor who recently died of Lassa fever while serving in Jos, Plateau State, describing the loss as a painful reminder of the risks faced daily by healthcare workers.

The commissioner stressed the need for strict compliance with Infection Prevention and Control measures in all health facilities to protect both patients and medical personnel.

He explained that the state government’s response was driven by the governor’s deep concern for the health and wellbeing of the people of the state.

“In line with this commitment, the government has activated the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre to coordinate surveillance, case management, contact tracing and public sensitisation efforts across all 23 local government areas,” he said.

The commissioner urged residents of the state to remain calm but vigilant, stressing that Lassa fever is mainly transmitted through contact with infected rodents or their urine and droppings, but could also spread from person to person, particularly in healthcare settings where infection control measures are inadequate.

He listed common symptoms of the disease to include persistent high fever, severe headache, muscle pain, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in severe cases, unexplained bleeding.

Dr Ogwuche advised residents to maintain good environmental hygiene, properly store food to prevent rodent infestation, avoid self-medication and seek immediate medical attention at the nearest health facility if symptoms develop.

He noted that early detection and treatment could significantly improve survival.

He further advised residents to promptly report any suspected cases through the Benue State Lassa Fever emergency hotline on 0803-929-4999 or to the nearest Disease Surveillance and Notification Officer.

The disease has been spreading in the past few weeks, with the state government declaring that two deaths were recorded about two weeks ago.

Africa has recorded over 61,383 mpox cases and 296 deaths in 32 countries since early 2024, as continent-wide efforts to develop effective treatment options gather momentum across the continent.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention disclosed this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria, on Saturday in Abuja.

The statement followed the announcement of a collaboration agreement between Emergent BioSolutions and the Pandemic Preparedness Platform for Health and Emerging Infections Response.

The collaboration is to provide additional financial support for the Africa CDC-led MpOx Study in Africa.

The MOSA initiative, launched in 2024, is a double-blind, platform-adaptive clinical trial designed to evaluate potential treatment options for patients diagnosed with mpox across multiple African countries.

Director General of Africa CDC, Dr Jean Kaseya, said the study was a critical step toward strengthening Africa’s capacity to respond to emerging and re-emerging public health threats.

“This study represents a critical step in generating evidence to inform mpox treatment and strengthen Africa’s capacity to respond to emerging health threats,” Kaseya said.

He added that Africa CDC would continue to work closely with partners to advance research, improve preparedness and enhance rapid outbreak response across the continent.

An independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board completed its initial review of MOSA safety data in December 2025 after the first 50 patients were randomised, and recommended the continuation of the trial, with no safety concerns identified.

Commenting on the development, Dr Simon Lowry, the Chief Medical Officer and Head of Research and Development at Emergent BioSolutions, said the company was proud to support the advancement of the trial.

“We applaud Africa CDC, the Democratic Republic of the Congo investigators and PANTHER for their efforts in reaching this important milestone and remain committed to collaborating with research partners to address global health threats,” Lowry said.

The study, which initially received funding from the European Union and Africa CDC, has focused largely on the DRC, one of the countries most affected by mpox outbreaks.

Africa CDC and PANTHER plan to expand the trial to additional countries, including Uganda, as enrolment continues.

Africa CDC noted that the continent was affected by both major mpox clades, Clade I, which is endemic to Central Africa and associated with more severe illness, and Clade II, which is more prevalent in West Africa.

Recent outbreaks have also involved subclades such as Clade Ia, Ib, IIa and IIb.

Meanwhile, health experts said that the MOSA trial was particularly significant as there was currently no dedicated antiviral therapy for mpox.

According to the experts, this feat underscores the importance of Africa-led clinical research in improving treatment options and strengthening pandemic preparedness across the continent.

NAN

A study by researchers at Federal University Teaching Hospital, Lafia, has found that marital status does not significantly influence the risk of Human Papillomavirus infection or cervical dysplasia among Nigerian women.

A Biomedical Laboratory Scientist, Mr Odeh Agabi, disclosed the findings to the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday in Abuja, highlighting implications for cervical cancer screening practices nationwide and policy.

The study, titled “Predictive Roles of Marital Status in Human Papillomavirus Infection and Cervical Dysplasia,” involved 75 women aged 18 years and above screened using VIA, Pap smear, and HPV testing.

Agabi said results showed 10.7 per cent of participants had cervical dysplasia, while 12 per cent tested positive for HPV infection during the hospital-based screening exercise conducted in Lafia state.

He noted that married women recorded slightly higher cervical dysplasia prevalence at 11.5 per cent, compared with 7.7 per cent among single women surveyed during the cross-sectional hospital screening study exercise.

He said HPV infection was marginally higher among single women at 14.3 per cent, compared with 11.5 per cent among married participants, indicating similar exposure risks across marital categories nationwide overall.

Agabi said statistical analysis showed marital status was not a significant predictor of HPV infection or cervical dysplasia, suggesting behavioural and biological factors play stronger roles in disease transmission among women nationwide studied.

He expressed concern that 86.7 per cent of respondents had never undergone cervical cancer screening before participating, highlighting major gaps in awareness and access to preventive reproductive health services nationwide today.

The study identified risk factors, including early sexual debut, previous sexually transmitted infections, multiple sexual partners, high parity, polygamous marriages, and HIV positivity among some participants within the surveyed population group.

Agabi said 37.5 per cent of women with cervical dysplasia also tested positive for high-risk HPV strains, reinforcing the established link with cervical cancer development documented extensively in medical literature globally.

He called for expanded HPV-based screening, routine checks for sexually active women, wider vaccination rollout, and sustained public awareness to reduce Nigeria’s cervical cancer burden through coordinated national health interventions nationwide.

The expert noted the findings aligned with other Nigerian studies showing HPV infection cuts across marital groups, urging policymakers to prioritise screening uptake to prevent avoidable cervical cancer deaths among women nationwide.

A Southern Nigeria study reported slightly higher HPV prevalence among single, widowed or divorced women, but researchers said variations did not alter the broader trend of HPV exposure across all marital categories.

Experts said the findings aligned with the Federal University Teaching Hospital, Lafia study, stressing that cervical cancer prevention strategies should target all sexually active women through regular screening and HPV vaccination.

Nigeria remains among countries with the highest cervical cancer burden globally, in spite of the disease being largely preventable through effective vaccination programmes, early detection, sustained awareness, and improved access to screening services nationwide.

NAN

In what researchers are calling a ”breakthrough hiding in plain sight,” scientists have redesigned a 40-year-old deworming drug into a potent cancer-fighting compound, one that could one day be cheap, safe and even protective against some of the deadliest cancers.

The drug is mebendazole, familiar to parents, pet owners and doctors as a routine treatment for parasitic worms. But a team at Johns Hopkins University has discovered that one particular version of the drug, a crystal form known as polymorph C,  behaves in the body in a completely different way, slipping past biological barriers that stop most cancer drugs in their tracks.

And that simple tweak could transform a humble worm medicine into a powerful cancer therapy.

Mebendazole comes in three natural “shapes,” or polymorphs. For decades, they were treated as interchangeable. The Hopkins team discovered they aren’t.

Polymorph C, the least studied of the three, appears to penetrate tumors far better including brain tumors, which are notoriously difficult to reach because of the blood-brain barrier.

According to the patent the researchers secured in September 2021, an oral pill made of at least 90% polymorph C reaches tumor sites at far higher concentrations than standard mebendazole. That makes it potentially much more lethal to cancer cells.

“Our goal was to see if we could take an already safe drug and make it truly effective against cancers where options are limited,” the inventors wrote.

The list of cancers polymorph C could target includes brain tumors such as gliomas and medulloblastomas;  breast, colon, lung and pancreatic cancers; thyroid, ovarian, prostate cancers, and melanoma and various sarcomas.

The researchers even floated a bold possibility: that polymorph C could help prevent cancer in high-risk people when paired with anti-inflammatory drugs like celecoxib. Since chronic inflammation fuels cancer development, the combination could act as a chemopreventive shield.

In early tests on mice, animals that received polymorph C showed stronger tumor suppression than those given ordinary mebendazole, with the drug hitting tumors at “effective, therapeutic levels.” Toxicity remained “acceptable,” meaning the treated mice handled the drug well.

Researchers pushed the concept further by pairing polymorph C with elacridar, a drug that blocks cancer cells from pumping treatments back out. The combo kept the drug inside tumors longer — and extended survival in mice with aggressive brain cancers.

But it came with a warning: at higher doses and longer use, the combined treatment caused weight loss and even deaths in mice, underscoring the need for careful dosing in any human trials.

One of the most exciting aspects of the discovery is its simplicity. Mebendazole has been prescribed safely for decades. Doctors know its risks, its interactions, and its limitations.

That means scientists don’t have to start from scratch. Clinical trials could begin far sooner than with most experimental cancer drugs that require years of safety testing.

And because mebendazole is inexpensive and available globally, a cancer-killing version could become one of the rare treatments accessible far beyond elite hospitals.

Experts stress a familiar caveat: mice aren’t humans. A drug that works in the lab still has to survive the rigorous, expensive, and often unpredictable journey through clinical trials.

Researchers are still refining how to formulate the pill — whether granulated, coated, or micronized — to boost absorption. And they must determine how the human body handles polymorph C and whether it plays well with other medications.

Still, the evidence so far is promising enough that some scientists believe polymorph C could rewrite the fate of patients with the toughest cancers, especially those of the brain.

For decades, mebendazole was just a quiet, trustworthy drug sitting on pharmacy shelves. Now, thanks to a bit of chemical re-engineering, it is emerging as one of the most intriguing cancer candidates in years.

If clinical trials confirm what the early research suggests, the next big advance in cancer treatment may not come from a cutting-edge molecule — but from a familiar little tablet designed to kill worms.

culled from vanguard 

A new report by the United Nations Children’s Fund and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS has shown that the provision of pre-exposure prophylaxis—the medicine taken by people at risk of HIV to prevent infection from sex or injection drug use—has abruptly declined in Nigeria, Togo, and Uganda.

The report, exclusively obtained on Friday and titled “Their future is on the line: Cost of inaction on HIV for children,” presents new modelling by UNAIDS, UNICEF, and Avenir Health on the potential impact of a 50 per cent reduction in intervention coverage— a plausible outcome if current funding cuts and related disruptions continue.

The analysis quantifies the human cost for children by comparing projected new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths across multiple scenarios.

Released ahead of the 2025 World AIDS Day, the report showed that high-impact HIV prevention programmes have succeeded in reducing by half the number of adolescent girls and young women acquiring HIV since 2010.

However, prevention programmes, including those focused on protecting adolescent girls and young women, have lost significant funding.

“Individuals at risk, including women, can protect themselves against acquiring HIV by taking antiretrovirals as a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), but reductions in donor funding have reduced availability and access to this prevention tool, with the exception of pregnant and breastfeeding women.

“Almost one quarter of the 56 countries surveyed in late April 2025 reported having less than six months of condom or PrEP stocks, and almost half reported supply chain management difficulties. PrEP provision has fallen in Botswana, Burundi, Ghana, and Lesotho, and steeply declined in Nigeria, Togo, and Uganda (among nine African countries reporting recent monthly data).

HIV treatment coverage among pregnant women living with HIV rose to a remarkable 93 per cent [81–>98 per cent] in eastern and southern Africa in 2024. The situation is very different in western and central Africa, where only about 56 per cent [47–71%] of pregnant women living with HIV were receiving antiretroviral therapy in 2024.”

The report noted that while governments have committed to increasing access to HIV testing and treatment, sudden changes in funding stand in the way.

It said women are experiencing reduced access to testing, delayed HIV diagnosis and treatment initiation, and disrupted prevention services.

The number of pregnant women diagnosed with HIV and new initiations on treatment has declined in several countries. These declining numbers do not reflect a decline in HIV prevalence but reduced access to services.

“In many settings, HIV testing and treatment for mothers and children are offered through maternal and child health services, an integrated service modality that has contributed to high rates of HIV diagnosis and treatment for pregnant and breastfeeding women and HIV-exposed children. Reduced donor funding to these essential services jeopardises efforts to provide these critical services,” the report noted.

The findings indicated that at the current rate of progress, by 2040, the world would still see 1.9 million new HIV infections and 990,000 AIDS-related deaths in children.

“But if funding for HIV prevention and treatment continues to fall as current trends suggest, the world could face an additional 1.1 million new HIV infections and 820,000 additional deaths by 2040.

In this worst-case scenario, by 2040, three million children would acquire HIV, and nearly 1.8 million would die of AIDS-related causes — the vast majority in sub-Saharan Africa. These are not statistics; they are children with dreams, families, and futures. They represent our shared humanity — and our collective failure if we do not act,” it warned.

On countries’ responses, the report said that despite significant funding cuts, nations are demonstrating leadership and innovation to safeguard hard-won gains in the paediatric HIV response.

“The Government of Nigeria approved $3.12 million for procuring HIV treatment and plans an AIDS Trust Fund. Ministries of Health simplified data management and reporting systems and harmonised supply chain systems for HIV, TB, and malaria; mobilised state resources to provide support; reassigned human resources; and adjusted drug quantities to limit the risk of stockouts,” it said.

It emphasised that global investments in the HIV response have prevented millions of new infections and deaths, but the job is not yet done.

“In 2024, an estimated 200 children died every day from AIDS. This loss of life is unacceptable. The time to act is now. We must close the current funding gap and prevent future funding shortfalls to ensure that every child, adolescent, and mother has access to life-saving HIV prevention and treatment services.

“This study provides the evidence needed to guide policymakers, donors, and global health leaders toward urgent, sustained investment — because action for children is the only option. Their future — and ours — depends on it,” it added.

culled from punch 

The World Health Organisation has issued its first-ever guideline for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infertility, calling on countries to overhaul how fertility care is delivered and financed.

The guideline lands as infertility affects an estimated 1 in 6 people of reproductive age worldwide, even as access to care remains limited and often financially crippling, the world agency noted.

It disclosed in a Friday release on its website that in many countries, fertility tests and treatments are largely out-of-pocket, with a single round of IVF costing “double the average annual household income” in some settings.

“Infertility is one of the most overlooked public health challenges of our time and a major equity issue globally.

“Millions face this journey alone – priced out of care, pushed toward cheaper but unproven treatments, or forced to choose between their hopes of having children and their financial security.

“We encourage more countries to adapt this guideline, giving more people the possibility to access affordable, respectful, and science-based care,” said WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus.

WHO’s guideline sets out 40 recommendations aimed at strengthening prevention, diagnosis and treatment while promoting integration of fertility care into national health strategies, services and financing.

Cost-effective options, others

It emphasises cost-effective options and people-centred, evidence-based care.

Infertility—defined as failure to achieve pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sex—can lead to significant stigma, financial strain and psychological distress.

The guideline calls for “greater investment in prevention,” including information on fertility and infertility in schools and primary care, as well as action on leading risk factors such as untreated sexually transmitted infections and tobacco use.

It recommends lifestyle interventions including healthy diet, physical activity and smoking cessation for individuals and couples attempting pregnancy.

Our correspondent who, on Saturday, perused the release report that clinical pathways outlined in the guideline cover diagnosis of common biological causes of male and female infertility and describe how treatment may progress from guidance on fertile periods to more complex interventions such as intrauterine insemination or IVF, taking into account clinical findings and patient preferences.

It also highlights the need for “ongoing psychosocial support” due to the emotional burden infertility can impose.

Countries are encouraged to adapt the recommendations to local contexts and monitor progress, working across ministries, professional bodies, civil society and patient groups.

WHO says implementation should align with rights-based sexual and reproductive health approaches that support informed decisions about whether and when to have children.

“The prevention and treatment of infertility must be grounded in gender equality and reproductive rights.

“Empowering people to make informed choices about their reproductive lives is a health imperative and a matter of social justice,” said Dr Pascale Allotey, Director of WHO’s Department of Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing and the United Nations’ Special Programme on Human Reproduction (HRP).

While comprehensive, the guideline, however, acknowledges gaps in current evidence and areas for further research.

WHO says “upcoming editions of the guideline are expected to cover issues such as fertility preservation, third-party reproduction, and the impact of pre-existing medical conditions.”

culled from punch 

As the 16 Days of Activism campaign against Gender-Based Violence began, Inner Wheel District 911, Nigeria on Wednesday urged teenagers to speak up when they experience violence, sexual abuse, or any form of discrimination.

The organisation made the call at the opening of its 16 Days of Activism campaign against Gender-Based Violence, which runs from November 25 to December 10, 2025.

The event, held at New Era Girls Secondary School, Surulere, hosted 12 schools and over 600 students.

Speaking at the event, National Representative and President of Inner Wheel Nigeria, Funmi Ogunsi, said it had become necessary to address rising cases of gender-based violence, especially against women and girls.

“Inner Wheel International keyed into this initiative globally because it is a worthy cause. Statistics have shown that all over the world, there is gender discrimination, inequality, and a lot of violence against women. And you have to see the statistics to believe how bad and how dire it is.

“The purpose of this advocacy is to bring it to the fore and remind society that something is wrong—and when something is wrong, we must straighten it out,” she said.

Ogunsi noted that many perpetrators face little consequence, while victims often battle stigma and fear of speaking up.

“We are having a situation where offenders get a slap on the wrist, while those who are victimised are stigmatised and forced into silence because they are ashamed. We can’t continue like that.

“We are here for these young girls. They are the ones likely to be sexually molested, intimidated, or bullied by those seeking to take advantage of them.”

She urged the government to strengthen sanctions for offenders, stressing that delayed justice discourages victims.

“Justice delayed is justice denied. The justice system has to be overhauled. We are thankful to Lagos State, the Office of the Public Defender, and human rights offices, but they are not the judges. Our courts must live up to expectations and send the right message that this is unacceptable in any decent society.”

Ogunsi added that Inner Wheel also plans to sensitise families and institutions on raising boys and girls with equal dignity.

“We talk to religious organisations, we talk to market women. Are we still training our boys with a sense of entitlement and a superiority complex while training our girls at their expense?

“We are not asking for superiority; we are asking for mutual respect and dignity. There should be no violence towards any person, male or female.”

Also speaking, Chairman of District 911, Inner Wheel Nigeria, Omolola Fakeye, said the event was designed to help teenagers understand the dangers of violence and empower them to speak up.

“What we’ve decided is to engage them from a young age and teach them that violence is evil. When they see it at home, in school, or among their peers, they should know how to say no,” she said.

Fakeye added that boys must not be ignored in conversations about abuse, noting that they, too, are victims.

She commended the Lagos State Government for policies aimed at curbing gender-based violence and urged citizens to act responsibly.

“Lagos State is doing so much. The government is enacting laws to protect women. Now, you cannot say you are unhappy and beat your wife—you will go to jail. And even a woman cannot be bullish; you will be sued.

“Everyone now knows their rights and that the law will take its course. It’s time for everyone to watch their behaviour.”

No fewer than 24.47 million individuals tested positive for malaria in Nigeria in the first nine months of 2025.

This is according to the 2025 National Health Statistics Report released by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and obtained by our correspondent on Friday.

The data showed that the number of persons who presented with fever and were tested for malaria using Rapid Diagnostic Tests and microscopy increased steadily over the three quarters.

The figures, broken down by quarter, highlight a worrying upward trend in malaria cases across the country.

Nigeria, which accounts for a significant proportion of global malaria cases, continues to face challenges such as late treatment-seeking behaviour and inadequate healthcare infrastructure, both of which exacerbate the disease burden.

The quarterly trend suggests that malaria incidence peaks during the second half of the year, coinciding with the rainy season when mosquito breeding intensifies.

Experts warn that without targeted interventions, the number of malaria cases is likely to rise further before the end of 2025

From January to March, approximately 10,517,416 Nigerians were tested. In the second quarter, from April to June, the number rose to about 11,449,804 Nigerians

By the third quarter, from July to September, testing reached 12,878,508 Nigerians. In total, over the nine-month period, 34,845,728 Nigerians were tested for malaria.

“Of those tested, those who were confirmed positive for malaria during the first quarter were 7,301,279. From April to June, approximately 7,841,483 individuals were confirmed positive.

“In the third quarter, from July to September, about 9,324,470 tested positive for malaria. This brings the cumulative total of confirmed malaria cases for the first three quarters of 2025 to 24,467,232,” the report noted.

The report also showed that the number of persons with uncomplicated malaria treated with Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy rose in tandem with positive cases.

In the first quarter, approximately 7,144,538 individuals received treatment.

In the second quarter, about 7,663,106 people were treated. By the third quarter, no fewer than 9,043,786 individuals received ACT therapy.

Altogether, around 23,851,430 individuals received treatment during the nine-month period.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Salako, during the 2025 Joint Annual Review in Abuja, stated that the Malaria Control Programme under the National Malaria Eradication Programme has achieved significant milestones.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, has released its Lassa Fever Situation Report for Epidemiological Week 44, covering October 27 to November 2, 2025, indicating a slight rise in confirmed infections and a higher fatality rate compared to the same period last year.

According to the report, confirmed cases increased from 11 in Week 43 to 12 in Week 44, with infections recorded in Ondo, Edo, and Benue states.

Cumulatively, Nigeria has recorded 966 confirmed cases and 177 deaths from Lassa fever as of Week 44. The Case Fatality Rate (CFR) stands at 18.3 percent, higher than the 16.5 percent reported during the same period in 2024, signalling ongoing gaps in early detection and treatment in some high-burden communities.

The NCDC noted that 21 states have reported at least one confirmed case across 102 local government areas, underscoring the wide geographical spread of the viral disease.

However, infections remain concentrated in a few states, with Ondo, Bauchi, Edo, and Taraba accounting for 87 percent of all confirmed cases.

The most affected age group continues to be young adults between 21 and 30 years, who make up the largest proportion of reported infections.

The report also indicated that no healthcare worker was infected in Week 44, an encouraging development in a year where frontline workers have remained at high risk.

Despite the slight week-on-week increase, the NCDC said the overall number of suspected and confirmed cases recorded so far in 2025 is lower than the figures reported within the same timeframe in 2024.

The agency reiterated its call for heightened surveillance, early presentation to health facilities, and strict adherence to infection prevention and control measures, especially in communities with a history of high Lassa fever transmission.

The Sokoto State Government says it has launched a rapid response to the cholera outbreak reported across 12 local government of the state.

The incident, which was first recorded earlier this week, prompted an emergency mobilisation of health personnel and supplies to the affected communities.

A top official at the State Ministry of Health, Biliyaminu Sifawa, who confirmed the development on behalf of the Executive Secretary of State Primary health Development Centre on Thursday, said health workers were deployed to Primary Health Centres within 24 hours of notification.

“Our health workers moved immediately to stabilise patients and ensure the necessary drugs and consumables were available across all affected facilities,” the official who spoke on condition of anonymity, he said.

Sifawa added that the state also intensified community sensitisation on hygiene, safe water handling and the dangers of open defecation — measures described as critical to halting further transmission.

The Head of United Nations Children’s Fund, Sokoto Field Office, Micheal Juma, which supported the operation, said UNICEF’s intervention covered all 12 affected LGAs: Binji, Dange-Shuni, Gada, Goronyo, Gwadabawa, Kebbe, Kware, Silame, Sokoto North, Sokoto South, Tureta and Wamakko.

Juma said the agency delivered 20 cartons of Aqua Tabs, 577 cholera kits, 289 WASH dignity kits, six drums of chlorine, and other lifesaving materials.

The support was made possible through funding from SIDA and the United States Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance,” the official noted.

 Sokoto and several northwestern states have faced recurrent cholera outbreaks linked to unsafe water sources and poor sanitation practices, especially during the rainy season.

State authorities say monitoring continues as health workers intensify case management and surveillance across communities.

Tension has spread across Ogbadibo and neighbouring Okpokwu Local Government Areas of Benue State, following the death of a 54-year-old woman, who reportedly succumbed to Lassa fever at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi.

Sources close to the deceased’s family told PUNCH Online that fear heightened in the affected areas after a medical team from the state Ministry of Health visited the communities to trace contacts of those who had interacted with the deceased before her death.

It was gathered that the woman, who hailed from Ogbadibo LGA, died on Sunday after laboratory tests confirmed she had contracted the disease.

Her remains were said to have been taken to a private morgue in Ugbokolo, Okpokwu LGA, before some community youths allegedly seized the body during burial.

The state Commissioner for Health and Human Resources, Dr Paul Ogwuche, who confirmed the incident to journalists on Thursday, said he personally led a high-powered delegation of health officials and security operatives to the two local government areas to ensure public safety and prevent further spread.

He said, “During initial response efforts, the ministry’s Rapid Response Team was confronted by some agitated youths while trying to conduct a safe burial.

“Through dialogue with the family, traditional rulers, and youth leaders, the body was successfully retrieved and safely buried in Orokam, Ogbadibo LGA, by the State Safe Burial Team, in line with WHO and NCDC protocols.”

Ogwuche added that he had ordered the immediate closure of the private hospital and mortuary where the corpse had been kept, pending full decontamination, disinfection, and epidemiological investigation.

He said all hospital staff and close contacts of the deceased have been placed under surveillance, while health education campaigns have been launched in both local government areas to promote hygiene and curb panic.

The commissioner commended local leaders for their cooperation and urged residents to avoid handling corpses of persons suspected to have died from infectious diseases.

He also advised the public to promptly report any cases of prolonged fever or unexplained bleeding to the nearest health facility.

Lassa fever has remained a recurring challenge in Benue State.

Earlier in September, the state epidemiologist, Dr Asema Msuega, reported 243 suspected cases and 13 deaths recorded between January and September 2025, including that of a health worker.

The agency is partnering with the Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency to develop herbal medicines that meet international standards through evidence-based research and validation.

In a statement signed by NAFDAC’s media consultant, Sayo Akintola, on Sunday, the Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said Nigerian herbal medicine practitioners have the expertise to formulate safe and effective natural remedies comparable to global standards.

However, she stressed that scientific validation through clinical trials remains the key requirement for approval.

According to the World Health Organisation, up to 80 per cent of Africa’s population relies on herbal remedies for primary healthcare. NAFDAC’s new drive aims to bridge the gap between traditional practices and modern scientific evaluation to ensure local herbal products are safe, effective, and globally acceptable.

Adeyeye explained that the agency currently operates two levels of approval for herbal medicines.

“The first is the listing (L) approval, granted after a product has passed toxicological safety tests in our laboratory. Such products are listed for two years and carry a NAFDAC number ending with the letter ‘L’,” she said

The second, which is full approval, requires clinical trials to prove the product’s efficacy. Once such trials, conducted under a well-designed protocol, confirm the product’s effectiveness, it is granted full registration valid for five years.”

She identified the high cost of clinical trials as a major obstacle discouraging many practitioners from scientifically validating their products.

If you have a herbal medicine but cannot scientifically prove its efficacy and safety, NAFDAC cannot grant it full registration,” she emphasised.

The NAFDAC boss noted that while thousands of herbal medicines have been listed, only a few have undergone clinical trials with verifiable outcomes.

“We know herbal medicines work, but we must determine scientifically the safe dosage levels. Below a certain threshold, they are safe; above it, they may damage vital organs like the liver and kidney. The fact that a product is natural doesn’t mean it’s completely safe—that’s why regulation is crucial,” she said.

Adeyeye recalled that NAFDAC established the Herbal Medicine Products Committee shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic to foster collaboration among practitioners, researchers, and government agencies, including the Federal Ministry of Health. The committee, she said, continues to promote traditional medicine research and regulation.

She also disclosed that NAFDAC is seeking funding support to help practitioners conduct clinical trials, which are highly capital-intensive.

According to her, the ongoing partnership with the NNMDA will identify listed herbal medicines that have met preliminary regulatory standards and subject them to clinical testing.

“We need to prove beyond doubt that these medicines are effective and safe for human use. Once confirmed, they can be fully registered and possibly included in the national formulary for herbal medicines,” Adeyeye said.

She added that the agency continues to engage herbal medicine practitioners through stakeholder meetings to sensitise them on registration requirements and best practices to ensure product safety and efficacy.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, has reported 11 new confirmed cases of Lassa fever in its latest Situation Report covering Week 37 (September 8–14, 2025).

According to the update, the new cases were recorded in Ondo, Bauchi, Kogi, and Anambra States, showing a slight decline compared to the 13 cases confirmed in the previous week.

The cumulative figures for 2025 now stand at 895 confirmed cases and 166 deaths, representing a case fatality rate (CFR) of 18.5 percent. This is higher than the 16.9 percent CFR reported during the same period in 2024.

So far, 21 states across 106 Local Government Areas (LGAs) have recorded at least one confirmed case.

However, the majority of infections, about 90 per cent, have come from Ondo, Bauchi, Edo, Taraba, and Ebonyi States, underscoring the persistent burden of the disease in those regions.

The report also highlighted that the most affected age group remains 21–30 years, while no new healthcare worker infections were recorded during the reporting week.
Encouragingly, both suspected and confirmed cases show a downward trend compared to the same period last year.

The NCDC, while reaffirming its commitment to combating the outbreak, urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and adopt preventive measures such as avoiding contact with rodents, proper food storage, and seeking early medical attention when symptoms appear.

An Ebola outbreak declared in the DR Congo in early September has caused 42 deaths out of 64 confirmed cases but the risk of it spreading in the region is moderate, the WHO said Wednesday.

‎Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo two weeks ago began rolling out a vaccine programme against the often fatal virus.

‎The highly contagious haemorrhagic fever has killed some 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years.

‎The deadliest Ebola outbreak in the DRC, between 2018 and 2020, killed nearly 2,300 people.

‎Last month’s vaccination campaign followed the announcement of a resurgence of the disease in the central province of Kasai.

‎World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on X that “at this time, 64 people have had Ebola in the DRC, of which 42 have died.”

‎The UN health agency and its partners are supporting the government-led response, he added.

‎The WHO estimates a risk of further spread as high on a national level but moderate in the wider region.

‎The WHO says the outbreak is fuelled by insufficient protective equipment, as well as incomplete contact tracing, late detection and unsafe burial practices.

‎It added that high population mobility in a country of more than 100 million, plus a reliance on traditional healers, increased the risk of spread.

‎First identified in 1976 and thought to have crossed over from bats, Ebola is a deadly viral disease spread through direct contact with bodily fluids, causing severe bleeding and organ failure.

‎The WHO estimated the mortality rate for the latest outbreak at 45.7 percent compared with between 25 and 90 for previous outbreaks.

‎‎The Zaire strain of the virus, for which there is a vaccine, is behind the new outbreak.

‎The International Coordination Group on Vaccine Supply (IGC), which manages the global stockpile of vaccines against a number of viruses including Ebola, has approved shipment of some 45,000 additional doses to the DRC, the WHO says.

‎AFP

The World Health Organisation has said Nigeria and 11 other countries reported major cholera outbreaks in 2024, each recording more than 10,000 suspected and confirmed cases.

According to data obtained from WHO on Saturday, the other countries are Bangladesh, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, the United Republic of Tanzania, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

In its latest update, WHO said the seventh cholera pandemic continued to expand in 2024, with a total of 560,823 cases and 6,028 deaths reported from 60 countries, territories, and areas – an increase from 45 countries in 2023.

The number of reported cases rose by five per cent, while deaths increased by 50 per cent. The overall case-fatality rate was 1.1 percent.

The burden remained concentrated in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, which collectively accounted for 98 per cent of all reported cases. In 2024, 12 countries on two continents each reported 10,000 suspected and confirmed cases. The countries are Bangladesh, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

“This represents three more countries than in 2023, and five more than in 2022, reflecting the ongoing expansion of cholera transmission. Notably, seven of these countries had not reported outbreaks of such magnitude in the previous year: Comoros, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, Yemen, and Zambia. The outbreak was the first reported from Comoros in more than 15 years. Of the three countries that reported >10,000 cases in 2023 but not in 2024 (Haiti, Malawi, and Mozambique), only Malawi had a significant reduction, to <1000 cases, indicating that the devastating outbreak that began in 2022 is finally abating.

“Of the 12 countries worldwide that reported very large outbreaks (>10,000 cases), 10 were in the African Region. They included four countries with outbreaks continuing from 2023 (DRC, Ethiopia, Somalia, Zimbabwe) and six with new outbreaks (Comoros, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia). The resurgence of cholera in the Comoros archipelago, after more than 15 years without reported cases, underscores the persistent threat of global transmission of this disease and the continued need to invest in sustainable development and outbreak preparedness,” the global health body said.

Nigeria recorded 24,841 cases (12,366 male and 12,431 female) and 734 deaths, representing a case fatality rate of 3.0 per cent.

Many factors contributed to the surge in cholera outbreaks, including conflict, climate change, population displacement, and significant deficiencies in long-term development – particularly in water, sanitation, and hygiene, a key target of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

WHO said the number of deaths, particularly those occurring in the community, from this preventable and treatable disease was of deep concern, as it revealed critical gaps in the delivery of life-saving care, and signalling the fragility of many health systems and persistent inequity in access to basic services.

In southern Africa, the surge that began in 2022 persisted into 2024, with Zambia (23,380 cases) and Zimbabwe (20,632 cases) reporting their highest counts in over a decade, even as decreases were observed in Mozambique (8,174), Malawi (554), and South Africa (13).

WHO stressed that the resurgence of cholera in Comoros, after more than 15 years without reported cases, underscores the persistent threat of global transmission and the urgent need for sustainable investment in outbreak preparedness.

It added that climate-related hazards, together with population growth and urbanisation, remain important drivers of cholera, warning that long-term investment in climate-resilient WASH infrastructure is essential to protect populations against cholera and other diarrhoeal diseases.

Mpox no longer represents a global public health emergency, the WHO said Friday, following a steady decline in cases and deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other affected countries.

The World Health Organisation declared a “public health emergency of international concern” in August 2024 after a two-pronged mpox epidemic broke out, primarily in the DRC.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus lifted the status following Thursday’s quarterly meeting of the UN health agency’s emergency committee on the mpox outbreak.

Tedros told a press conference he had accepted their advice to lift the PHEIC.

This decision is based on sustained declines in cases and deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in other affected countries, including Burundi, Sierra Leone, and Uganda,” he said.

“Of course, lifting the emergency declaration does not mean the threat is over, nor that our response will stop,” said Tedros, adding that the situation remained a continental emergency in Africa.

Mpox is caused by a virus from the same family as smallpox. It can be transmitted to humans by infected animals, but can also be passed between people through close physical contact.

The disease, which was first detected in humans in 1970 in the DRC, then known as Zaire, causes fever, muscular aches, and large boil-like skin lesions, and can be deadly.

It has two subtypes: clade 1 and clade 2.

The virus, long endemic in central Africa, gained international prominence in May 2022 when clade 2 spread around the world, mostly affecting gay and bisexual men.

The WHO declared a global health emergency in July 2022, but thanks to vaccination and awareness drives that helped stem the spread, that declaration was lifted in May 2023.

Just a year later, however, a new epidemic broke out, with both the original clade 1a strain and a new strain, clade 1b.

AFP

Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have declared an outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Kasai Province, where 28 suspected cases and 15 deaths, including four health workers, have been reported as of September 4, 2025.

A statement by the World Health Organisation on Thursday stated that the outbreak has affected Bulape and Mweka health zones in Kasai Province, where health officials have been carrying out investigations after the cases and the deaths reported presented with symptoms including fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, and haemorrhage.

The outbreak comes at a time when much of Central and West Africa continues to grapple with overlapping health and humanitarian crises, including cholera outbreaks, malnutrition, and displacement.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s last outbreak of Ebola virus disease affected the north-western Equateur province in April 2022. It was brought under control within three months, thanks to the robust efforts of the health authorities. In Kasai province, previous outbreaks of Ebola virus disease were reported in 2007 and 2008. In the country overall, there have been 15 outbreaks since the disease was first identified in 1976.

Ebola virus disease is a rare but severe, often fatal illness in humans. It is transmitted to people through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids of infected animals such as fruit bats (thought to be the natural hosts). Human-to-human transmission is through direct contact with blood or body fluids of a person who is sick with or has died from Ebola, objects that have been contaminated with body fluids from a person sick with Ebola, or the body of a person who died from Ebola.

In the ongoing outbreak, it said samples tested on September 3rd (Wednesday) at the country’s National Institute of Biomedical Research in the capital Kinshasa, confirmed the cause of the outbreak as Ebola Zaire caused by Ebola virus disease.

WHO further stated that a national Rapid Response Team joined by WHO experts in epidemiology, infection prevention and control, laboratory, and case management has been deployed to Kasai Province to rapidly strengthen disease surveillance, treatment, and infection prevention and control in health facilities.

Provincial risk communication experts have also been deployed to reach communities and help them understand how to protect themselves.

Additionally, the global health body said it is delivering two tonnes of supplies, including personal protective equipment, mobile laboratory equipment, and medical supplies, adding that the area is difficult to reach, taking at least one day of driving from Tshikapa (the provincial capital of Kasai), with few air links.

“We’re acting with determination to rapidly halt the spread of the virus and protect communities,” said the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Mohamed Janabi. “Banking on the country’s long-standing expertise in controlling viral disease outbreaks, we’re working closely with the health authorities to quickly scale up key response measures to end the outbreak as soon as possible.”

The UN body emphasised that case numbers are likely to increase as the transmission is ongoing.

“Response teams and local teams will work to find the people who may be infected and need to receive care, to ensure everyone is protected as quickly as possible.

“The country has a stockpile of treatments, as well as 2000 doses of the Ervebo Ebola vaccine, effective to protect against this type of Ebola, already prepositioned in Kinshasa that will be quickly moved to Kasai to vaccinate contacts and frontline health workers,” it added.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, has released its Lassa Fever Situation Report for Week 34 (August 18–24, 2025), confirming three new cases in Edo and Ondo states.

The figure represents a decline from five cases recorded in the previous week.

According to the report, the cumulative total for 2025 has risen to 857 confirmed cases and 160 deaths, with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 18.7 percent. This marks an increase compared to the 17.1 percent CFR recorded during the same period in 2024.

So far, 21 states have reported at least one confirmed case across 106 local government areas.

NCDC noted that 90 percent of the confirmed cases originated from Ondo, Bauchi, Edo, Taraba and Ebonyi states.

The centre further disclosed that the predominant age group affected remains 21–30 years, while no new healthcare worker infections were recorded in the reporting week.

It added that both suspected and confirmed cases of Lassa fever have shown a downward trend compared to the same period in 2024.

The National Coordinator of Rotary Reproductive Maternal and Child Health, Prof. Emmanuel Lufadeju, has urged pregnant women, nursing mothers and fathers to patronise skilled birth attendants and well-equipped health facilities for safe delivery and better care for infants.

Lufadeju warned that most maternal deaths in Nigeria occur because women seek healthcare services from quacks and non-qualified providers, stressing the need for more sensitisation to reduce maternal and child mortality.

He spoke in Ado Ekiti on Saturday during a two-day sensitisation training on maternal and child health organised by Rotary-RMCH.

“The two-day workshop was organised to sensitise journalists on the need to engage communities on this critical issue. The media has the power to shape public discourse, influence policy and inspire action through their various platforms,” he said.

According to him, “As Rotarians, we are committed to reducing maternal and child mortality rates. We believe every mother deserves a safe journey through motherhood and every child deserves a healthy start in life.”

Lufadeju cited World Health Organisation figures, which put global under-five deaths at 5.9 million annually due to malnutrition, poor healthcare and inadequate sanitation

In Nigeria, the statistics are alarming. Maternal mortality stands at 993 deaths per 100,000 live births, one of the highest in the world. This translates to over 700 women dying daily from preventable pregnancy and childbirth complications. Most of these deaths are due to seeking healthcare from quacks and non-qualified providers,” he said.

The Permanent Secretary, Ekiti State Ministry of Health, Mrs Olusola Gbenga-Igotun, said the state government had taken bold steps to reduce maternal and child mortality.

She listed the measures to include huge investments in children’s vaccination, massive renovation of health facilities, and provision of family planning commodities.

“The government believes that no life should be lost in the process of any pregnant woman trying to give birth to another life,” she said.

Gbenga-Igotun urged journalists to “use their platforms to raise awareness, promote action and inspire change to improve the health and well-being of mothers and children.”

The Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Ekiti State chapter, Kayode Babatuyi, who was also a participant, assured that journalists would give adequate publicity to the campaign against maternal and child mortality.

According to MSF, the outbreak, which began in mid-June, is spreading rapidly amid insecurity, mass displacement, and poor access to clean water, which has been worsened by the ongoing rainy season.

“This outbreak is unfolding in a context of insecurity, displacement, and limited access to clean water and sanitation – exacerbated by the rainy season,” MSF’s medical coordinator in Nigeria, Dr David Kizito,said.

To curb the spread, MSF said it had scaled up water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions, alongside health promotion campaigns, in partnership with the Zamfara State Government and other humanitarian agencies.

The state’s Public Health Emergency Operations Centre was activated on July 3.

MSF  said it had expanded cholera treatment services across the state, adding that hotspot areas, such as Shinkafi, Zurmi, and Talata Mafara, where access to safe drinking water is critically low,  received priority attention.

It said, “From June 16 to August 5, the Cholera Treatment Centre in Zurmi recorded 562 suspected cases, mostly from Yambuki, Kadamusa, and Zurmi town. Shinkafi General Hospital treated 401 suspected cases between July 11 and August 5, while the Talata Mafara Cholera Treatment Unit documented over 600 cases between July 1 and August 8.”

MSF’s head of mission in Nigeria, Dr Ahmad Bilal, urged residents to adopt preventive measures, including boiling water before drinking, regular handwashing, eating freshly prepared meals, avoiding open defecation, and staying up to date on vaccinations.

The organisation also called for decentralised oral rehydration points and for all primary healthcare centres to be equipped to handle mild and moderate cases, enabling quicker treatment and reducing complications.

In addition, MSF advocated for urgent cholera vaccination to halt transmission.

“As cholera continues to threaten lives across Zamfara, MSF remains committed to working alongside communities, health authorities, and other partners to ensure timely treatment, prevention, and support, Kizito said. “No one should die from a preventable disease.”

Makurdi—Benue State has recorded 31 suspected cases of Mpox across five Local Government The Executive Secretary of the Benue State Primary Health Care Board, Mrs. Grace Wende, disclosed this on Thursday during the Benue State Stakeholders Engagement/Townhall Meeting on the Mpox Vaccination Rollout. She explained that seven of the suspected cases had been confirmed. Areas (LGAs) — Makurdi, Ushongo, Gwer East, Katsina-Ala, and Guma.

Represented by the State Immunization Officer (SIO), Mr. Emmanuel Adega, she said 10 unconfirmed cases were recorded in Makurdi, eight in Katsina-Ala, seven in Gwer East, four in Guma, and two in Ushongo LGAs.

According to her, “Of the figures, we have confirmed one case in Gwer East, two cases in Katsina-Ala, three cases in Makurdi, and one case in Guma LGAs. These cases were recorded in June, and samples were collected and taken to the laboratory. The results were released in July.

“As we speak, we have line-listed all the people who came in contact with the confirmed cases. Their names have been taken for vaccination after monitoring them for 43 days, and they did not come down with the disease.”

The Executive Secretary explained that the upcoming Mpox vaccination exercise would not be a statewide programme but restricted to communities at risk of an outbreak.

She urged all stakeholders to support the vaccination exercise and ensure prompt reporting of any suspected case of the disease for urgent attention by health authorities.

In his presentation, the Social and Behaviour Change Health Consultant with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Victor Olaniyi, noted that “Mpox is an infectious viral disease that can occur in humans and other animals.”
He stated that symptoms of the disease include rashes that form blisters and then crust over, fever, and swollen lymph nodes.

He warned that the disease could easily spread but assured that the vaccines were safe. Because of the limited number allocated to the state, he said, the exercise would target specific communities.

Olaniyi also explained that the vaccine, which was approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) for emergency use, would be administered to people aged 18 years and above.

The vaccine is safe, effective, and free. Two doses are required for full protection. We must also continue to practice hygiene and avoid contact with people showing symptoms of Mpox,” he said.

At least 320 patients have been discharged from cholera treatment centres in Niger State, after the outbreak of the disease killed 14 persons across six local government areas.

The government made this known on Wednesday, adding that the pandemic had been put under control.

The Commissioner for Primary Health Care, Ibrahim Dangana, who spoke during a Radio Niger live programme monitored on Wednesday, said less than 10 persons were currently on admission across the state.

The commissioner also said water treatment kits had been provided by the government and the United Nations Children’s Fund to help over 14,000 households curb the disease.

He further disclosed that after the cholera outbreak, the state activated the Emergency Operation Centres and Disease Surveillance Systems in the 274 wards and communities across the state.

“We recorded 14 deaths so far, and out of the 327 patients hospitalised, as we speak, we have discharged virtually all of them and have less than 10 still on admission for cholera across the state.

“We identified isolation centres, and similarly, we have what we call Cholera Treatment Units in all the 25 LGs across the state, and these really helped us in curbing the spread.

The ministry, with support from various MDAs and partners like UNICEF, had been very active. I can tell you that we are winning the battle against cholera,” he said.

Dangana added that the ministry had doubled the level of sensitisation by reaching out to over 16,000 school children, going to markets, religious and traditional institutions to create awareness.

Health Specialist and UNICEF Kaduna Field Office coordinator, Idris Baba, said supplies made so far were enough to treat all affected persons.

“The supplies made so far are enough to treat all cases currently identified and admitted in the state.

“Some of the items are Community and periphery AWD kits, cholera kits, 40 cholera beds, ringers, lactate and normal saline sets.

“Others are antibiotics, scrubs, disposal gowns, heavy-duty and surgical hand gloves, boots, water purification tabs, chlorine solutions, calcium hypochlorite, water testing and stool testing RDTs,” he said.

Cupped from Punch.

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has issued a 21-day notice of total and indefinite strike over the alleged failure of the federal government to address its long-standing demands.

The association, in a communiqué released following its Emergency Delegates Meeting (EDM) held on July 26, 2025, in Abuja, expressed deep disappointment over the protracted negotiations with the government on issues affecting doctors’ welfare across the country

The communiqué, signed by NMA President, Prof. Bala Audu, and Secretary General, Dr. Jamin Egbo, cited several unresolved issues, including the suspension—rather than withdrawal—of a recent circular by the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC), which the association had opposed.

The EDM was convened by the National Officers Committee (NOC) of the association in response to the NSIWC circular on the review of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) for doctors, as well as the federal government’s failure to:

Pay seven months of accrued 25/35% CONMESS adjustment arrears,

Honor previously signed Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs),

Adequately prioritize the health sector at all levels of governance.

The communiqué reads in part:

“The EDM, after extensive deliberations, unanimously condemned the federal government’s approach to the welfare of its members and the persistent neglect of issues affecting Nigerian doctors.

The EDM issued a 21-day notice of total and indefinite strike, effective from July 27, 2025, in line with relevant labour laws, should the government fail to comprehensively address the association’s demands within this period.”

While expressing optimism that the government would act responsibly to avert a nationwide industrial action, the association noted the risk such neglect poses to the already fragile health system and urged the government to consider the health needs of citizens and the wellbeing of medical professionals.

The NMA commended the efforts of its National Officers Committee and the National Technical Negotiating Team (NTNT) in their continued engagement with government agencies. However, it lamented that none of its 19 listed demands had been fully met.

The EDM also expressed concern over:

Inadequate implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding signed with government representatives,

Rising economic hardship affecting both doctors and citizens,

The continued neglect of the health sector, which contributes to brain drain and poor national health indices,

The increasing trend of medical tourism by government officials, which it said undermines confidence in Nigeria’s healthcare system.

The NMA appreciated delegates from the 36 states and the FCT who participated in the meeting and called on all Nigerian doctors to remain united and committed to the association’s shared vision.

The communiqué concluded with a call for immediate government intervention to prevent avoidable disruption in the country’s health services.

Experts have emphasised the importance of self-care as a cost-effective and sustainable approach to strengthening Nigeria’s healthcare system.

They said integrating self-care into national health strategies could significantly reduce pressure on overstretched health facilities while improving access for individuals and communities.

They made this known on Tuesday at the virtual self-care awareness-building workshop for media professionals organised by the White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and the Self-care Trailblazer Group, themed “Media as a catalyst for advancing self-care for sexual, reproductive, and maternal health in Nigeria.”

Self-care, according to the World Health Organisation, is the ability of individuals, families, and communities to promote and maintain their own health, prevent disease, and cope with illness – with or without the support of a health or care worker. Self-care interventions can include medicines, devices, diagnostics, and digital tools.

WHO recommends self-care interventions for every country and economic setting as a critical path to reach universal health coverage, promote health, keep the world safe, and serve the vulnerable.

The Director and Head of Reproductive Health at the FMOH&SW, Dr. Samuel Oyeniyi, in his presentation, noted that self-care will be an adjunct to, rather than a replacement for, direct interaction with the health system.

“Self-care shall not be a cost-shifting mechanism from the government or existing health care financing structure to clients.
It shall be safe, effective, and able to reach individuals who may not be able to access health services,” he emphasised.

He said the government plans to create access to self-care interventions through all levels of healthcare.

“To achieve traction in our implementation, there must be a strong community component, and access points will include health facilities, pharmacy, primary health care centres, patent and proprietary medicine vendors, community-based distributors, digital and mobile technologies for health, caregivers, family, friends, and communities,” he noted.

He said self-care interventions play a crucial role in improving maternal and newborn health by promoting health education on antenatal, delivery, postpartum, and newborn care.

In her welcome speech, the Chairman, Board of Trustees, White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria, Dr. Nana Chidi-Emmanuel, emphasised the key roles the media play in creating awareness on the importance of self-care.

She said that with the challenges in the nation’s healthcare sector, it is imperative to create awareness on self-care.

“I am delighted to see such engagement from our media partners in this crucial area of Self-Care for Sexual, Reproductive and Maternal Health.
Today’s theme highlights the key role you play in shaping public understanding and behaviour, especially around self-care intervention. Your reporting has the power to transform how Nigerians approach and understand Self-Care, particularly in the areas of sexual, reproductive, and maternal Health.
Self-care represents a fundamental shift in how we approach healthcare delivery – empowering individuals with the knowledge, tools, and confidence to take greater control of their health. In a country as diverse and complex as Nigeria, with ongoing challenges in healthcare access, self-care interventions offer practical, cost-effective solutions that can significantly improve health outcomes.”

A Technical Officer, RMNCAECH at WHO Nigeria office, Dr. Femi James, emphasised that self-care interventions involve self-awareness, self-testing, and self-management.

“On self-awareness, there is a need for self-education, self-efficacy, self-determination, and self-management. Self-testing involves self-sampling and self-monitoring.
Self-management involves actions and products, such as self-monitoring of blood glucose levels.”

A representative of the Self-Care Trailblazer Group, George Kapiyo, said self-care addresses access gaps in health services, especially in low-resource settings.

“It supports health equity and autonomy, especially for marginalised populations; reduces burden on overstretched health systems and facilities; addresses shortages in the health workforce; and enhances autonomy and health literacy among individuals.

“It is cost-savings for health systems and governments; reduces out-of-pocket costs and time burdens for individuals; increases efficiency and allows better targeting of facility-based care; supports sustainability in healthcare delivery; frees up resources for complex medical cases; and reduces indirect costs to users – e.g., transport, time off work, childcare.”

Speaking on self-care in the context of sexual and reproductive health and rights, he said it refers to self-initiated actions to manage one’s sexual and reproductive health, such as self-administered contraceptives, self-testing for Sexually Transmitted Infections, or menstrual health management.

He explained that because issues of sex and reproduction are often deeply personal, and influenced by social, cultural, and legal barriers, making SRHR self-care accessible and affordable can greatly enhance autonomy, awareness, and informed decision-making.

“SRHR self-care is aligned with WHO self-care guidelines and empowers individuals, particularly those in underserved settings, to take control of their health in a dignified and private way,” he stated.

He also stressed that institutionalising self-care within national health systems ensures that self-care is not treated as a stopgap or informal solution, but rather as an integral part of health service delivery that meets quality standards and accountability frameworks.

“Institutionalizing self-care aligns with Universal Health Coverage, and broader health system strengthening goals,” he added.

The Senior Advisor, Programmes at Ipas, Samsu Gombwer, urged the media to educate the public about self-managed care and how to access post-abortion care.

According to him, this is important because unsafe abortion remains a significant contributor to maternal deaths in Nigeria.

“Women still die daily from largely preventable causes before, during, and after the time of giving birth.
The post-abortion period is critical whether it happens after a spontaneous miscarriage, or an induced abortion, every woman deserves safe, respectful, and stigma-free care,” he highlighted.

Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River says the state may review the retirement age of its doctors from 60 to 65 years to holistically reform the state’s health sector.

Otu said this on Wednesday while addressing national officers of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), who were in Calabar for their July National Executive Council (NEC) meeting.

The governor said the proposed retirement age extension would not only help retain highly skilled clinicians in the system but would also allow for effective transfer of knowledge to younger professionals

According to him, this will strengthen the state’s healthcare delivery system while curbing the migration of skilled medical professionals.

“In view of the realities we face, especially the shortage of skilled hands, we are seriously considering reviewing the retirement age of doctors from 60 to 65 years.

“This will help us retain valuable experience within our system and provide room for mentoring and knowledge transfer to the next generation of healthcare workers.”

Otu maintained that the sustainability of the health sector depended not just on government policies but on the ethical and professional responsibility of practitioners.

He urged doctors to uphold ethical standards, noting that doing so would help rebuild public confidence and curb the ongoing brain drain.

He added that his administration was committed to ensuring that healthcare did not suffer even though there were other obligations such as education, infrastructure, and agriculture, among others.

“All sectors must grow together, so we appeal for dialogue and superior reasoning in addressing welfare and sectoral demands.

On remuneration, the state government is gradually implementing an improved salary structure, which will ensure better days ahead for medical professionals in the state.

We may not solve everything overnight, but we are moving with intent, purpose, and compassion for our people,” Otu noted.

In his remarks, President of NARD, Dr. Osundare Tope, lauded the governor for approving 70 percent of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) for doctors in the state.

Represented by Abdulrauf Tajudeen, Vice President 1 of NARD, Tope, however, urged the governor to push toward full parity with federal salaries.

The president said pay parity would go a long way in reducing internal migration and retaining skilled hands within the state.

Similarly, Dr. Emmanuel Ogar, Chairman of NARD in Cross River, thanked the governor for supporting the association’s ongoing event in Calabar while inviting him to the weeklong meeting as the special guest of honour. (NAN)

The Oyo State Government has commenced a comprehensive upgrade of 66 Primary Healthcare Centres across the state, equipping them with essential medical tools and alternative power sources to ensure improved healthcare delivery at the grassroots level.

The state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Dotun Oyelade, stated this in a statement on Saturday, made available to newsmen in Ibadan, the state capital.

He said speaking during the distribution of equipment at one of the newly upgraded PHCs in Ibadan on Tuesday, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, described the revitalisation of the PHCs as a crucial milestone in the government’s efforts to strengthen healthcare at the community level.

She said that following the earlier renovation of over 200 PHCs, the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde has embarked on the second phase of its healthcare revitalisation plan, distributing modern medical equipment and installing solar-powered systems to guarantee uninterrupted healthcare services.

Ajetunmobi explained that two facilities in each of the state’s 33 local government areas were selected for the current upgrade.

She said, “Healthcare is one of the pillars of Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration under Omituntun 2.0.

“The Oyo State government has been addressing the infrastructure and personnel gaps in the sector.”

Governor Seyi Makinde continues to fulfill his promises by tackling the non-availability of basic medical equipment and personnel in our health facilities,” she added.

She highlighted that following the renovation of the health facilities, the government recruited over 3,000 healthcare workers for PHCs, and has now proceeded with the equipment upgrade in phases.

In Phase I, 66 PHCs have been selected based on criteria such as patient load, with the two centres in each local government chosen.

The upgrades include the installation of 10 KVA Solar Inverter Systems with hybrid inverters and lithium batteries to provide a 24-hour electricity supply; provision of two computer tablets (for Medical Records Officers and Officers-in-Charge) equipped with Electronic Medical Records software;  installation of Red-Brick Incinerators for safe medical waste disposal.

Ajetunmobi further announced plans to implement a Drug Revolving Fund to ensure a steady supply of essential medicines at the PHCs.

She urged community members to take ownership of the facilities and protect them against vandalism.

In his remarks, the Managing Director, First Health Dynamic Synergy International Limited, Professor Temitope Alonge, whose organisation executed the upgrades, explained that the selection of PHCs was based on population served.

No more excuses in our primary healthcare centres.

“The state government has made provision for basic medical equipment for the use of medical personnel at their facilities,” Alonge said.

At the Olorisa-Oko PHC in Akinyele Local Government, the council chairman, Hon. Akinwole Akinleye, expressed gratitude to Makinde for prioritising healthcare at the grassroots level.

He pledged the local government’s continuous support, including providing adequate security for staff, facilities, and equipment.

Among the first facilities to benefit from the upgrade is the Odo-Ona Elewe PHC in Oluyole Local Government.

The medical equipment provided includes: Standing Mobile and Table-Top Electronic Sphygmomanometers; Pediatric Blood Pressure Cuffs; Glucometers; Haemoglobinometers; Infrared Thermometers; Bucket Autoclaves powered by gas cookers; Autoclave tapes and drums; Colour-coded dustbins and metal dustbin racks; Medical oxygen cylinders with accessories; Nebulisers; Pulse oximeters; Point-of-Care Testing, Kits (HIV/Syphilis RDT, HBSAG RDT); First Aid Boxes for POCT storage; Filling of oxygen and cooking gas cylinders; Adjustable spanners for oxygen cylinders.

“With these upgrades, the Oyo State government continues to demonstrate its unwavering commitment to improving healthcare access and quality for all residents of the state,” she said.

The crisis at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba (FNHY) has escalated as the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) in the facility announced plans to embark on a one-week warning strike beginning Monday, July 7, 2025, over the non-payment of salaries to newly employed doctors and worsening administrative conditions.

In a strike notice jointly signed by ARD President, Dr. Babarinsa Oluvatoba, and Secretary, Dr. Disu Kazeem, the association expressed outrage that resident doctors who have worked for five to six months have yet to receive a single salary.

“The Congress observed with despair that the June salary window has closed without the new residents receiving their first salaries, after working for five months,” the notice read.

“It is intolerable for newly employed residents to continue working into their sixth month without being paid.”

The doctors criticized the hospital’s management for failing to address the recurring salary delays, despite multiple engagements. They noted that the issue appears to be unique to FNHY, with other training institutions not facing similar lapses, and warned that the situation is demoralizing and detrimental to healthcare delivery.

The ARD stressed that if the affected doctors are not paid by the end of July, the association would escalate its action to an indefinite strike. The warning strike follows the expiration of a 10-day ultimatum earlier issued to hospital management.

“Doctors are working under extremely difficult conditions without pay. If this persists, industrial harmony cannot be guaranteed,” the association warned.

NMA Demands Sacking of Acting MD

In a related development, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Lagos State Branch, has called for the immediate removal of Dr. Olugbenga Owoeye as Acting Medical Director of FNHY.

At a press briefing on Friday, the Lagos NMA Chairman, Dr. Babajide Saheed, described the situation at the hospital as one of administrative chaos, impunity, and gross disregard for due process.

He stated that Dr. Owoeye’s reappointment as Acting MD violated federal civil service regulations and ignored objections raised by key stakeholders, including the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN).

“The appointment was unprocedural and controversial. Dr. Owoeye’s first tenure ended amid unresolved allegations of inefficiency. His reappointment undermines institutional integrity and staff morale,” Saheed said.

He accused the Federal Ministry of Health of complicity, alleging that the ministry has consistently ignored documented concerns from staff and unions.

Why is the Ministry silent in the face of such blatant irregularities? Its inaction suggests that illegality can be perpetuated without consequence,” he queried.

Also speaking, MDCAN Chairman at the hospital, Dr. Kajero Jayeola, affirmed that the majority of hospital staff—especially consultants—are opposed to Dr. Owoeye’s continued leadership. He noted that formal meetings were held where a consensus was reached to open the position to a transparent process, but the decision was disregarded.

“Ironically, Dr. Owoeye once led protests against similar impositions. Now, he benefits from the very practice he once condemned,” Jayeola added.

Calls for Presidential Intervention

The NMA is demanding:

Immediate removal of Dr. Owoeye as Acting MD and handover to the most senior medical officer.

Immediate payment of all outstanding salaries owed to newly employed doctors.

A transparent and lawful process for appointing hospital leadership.

A public explanation from the Federal Ministry of Health on why the issues remain unresolved.

Dr. Saheed called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to personally intervene, warning that continued government silence may be interpreted as an endorsement of illegality and mismanagement.

This is not about personality or politics. It is about professionalism, justice, and the future of mental healthcare in Nigeria,” he concluded.

No fewer than 50,000 Nigerians have tested positive for tuberculosis, following the increased screening efforts nationwide, Global Fund, an international NGO has said.

The Fund, however, said that many of those affected had yet to be placed on treatment, raising concerns about the country’s ability to contain the disease and prevent further transmission.

Mr Ibrahim Tajudeen, Executive Secretary of the Global Fund Country Coordination Mechanism (CCM), in Nigeria, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja.

He spoke at the 11th quarterly meeting of the Ministerial Oversight Committee for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund.

Tajudeen said that the individuals were screened as part of the ongoing TB case-finding efforts supported by the government and donor partners.

However, he said that a critical funding gap was now threatening to reverse the progress made.

“We have successfully screened more than 50,000 people who are TB-positive, but we are unable to begin treatment for many due to limited resources,” he said.

According to him, the backlog is a result of constraints in the current funding cycle, which has seen reprioritisation of activities under the new Global Fund grant.

“The Country Coordinating Mechanism CCM is expected to confirm its alignment with the revised funding allocation by July 14, a deadline that may determine whether those affected could access life-saving treatment in time,” he said.

Tajudeen said that TB, a preventable and curable disease, remained one of Nigeria’s leading infectious disease threats.

In addition to the TB crisis, he highlighted several ongoing health interventions.

More than 25.5 million tuberculosis tests have been conducted using modern diagnostic platforms.

“A total of 370 digital X-ray machines have been procured, with some already delivered to various states.

“The upgrade of six regional reference laboratories is currently underway,” he said.

Furthermore, he said that to support malaria prevention efforts, 16.6 million insecticide-treated nets had been distributed across the country.

He disclosed that the government had received 95.5 million dollars commitment from donors for the ongoing interventions.

The secretary, however, said that the shortfall from earlier budget projections had led to the shelving of several planned activities, including drug procurement, training and capital investments.

He, therefore, called on the MOC and partners to urgently intervene to prevent the situation from escalating.

“Screening alone is not enough; without treatment, we risk fueling the very epidemic we seek to control,” Tajudeen said.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the TB burden in Nigeria remains among the highest globally, even as advocates are urging stronger collaboration and sustained funding to close the care gap.

Experts also warn that leaving diagnosed individuals untreated increases the risk of transmission and undermines national health goals.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed 145 deaths from Lassa fever in 2025, as the country continues to battle the viral hemorrhagic disease across 18 states.

According to the latest situation report released on Friday by the NCDC for epidemiological week 24 (June 9–15), the country recorded 766 confirmed cases from 5,678 suspected infections.

The case fatality rate stood at 18.9 per cent, up from 17.6 per cent during the same period in 2024.

The agency said that the states most affected were Ondo, Bauchi, Edo, Taraba, and Ebonyi, which accounted for 91 per cent of the confirmed cases.

It said that Ondo alone contributed 31 per cent making it the epicentre of the outbreak.

In spite a decline in new confirmed cases — down to eight from 11 the previous week — the Nigerian public health agency said that health authorities remained concerned about the high fatality rate.

The agency said that this was driven by late presentation of cases, poor health-seeking behaviour, and unsanitary living conditions in high-burden communities.

According to it, efforts to contain the outbreak have included the deployment of Rapid Response Teams to 10 states, risk communication, environmental sanitation campaigns, and training of health workers in high-risk areas.

The NCDC also de-escalated its Incident Management System to alert mode while integrating Lassa fever messages into wider disease awareness campaigns.

The agency has appealed to the public to avoid contact with rodents and to seek prompt medical care at designated treatment centres at the first sign of symptoms such as fever, headache, or bleeding.

The agency continues to urge Nigerians to maintain hygiene, report symptoms early, and avoid contact with rodents and their secretions.

The public is also encouraged to follow NCDC advisories and utilise the toll-free line 6232 for inquiries,” it said.

Recall that Lassa fever is a viral hemorrhagic disease transmitted primarily through contact with the urine or faeces of infected rats.

It can also spread from person to person through bodily fluids, contaminated objects, or infected medical equipment.

Symptoms include fever, sore throat, headache, vomiting, muscle pain, and in severe cases, bleeding from the body openings.

Around 1.3 million people die from second-hand smoke every year, according to a World Health Organisation report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2025.

The report released at the World Conference on Tobacco Control in Dublin warned that action is needed to maintain and accelerate progress in tobacco control as rising industry interference challenges tobacco policies and control efforts.

The report focuses on the six proven WHO MPOWER tobacco control measures to reduce tobacco use, which claims over seven million lives a year.

The WHO MPOWER encompasses, “Monitoring tobacco use and prevention policies; protecting people from tobacco smoke with smoke-free air legislation and offering help to quit tobacco use.”

It also ensures “Warning about the dangers of tobacco with pack labels and mass media, enforcing bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; and raising taxes on tobacco.”

The report read, “Around 1.3 million people die from second-hand smoke every year. Today, 79 countries have implemented comprehensive smoke-free environments, covering one-third of the world’s population.

“Since 2022, six additional countries (Cook Islands, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Uzbekistan) have adopted strong smoke-free laws, despite industry resistance, particularly in hospitality venues.”

It said since 2007, 155 countries have implemented at least one of the WHO MPOWER tobacco control measures to reduce tobacco use at the best-practice level.

“Today, over 6.1 billion people, three-quarters of the world’s population, are protected by at least one such policy, compared to just one billion in 2007.

“Four countries have implemented the full MPOWER package: Brazil, Mauritius, the Netherlands (Kingdom of the), and Türkiye.

“Seven countries are just one measure away from achieving the full implementation of the MPOWER package, signifying the highest level of tobacco control, including Ethiopia, Ireland, Jordan, Mexico, New Zealand, Slovenia and Spain,” it noted.

However, there are major gaps as 40 countries still have no MPOWER measure at the best-practice level and more than 30 countries allow cigarette sales without mandatory health warnings.

“Twenty years since the adoption of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, we have many successes to celebrate, but the tobacco industry continues to evolve and so must we,” the WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, said.

By uniting science, policy and political will, we can create a world where tobacco no longer claims lives, damages economies or steals futures. Together, we can end the tobacco epidemic,” he added

The WHO Global Tobacco Epidemic 2025 report, developed with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, was launched during the 2025 Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards for Global Tobacco Control.

The awards celebrated several governments and non-governmental organizations making progress to reduce tobacco use.

“Since Bloomberg Philanthropies started supporting global tobacco control efforts in 2007, there has been a sea change in the way countries prevent tobacco use, but there is still a long way to go,” founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies and WHO Global Ambassador for Non-communicable Diseases and Injuries, Michael Bloomberg said.

The WHO Global Tobacco Epidemic 2025 report reveals that the most striking gains have been in graphic health warnings, one of the key measures under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control that make the harms of tobacco impossible to ignore.

WHO warned, however, that enforcement was inconsistent, and smokeless tobacco packaging remained poorly regulated.

The new report is accompanied by a new data portal that tracks country-by-country progress between 2007–2025.

A total of 110 countries are reported to have failed to run anti-tobacco campaigns since 2022.

However, 36 per cent of the global population is said to now live in countries that have run best-practice campaigns, up from just 19 per cent in 2022.

The WHO urged countries to invest in message-tested and evaluated campaigns.

It noted that over 60 countries still lack any regulations.

“Governments must act boldly to close remaining gaps, strengthen enforcement, and invest in the proven tools that save lives. WHO calls on all countries to accelerate progress on MPOWER and ensure that no one is left behind in the fight against tobacco,” WHO’s Director of Health Promotion, Dr Ruediger Krech, said.

The World Health Organisation has released its first-ever global guideline on the management of Sickle Cell Disease during pregnancy.

In a statement issued on Thursday in commemoration of the 2025 World Sickle Cell Day, the organisation said that the guideline would address critical and growing health challenges that could threaten both women and babies.

The theme of the 2025 WSCD, annually celebrated around the world on June 19, is “Global Action, Local Impact: Empowering Communities for Effective Self-Advocacy.”

SCD is a group of inherited blood disorders characterised by abnormally shaped red blood cells that resemble crescents or sickles.

The cells can block blood flow, causing severe anaemia, episodes of severe pain, recurrent infections, as well as medical emergencies like strokes, sepsis, or organ failure.

Health risks associated with SCD can aggravate during pregnancy due to heightened demands on the body’s oxygen and nutrient supply.

The global body, therefore, stated that women with SCD faced a four-to-11-fold higher likelihood of maternal death than those without the disease.

It noted that such women are likely to experience obstetric complications like pre-eclampsia, while their babies are at greater risk of stillbirth or being born early or small.

The organisation quoted Dr Pascale Allotey, the Director, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research and United Nations Special Programme for Human Reproduction (HRP), as saying that “the new guideline is to improve pregnancy outcomes for those affected.

“With quality health care, women with inherited blood disorders like Sickle Cell Disease can have safe and healthy pregnancies and births.

“With sickle cell on the rise, more investment is urgently needed to expand access to evidence-based treatments during pregnancy, as well as diagnosis and information about this neglected disease.”

According to Allotey, around 7.7 million people are living with SCD worldwide, a figure that has increased by more than 40 per cent since 2000.

“SCD is estimated to cause more than 375,000 deaths each year. The disease is most prevalent in malaria-endemic regions, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for around eight in 10 cases, as well as parts of the Middle East, the Caribbean and South Asia,” Allotey said.

She added that the sickle cell gene is becoming widespread globally due to population movements and improvements in life expectancy, meaning more maternity care providers need to know how to manage the disease.

Allotey said that until now, clinical guidance for managing SCD in pregnancy was largely drawn from protocols in high-income countries.

She added, “WHO’s new guideline aims to provide evidence-based recommendations that are also relevant for low – and middle-income settings, where most cases and deaths from the disease occur.

“Accordingly, the guideline includes more than 20 recommendations spanning: folic acid and iron supplements, including adjustments for malaria-endemic areas, management of sickle cell crises and pain relief and prevention of infections and blood clots.

“Others are the use of prophylactic blood transfusions and additional monitoring of the woman and the baby’s health throughout pregnancy.”

Critically, the guideline highlights the need for respectful, individualised care, adapted according to women’s unique needs, medical histories, and preferences, she added.

She said it also addresses the importance of tackling stigma and discrimination within healthcare settings, which can be a major challenge for people with SCD in several countries around the world.

The Medical Officer and Lead Author of the guideline, Dr Doris Chou, said it is essential that women with sickle cell disease discuss their care options early in pregnancy with knowledgeable providers.

Chou said, “This supports informed decisions about any treatment options to continue or adopt, as well as agree on ways of handling potential complications, so as to optimise outcomes for the woman, her pregnancy and her baby.”

She explained that given the complex nature of SCD, there is a need to involve skilled and knowledgeable personnel in the care team of women living with the disorder.

This may include specialists like haematologists, midwives, paediatricians, and obstetrician-gynaecologists who provide services for reproductive and newborn health.

“SCD is a neglected health condition that remains considerably under-funded and under-researched, despite its growing prevalence worldwide.

“While treatment options are improving for the general population, the guideline underscores the urgent need for more research into the safety and efficacy of SCD treatment for pregnant and breastfeeding women that have historically been excluded from clinical trials,” she said.

According to her, the publication is the first in a new WHO series on managing non-communicable diseases in pregnancy.

“Future guidelines will address cardiovascular conditions, diabetes, respiratory diseases, mental health disorders, and substance use.

This is because chronic diseases are increasingly recognised as major contributors to maternal and newborn deaths and ill health,” she said.

NAN

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has reported a total of 366 deaths from Lassa fever and meningitis in the country, highlighting the continued public health challenge posed by these diseases.

From January 1 to May 18, 2025, the NCDC confirmed 733 cases of Lassa fever from 5,118 suspected infections across 18 states and 95 local government areas.

Within the same period, the country recorded 141 Lassa fever-related deaths, representing a case fatality rate of 19.2 per cent.

Separately, between September 30, 2024, and April 6, 2025, the NCDC confirmed 192 cases of meningitis from 2,911 suspected cases spanning 24 states and 173 LGAs. During this period, meningitis accounted for 225 deaths, with a CFR of 7.7 per cent.

According to the NCDC’s latest Lassa fever situation report, there was a surge in infections during epidemiological week 20, with 13 new cases reported in Edo, Ondo, and Benue states — up from just three in the previous week.

“Cumulatively in week 20, 2025, 141 deaths have been reported with a case fatality rate of 19.2 per cent, which is higher than the CFR for the same period in 2024 (18.3 per cent). In total for 2025, 18 states have recorded at least one confirmed case across 95 LGAs,” the report stated.

It further revealed that 72 per cent of all confirmed Lassa fever cases were reported from three states: Ondo (30 per cent), Bauchi (25 per cent), and Edo (17 per cent). The remaining 28 per cent of cases were spread across 15 other states.

The most affected age group is 21–30 years, with a median age of 30. The male-to-female ratio among confirmed cases is 1:0.8. The NCDC noted a decline in both suspected and confirmed Lassa fever cases compared to the same period in 2024. No new infections were reported among healthcare workers during the week under review.

To coordinate the response, the national Lassa fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Incident Management System has been activated at all levels.

On meningitis, the NCDC reported that children aged 5–14 were the most affected, with males accounting for 60 per cent of all cases.

“97 per cent of all suspected cases are reported from 10 states – Kebbi (1,423), Katsina (302), Jigawa (160), Yobe (165), Gombe (77), Sokoto (450), Borno (84), Adamawa (38), Kano (38), and Bauchi (81),” the agency stated.

In response, the NCDC has activated a national multi-sectoral Emergency Operations Centre  to coordinate efforts in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, and other development partners. Weekly meetings are held with affected states to streamline response efforts.

The centre assured that it will continue to lead the national response, providing technical support both on-site and remotely, particularly to high-burden states, and strengthening preparedness and response activities at the sub-national level.

As Nigeria’s health sector struggles with the migration of medical professionals to other countries, private hospitals, which provide 70 per cent of the country’s healthcare services, are increasingly turning to auxiliary nurses as a cheaper alternative to registered nurses. PUNCH Healthwise investigation reveals how the activities of these quacks have led to medical errors, avoidable deaths, and a lack of confidence in the sector. SODIQ OJUROUNGBE reports

It was the kind of morning that should have been forgettable: drizzling rain, muddy streets, and the muffled noise of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, slowly waking up. But for Fatima Adetoye, the memories of that Wednesday will never fade. It was the day her sister, Amina, walked into a hospital alive and never walked out.

Amina’s life slipped away in a flurry of beeps and sterile smells. The 26-year-old mother of one had trusted her life to the private hospital’s promise of quality care, but what she got was a lethal cocktail of incompetence and cost-cutting.

Speaking with Amina’s sister, seated on a worn-out sofa in their family’s modest Ijaye apartment, her voice a blend of sorrow and disbelief, narrated how her sister came home the night before feeling weak.

Adetoye began, “Just body pains and a slight fever. We thought it was nothing serious. Malaria, maybe. Something she’d beat in a few days.”

The next morning, Amina was taken to a nearby private hospital, a small, neatly painted building that sat between a grocery shop and a barber’s stall. It was a familiar place, one that the community trusted. But inside its walls, Adetoye said, a quiet tragedy was already unfolding.

“She wasn’t seen by a doctor. A woman in a nurse’s uniform attended to her. She barely asked questions, no tests, no thorough examination. She just looked at Amina and said, ‘It is malaria. We’ll start treatment immediately,” she recalled.

What Adetoye didn’t know then was that the woman in uniform was not a registered nurse. She was an ‘auxiliary nurse’, a loosely defined role in Nigeria’s medical sector, with no formal training or licensing. And like hundreds of auxiliary nurses working in private hospitals across the country, she had been hired because she was cheap.

Adeloye continued with tears rolling down her cheeks, “They gave her an injection. Within hours, Amina started gasping. Her skin turned red, then blotchy. I ran to them, shouting that something was wrong, but they kept assuring us that she would be fine. They told us that she needed rest.

“By nightfall, Amina’s condition had deteriorated. She was restless, vomiting, and slipping in and out of consciousness. Then a doctor came and told us that we had to transfer her to a better-equipped hospital. But it was already too late.

“The doctors at the second hospital told us she was given a drug she was allergic to. They said a basic medical history could have caught it. A registered nurse would have known. She was dying from the moment that injection entered her body.”

Amina passed away hours later. No formal apology, no investigation. Just a quiet burial and a wound that Adetoye said had failed to heal.

“What hurts most is that she didn’t have to die. They are playing with people’s lives. My sister died because someone who wasn’t trained was allowed to take charge of her care,” she expressed bitterly.

Nneoma’s eyes widened in pain as the auxiliary nurse’s needle pierced her skin, administering the injection with a confident flourish. But Nneoma’s trust was misplaced. Hours later, she felt a searing pain and numbness spreading through her leg, like a dark stain spreading through the fabric.

Nneoma recalled to our correspondent, “I thought it was just a normal reaction. But as the pain intensified, I knew something was wrong.

“Not until the senior nurse arrived did I realise the injection was given on the wrong side.”

She stated that while the argument that ensued between the auxiliary nurse and the senior staff was a blur for her, the consequences were all too real.

“I couldn’t move my leg properly, and the pain was excruciating. It wasn’t until a doctor intervened, correcting the mistake and administering the right treatment, that I began to recover.

“I am one of the lucky ones. I have heard stories of others who weren’t so fortunate. Patients who suffered paralysis, or worse, because of medical errors like this,” she stressed.

Nneoma’s near-paralysis and Amina’s untimely death are not isolated incidents. They are symptomatic of a deeper crisis unfolding in the private healthcare sector, one where desperation, economic realities, and poor regulation have birthed a dangerous workaround with the mass employment of auxiliary nurses in place of trained and licensed nurses.

At first glance, these nurses appear to be professionals, wearing white scrubs, attending to patients, and even issuing prescriptions in some facilities. However, behind the façade, our correspondent discovered a harsh reality that many are not licensed, certified, or medically qualified to perform the duties assigned to them.

investigation revealed that as Nigeria grapples with the mass exodus of trained healthcare professionals to the UK, Canada, and the Middle East, the gap is being filled not with reform or investment, but with cheap, unqualified labour.

Migration of nurses abroad

With over 75,000 Nigerian-trained nurses and midwives reportedly working abroad, according to data from the Nigerian Nursing and Midwifery Council, the country’s healthcare system is losing skilled professionals at an alarming rate.

While public hospitals groan under pressure, private facilities, which provide up to 70 per cent of the country’s healthcare services, are quietly filling the gaps with cheaper, untrained labour.

An investigation revealed that many private hospitals, in a bid to cut costs, are increasingly relying on auxiliary nurses, underqualified staff with limited training and expertise, to provide critical care to patients.

Auxiliary nurses, also known as nurse aides or healthcare assistants, are meant to support registered nurses with basic care tasks, such as bathing patients, taking vital signs, and maintaining hygiene.

Unlike registered nurses who undergo rigorous training in accredited institutions, pass licensing examinations, and are registered with NMCN, auxiliary nurses operate in the shadows of the profession.

They often learn on the job under the supervision of matrons or senior nurses and receive no formal or standardised training. In many cases, their education comes from experience alone, which includes shadowing, observing, and imitating qualified practitioners over time.

Despite not sitting for board exams or being licensed by NMCN, investigation revealed that in private clinics and hospitals across Ogun and Lagos, these auxiliary nurses now serve as frontline healthcare workers, administering injections, setting IV lines, managing medications, and even diagnosing patients.

Patients’ survival, a game of luck

Investigation, which probed several private hospitals located in Ogun and Lagos, found that many of these health facilities are employing auxiliary nurses in droves, thereby putting patients’ lives at risk.

Many of these facilities operate under the radar, offering lower service charges than larger hospitals but at a dangerous cost.

Our correspondent learnt that the situation has led to many cases of medical errors, avoidable deaths, and other regrettable outcomes.

It was gathered that patients are offered poor-quality care, and the healthcare system is facing a crisis of confidence.

In an investigative sweep, our correspondent visited about 12 private hospitals across Ogun and Lagos States, specifically in the Obademi-Owode Local Government Area (Ibafo, Ascon, Arepo, Mowe), Abeokuta (Ijaye, Ake, Obantoko), and some Lagos communities (Ijegun, Bariga, Ikotun, Ikorodu).

During the visit to some of these private hospitals, uncovered a pattern of neglect, incompetence, and cost-cutting that puts patients’ lives at risk.

There were reported cases of medical errors linked to these private hospitals, with most of those cases involving unlicensed or underqualified personnel, primarily auxiliary nurses.

From wrongly administered injections to misdiagnosed illnesses, botched deliveries to medication overdoses, the trail of errors is as long as it is horrifying.

During the investigation, our correspondent found that many of these health facilities were employing auxiliary nurses in large numbers, often with little to no oversight or supervision.

32-year-old Hauwa Mohammed was another victim of some of the medical errors committed by these auxiliary nurses.

Mohammed visited a private hospital in the Ikorodu area of Lagos for a routine pain injection, but the procedure went wrong.

An unidentified woman in a nurse’s uniform administered the injection, striking Mohammed’s sciatic nerve and causing intense pain, muscle weakness, and partial immobilisation.

Despite her screams and warnings that something was wrong, the woman seemed unsure of what to do, and it took a senior nurse and a visiting doctor to stabilise Mohammed.

Speaking with our correspondent about her near-death experience, Mohammed, who spent two weeks in the hospital and three months in physiotherapy before regaining mobility, said she was healed by luck.

She added, “I was lucky; others haven’t been. All I know is that the woman who attended to me was not a real nurse. Just another auxiliary.

“It is unfortunate that they wear scrubs; they act confident, but they are not trained. They shouldn’t be allowed near patients.”

In many of these private hospitals visited our correspondent observed that these auxiliary nurses were employed to staff entire wards, intensive care units, and even emergency departments.

These underqualified staff members were often left to make life-or-death decisions, administer medications, and provide critical care to patients without adequate training or support.

Further investigation revealed that many of these auxiliary nurses had little to no formal training in nursing.

Some had completed short courses or certification programmes, but many lacked the rigorous education and clinical training required to become a registered nurse.

Despite this, they were being tasked with complex medical procedures, including administering injections, managing medications, and monitoring patients’ conditions.

It was also discovered that many of these hospitals were found to be operating with inadequate staffing ratios, poor record-keeping practices, and inadequate quality control measures.

It is observed that this unprofessional conduct by hospital owners created an environment for medical errors to thrive, and patients were left at the mercy of quacks.

Cheaper labour

Probing why these hospitals employed auxiliary nurses instead of registered nurses, it was discovered that they offer cheaper labour, as an auxiliary nurse earns between ₦30,000 and ₦50,000 per month, depending on the location of the hospital.

While a registered nurse earns between ₦79,000 and ₦197,000 per month, it was gathered that the possibility of using the salary of one registered nurse to pay four auxiliary nurses is one of the key drivers pushing many of these hospitals in this dangerous direction.

Another finding by our correspondent is that in many of these hospitals, there are more auxiliary nurses who were trained by the same hospital and employed at a cheaper price, ranging from ₦25,000 to ₦35,000 monthly after they received their acclaimed certificate.

In many of these hospitals, it was discovered that there are more auxiliary nurses than registered nurses, with some facilities having up to five auxiliary nurses under the supervision of either one registered nurse and a matron or just a matron overseeing the activities of the auxiliary nurses.

A doctor in one of the private hospitals who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak, said the use of auxiliary nurses had become a ‘necessary evil’.

“We are not proud of it. But what can we do? Government hospitals are crowded. Trained nurses are leaving the country. Our patients won’t pay what it costs to hire qualified staff. If we don’t use auxiliaries, we will have to shut down,” he said.

He claimed that many of the private hospitals provide in-house training and supervision for their auxiliary nurses.

He argued that with the right oversight, auxiliaries can function safely.

Auxiliary nurses are more readily available and affordable. While they work under supervision, they play a crucial role in supporting healthcare services. In fact, their presence has helped mitigate the impact of the nursing shortage in private hospitals,” he noted.

A senior official at NMCN, who spoke under condition of anonymity, confirmed the illegal nature of this practice.

“Auxiliary nursing does not exist in Nigerian law. It is an informal arrangement that has been widely abused by private healthcare facilities. The council does not accredit auxiliary nurses and will never legitimise the practice,” the official said.

Systemic failure

According to the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, only individuals trained in accredited institutions and licensed by the NMCN are legally permitted to practise nursing.

A copy of the Nursing and Midwifery (Registration, ETC) ACT, obtained by PUNCH Healthwise, prohibits any person from training an individual as a nurse or midwife or providing any course of training without the minister’s permission.

The Act, which establishes the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, provides in Section 21(a) and (b) that anyone found culpable will pay a fine or be imprisoned for a certain number of months.

The Section reads partly, “It shall be an offence for any person without the approval of the minister, given on the recommendation of the council, to train or purport to train any person as a nurse or midwife or to provide any course of training or establish any school for such purpose or as one of its purposes; and any such person shall be liable.

a) on conviction otherwise than in a High Court, to a fine of N1, 000 or to imprisonment for a term of six months, or both such fine and imprisonment; (b) on conviction in a High Court, to a fine of N2, 000 or to imprisonment for a term of two years or both such fine and imprisonment.”

Despite this act, an investigation by PUNCH Healthwise revealed that thousands of hospital assistants, often with no more than a secondary school education and informal, on-the-job instruction, continue to fill the role of registered nurses under the unofficial title of ‘auxiliary nurse.’

It was gathered that these auxiliary workers often begin as cleaners or clerks, slowly absorbing skills through years of working under registered matrons or nurses. Eventually, many are handed syringes, stethoscopes, and life-and-death responsibilities.

Some auxiliary nurses revealed that they undergo a form of apprenticeship, lasting a few years, before being issued certificates that enable them to practice.

They likened this process to learning a trade, such as tailoring, which typically lasts between two and four years.

PUNCH Healthwise gathered that the training is not structured, not guided by any curriculum, and not overseen by any regulatory authority. Yet, by the end of it, the supposed apprentice is no longer seen as just a hospital assistant; she is now considered a nurse.

Upon completion of this period, our correspondent gathered that a graduation-like ritual takes place, known in local parlance as ‘freedom.’

Borrowed from traditional Nigerian trades like tailoring or barbing, freedom is a symbolic rite marking the end of apprenticeship and the beginning of independent practice.

To earn her ‘freedom’, the auxiliary nurses said they must fulfill certain obligations, including paying the supervising matron or nurse a fixed fee, a kind of settlement for the training received, accompanied by a list of required items, including a stethoscope, a blood pressure monitor, and other basic medical tools.

One of the auxiliary nurses, simply identified as Ola, said, “These instruments are part of our ‘freedom package’, and they signify our transition from trainee to the full practitioner.

I have not done mine because they asked me to bring ₦300,000 before I can do the freedom and get my certificate.

“After begging and all, she agreed to collect N100,000, while I will need to buy an ‘instrument’ worth N50,000 before the freedom can take place.”

Ola explained that her training as an auxiliary nurse focused mainly on practical skills, such as administering drips.

She revealed that some patients were used as practice subjects for these skills, raising concerns about patient safety.

She also stated that most hospitals offering auxiliary nurse training prioritise hands-on experience over theoretical instruction. Instead, they learn by observing experienced nurses and matrons on the job.

According to her, auxiliary nurses are trained in various procedures, including birth maintenance, stitching, and emergency care.

She emphasised that their primary role is to provide basic healthcare services and first aid, and they are not equipped to handle complex cases like surgery.

From cleaner to a nurse

Charity (not her real name) is one of hundreds, possibly thousands of young women across Nigeria who have become healthcare workers by informal apprenticeship, without ever entering a classroom or writing a licensing exam.

The 29-year-old auxiliary nurse working in a mid-sized private clinic in Ibafo area of Ogun State started as a cleaner in the same hospital before she was trained.

She recounted, “I started as a cleaner. Then I began helping with patients, cleaning wounds, setting drips, and giving injections. After three years, I was allowed to work fully as a nurse. I even did my ‘freedom’.

“It is like learning work. After the agreed-upon years, you do your graduation. Then you can work anywhere. People will just assume you are a nurse because you know the job.”

Evading regulators

Despite periodic inspections by government agencies such as the special committee established by NMCN and the Lagos State Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency,  Healthwise gathered that many private hospitals employ deceptive tactics to hide the presence of these unqualified staff.

Several auxiliary nurses admitted that, when their employers are notified in advance about an upcoming inspection, they are instructed to avoid detection.

In some cases, they are told not to wear nurse uniforms and to pose as cleaners instead. In other instances, they are simply asked not to report to work on the day of the visit.

One auxiliary nurse working at a hospital in Ibafo said, “Anytime they hear that inspectors are coming, our matron will tell us not to wear our uniforms. She’ll say, ‘Just dress like a cleaner and carry a mop.’ Sometimes, they even tell us not to come to work at all that day. They don’t want wahala.”

They are quacks -Stakeholders insist

Stakeholders in the nursing profession, however, maintained that auxiliary nurses are not recognised in the field, dismissing the term as misleading.

Instead, they argued that these individuals are unqualified impostors attempting to masquerade as legitimate nurses.

The Ogun State chairperson of the NANNM, Adejoke Bello, insisted that the existence of auxiliary nurses was not recognised in Nigeria’s healthcare system and described them as quacks.

Bello stressed that there was no such role in the nursing profession and that anyone claiming to be an auxiliary nurse is misrepresenting themselves.

“You are either a registered and qualified nurse or a quack. Many of those claiming to be auxiliary nurses are not qualified to practise the profession.

“There is nothing like an auxiliary nurse; it is either you are a qualified nurse or you are a quack. We all know that what we call quack is fake. Our association is fighting this quackery because they are destroying and damaging our profession.

“Also, we are concerned about the lives of people. Many people have lost their lives at the hands of these people, and we as an association are doing everything to tackle this quackery in our midst.

“Before you can be described as a certified nurse, you must have attended a university to study nursing or any of these colleges of nursing, where you would be trained and certified.

“The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria must certify the person, and they will issue the person a licence. Anybody who does not have a license as a practising nurse or midwife in Nigeria is not meant to attend or care for the people,” she said.

Corroborating her statement, a Professor of Medicine at the Department of Nursing Science, University of Calabar, Cross River State, Mary Mgbekem, said she does not know where to categorise auxiliary nurses as they do not belong to healthcare professionals.

She noted, “I am a trained and registered nurse, and I can tell you that they do not belong here. They are people created by doctors for their own selfish interests and not for the interest of patients. Doctors train them so that they can avoid paying the right salaries to the registered nurses.

“This class of people should never get close to the patients if patients’ safety means anything to medical professionals. They are trained with the little knowledge acquired by their employers. They are not licensed and will be held liable for anything that goes wrong.

“They are not recognised anywhere and do not belong to healthcare professionals but only to the doctors who use them. Apart from that, they are not known among healthcare professionals.”

Daring consequences

Research has shown that the substitution of registered nurses with auxiliary nurses can have serious consequences for patient safety.

A study published in the Journal of Nursing Administration found that hospitals with higher ratios of RNs to patients had lower rates of mortality, failure to rescue, and other adverse outcomes.

Another study published in the Journal of Healthcare Risk Management found that the use of auxiliary nurses was associated with an increased risk of medical errors and patient harm.

Despite these studies, an investigation Healthwise showed that the trend towards relying on auxiliary nurses continues to grow.

Even the Lagos State chapter of the nurses’ association recently decried the alarming rate of nursing quackery, noting that it has resolved to clamp down on illegal training and unauthorised practice in the state.

The Lagos State Chairperson of the NANNM, Christianah Adeboboye at the association’s Nurses Summit, in commemoration of International Midwives Day and International Nurses Week, stated that, despite the nobility of the calling, widespread impersonation of nurses by unqualified individuals poses a danger to public health and damages the image of the profession.

“In Lagos, we have observed some of these impostors being enabled by certain health facilities and professionals,” she said.

She reiterated that NANNM Lagos has a zero-tolerance policy on quackery.

She noted that the association is working closely with the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria to clamp down on illegal training and unauthorised practice.

She called on the government and all stakeholders to support the association in upholding professional standards and safeguarding the integrity of the profession.

Expert warns of impending danger

The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Academy of Science, Dr. Oladoyin Odubanjo, warned of impending danger over the reliance on auxiliary nurses in most private hospitals due to the migration of registered nurses and cheap labour.

According to him, employment of auxiliary nurses by private hospitals poses a significant risk to patient safety and healthcare outcomes across the country.

Speaking exclusively with our correspondent, Odubanjo stressed that while auxiliary nurses might seem like a practical solution to staffing shortages, especially as they cost less to hire, the danger they pose to patient care cannot be ignored.

He explained that many of these individuals lack the scientific and clinical training required to handle even the most basic medical scenarios safely and effectively.

“In reality, what happens is that hospitals try to manage the shortages by hiring a few qualified nurses and filling the rest of the roles with auxiliary staff who are trained on the job to perform certain basic tasks.

“But the real danger lies in the fact that they don’t understand the underlying science of diseases, human anatomy, or the nuances of medical conditions. They may treat two patients the same way based on superficial symptoms, unaware that their conditions are vastly different,” he said.

He likened this to the dangerous practice of self-medication, where individuals repeat a previous prescription for similar symptoms without a proper diagnosis, often leading to adverse outcomes.

Odubanjo warned that such practices not only compromise the quality of care but also endanger patients’ lives.

He highlighted a broader systemic issue, the mass migration of qualified health professionals seeking better opportunities abroad due to poor remuneration, lack of motivation, and harsh working conditions at home.

He added, “Government hospitals are advertising for doctors, and nobody is applying. Nurses, although more in number, are also leaving in droves.

“The few that remain are overwhelmed and underappreciated. There has been no significant improvement in their welfare, and many are forced to take multiple jobs just to make ends meet.”

Way forward

Odunbanjo, however, stressed the importance of addressing both the ‘pull’ and ‘push’ factors in the healthcare brain drain.

While noting that overseas opportunities may offer better pay and conditions, the physician stated that the deteriorating environment within Nigeria, delayed salaries, poor infrastructure, and lack of recognition push even the most committed health workers out of the system.

He highlighted scenarios where highly skilled nurses chose to abandon their profession entirely to go into unrelated businesses such as cooking or retail, simply because their expertise is neither valued nor rewarded.

The physician recommended a multi-faceted approach to reform.

Beyond improving pay and welfare packages to retain skilled workers, he urged the government to regulate and standardise the training of auxiliary nurses.

Instead of banning them outright, he suggested they be enrolled in certified training programmes that clearly define their scope of practice and ensure they can perform their duties safely.

“There must be proper training and legal limitations to what auxiliary nurses can and cannot do. We must not allow the desperation to fill staff shortages to compromise patient safety,” he said.

Drawing a parallel with the recognition and training of traditional birth attendants in rural areas, Odubanjo said auxiliary nurses could also be trained through structured programmes administered by state or local governments.

This, he noted, would help formalise their role while ensuring they do not overstep critical boundaries in patient care.

Unwilling to pay professionals

Meanwhile, the immediate past registrar and secretary general of NMCN,  Faruk Abubakar, dismissed the claim that there was a shortage of nurses in the country, insisting that private hospitals engage the services of auxiliary nurses because they were unwilling to pay professionals.

He described  auxiliary nurses as quacks and warned that their increasing presence in private hospitals poses a grave danger to patients.

Umar, in a telephone interview Healthwise, condemned the use of unqualified personnel in health facilities, particularly private hospitals, which he said were in the habit of employing auxiliary nurses because they were cheaper than professionally trained and licensed nurses.

He stated, “There is nothing like auxiliary nurses. They are quacks. Nobody recognises them.

“All these private hospitals are using them because they want cheap labour. They train anybody and just give them a name, but they are not qualified.”

Umar stressed that the NMCN does not recognise auxiliary nurses, warning that their practice amounts to illegal quackery that endangers patient safety.

He revealed that during his tenure, nurse production in Nigeria increased by over 400 per cent from 9,000 annually to 45,000.

However, he lamented that less than 20 per cent of these qualified nurses were employed, largely because private hospitals were unwilling to pay professional wages.

The real problem is employment, not shortage. Qualified nurses and midwives are available, but they are not being hired because of cost. That is why private hospitals prefer to promote quackery,” Umar explained.

He urged government agencies and regulatory bodies to enforce existing laws, highlighting the example of Enugu State, which formed a task force to combat the illegal practice of unlicensed nurses.

“The law is clear. The National Midwifery Act empowers state committees to flush out quacks and ensure only qualified nurses practise. It is a matter of enforcement,” he said.

Umar also called on the media and investigative journalists to expose unlicensed practitioners in health facilities, advising the public to verify nurses’ licences, which are available online via the NMCN.

We act swiftly when we get report – NMCN Registrar

The NMCN registrar, Ndagi Alhassan, said the council takes prompt action against illegal nursing practices whenever it receives credible reports from its monitoring teams across the country.

Alhassan explained that while the council has zonal offices meant to oversee state activities, enforcement depends largely on the flow of information from these offices to headquarters.

According to him, the council depends heavily on information from zonal offices and state-level monitoring teams before it can intervene.

He lamented that some states have yet to fully empower their inspectorate divisions, which he said slowed down enforcement efforts.

“We act swiftly when we get reports. We arrest and prosecute those found practising without proper licences. But as much as we rely on the reports from the states, some of these states have not started effective monitoring yet.

“We are waiting for reports from zonal offices and monitoring teams at the state level. Once we receive verified reports, we act swiftly to arrest and prosecute offenders,” he added.

The registrar, however, revealed that a significant number of qualified nurses remain unemployed across the country despite rising concerns over the illegal practice of unqualified auxiliary nurses in private hospitals.

Alhassan stated that unemployment, rather than the mass migration of health workers, is the main challenge facing the nursing profession in Nigeria.

“We have enough nurses on the ground who are unemployed. They are not being employed. It is not because of Japa. People are still available but are not being hired,” Alhassan stated.

A new study has revealed alarming deficiencies in the capacity of general hospitals across Abia State to provide Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC)—a critical component in reducing preventable maternal and infant mortality.

The assessment, conducted between September and December 2024, showed that only one out of 17 general hospitals in the state—Arochukwu General Hospital—had a Manual Vacuum Aspiration (MVA) kit, while only two facilities were equipped to perform caesarean sections (CS).

The study further indicated that none of the secondary health facilities in Abia had the infrastructure or equipment to provide all nine internationally recognized CEmONC signal functions, essential for safe childbirth and newborn survival.

The findings, presented by Dr. Onuka Okorie, Sector Wide Approach (SWAP) Desk Officer for Abia State, exposed additional gaps, including poor laboratory and pharmacy services. Only nine of the 17 hospitals had laboratories, and two had no pharmacy units at all.

Shockingly, most of the facilities lacked neonatal care units, and none could deliver all 12 critical newborn care (CNC) functions. Only Arochukwu General Hospital attained 18 of the 21 combined CEmONC signal functions assessed.

Speaking during the public presentation of the report, Dr. Okorie emphasized that the findings should serve as a wake-up call. He noted that the initiative was part of Nigeria’s national strategy to reduce maternal deaths from complications such as hemorrhage, sepsis, and eclampsia, as well as to ensure timely emergency care for mothers and infants.

The Permanent Secretary of the Abia State Ministry of Health, Dr. Ifenyinwa Uma-Kalu, who represented the Commissioner for Health, acknowledged the seriousness of the report. She, however, highlighted ongoing state efforts to revamp the sector, including:

15% of the 2025 state budget allocated to health,

Renovation and equipping of 200 Primary Health Centres (PHCs),

Upgrade of five General Hospitals, and Rehabilitation of tertiary health facilities in Aba and Umuahia.

Dr. Uma-Kalu also noted that the state government had recently approved the recruitment of 771 healthcare workers to strengthen service delivery.

Despite these efforts, stakeholders at the event called for immediate action to upgrade general hospitals—arguing that only they are equipped to deliver full CEmONC services. They urged the establishment of:

Fully functional neonatal care units,

Pharmacy departments,

Upgraded surgical theatres and labor wards.

Dr. Chioma Oduenyi, Project Director for Jhpiego, an international health NGO affiliated with Johns Hopkins University, praised the transparency of the assessment. She called for federal intervention to support ongoing state-level efforts.

“The health system in Nigeria is in a gory state. These findings show we still have a long way to go,” she said, while commending Abia State for taking early steps to address the gaps.

Dr. Damian Asogwa, a Jhpiego consultant, urged all stakeholders to focus on collaboration rather than politicizing the findings, while Dr. Joy Okechukwu from General Hospital Aba expressed optimism that the evidence-based report would drive real change.

Other speakers, including Dr. Nwalozie Ugochukwu from Obingwa General Hospital, raised concerns about delays in referrals due to cultural and religious beliefs—often contributing to preventable deaths. He advocated for public enlightenment and timely access to formal medical care.

The event concluded with a call for evidence-based decision-making and stronger partnerships among federal and state actors, donor agencies, and healthcare providers to enhance maternal and child health outcomes in Abia and beyond.

Jos – The Plateau State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Nicholas Baamlong, has confirmed that the state has recorded five cases of cholera, three fatalities, and 20 suspected cases.

Speaking, yesterday in Jos, Baamlong said the confirmed cases were reported in Ngyong, Hurti and Wurit communities in Bokkos Local Government Area (LGA).

According to him, the state Ministry of Health has activated an incident management system for a comprehensive and multi-sectoral response to the outbreak.

He further disclosed that the state Epidemiologist has been appointed as the Incident Manager for the cholera outbreak in the state.
The duties of the Incident Manager include overseeing the establishment of oral rehydration centres in the affected communities, as well as cholera treatment centres and units at the College Hospital in Bokkos LGA, Baamlong explained.

He added the Incident Manager would also coordinate surveillance, case management and risk communication activities.
Baamlong attributed the outbreak to poor sanitation, limited access to clean water and population displacement resulting from recent attacks in Bokkos LGA.

He called for the evacuation of suspected cholera cases to designated treatment centers.

According to him, cholera is an acute diarrheal disease caused by ingesting food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae.

The commissioner urged residents of Bokkos LGA and surrounding areas to remain vigilant, practise good hygiene and promptly report any suspected cases of cholera to the nearest healthcare facility.

He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to safeguarding the health and well-being of all Plateau residents and called on partners to support the ongoing emergency response efforts.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded 717 confirmed Lassa fever cases out of 4,881 suspected cases from January to May 4, 2025, in 18 states, across 93 local government areas.

This was disclosed in the latest situation report by the NCDC on its website on Wednesday.

So far, the country has recorded 138 deaths with a Case Fatality Rate of 19.3 per cent.

The states with reported death cases are Ondo (27); Bauchi (15); Edo (19); Taraba (34); Ebonyi (11); Kogi (four); Gombe (seven), Plateau (five), Benue (five), Nasarawa (four), Kaduna (two), Enugu (one), Delta (two), Cross-River (one), and Ogun (one).

Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic fever caused by the Lassa virus.

The natural reservoir for the virus is the multimammate rat (also known as the African rat), although other rodents can also act as carriers.

The report partly read, “In week 18, the number of new confirmed cases decreased from 11 in epi week 17, of 2025, to 10. These were reported in Ondo, Edo, Bauchi and Benue States.

Cumulatively in week 18, 2025, 138 deaths have been reported with a CFR of 19.2 per cent which is higher than the CFR for the same period in 2024 (18.0 per cent).

In total for 2025, 18 States have recorded at least one confirmed case across 93 Local Government Areas.”

It stated that 71 per cent of all confirmed Lassa fever cases were reported from three states (Ondo, Bauchi and Taraba) while 28 per cent were reported from 15 states with confirmed Lassa fever cases.

It added that of the 71 per cent confirmed cases, Ondo reported 30 per cent, Bauchi 25 per cent, and Taraba 16 per cent.

The predominant age group affected is 21-30 years (Range: 1 to 96 years, Median Age: 30 years); and the male-to-female ratio for confirmed cases is 1:0.8.

“The number of suspected and confirmed cases decreased compared to that reported for the same period in 2024.

“No new healthcare worker was affected in the reporting week 18.

The National Lassa fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Incident Management System activated to coordinate the response activities at all levels,” it noted.

A cholera outbreak has been reported in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, resulting in four deaths.

It was learnt that several others have been evacuated to various primary health care centres and cottage hospitals in the council area for medical treatment.

The Executive Chairman of Bokkos LGA, Mr. Amalau Amalau confirmed the development to The PUNCH in Jos on Monday .

Amalau noted that the affected communities where the outbreak had been reported included Hurti community ,Bokkos West and Bokkos Central and Mangol

He stated that the Primary Health Care Department and the cottage hospital are working together to address the challenge.

According to him, some affected individuals are currently recuperating in the hospital, while others have been discharged.

The chairman said: “Yes, we have an outbreak of Cholera in some communities in Bokkos but the Primary Health Care Department in collaboration with the cottage hospital are working in synergy to address the challenge

So far, we have lost about four persons as a result, and some others are recuperating in the hospital .Some have also been discharged .We have two cases in Hurti community, Bokkos West and Bokkos Central and Mangol. These are the affected places .

The LGA Chairman urged residents to exercise caution and adhere to global health guidelines, including practicing good hygiene and keeping their environments clean.

“We are calling on the good people of Bokkos LGA to be cautious of the development and adhere to the UN guidelines and health activities .They should practice good hygiene like keeping their environment clean, washing of hands constant, washing of vegetables, fruit , drink clean water.

“Above all,they should report any symptom to the nearest PHC or go to referral center at any cottage hospital in Bokkos,” the chairman added

The Lagos State University Teaching Hospital has called for increased public awareness of asthma symptoms and improved access to treatment, particularly inhaled medications, to better manage the condition and reduce its burden on individuals and families.

The call was made by the Deputy Director of Clinical Services at LASUTH, Dr. Oluwafemi Ojo, during a World Asthma Day event organised by the hospital’s Respiratory Unit in collaboration with Ikeja Local Government Area on Tuesday in Lagos.

World Asthma Day is observed globally on the first Tuesday in May to raise awareness about asthma and promote effective management of the chronic respiratory disease.

This year’s theme, “Make Inhaled Treatments Accessible for ALL,” underscores the urgent need for equitable access to essential asthma medications.

Ojo, a consultant pulmonologist, and noted that asthma affects more than 300 million people worldwide and accounts for over 450,000 deaths annually.

In Nigeria alone, over 20 million people live with the condition.

He said asthma significantly impacts the physical, socio-economic, and emotional well-being of patients and their families.

A major challenge, he added, is the high cost and limited availability of inhalers, worsened by the exit of key pharmaceutical companies from the Nigerian market.

“To address this, the Federal Government must create a conducive environment for local pharmaceutical companies to produce inhalers. This would reduce reliance on foreign exchange and lower production costs,” Ojo said.

He also urged that inhalers be listed as essential medicines and included in the national health insurance scheme, especially for low-income earners, to improve accessibility.

Ojo advised medical practitioners to shift away from the reliance on short-acting beta-2 agonists like salbutamol as primary treatment for asthma, noting that these drugs only offer temporary relief without addressing the underlying cause—inflammation.

“Globally, the trend is toward the use of inhaled corticosteroids, which target airway inflammation. Reducing inflammation significantly lowers the risk of asthma exacerbations,” he explained.

He further called for inter-sectoral collaboration in research to enhance asthma management strategies and encouraged patients to avoid known triggers, adhere to treatment plans, and maintain close communication with healthcare providers.

“Our aim today is to advocate for better asthma care and accessibility. We’ve already conducted over 100 free lung function tests and distributed inhalers to some patients to initiate treatment and connect them to continued care at LASUTH,” he said.

Also speaking at the event, LASUTH’s Director of Pharmacy, Dr. Oluwatoyin Ojo, emphasised the importance of combining reliever medications with inhaled corticosteroids to prevent avoidable asthma-related deaths.

She highlighted the vital role pharmacists play in patient education, medication adherence, inhaler technique training, and addressing side effects—factors critical to effective asthma control.

The event featured an advocacy walk, free lung function screening, educational sessions on asthma and inhaler use, and engagement with community members.

According to the World Health Organisation, asthma is a leading non-communicable disease that affects both adults and children and remains the most common chronic illness in children. Symptoms include coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness—resulting from inflammation and narrowing of the lung’s small airways.

WHO stresses that with proper inhaled medication, asthma can be effectively managed, allowing patients to lead active, healthy lives.

The Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Jide Idris, on Friday, said the country recorded 832 confirmed cases of Lassa fever and Mpox between January and April.

Idris, who said this at the national health security press briefing in Abuja, noted that the country also recorded 135 deaths from the diseases in 2025.

He, however, said the agency remained steadfast in its mandate to protect public health by providing timely, transparent, and accurate health information.

The NCDC boss stated that the agency, in collaboration with state health authorities and partners, continued to monitor the diseases through national surveillance platforms, while proactively supporting affected states with timely interventions.

Cumulatively, as of epidemiological Week 16, the country has reported 4,253 suspected cases of Lassa fever, 696 confirmed cases, and 132 deaths. The overall Case Fatality Rate is 19.0 per cent,” he disclosed.

He highlighted a steady decline in Lassa fever cases in epidemiological Week 16, ending April 20, 2025.

“These improvements reflect the positive impact of ongoing surveillance, treatment, and community engagement efforts.

However, the risk remains high, especially in endemic areas. So, we must intensify our efforts,” he added.

Speaking on cerebrospinal meningitis, he noted that as of week 14, the data for CSM showed a steady decline in new cases and fatalities over the past three weeks.

“Surveillance, treatment, and vaccination strategies are being dynamically adapted to emerging data, with a strong focus on community trust and early care seeking.

The response will be sustained until full containment is achieved and state-level ownership of the CSM Incident Action Plan is realised,” he said.

The NCDC boss revealed that since the beginning of 2025, Nigeria has continued to monitor and respond to Mpox outbreaks across the country through coordinated national surveillance efforts.

“From week one to Week 16 of 2025, a total of 723 suspected cases of Mpox were reported across 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory. Of these, 136 cases were laboratory-confirmed, spanning 27 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

“Unfortunately, three Mpox-related deaths were recorded during this period: two in Week 10 from Abia and Ebonyi states, and one recently in Rivers State, involving a young male with advanced HIV and Tuberculosis. This brings the national CFR for 2025 to 2.2 per cent,” he added.

He stressed that Mpox was affecting individuals across a wide range of professions, including students, traders, civil servants, and healthcare workers, highlighting the risk of both community and healthcare-associated (nosocomial) transmission, especially in high-contact settings.

“The activation of the Emergency Operation Centre continues to provide both national and sub-national leadership through weekly review meetings with hotspot states.

“The National Rapid Response Teams have been deployed to hotspot states to strengthen the response capacity of local health authorities.

“Essential medicines, intravenous fluids, personal protective equipment, laboratory consumables and other necessary materials have been strategically distributed to/prepositioned in states to ensure timely access during case surges,” he added.

Dr Idris said five more Mpox laboratories had been optimised in five geopolitical zones – Bauchi, Kano, Cross River, Rivers and Enugu states, adding that mentorship was being provided to improve sample management, handling, and result reporting.

He added that a mortality review meeting was being convened on the Mpox deaths in Abia, Ebonyi and Rivers states.

The Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Jide Idris, on Friday said the country has recorded 832 confirmed cases of Lassa fever and Mpox.

Dr Idris, who said this at the national health security press briefing in Abuja, noted that the country also recorded 135 deaths from the diseases so far in 2025.

He, however, said the agency remains steadfast in its mandate to protect public health by providing timely, transparent, and accurate health information.

He stated that the agency, in collaboration with State Health Authorities and Partners, continues to monitor the diseases through national surveillance platforms while proactively supporting affected states with timely interventions.

Cumulatively, as of epidemiological week 16, the country has reported 4,253 suspected cases of Lassa fever, 696 confirmed cases, and 132 deaths. The overall Case Fatality Rate of 19.0 per cent,” he disclosed.

He highlighted that there is a steady decline in Lassa fever cases in epidemiological week 16, ending April 20, 2025.

“These improvements reflect the positive impact of ongoing surveillance, treatment, and community engagement efforts. However, the risk remains high, especially in endemic areas. So, we must intensify our efforts,” he added.

Speaking on cerebrospinal meningitis, he noted that as of week 14, the data for CSM showed a steady decline in new cases and fatalities over the past three weeks, signaling that control measures are beginning to have an impact.

“Surveillance, treatment, and vaccination strategies are being dynamically adapted to emerging data, with a strong focus on community trust and early care seeking.
So while the outbreak remains serious, national and sub-national coordination, improved preparedness, and vaccination efforts are turning the tide.

“The response will be sustained until full containment is achieved and state-level ownership of the CSM Incident Action Plan is realized,” he said.

The NCDC boss revealed that since the beginning of 2025, Nigeria has continued to monitor and respond to Mpox outbreaks across the country through coordinated national surveillance efforts.

“From week one to Week 16 of 2025, a total of 723 suspected cases of Mpox were reported across 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory. Of these, 136 cases were laboratory-confirmed, spanning 27 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Unfortunately, three Mpox-related deaths were recorded during this period: two in Week 10 from Abia and Ebonyi states, and one recently in Rivers State, involving a young male with advanced HIV and Tuberculosis. This brings the national CFR for 2025 to 2.2 per cent.

“The epidemic curve for the period demonstrates several peaks in both suspected and confirmed Mpox cases, highlighting a pattern of persistent transmission. The geographic distribution map for this period shows that nearly all states have reported suspected cases, with a significant concentration of confirmed cases occurring in the southern and central regions of the country,” he said.

He emphasized that Mpox is affecting individuals across a wide range of professions, including students, traders, civil servants, and healthcare workers, highlighting the risk of both community and healthcare-associated (nosocomial) transmission, especially in high-contact settings.

He noted that the appropriate comprehensive and multi-tiered response strategy is currently in place, including the following key interventions for the diseases.

“The activation of the Emergency Operation Centre continues to provide both national and sub-national leadership through weekly review meetings with hotspot states.

“The National Rapid Response Teams have been deployed to hot spot states to strengthen the response capacity of local health authorities. Essential medicines, intravenous fluids, personal protective equipment, laboratory consumables, and other necessary materials have been strategically distributed to / prepositioned in states to ensure timely access during case surges.

“The capacity of State laboratories has been strengthened to conduct appropriate testing and ship samples for confirmation to the NCDC National Reference Laboratory in Abuja and the Central Public Health Laboratory in Yaba, Lagos,” Idris noted.

He further stated that five more mpox laboratories have been optimized in five geopolitical zones – Bauchi, Kano, Cross River, Rivers & Enugu states; and mentorship is being provided to improve sample management, handling, and result reporting.

“Healthcare workers continue to receive targeted training in case management, including infection prevention and control, as well as hands-on workshops on lumbar puncture and CSM care best practices. Community outreach is being reinforced through radio and TV jingles, distribution of social and behavioural change communication materials, and media sensitization for stigma-free reporting.

Daily coordination with state health teams ensures timely adaptation of messages based on community feedback. Epidemiological data—including age distribution, geographical trends, and case incidence—is closely monitored to guide timely vaccination efforts.

A mortality review meeting is being convened on the mpox deaths in Abia, Ebonyi, and Rivers States. These layered interventions aim to strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to respond swiftly and effectively to outbreaks, protect vulnerable populations, and reduce mortality,” he concluded.

No fewer than two children have lost their lives in a measles outbreak in the Unguwar Kanawa community of Tankarau, Dutsen Abba in Zaria Local Government Area of  Kaduna State.

Sunday news gathered that the outbreak has also left many other children seriously ill.

The Village Head, Nasiru Yunusa, disclosed that two children from the same family died just a week ago from the disease.

He attributed the deaths to the community’s initial reluctance toward vaccination, stating, “Two-thirds of our people didn’t vaccinate their children due to misconceptions.

However, many are now changing their attitudes because of the sickness and deaths we’ve seen.”

Yunusa also pointed out the lack of healthcare facilities in the area, with the nearest Primary Health Centre located seven kilometres away.

“Women now give birth at home because there is no clinic here. We are calling on the government to provide a health clinic for us,” he said.

A local housewife, Saude Safiyanu, shared the personal loss of four of her six children to preventable illnesses.

“We didn’t vaccinate our children because my husband didn’t approve of it. That’s how I lost four of my children. But I later realised the importance of vaccination, so I convinced him to allow me to vaccinate my last child. She is now healthy,” she explained.

In response to the outbreak, the Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board has stepped up efforts to combat vaccine refusal and reduce maternal and child mortality.

The Director of Disease Control and Immunisation at the board confirmed that surveillance had been intensified, with outreach teams visiting households in the affected communities.

The United Nations Children’s Chief of Field Office in Kaduna, Dr. Gerida Birukila, who visited the community during vaccination week activities, expressed concern over the high number of unvaccinated children.

“Three years ago, this community had 100% refusal of vaccination. Now, as you can see, many children are suffering from measles,” she said.

WHO, in a statement on Wednesday, stated that teenage pregnancy remained the leading cause of death for girls aged 15 to 19, which countries could help prevent by allowing them to stay in school and ending child marriage.

According to the UN health agency, each year, no fewer than 21 million adolescent girls in low- and middle-income countries become pregnant.

About half of these pregnancies are unintended. Nine in 10 adolescent births occur among married girls before turning 18.

“Early pregnancies can have serious physical and psychological consequences for girls and young women,” Dr Pascale Allotey, Director of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research at WHO, said.

“(They) often reflect fundamental inequalities that affect their ability to shape their relationships and their lives.”

Allotey said that teen pregnancy carried serious health risks, noting that these include higher rates of infection, comcarriesplications, and premature birth.

It also disrupts education and limits job opportunities later in life. Many young mothers end up trapped in poverty.

To help prevent teenage pregnancy, WHO is calling on governments to offer better alternatives to child marriage. These include improving access to education, financial services and jobs.

If all girls finished secondary school, child marriage could be slashed by up to two-thirds, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

There has been global progress. In 2021, one in 25 girls gave birth before age 20. Twenty years earlier, the rate was one in 15.

However, big gaps remain. In some countries, nearly one in 10 girls aged 15 to 19 gives birth each year.

Early marriage denies girls their childhood and has severe consequences for their health,” Dr Sheri Bastien, Scientist for Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health at WHO, said.

She emphasised the power of education in transforming girls’ futures. At the same time, both boys and girls need to understand the concept of consent and challenge the major gender inequalities that continue to drive high rates of child marriage and early pregnancy in many parts of the world.”

The WHO guidelines updated advice was issued in 2011.

They promote comprehensive sexuality education, which the UN agency says is essential so that boys and girls know how to use different types of contraception and where to seek advice.

It has been shown to reduce early pregnancies, delay the onset of sexual activity and improve adolescents’ knowledge about their bodies and reproductive health,” WHO said. (NAN)

While kick starting the campaign on Saturday, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate, explained that every year in Nigeria, more than 12, 000 women suffer from cervical cancer despite being preventable.

He said, “With this HPV vaccination, we know that it can be preventive if administered earlier enough to those who can be effective with the virus and ultimately develop cancer.

“It is something that the President is very committed to, and if you recall, he flagged off the cervical cancer vaccination, HPV on October 2023. I am pleased that so far, Nigeria has covered 96 per cent of all eligible cohorts in the first phase of those that were vaccinated.

This is among the highest in the world in terms of HPV vaccine coverage for that cohort.”

Pate noted that awareness among stakeholders in Bauchi State is also in progress.”

Also speaking, the Director of General of the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment, Usman Malami, while also emphasising that the exact cause of cervical cancer is well known, “then it is one of the few cancers we have that are preventable.

Since we already know what is causing this cancer, and we know what can confer a lifetime immunity to developing that disease. So that is why we are here today to administer vaccines.”

On his part, the Executive Chairman, Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Board, Rilwanu Mohammed stated that the state has remained committed to the success of the campaign.

Rilwanu revealed that “The vaccines work very well on children that have not been sexually attended, especially, the young girls between nine years to 14 years old.”

Pix: Prof. Pate during the symbolic campaign flag off HPV Vaccine in Bauchi State.

The National President of AMLSN, Dr Uche Odionyenma, made the call during a press conference in Owerri to commemorate the International Biomedical Laboratory Scientists Day, observed every 15 April.

Speaking on the AMLSN Day and the global two-year theme for 2025 and 2026, titled “Biomedical Laboratory Scientists Promoting Sustainability in Clinical Diagnostics Definitions”, Odionyenma emphasised that the International BLS Day is promoted by the IFBLS to celebrate the crucial role of biomedical laboratory scientists in early disease detection, accurate diagnosis, treatment monitoring, disease surveillance, and prevention.

“It gives our profession a day to promote and celebrate ourselves, as well as to raise awareness of the vital role biomedical laboratory scientists play in healthcare delivery,” he said.

Every April, AMLSN joins its counterparts across the globe to celebrate the innovative efforts of BLS professionals implementing sustainable practices that enhance diagnostics and reduce waste, as we continue to make a profound impact on global health and the environment.”

“In celebrating this year’s BLS Day, it is important to reiterate that Medical Laboratory Science, as a distinct profession, is mandated to apply scientific experimentation, observation, and interpretation to ensure diagnostic and therapeutic accuracy for medical practitioners.”

Odionyenma stressed that the Nigeria Laboratory Scientists Association is the professional body representing medical laboratory scientists in the country and therefore called for the liberalisation of leadership and restructuring within the Federal Ministry of Health to allow the appointment of credible, professionally unbiased, and experienced health administrators who will create an enabling environment and provide resources for quality healthcare delivery at all levels.

The AMLSN President also expressed hope for positive reforms in the health sector, calling on the Federal Government to provide equal opportunities to all health professionals, promote justice and fairness, ensure career progression, and uphold professional autonomy to enable every profession to contribute optimally to healthcare delivery.

He also urged the government to “Ensure full implementation of the approved Scheme of Service for Medical Laboratory Personnel at all tiers of government” and to “ensure adequate funding of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund to expand access to healthcare and ensure improved universal health coverage attainment.”

He further asked the government to “Increase budgetary allocation to the health sector and adequate funding of medical laboratory services to make tests affordable, reliable and accessible to the masses and inadequate regulation of IVDs to public health” among other needs.

“In promoting sustainability in clinical diagnostics, the needed ingredients are sustainable testing, sustainable procurement, efficient use of resources, and engagement of adequate, qualified manpower, among others,” Odionyenma concluded.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded 674 confirmed Lassa fever cases out of 4,025 suspected cases from January to April 6, 2025, in 18 states, across 93 local government areas.

This was disclosed in the latest situation report by the NCDC on Tuesday.

So far, the country has recorded 127 deaths with a Case Fatality Rate of 18.8 per cent.

The states with reported death cases are Ondo (26); Bauchi (12); Edo (17); Taraba (31); Ebonyi (11); Kogi (four); and Plateau (five).

Others are Gombe (seven); Benue (four); Nasarawa (four); Kaduna (two); Enugu (one); Delta (one); Cross-River (one); and Ogun (one).

Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic fever caused by the Lassa virus.

The natural reservoir for the virus is the multimammate rat (also known as the African rat), although other rodents can also act as carriers.

The report partly read, “In week 14, the number of new confirmed cases increased from 14 in epi week 13, of
2025 to 15. These were reported in Ondo, Bauchi, Edo, Taraba, Ebonyi, and Gombe States. Cumulatively in week 14, 2025, 127 deaths have been reported with a CFR of 18.8 per cent, which is higher than the CFR for the same period in 2024 (18.5 per cent).

“In total for 2025, 18 States have recorded at least one confirmed case across 93 lgas. 71 per cent of all confirmed Lassa fever cases were reported from these three states (Ondo, Bauchi and Edo) while 28 per cent were reported from 15 states with confirmed Lassa fever cases. Of the 71 per cent confirmed cases, Ondo reported 30 per cent, Bauchi 25 per cent, and Edo 16 per cent.

“The predominant age group affected is 21-30 years (Range: 1 to 94 years, Median Age: 30 years). The male-to-female ratio for confirmed cases is 1:0.8.”

It noted that the number of suspected cases decreased compared to that reported for the same period in 2024; and no new healthcare worker was affected in the reporting week 14.

It added that the National Lassa fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Incident Management System has been activated to coordinate the response activities at all levels.

Nwokwu revealed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Saturday in Abuja.

He said that men undergoing hormone therapy to alter their body physiology to appear more feminine are also at elevated risk.

He explained that because men had breast tissue, they could develop breast cancer, although the condition was rare.

Confirming that such cases had been recorded in Nigeria, the NCCP coordinator emphasised the need for awareness.

According to him, breast development in men can be triggered by an increase in estrogen, the hormone responsible for breast growth, particularly when testosterone levels drop.

He said: “The hormone that women have that makes their breasts develop is also present in men. The difference is that testosterone, which is higher in men, suppresses that hormone;  so when there’s an imbalance between the two, whichever is higher tends to manifest more.”

He added that when estrogen levels in men become dominant, it could lead to gynecomastia (the enlargement of male breast tissue) which in turn increases the risk of breast cancer.

“Once there’s a fluctuation that disrupts the body’s ability to regulate the cell ducts, it can trigger breast cancer,” he said.

Nwokwu noted that the risk factors for breast cancer in men are similar to those in women.

He, however, said that women were more prone due to their more developed breast tissue and cell ducts.

He said that men with larger breasts face a higher risk than those with average breast size, though no man was completely exempted.

reason is simple, anything that lowers male hormones, whether due to sickness or environmental factors, can cause an increase in female hormones. That imbalance can result in gynecomastia and, by extension, raise the risk of breast cancer,” he said.

He also identified genetics as a significant factor, saying “People who come from families with a genetic predisposition need to be cautious, as even slight environmental triggers can elevate their risk.”

The coordinator further warned that men who undergo hormone therapy in attempts to transition to a female body structure are also at increased risk.

“When men take hormone therapies to alter their physiology, the more active female hormones can expose them to a higher risk of breast cancer,” he said.

On available data, Nwokwu said figures are low partly because men often do not recognise the symptoms of breast cancer until they receive a proper diagnosis.

He acknowledged the lack of conclusive data on the disease in men, saying it reflected a broader challenge in cancer data collection.

However, the NCCP coordinator noted that the Federal Government had designated cancer as a reportable disease to enhance data gathering.

He added that efforts were underway to improve diagnostic capacity nationwide so that any abnormality found in the body could be accurately identified and diagnosed.

To reduce the risk of breast cancer, Nwokwu advised men to regularly check their bodies for lumps or unusual growths, especially in the breast area.

Any abnormal growth should be properly investigated. Tissue samples should be taken for laboratory diagnosis,” he advised.

NAN

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed that Nigeria is battling a meningitis outbreak that has led to 151 deaths and 1,826 suspected cases, with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 8.3 percent. The outbreak, which has affected 23 states, is putting significant pressure on public health resources, particularly in northern Nigeria, where the majority of cases have been reported.

According to the Epidemiological Week 12 Report, which covers the period from March 17 to March 23, 2025, a total of 289 samples were collected from suspected cases, and 126 of these have been confirmed as positive, yielding a 44 percent positivity rate. Among the confirmed cases, the most prevalent strain is Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C (NmC), which accounts for 27 percent of cases, followed by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup W (NmW) at 13.5 percent.

The outbreak predominantly affects children, with those in the 5-14 age group making up the highest proportion of both suspected and confirmed cases. Additionally, the outbreak shows a significant gender disparity, with 60 percent of the total suspected cases reported in males.

The situation is most severe in 10 states, with Kebbi and Sokoto being the hardest-hit, accounting for 94 percent of suspected cases. Gwandu LGA in Kebbi has reported the highest number of cases, with 313 suspected cases, followed by Tambuwal LGA in Sokoto with 155 cases.

In response to the growing crisis, the NCDC has stepped up surveillance, sample collection, and public awareness campaigns. Efforts to provide vaccinations and other interventions are being prioritized in high-risk states to curb the spread of the disease and prevent further fatalities.

Health authorities are urging Nigerians to seek immediate medical attention at the first signs of meningitis, including fever, headache, and neck stiffness, in order to reduce the risk of complications and death.

To curb the influx of substandard and falsified medicines into Nigeria, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has appointed Cotecna Inspection Services (CIS) as a key agent under its Clean Report of Inspection and Analysis (CRIA) scheme.

The move follows NAFDAC’s recent seizure and destruction of over N1 trillion worth of banned, expired, and counterfeit drugs across major drug markets in Idumota, Onitsha, and Aba.

Speaking at a hybrid technical meeting, NAFDAC Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said the agency is stepping up its regulatory efforts, especially targeting products from India and China, to ensure only safe and high-quality medicines are allowed into the country.

“Substandard and falsified medicines are a global threat, especially in low- and middle-income countries. This trade results in economic sabotage, drug resistance, and loss of lives,” Adeyeye stated.

She revealed that NAFDAC had recently reviewed the performance of its CRIA agents—suspending one, renewing two, and appointing Cotecna to bolster oversight in India.

The CRIA scheme mandates thorough physical inspections and lab testing of all NAFDAC-regulated products before shipment to Nigeria. CRIA agents ensure full compliance with NAFDAC’s labeling, packaging, and safety standards.

Prof. Adeyeye disclosed that CRIA agents in India and China have intercepted nearly 200 consignments in the past five years due to failed lab tests or non-compliance with documentation.

To further strengthen oversight, NAFDAC has introduced the Ports Inspection Data Capture and Risk Management System (PIDCARMS) to streamline verification and prevent reentry of rejected products through backchannels.

“We are determined to track what happens to rejected shipments in India and ensure they do not end up back in Nigeria illegally,” she added.

Lena Sodergren, Vice President of Cotecna, praised the partnership, calling the CRIA scheme the most comprehensive in Africa, and a critical tool for tracing and blocking counterfeit products.

This collaboration will greatly enhance public health safety by ensuring only certified products enter Nigeria,” she said.

Dr. Olakunle Olaniran, Director of NAFDAC’s Ports Inspection Directorate, emphasized that the collaboration has significantly boosted NAFDAC’s ability to detect and block falsified medicines at entry points.

“The CRIA scheme has been instrumental in intercepting nearly 200 non-compliant products, and we remain committed to protecting Nigerians from substandard pharmaceuticals,” he assured.

This was disclosed in a joint press statement on Friday by the Vaccine Alliance, Gavi, the World Health Organisation, and the United Nations Children’s Fund.

The statement noted that the first shipment of the vaccine doses would enable the launch of an outbreak response campaign targeting individuals aged one to 29 years, which is the most severely affected group.

“The campaign will initially launch in Kebbi and Sokoto states, with plans to expand to Yobe State as additional doses arrive in the country,” it added.

According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the country has recorded a total of 807 suspected cases of cerebrospinal meningitis, and 74 deaths from 22 states as of March 26, 2025

The NCDC stated that the Case Fatality Rate was at 9.2 per cent as of March 26, 2025.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate said the arrival of the Men5CV vaccines was a crucial milestone in Nigeria’s response to the current meningitis outbreak.

He said, “It reflects our commitment under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to protect the health and well-being of all Nigerians – especially our children and young people who are most vulnerable.

“Through the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative and the Sector-Wide Approach, we have prioritised epidemic preparedness and rapid response as part of our broader health security agenda. We are grateful for the support of Gavi, WHO, and UNICEF in enabling this swift deployment. Together, we are not only containing today’s outbreak but also laying the foundation to eliminate meningitis and strengthen routine immunisation for the future.”

According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Nigeria has recorded a total of 807 suspected cases of cerebrospinal meningitis, and 74 deaths from 22 states as of March 26, 2025

The NCDC also stated that the Case Fatality Rate was at 9.2 per cent.

Meningitis is a serious infection of the meninges, the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. It is a devastating disease and remains a major public health challenge.

The disease can be caused by many different pathogens including bacteria, fungi or viruses, but the highest global burden is seen with bacterial meningitis, according to WHO.

UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Cristian Munduate, said every child deserved protection from life-threatening diseases like meningitis, saying that the arrival of the vaccine marked a critical step in stopping the current outbreak and safeguarding Nigeria’s most vulnerable populations – particularly children and young adults, who are at the highest risk.

“UNICEF is proud to support the government by ensuring rapid vaccine deployment, community engagement, and planning and implementation of the response, while working alongside Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, National Primary Health Care Development Agency and Federal Ministry of Health & Social Welfare to strengthen immunisation efforts in Nigeria,” Munduate stated.

WHO Country Representative in Nigeria, Dr Walter Mulombo, said as Nigeria continues to combat the current meningitis outbreak, the arrival of the MenCV5 vaccine provided a much-needed boost to the response efforts.

“From research and development to delivery, the journey of the MenCV5 vaccine to Nigeria has been a collaborative effort between the Nigerian government, the WHO, Gavi, and other dedicated partners. While we address the ongoing outbreak, the MenCV5 vaccine is also critical to Nigeria’s long-term health security. It will help prevent future outbreaks and safeguard future generations; we are committed to supporting Nigeria at every step,” he stated.

Wurno condemned the practice of making incisions on patients’ stomachs as a form of treatment and called for its immediate cessation.

Speaking during the presentation of government-supplied drugs for metal poisoning treatment at General Hospital Tureta on Wednesday, Wurno emphasised the need for affected individuals to seek medical attention at hospitals instead of resorting to unsafe traditional methods.

“The practice of making incisions on the stomach of patients suffering from metal poisoning must stop immediately. Instead, those showing symptoms should be rushed to hospitals for proper medical care,” the commissioner directed.

Wurno, represented by the Executive Director of the State Hospital Services Management Board, Bello Attahiru, assured that the government would distribute the essential drugs to all general hospitals handling metal poisoning cases.

Receiving the medical supplies, the Chairman of Tureta Local Government Council, Aliyu Tureta, expressed gratitude, noting that the provision of the drugs was timely.

Tureta assured that the local government would ensure proper utilisation of the medicines for their intended purpose, highlighting the council’s earlier efforts in addressing the health crisis.

The state government’s intervention is expected to curb the dangerous traditional treatment methods and improve access to safer and more effective medical care for affected patients.

Residents of Osun State are to benefit from a free medical outreach programme in the state.

The initiative is out together by two Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs), Global Vision Support International and Springtime Development Foundation.

President of Global Vision Support International, Professor John Sotunsa, who announced the cheering news in a statement, said the upcoming medical outreach program is scheduled to take place between April 13th and 17th, 2025. 

Sotunsa explained that part of Global Vision Support International's ongoing efforts to provide healthcare services to those in need.

The the Provost of the Benjamin Carson College of Health and Medical Sciences, Babcock University added that on April 13th, the programme will be held at Inisha town, while from the 14th to 17th, it would take place at the Ede Town Hall. 

"the target at the forthcoming medical outreach is to provide free consultations and treatment to 2000 persons, glasses to 1200 persons, 50 fibroid surgeries, 100 hernia repair and lump removal and 50 cataract surgeries while dental services will be provided for 100 persons, too.

"all those in need are urged to visit the designated centres on the specified dates while those requiring surgery will need to provide their lab test results while blood would be provided by participants if needed.

“The treatment will, however, be on a first-come, first-served basis,” the Professor said.

Recall Since 2017, the organization has carried out 140 outreaches and provided medical care to over 150,000 patients in Nigeria, performing over 2,000 surgeries, including eye, fibroid, hernia, and lump removals.

The Kwara State Government has reiterated its commitment to tackling tuberculosis by extending free treatment and diagnostic services, even as the Health Ministry introduces free chest X-rays and specialised TB diagnostics for children.

The First Lady of Kwara State, Prof Olufolake AbdulRazaq, stated this on Monday, at the commemoration of the year 2025 World Tuberculosis Day, held at Kulende Market, Sango area, Ilorin, the state capital.

Represented by the Director General of the Ajike People Support Center, Alhaji Abdulganiyu Opeloyeru, the First Lady urged residents to report suspected TB cases in their communities for early treatment to avoid being spread to others.

Addressing this year’s theme, “Yes! We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, Deliver,” the first lady encouraged both the Hausa and Yoruba communities in the area to actively participate in TB awareness efforts and ensure timely case reporting.

According to a statement issued by the Press Secretary, Ministry of Health, Hamdalat Saad, made available to the press on Tuesday,
Abdulrazaq emphasized that collective action between the government and the public is crucial to save lives through early detection and prevention.

In his remarks, Chairman of the Kwara State House of Assembly Committee on Health, Seun Oguniyi, urged Sango residents  to take full advantage of the government’s TB intervention programmes in their own interests

He, therefore, reaffirmed his committee’s commitments to working with the State Ministry of Health to eradicate quackery in the health sector.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Amina El-Imam, who was represented by the Director of Pharmacy, Pharmacist Barakat Olanrewaju, further reiterated the government’s readiness to collaborate with stakeholders to ensure that TB diagnosis and treatments remained completely free of charge to patients.

“The state currently has 646 Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS) Centers across both public and private health facilities. Plans are therefore underway to double this number to ensure TB services reach every community in Kwara State.” El-Imam stated.

She also thanked Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for approving free health insurance coverage for TB patients and four of their family members, with access to treatments for various health conditions throughout the year.

The event was attended by key stakeholders, including the spouse of the Executive Chairman of Ilorin South Local Government, Hajia Hawawu Podo, the Vice Chairman Mrs. Mary Abiodun and community leaders, among others.

As Nigeria grapples with visible epidemics of diseases, researchers at the Nigeria Institute of Medical Research, NIMR, on Tuesday warned that a silent, pervasive threat lurks within the stomachs of millions, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), demanding urgent attention to the bacterial infection that silently fuels gastritis, ulcers, and gastric cancer.

H. pylori refers to a type of bacteria that infects the stomach lining. It is a major cause of gastritis (stomach inflammation), peptic ulcers (sores in the stomach or small intestine), and even gastric cancer in some cases.

The Director of Research and Professor of Microbiology at NIMR, Professor Stella Smith, lamented that with a prevalence of 85 to 87 per cent, only a few Nigerians are aware of its risks.

She said, “Helicobacter pylori infects the stomach of 43 per cent of the world’s population but in Nigeria, the prevalence is a staggering 85-87 per cent. Yet, it remains largely ignored, underfunded, and misunderstood.”

Smith, who has dedicated years to the diagnosis and treatment of the pathogen, said the prevalence rate in Nigeria was far above the global average of 43 percent.

“H. pylori is silently infecting millions, yet receives little attention or funding compared to diseases like Ebola and COVID-19.

Addressing journalists during the institute’s monthly media parley in Lagos, he stressed the urgent need for greater awareness, better diagnostic methods, and improved treatment adherence to combat antimicrobial resistance.

She explained that, unlike airborne viruses, H. pylori is acquired through contaminated food and water, often in childhood.

“We found that 80 per cent of H. pylori-positive cases were children under 10 in some regions, adding that, the bacteria’s insidious nature lies in its ability to persist for decades, often without immediate symptoms.

“It causes, at minimum, gastritis, inflammation of the stomach, but it can lead to far more severe complications, including gastric cancer.”

She further disclosed that a critical challenge is the growing resistance to antibiotics, a direct result of misuse.

In our seven-year study, we found that 95 per cent of H. pylori strains were resistant to metronidazole (Flagyl).”

 “H. pylori is a bacterial infection that can be treated and cured with antibiotics. However, treatment requires two antibiotics over 10 to 14 days, and many patients stop taking their medication too soon, leading to drug resistance,” she stated.

She emphasised the urgent need for tailored treatment regimens. “People take antibiotics for a few days, feel better, and stop, fueling this resistance.”

The expert’s frustration is palpable when discussing the lack of awareness and funding. “People are being told it’s not treatable, that they just need to manage symptoms with PPIs,” they lament. “That’s simply not true. It’s a bacterial infection; it can be eradicated.”

To combat this, the expert founded the African Helicobacter and Microbiota Study Group, aiming to establish best management practices across the continent. “We’ve created an online registry to track treatment regimens and eradication rates. This will allow us to identify the most effective antibiotics for our local setting.”

Speaking on other critical public health issues, including cholera and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), she said, “Cholera outbreaks, especially in regions like the southeast and south-south, remain a serious concern. We’ve been on the ground, working with government and international agencies to contain these outbreaks.”

Regarding AMR, the expert, who heads the NIMR AMR committee, warned of its silent pandemic status.

“Before COVID-19, WHO recognised AMR as one of the top urgent disease threats worldwide,” they highlight. Millions are dying annually from antibiotic-resistant infections. We must act now to curb this crisis. We need to educate, inform, and act. Millions of lives depend on it,” she added. 

Chewing gum releases hundreds of tiny plastic pieces straight into people’s mouths, researchers said on Tuesday, also warning of the pollution created by the rubber-based sweet.

The small study comes as researchers have increasingly been discovering small shards of plastic called microplastics throughout the world, from the tops of mountains to the bottom of the ocean — and even in the air we breathe.

They have also been discovered microplastics riddled throughout human bodies — including inside our lungs, blood and brains — sparking fears about the potential effect this could be having on health.

“I don’t want to alarm people,” Sanjay Mohanty, the lead researcher behind the new study, told AFP.

There is no evidence directly showing that microplastics are harmful to human health, said Mohanty of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

The new pilot study instead sought to illustrate yet another little-researched way that these mostly invisible plastic pieces enter our bodies — chewing gum.

Lisa Lowe, a PhD student at UCLA, chewed seven pieces each of 10 brands of gum; Then the researchers ran a chemical analysis on her saliva.

They found that a gramme of gum (0.04 ounces) released an average of 100 microplastic fragments, though some shed more than 600. The average weight of a stick of gum is around 1.5 grammes.

People who chew around 180 pieces of gum a year could be ingesting roughly 30,000 microplastics, the researchers said.

This pales in comparison to the many other ways that humans ingest microplastics, Mohanty emphasised.

For example, other researchers estimated last year that a litre (34 fluid ounces) of water in a plastic bottle contained an average of 240,000 microplastics.

The most common chewing gum sold in supermarkets is called synthetic gum, which contains petroleum-based polymers to get that chewy effect, the researchers said.

However packaging does not list any plastics in the ingredients, simply using the words “gum-based”.

“Nobody will tell you the ingredients,” Mohanty said.

The researchers tested five brands of synthetic gum and five of natural gum, which use plant-based polymers such as tree sap.

It was surprising that we found microplastics were abundant in both,” Lowe told AFP.

The gum shed almost all of the microplastics during the first eight minutes of chewing, she added.

David Jones, a researcher at the UK’s University of Portsmouth not involved in the study, told AFP that manufacturers should be forced to give more specific ingredients than just “gum-based”.

Jones said he was surprised that the researchers found certain plastics not known to be in gum, suggesting they could have possibly come from another source.

But the overall findings were “not at all surprising”, he added.

People tend to “freak out a little bit” when told that the building blocks of chewing gum were similar to what is found “in car tyres, plastic bags and bottles”, Jones said.

Lowe also warned about the plastic pollution from chewing gum — particularly when people “spit it out onto the sidewalk”.

The study, which has been submitted to a peer-reviewed journal but not yet published, was presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Diego.

The world’s biggest chewing gum manufacturer, Wrigley, did not respond to AFP’s request for comment.

A Nigerian Consultant Urological/Robotic Surgeon, Professor Kingsley Ekwueme on Monday in Lagos pioneered the first West African robotic surgery on a prostrate cancer patient.

Ekwueme, a UK-based medical doctor returnee recently established The Prostate Clinic, (TPC) Nigeria Centre for Robotic and Laparoscopic Surgery, the first super-specialised clinic in West Africa dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer, utilising cutting-edge robotic surgery.

“This is truly historic,” declared Ekwueme, the clinic’s founder.

“We are bringing technology that has never been seen before in this region, giving Nigerians access to world-class treatment right here at home.”

The clinic’s centerpiece is the Da Vinci Robot, an advanced surgical system that provides unparalleled precision and minimally invasive procedures. “

Briefing journalists on the feat, Ekwueme explained that: “The Da Vinci Robot offers three-dimensional imaging and seven degrees of freedom, allowing for surgeries with minimal blood loss and faster recovery times.”

“Patients experience significantly less pain and scarring compared to traditional open surgeries.”

Ekwueme, a renowned urologist, emphasised that the technology extends beyond prostate cancer.

We are treating a range of urological conditions in both men and women, including kidney cancer, bladder cancer, kidney stones, and benign prostatic hyperplasia. Our goal is to transform surgery in Nigeria.”

Noting that the key focus of the clinic was accessibility, he said he is determined to make these advanced procedures affordable for all Nigerians.

“My mission is to ensure that no one in this country dies needlessly due to a lack of access to quality care.

We are working to make these procedures as cost-effective as possible, and we are open to partnerships with the government to expand our reach.”

To address Nigeria’s power challenges, the clinic is equipped with a comprehensive solar power system, ensuring uninterrupted operations. “We understand the importance of reliable power.

Our 24-hour solar system ensures that we can provide consistent, high-quality care.”

He said he is also committed to training local medical professionals in robotic surgery, ensuring the long-term sustainability of the technology in Nigeria.

“We are investing in the future of Nigerian healthcare. We want to empower our doctors with the skills they need to provide world-class care.”

Debunking common misconceptions about prostate and sexual activities, Ekwueme clarified that there is no proven dietary prevention for prostate cancer. “The primary risk factors are age, race, and family history. Early detection and access to advanced treatment are crucial.”

Looking ahead, Ekwueme revealed plans to introduce groundbreaking technology for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with zero blood loss.

I am doing a procedure tomorrow, and soon I will unveil a technology that has never been done in Africa, splitting the prostate from the inside with absolutely no blood loss,” he stated.

He said with its state-of-the-art technology, commitment to affordability, and focus on local training, The Prostate Clinic Nigeria Centre for Robotic and Laparoscopic Surgery is poised to revolutionise cancer care in West Africa, offering hope and advanced treatment options to countless Nigerians.

On this year’s World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, the World Health Organisation, WHO, has called for urgent investment into TB care, lamenting that drastic and abrupt cuts in global health funding threaten to reverse decades of progress to combat the disease. 

WHO noted that TB remains the world’s deadliest infectious disease, responsible for over 1 million people annually bringing devastating impacts on families and communities.

In a message to mark the day celebrated every 24th March, it noted that Global efforts to combat TB have saved an estimated 79 million lives since 2000.

WHO noted that: “The drastic and abrupt cuts in global health funding happening now threaten to reverse these gains.

“Rising drug resistance especially across Europe and the ongoing conflicts across the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe, are further exacerbating the situation for the most vulnerable.”

This year’s theme is “Yes! We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, Deliver” WHO campaign this year highlights a rallying cry for urgency, accountability and hope.

Speaking on the disease, WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “The huge gains the world has made against TB over the past 20 years are now at risk as cuts to funding start to disrupt access to services for prevention, screening, and treatment for people with TB.

“But we cannot give up on the concrete commitments that world leaders made at the UN General Assembly 18 months ago to accelerate work to end TB. WHO is committed to working with all donors, partners and affected countries to mitigate the impact of funding cuts and find innovative solutions.”

He identified funding as a threat to global TB efforts.  He disclosed that early reports to WHO revealed that severe disruptions in the TB response are seen across the highest-burden countries following the funding cuts. WHO disclosed that countries in the WHO African Region are experiencing the greatest impact, followed by countries in the WHO Southeast Asian and Western Pacific Regions.

Twenty-seven countries are facing crippling breakdowns in their TB response, with devastating consequences, such as human resource shortages undermining service delivery; diagnostic services severely disrupted, delaying detection and treatment; data and surveillance systems collapsing, compromising disease tracking and management; community engagement efforts, including active case finding, screening, and contact tracing, deteriorating, leading to delayed diagnoses and increased transmission risks.

Nine countries report failing TB drug procurement and supply chains, jeopardising treatment continuity and patient outcomes.

The 2025 funding cuts further exacerbate an already existing underfunding for global TB response.

“In 2023, only 26 per cent of the US$22 billion annually needed for TB prevention and care was available, leaving a massive shortfall. TB research is in crisis, receiving just one-fifth of the US$5 billion annual target in 2022—severely delaying advancements in diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines.

WHO is leading efforts to accelerate TB vaccine development through the TB Vaccine Accelerator Council, but progress remains at risk without urgent financial commitments.

In response to the urgent challenges threatening TB services worldwide, WHO’s Director-General and Civil Society Task Force on Tuberculosis have issued a decisive statement.

The joint release demanded immediate, coordinated efforts from governments, global health leaders, donors, and policymakers to prevent further disruptions.

The statement outlined five critical priorities including addressing TB service disruptions urgently, ensuring responses match the crisis’s scale; securing sustainable domestic funding, guaranteeing uninterrupted and equitable access to TB prevention and care; safeguarding essential TB services, including access to life-saving drugs, diagnostics, treatment and social protections, alongside cross-sector collaboration; establishing or revitalising national collaboration platforms, fostering alliances among civil society, NGOs, donors, and professional societies to tackle challenges; enhancing monitoring and early warning systems to assess real-time impact and detect disruptions early.

The Director of WHO’s Global Programme on TB and Lung Health, Dr Tereza Kasaeva said: “This urgent call is timely and underscores the necessity of swift, decisive action to sustain global TB progress and prevent setbacks that could cost lives.

Investing in ending TB is not only a moral imperative but also an economic necessity—every dollar spent on prevention and treatment yields an estimated US$43 in economic returns.”

As one of the solutions to combating growing resource constraints, WHO is driving the integration of TB and lung health within primary healthcare as a sustainable solution. New technical guidance released by WHO outlines critical actions across the care continuum, focusing on prevention, early detection of TB and comorbidities, optimised management at first contact and improved patient follow-up. The guidance also promotes better use of existing health systems, addressing shared risk factors such as overcrowding, tobacco, undernutrition and environmental pollutants.

By tackling TB determinants alongside communicable and non-communicable diseases, lung conditions, and disabilities through a unified strategy, WHO aims to reinforce the global response and drive lasting improvements in health outcomes.

WHO calls on everyone; individuals, communities, societies, donors and governments, to do their part to end TB. Without concerted action from all stakeholders, the TB response will be decimated, reversing decades of progress, putting millions of lives at risk and threatening health security.

The Kebbi State Government on Wednesday confirmed an outbreak of meningitis in the state, with 56 reported deaths so far.

Speaking at a press conference in Birnin Kebbi, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Shehu Nuhu Koko, revealed that out of 17 samples sent to the National Laboratory Reference Center in Abuja, five returned positive, confirming the outbreak.

Dr. Koko, alongside representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and other healthcare partners, said that a rapid response mechanism has been activated to contain the spread of the disease.

Measures include the donation of vaccines from the federal government, provision of drugs by healthcare partners, and the establishment of isolation centers in affected local governments.

“We have opened isolation centers and equipped general hospitals in the affected towns with vaccines and treatment drugs,” he stated.

In response to the outbreak, the Kebbi State Government, under Governor Nasir Idris, has released ₦30 million for drug procurement, surveillance, and allowances for healthcare workers at treatment centers.

Dr. Koko urged relatives of patients to avoid isolation centers to prevent further spread.

“Regrettably, the death toll has risen from 26 to 56. Without the swift intervention of the state government and our partners, the numbers could have been much higher,” he said.

So far, Kebbi State has recorded 653 suspected cases of meningitis. Of the 17 samples sent for confirmation, five tested negative, while another five were positive, leading to the outbreak across four local government areas.

The development, which affects six African nations, follows the United States government’s recent decision to halt foreign aid.

The warning comes in the wake of an executive order issued by US President Donald Trump on his first day in office in January, as part of a broader government spending review.

“Disruptions to HIV programmes could undo 20 years of progress,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned.

He said the interruption could result in over 10 million additional HIV cases and three million HIV-related deaths, describing the toll as “more than triple the number of deaths last year.”

In an announcement made during a press conference on Monday by Dr Tedros, WHO listed Nigeria, Kenya, Lesotho, South Sudan, Burkina Faso and Mali, along with Haiti and Ukraine as countries facing imminent shortages of life-saving antiretroviral (ARV) drugs.

The US foreign aid suspension, initially slated for 90 days, is part of the Trump administration’s “America First” foreign policy and has had far-reaching implications for global health initiatives. 

The disruption has severely hampered the delivery of critical medical supplies, including HIV drugs, while most programmes under the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have already been terminated.

Although a waiver was granted in February for the US’s flagship HIV initiative, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Pepfar), the programme’s operations have been severely affected due to its reliance on USAID and other impacted organisations.

According to Dr Tedros, the situation has led to the “immediate stop to services for HIV treatment, testing and prevention in more than 50 countries.”

Pepfar, which began in 2003, has been instrumental in providing antiretroviral drugs to vulnerable populations globally and has been credited with saving more than 26 million lives worldwide.

Further compounding the crisis, President Trump also announced plans to pull the US out of the WHO during his early days in office, a move that is expected to further strain the agency’s resources.

“The US administration has been extremely generous over many years. And of course, it’s within its rights to decide what it supports and to what extent,” Dr Tedros said.

"But the US also has a responsibility to ensure that if it withdraws direct funding for countries, it’s done in an orderly and humane way that allows them to find alternative sources of funding.”

Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most affected region globally, with an estimated 25 million people living with HIV, accounting for more than two-thirds of the global total of 38 million. In Nigeria alone, nearly two million people live with the virus, many of whom depend on aid-funded medications. Kenya also ranks among the worst-hit, with around 1.4 million people living with HIV, according to WHO figures.

“We ask the US to reconsider its support for global health, which not only saves lives around the world, it also makes the US safer by preventing outbreaks from spreading internationally,” Dr Tedros said.

Diphtheria is a preventable yet deadly disease that continues to pose a threat in Nigeria due to low immunization rates.

One of the diphtheria recent outbreak happened on February 22, 2025, when a 12-year-old student at King’s College presented with a sore throat and fever.

According to reports, he was promptly referred to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), where he received appropriate antibiotics and a full dose of diphtheria antitoxin.

Despite these interventions, the student developed myocarditis, a severe complication of diphtheria affecting the heart and he tragically passed away on March 6, 2025

Nigerians is currently witnessing firsthand devastating effects of diphtheria, a highly infectious and potentially life-threatening disease. Despite being a vaccine-preventable illness, diphtheria continues to pose a significant public health concern in Nigeria, particularly among children.

Following this incident, health authorities identified 34 close contacts of the deceased student.

Out of these, 14 developed symptoms consistent with diphtheria and were admitted to LUTH for treatment. All symptomatic students are reportedly responding well to treatment.

According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) situation report, Nigeria has recorded 1,319 diphtheria deaths as of March 9, 2025.

The breakdown showed that the country recorded a total of 25,812 confirmed cases of diphtheria out of the 42,642 suspected cases reported across 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory, and 350 local government areas.

The spread of the confirmed cases cut across 184 LGAs in 26 states detailing the situation report of the disease from week 19 of 2022 to week 10 of 2025 (March 9, 2025).

The data also revealed that Kano has 24,239, cases Yobe (5,330), Katsina (4,237), Bauchi (3,066), Borno (3,058), Kaduna (777), and Jigawa (364) account for 96.3 of suspected cases reported.

Out of the 42,642 suspected cases reported, 25,812 (60.5 per cent) were confirmed cases (396 lab-confirmed; 216 epid linked; 25,200 clinically compatible), 7,769 (18.2 per cent) were discarded, 3,591 (8.4 per cent) are pending classification, and 5,470 (12.8 per cent) were unknown.

The confirmed cases were distributed across 184 LGAs in 26 states. Kano (18,108), Bauchi (2,334), Yobe (2,408), Katsina (1,501), Borno (1,161), Jigawa (53), Plateau (119), and Kaduna (44) accounted for 99.7 of confirmed cases reported.

Majority [16,234 (62.9 per cent)] of the confirmed cases were among children aged one to 14 years. Only 4,981 (19.3 per cent) out of the 25,812 confirmed cases were fully vaccinated with a diphtheria toxoid-containing vaccine. A total of 1,319 deaths (CFR: 5.1 per cent) were recorded among confirmed cases.

World Health Organization(WHO)has defined diphtheria as a bacterial infection caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae. It primarily affects the throat and nose, but can also infect the skin. The bacteria produce a toxin that can cause severe damage to tissues and organs, leading to respiratory and cardiac complications.

Causes and transmission

Diphtheria is highly contagious and spreads through respiratory droplets when an infected person talks, coughs, or sneezes, they release droplets that can be inhaled by others.

Close contact can also transmit the disease by touching or sharing food and drinks with an infected person can also transmit the disease, and contaminated objects is another way by touching objects that have come into contact with the bacteria, such as toys or utensils, can also spread the infection.

Symptoms

The symptoms of diphtheria can vary depending on the severity of the infection and the individual’s overall health. Common symptoms include sore throat, which is severe and persistent sore throat is often the first symptom.

Another symptom that can develop is a high fever, usually above 38°C (100.4°F), and as the infection progresses, swallowing can become increasingly difficult.

Respiratory complications can lead to shortness of breath and difficulty breathing, and in some cases, diphtheria can cause skin lesions, which can be painful and tender.

Diagnosis

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), diagnosing diphtheria can be challenging, as the symptoms can be similar to those of other respiratory infections.

A diagnosis is typically made through a combination of physical examination in which healthcare provider will examine the patient’s throat and nose for signs of infection.

Laboratory tests can also be carried out. A throat swab or nasal swab can be taken to collect a sample of the bacteria and also imaging tests can be done in which chest X-rays or other imaging tests may be used to rule out other conditions.

Treatment

Treatment for diphtheria typically involves a combination of antibiotics, such as erythromycin or penicillin, to kill the bacteria, as well as the administration of an antitoxin to neutralize the toxin produced by the bacteria.

Additionally, patients may require supportive care, including oxygen therapy, to manage respiratory complications that may arise from the infection.

Prevention

Prevention is key in controlling the spread of diphtheria. The most effective way to prevent diphtheria is through vaccination. The diphtheria toxoid vaccine is typically administered in combination with tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough) vaccines.

Why is diphtheria a public health concern in Nigeria?

According to the Field Epidemiologist, African Field Epidemiologist Network (AFENET) and Health Services Research Student at the Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, USA, Dr. Salam Samson Polycarp, the reason is the same with why other vaccine preventable diseases still present themselves in Nigeria’s communities

“For Diphtheria, a child is supposed to take 3 PENTA shots in the 1st year of life. Parents/guardians default, because it’s injectable (PENTA), children often cry, making their parents not go back for completion.”

Dr Polycarp also said there is vaccine hesitancy in the communities brought about by vaccine and religious theories and so on, all these mount up to reduce herd immunity, ultimately leaving a population of unimmunized that would feel the wrath of the infection when it comes around.

Vaccine transportation and logistics issue

Dr Polycarp said, vaccines should ideally be preserved at a range of temperature from the manufacturer until when they are administered to a client.

From USA/UK/ which are original sources to Nigeria to States down to the Local Government Area(LGA) to the ward to the facility and finally to the child.”

“Most often between +2 – +8°C. At any of these points when the temperature drops or increases due to vaccine handling(light, broken fridges, inefficient geostyl/cold boxes ect), it may render the vaccine invalid when administered to the child even if the doses were completed.”

Wrong route administration of vaccines

According to him, another issue could be due to the wrong route of administration for example, if it’s meant to be intramuscular and the health worker mistakenly gives subcutaneous, it alters with the calculated dose for this route of administration.

He said diphtheria remains a significant public health concern in Nigeria due to a multitude of factors.

“The country has struggled with low vaccination rates, particularly in rural areas, leaving many children vulnerable to the disease. Furthermore, inadequate healthcare infrastructure, including a shortage of healthcare workers and facilities, can hinder the diagnosis and treatment of diphtheria.’

“Limited awareness about diphtheria and its prevention also contributes to the spread of the disease, while ongoing conflict and displacement in some parts of the country disrupt vaccination efforts and increase the risk of outbreaks.”

“Additionally, overcrowding and poor sanitation create an environment conducive to the spread of the disease. Weak disease surveillance systems also hinder efforts to detect and respond to outbreaks.”

“Moreover, increased population movement facilitates the spread of the disease across different regions. These interconnected factors underscore the complexity of the challenge posed by diphtheria in Nigeria population movement.” He added.

Boosting Nigeria’s defenses against diphtheria

To combat the resurgence of diphtheria in Nigeria, Dr Polycarp said, it is essential to strengthen immunization programs, particularly in high-risk areas.

This, he said, can be achieved by increasing vaccine availability, improving cold chain management, and enhancing the skills of healthcare workers.

“By doing so, Nigeria can reduce the number of susceptible individuals and prevent the spread of the disease.”

“Combating vaccine hesitancy is also crucial in the fight against diphtheria. Misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation about vaccines can lead to decreased vaccination rates, creating an environment conducive to outbreaks.

“To address this, the government and healthcare professionals must engage in effective communication and education strategies to dispel myths and promote the benefits of vaccination.”

“Additionally, strengthening healthcare infrastructure, especially in rural and underserved populations, is vital to ensure that everyone has access to quality healthcare services.”

Improving disease surveillance and rapid response is also critical in controlling diphtheria outbreaks.

“This can be achieved by enhancing laboratory capacity, strengthening disease reporting systems, and ensuring that healthcare workers are trained to detect and respond to cases promptly.”

Dr Polycarp also said, improving sanitation and hygiene practices, such as providing clean water supply, promoting health education, and ensuring proper waste management, can also help reduce the transmission of diphtheria.

“Addressing security challenges affecting healthcare access is also essential, as insecurity can disrupt vaccination efforts and hinder access to healthcare services.”

“Ultimately, strengthening health policies and government commitment is vital in the fight against diphtheria.

“This can be achieved by providing adequate funding for immunization and disease control programs, implementing strict vaccination mandates for school enrollment, and ensuring that healthcare workers are trained and equipped to respond to outbreaks.

“By taking a multi-faceted approach, Nigeria can boost its defenses against diphtheria and protect the health and well-being of its citizens.”

Anxiety has gripped parents of students at Kings College, Lagos following the outbreak of Diphtheria in the school which has claimed the life of a 12-year-old student.

The situation has led to some parents asking their wards to stay at home for now.

This is also as some parents are calling for a meeting of the Parent Teacher Association, PTA, of the school and have been bombarding the PTA social media platforms for a meeting for them to be able to assess the situation.

This is just as the Lagos State government has started a mass vaccination of the students in the two campuses of the school on Victoria Island and Lagos Island.

One of the concerned parents, who gave her name simply as Nkechi, said the assurances being given by the leadership of the PTA might not be enough, as parents want an on-the-spot assessment of the situation done.

“Last December, a student also died and many people suspected that it was due to the same disease. The rot started long ago and the current management inherited it. But that is not to say it must continue. The annex on Victoria Island is for the Junior Secondary School classes, while the Senior Secondary School is on Lagos Island. 

“Without been a medical personnel one can say the incident was due to unsanitary condition of the classrooms and hostels. They are simply overcrowded. We gathered that 34 students showed the symptoms of the disease with 14 being serious cases. We hope the situation will be brought under control as soon as possible,” she stated

Nkechi, a former member of the executive of the PTA, suggested that stringent health measures be put in place in the school and that more facilties be provided to prevent overcrowding in the classrooms and hostels.

Asian markets mostly fell Tuesday following a sharp sell-off on Wall Street fuelled by fears about the US economy as Donald Trump presses ahead with his global trade war and federal jobs cuts.

Traders had initially welcomed his election on optimism that his promised tax cuts and deregulation would boost the world’s top economy and help equities push to more record highs.

But there is now a growing pessimism that a recession could be on the cards amid warnings that tariffs imposed on key trade partners will reignite inflation and force the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates again.

The president’s weekend comments that the economy was facing “a period of transition” and his refusal to rule out a downturn did little to soothe investor worries.

A new wave of tariffs due this week will see steep levies of 25 percent on steel and aluminum imports.

Uncertainty over Trump’s tariffs and threats have left US financial markets in turmoil and consumers unsure of what the year might bring.

Fears about the future battered Wall Street, where the Nasdaq tanked four percent owing to another plunge in high-flying tech titans including Apple, Amazon and Tesla.

And Asia followed suit in the morning with big losses across the board, though they pared the losses as the day wore on.

Tokyo was hit after Japanese Trade Minister Yoji Muto said he had failed to win an immediate exemption from US tariffs.

Hong Kong was flat and Shanghai ended higher, having tanked at the open. They both fell Monday following a big miss on Chinese consumer prices that added to worries about the Chinese economy.

Sydney, Singapore, Seoul, Taipei, Wellington, Mumbai, Bangkok and Manila were also deep in negative territory.

London fell at the open while Frankfurt and Paris were higher.

US futures also inched higher, having extended Monday’s losses in the morning.

“Economic uncertainty and recession fears have intensified, partly driven by President Trump’s weekend comments about the economy being in ‘a period of transition’ and his reluctance to rule out a recession,” said Shaun Murison, senior market analyst at IG online trading platform.

“This uncertainty has heightened investor anxiety. Trump’s trade policies, including ongoing tariff discussions are creating uncertainty and fears of economic slowdown.

These tariffs could potentially elevate prices and complicate efforts to reduce interest rates.”

The weak sentiment also filtered through to bitcoin, which tumbled below $80,000 on Monday to its lowest level since November — having hit a record close to $110,000 in January. It also pared its losses to sit just above the $80,000 mark.

The cryptocurrency’s losses have also been driven by disappointment that Trump signed an executive order to establish a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” without planning any public purchases of it.

Oil also rebounded to sit slightly higher having dropped more than one percent Monday on worries about demand as US recession speculation builds. However, both main contracts remain down around seven percent for the year so far.

– Key figures around 0815 GMT –

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.6 percent at 36,793.11 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 23,782.14 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,379.83 (close)

London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,579.20

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0890 from $1.0836 on Monday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2906 from $1.2878

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 146.90 yen from 147.26 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 84.31 pence from 84.13 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.4 percent at $66.26 per barrel

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The Kebbi government has confirmed that 26 people have died following a suspected outbreak of cerebrospinal meningitis in three Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.

The three local governments are Aliero, Gwandu and Jega.

The Commissioner for Health, Alhaji Musa Ismaila, confirmed this during a press briefing in Birnin Kebbi on Tuesday.

In week seven, we are saddled with the unfortunate situation of an outbreak, with a rising number of cases more than usual, characterised by symptoms like fever, severe headache, neck stiffness, stomach ache, vomiting, diarrhoea and sensitivity to light.

“A total of 248 suspected cases was line-listed; 11 samples were taken and sent to the National Reference Laboratory, Abuja, for confirmation.

“Two sample results turned negative from the national reference laboratory in Abuja, one in Jega and another one in Gwandu LGAs.

“Nine sample results are pending from the National Reference Laboratory, Abuja.

“26 deaths – Gwandu 15, Jega 6, Aliero 4 and Argungu 1,” he explained.

Ismaila said that an advocacy visit to stakeholders was carried out in partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

He added that the state government had released N30 million to purchase drugs and other consumables for the responsive activity to cushion the effect.

He also said that drugs and other commodities had been distributed to affected local government areas.

Isolation centres were set up in Gwandu, Jega and Aliero, while drugs and other consumables were also provided,” he said.

The commissioner, then, called on the general public to comply with health instructions and report any suspected case to the nearest health facility for necessary action. (NAN)

SOKOTO: Sokoto State Ministry of health on Tuesday warned citizens to remain extra vigilant as the state witnessed rising cases of Meningitis in some local government areas of the state.

Commissioner of Health Dr Faruk Umar Abubakar Wurno gave the warning in a statement.

The commissioner stated that the warning became necessary as most of the samples collected from the suspected cases and sent to laboratory for investigation by the ministry were confirmed to be Meningitis.

He said said the ministry has intensified surveillance, case management and public health intervention to curb the spread of the dreaded disease.

He urged people to take precautionary measures against the disease.

“Seek immediate medical attention at the nearest Health facility upon experiencing symptoms such as fever, severe headache, neck stiffness or any unusual symptoms,” said Abubakar.

“You should ensure good personal and environmental hygiene, avoid crowded places and ensure proper ventilation in homes and public spaces.”

Dr Abubakar called on citizens to report suspected cases of the disease or any unusual illness to the nearest hospital.

Governor Ahmed Aliyu has since provided the needed medication to all health facilities across the state.

As women all over the world celebrate International Women’s Day, 4 Communities by Communities (4CbyC) is shining a light on the incredible stories of women fighting cervical cancer.

According to them, these powerful narratives are not just about resilience and survival, but also about courage, leadership, and the vital role of community in the fight against this preventable disease.

For Ene, her life was forever changed by the painful loss of her aunt, Evelyn, and the declining health of her mother. Living in Awo-Kajola, Ene’s family once shared evenings filled with stories and laughter. But after Evelyn’s sudden death, those moments ended abruptly.

As her mother’s health began to deteriorate, Ene feared the worst.

The memory of Mama’s warning, “You shouldn’t hold the wood like that, Ene,” replayed in her mind as she wondered if her family was cursed. But something didn’t sit right. Was it truly a curse, or was something else at play?

Then, Ene visited the One-Stop Shop for Health, where she met Funke, a clinician who would offer care and hope.

In a moment of raw vulnerability, Ene asked, “Is Mama going to die like Aunty Evelyn?” Aunty Funke gently explained that it might not be a curse at all but rather cervical cancer.

Stunned by this revelation, Ene learned that cervical cancer could be detected and treated and that it wasn’t too late for her family to act.

After taking her mother and younger sister, Blessing, for tests, Ene’s worst fears were confirmed: Mama had cervical cancer, Stage 3.

… for my graduation, wedding

As panic set in, Ene asked, “Will she make it? Long enough for my graduation? My wedding?”

However, Funke promised that they would do everything possible and assured Ene that she and Blessing would receive the HPV vaccine to prevent the disease from impacting their lives further. With compassion and care, Funke explained that this cancer was not a curse but a consequence of inadequate healthcare and screening in rural areas.

Funke’s words gave Ene hope through the pain of this diagnosis: “We are not cursed.”

Ene is not alone. Jennifer’s journey with cervical cancer began in 2013, when she noticed signs such as severe itching, open sores, and abnormal bleeding. She sought treatment at several hospitals, but her symptoms worsened, and misdiagnoses prolonged her suffering.

By 2016, a pap smear test suggested she was cancer-free, but her condition continued to deteriorate. Only after a biopsy did doctors confirm the presence of cervical cancer, and by that time, the disease had already spread to her vagina.

Despite being referred for chemotherapy and radiotherapy, Jennifer’s battle became a financial and emotional struggle. She was unable to afford treatment, and when she finally sought help, the hospital’s radiotherapy machine was broken. Turning to herbal medicine only worsened her condition, and by the time the SaliHoe Foundation intervened, Jennifer’s cancer had reached stage IV.

Despite receiving financial aid and palliative care, the cancer had already spread to vital organs, and Jennifer passed away in 2020 after a prolonged and painful fight.

Jennifer’s tragic story underscores the importance of early detection and awareness. The delay in her diagnosis and treatment is a reminder of the need for better-trained health workers, more accessible medical resources, and greater education about cervical cancer. Her life could have been saved had she been aware of the symptoms and had access to timely, accurate screenings.

Free screening, vaccine

These and more are the reasons why organisations like the SaliHoe Foundation are now leading the charge to prevent more stories like Jennifer’s.

Through their cervical cancer screening and vaccination centre, they provide free screenings, treatment, and education, reaching communities with vital information in local languages. Their efforts aim to break the stigma surrounding cervical cancer and encourage women to seek early detection before it’s too late.

Findings have shown that vaccines have proven to be one of the most effective tools in preventing cervical cancer. Through awareness campaigns like “Know Her, Save Her,” social media is being used to spread information about the importance of the HPV vaccine and the benefits of regular screenings. On platforms like Instagram, women can learn self-examination techniques, hear survivor stories, and engage in live Q&A sessions that make health services more accessible.

According to the Director of FemmeHealth, a digital-first initiative, Oludimu Kemi Success, the organisation also plays a key role in connecting women to resources and communities, ensuring that no one is left behind, regardless of their background or location.

Collaborations with online health services have made it easier for women to access Pap smears and mammograms, while interactive digital campaigns foster a safe space where women can share their experiences and break the silence around cancer.

Also, together with the “Pinktober” campaign, which highlights survivors as beacons of hope, these digital initiatives are sparking a movement. Women are empowered to take control of their health, learn about prevention, and, most importantly, have conversations that save lives.

The work of 4CbyC, the SaliHoe Foundation, and organisations like FemmeHealth demonstrates that innovation, education, and community support are crucial in the fight against cervical cancer.

In the views of the Directors of 4CbyC, Prof. Juliet Iwelunmor, Prof. Joe Tuckler, and Prof. Oliver Ezechi, the road ahead is long, but with continued advocacy, access to healthcare, and a focus on early detection, we can ensure that every woman has the chance to live a long, healthy life.

They believed that on this International Women’s Day, the courage and resilience of women like Ene and Jennifer, whose stories continue to inspire a global movement for change, should be celebrated.

“The fight against cervical cancer is not just about health; it’s about breaking down the barriers of stigma, access, and education. Through collective action, we can create a world where no woman dies from a preventable cancer.”

The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) has dismissed a media report alleging its involvement in counterfeit drug distribution, calling the claims “unfounded” and a “gross misrepresentation.”

The PCN is demanding an immediate retraction and public apology from the television outfit, accusing the station of violating broadcasting codes and damaging the council’s reputation.

In a strongly worded statement made available, the PCN clarified that comments made by the Director-General of NAFDAC, which formed the basis of the report, were taken out of context. They emphasised their ongoing collaboration with NAFDAC in combating illegal drug sales, citing the closure of major open drug markets as evidence of their commitment.

The PCN further highlighted its extensive enforcement efforts, including the closure of over 50,000 illegal drug outlets nationwide. The council is now urging NAFDAC to publicly clarify the matter and correct the misinformation.

The PCN maintained that the report titled “NAFDAC Implicates Pharmacy Council of Nigeria In Fake Medicines”, is a gross misrep­resentation of the remarks made by the director general of NAFDAC during a press interview aired on March 1, 2025.

According to the press statement signed by the Registrar/ CEO of PCN, Ibrahim Ba­bashehu Ahmed, the Council insisted that the director general’s comments were misinterpreted and taken out of context.

According to the PCN, a careful review of the interview confirms that at no point did the NAFDAC director-general accuse the Council of any wrongdoing. Instead, the interview underscored the com­plementary roles of both agencies in regulating medicines and com­bating counterfeit drugs.

The director general also provided historical context regarding the regulation of Patent and Proprietary Medicines Ven­dors (PPMVs), highlighting past inconsistencies that contributed to challenges in drug distribution.

The PCN emphasised its longstanding collaboration with NAFDAC, citing their joint efforts in shutting down illegal drug markets, including the recent closure of the Sabon Gari Open Drug Market (ODM) in Kano and the re­location of vendors to the Coor­dinated Wholesale Centre (CWC). The Council further detailed its achievements in tackling unreg­ulated medicine sales, including the closure of over 50,000 illegal drug outlets nationwide.

Expressing disappointment in the reportage, the PCN demand­ed an immediate retraction of the misleading headline and a public apology from the television sta­tion. It also called on the media to adhere to ethical journalism stan­dards, particularly when report­ing on matters of public health.

The Council however reassured Nigeri­ans of its commitment to ensuring safe and effective pharmaceutical services while continuing its col­laborative efforts with NAFDAC and other stakeholders to protect public health.

Meanwhile, the PCN expects that NAFDAC’s director general will clarify the misinformation, urging the public to rely on factual reports rather than misleading headlines.

The statement reads in part: “The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) has taken notice of a misleading re­port by Africa Independent Tele­vision (AIT) with the headline “NAFDAC Implicates Pharmacy Council Of Nigeria In Fake Med­icines”. This headline is a gross misrepresentation of the infor­mation conveyed during a press interview by the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) aired on Sat­urday, 1 March 2025.”

Every attentive listener with a proper understanding of the com­munication by the DG will real­ise that the broadcast station has erred. This unfortunate action of the television station contradicts the Nigeria Broadcasting Code (6th Edition, 2016), specifically Section 5.0, subsection 5.1.2:

“The PCN is taken aback by the unprofessional act from one of the foremost television stations in this misrepresentation of facts.

We ex­pect an immediate retraction and a public apology.

“For emphasis, in the said press interview, the content of which is available in public do­main, the director general did not in any way implicate the PCN in any wrongdoing whatsoever. Apart from highlighting the com­plementary role of both agencies, the DG further delved into the historical perspective of how the Patent and Proprietary Medicines Vendors (PPMVs), which were cre­ated by statute to be a stop-gap to provide over-the-counter medi­cines in underserved areas, later became a problem as a result of the inconsistencies in the delega­tion of authority for regulating the PPMVs, as well as litigations that followed same.

“The PCN appreciates the collaborative relationship with NAFDAC, which resulted in the closure of the Sabon Gari Open Drug Market in Kano and the relocation of the same to the Coordinated Wholesales Centre (CWC). Let it be on record that the establishment of CWC, being an alternative facility where the mar­keters are moved to, rests square­ly with the PCN. The Council has never relented in pursuing this goal jointly with NAFDAC.

“Putting the DG’s interview in proper perspective, it can only be appropriately interpreted as the DG recognising that the Open Drug Market ought not to have been created in the first instance, except for the removal of regu­lation of the PPMVs from PCN at various times during which it was given to the States and later to the 774 local government coun­cils. All these anomalies of the past led to the degradation of the system, even before the authority was finally reverted to PCN by the Federal Government.

“Many took advantage of the situation during the era that the inconsistencies existed and erroneously assumed that med­icine vending is a form of trade and means of livelihood, thereby ushering in the chaotic situation that persisted for a long time.”

The statement further reads, “This was in addition to a myri­ad of litigations at the instance of the medicine vendors, which were finally tackled by the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria in 2017, after which the Council resumed full-scale enforcement on illegal shops and premises. It is worthy of note that the passage of the PCN Act 2022 and regulations made there­under contributed in no small measure to strengthening the pharmaceutical regulatory pro­cess in the country.

“Between then and now, our enforcement activity has led to the closure of over 50,000 illegal medicine facilities, in addition to the closure of Sabon Gari Open Drug Market where 1,321 illegal premises were dislodged, as well as the closure of Gombe Open Drug Market and Kaduna, singlehandedly by PCN. PCN is also closely collaborating with NAFDAC in the ongoing enforce­ment to ensure compliance with regulatory standards in the Open Drug Markets in Lagos, Onitsha, and Aba.”

In addition, the statement reads, “The PCN plays a critical role in the promotion of public health at all times. Only last week, our officers embarked on a com­prehensive surveillance operation in the FCT during which they visited 230 Estates to close down all illegal premises and three PPMVs in these locations. We will contin­ue to work collaboratively with NAFDAC and other stakeholders to achieve this goal. Our distinct but complementary mandates are critical in ensuring the safety and well-being of the Nigerian public. While NAFDAC is responsible for drug registration and product quality, the PCN is responsible for regulating and controlling the training and practice of pharma­cy in all aspects and ramifications, including pharmacy technicians and patent and proprietary med­icines vendors.

Dr Jide Idris, Director-General of NCDC, on Wednesday in Abuja, said that this marked a significant drop from the 2,157 cases recorded in January 2024.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the World Health Organisation (WHO) defined measles as a highly contagious viral infection that spreads through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

WHO said that the virus can linger in the air or on surfaces for hours, making transmission easy.

The UN health organisation said that the symptoms usually start with fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes, followed by a rash that spreads across the body.

It noted that severe complications include pneumonia, blindness, brain inflammation (encephalitis), and, in some cases, death—particularly among unvaccinated children and those with weakened immune systems.

According to Idris, the measles situation report for Epidemiological Week 7 (February 10–16, 2025), 112 of the suspected cases, 17.86 per cent, have been laboratory-confirmed, with no deaths recorded.

He said that this was a notable improvement from the same period in 2024, which saw 23 confirmed measles deaths, resulting in a case fatality rate of 0.96 per cent.

Idris states that Katsina (102), Jigawa (84), Akwa Ibom (56), Kebbi (52), and Enugu (32) recorded the highest number of suspected cases, accounting for over half of the national total.

He also revealed that 81.3 per cent of confirmed cases involved individuals who had not received any dose of the measles vaccine, underscoring a major gap in immunisation coverage.

He said that further analysis showed that nearly half, 46.4 per cent, of confirmed cases occurred in children aged nine to 59 months.

As of January 31, 38 LGAs across 18 states were experiencing active measles outbreaks, with Katsina leading (7 LGAs).

“Other states with multiple outbreak-affected LGAs include Adamawa, Gombe, Bauchi, and Sokoto, each reporting three affected LGAs,” he said.

He said that vaccination remains the most effective way to prevent measles.

“The measles-containing vaccine, typically administered as part of the Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccine, is given in two doses at nine months and 15 months per the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) guidelines,” he said.

He said that strengthened routine immunisation, particularly in high-risk areas, early detection and rapid response to suspected cases and public health awareness campaigns were critical to encourage vaccination.

Idris stressed the importance of vaccination in preventing measles outbreaks and urged parents and guardians to ensure their children receive the recommended doses.

He said that the agency was also working to improve surveillance and outbreak response to curb further spread.

As the agency intensifies its immunisation efforts, Idris stressed the need for increased community engagement, better vaccine accessibility, and stronger collaboration between health agencies and local communities to eliminate measles.

He urged Nigerians to stay informed through official health updates and participate in vaccination campaigns. (NAN)

Lagos State has transited to the most important stage in its rollback strategy against malaria — a killer disease that records 200,000 fatalities annually in Nigeria.

The State became the first sub-national in the country to launch the Pathway to Malaria Pre-Elimination and Digitisation Programme — an initiative aimed at reducing the malaria burden through digital innovation and strengthened public-private sector collaboration.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu launched the tech-driven health initiative being supported by the World Bank, World Health Organization (WHO), Maisha Meds and other multilateral partners.

The project would move Lagos towards malaria pre-elimination by enhancing diagnostic accuracy, improving case management and linking patients to social health insurance schemes.

Lagos became the first state to transition to the digitised system of malaria prevention, as the World Bank-funded Immunization Plus and Malaria Progress by Accelerating Coverage and Transforming Services (IMPACT) draws to an end by December 2025.

Nigeria is said to have the highest malaria burden in the world, accounting for 27 per cent of the global cases and 200,000 deaths annually, with most of the fatalities reported among children.

Lagos remains the lowest malaria burden, despite its population. The State currently has 2.6 per cent burden, falling within the low transmission bracket among the 28 sub nationals where the IMPACT project is being undertaken.

In spite of this progress, Lagos still records 900,000 cases annually, needing more strategic response from the State to sustain its rollback.

Sanwo-Olu, while unveiling the programme, described malaria as a “socio-economic burden” that drained families’ household income, while robbing communities of productivity.

For the State, the Governor said the programme represented hope rooted in innovation, collaboration and determination, stressing that the success of the project would help Lagos reclaim billions lost annually to the disease.

“For many households with modest incomes in Lagos, malaria treatment can consume up to three per cent of monthly earnings. This financial strain often forces families to make heartbreaking choices between healthcare and other basic needs like food or education. The economic impact extends beyond households, with businesses suffering absenteeism, schools recording lower attendance and our healthcare system bearing the weight of preventable cases.

“Malaria is more than a disease; it is a socio-economic burden that has held back individuals, families, and communities for far too long. It robs us of our productivity and drains household incomes. Today, we are changing this narrative by leveraging digital tools that will ensure that malaria cases are tracked in real time. This programme represents hope rooted in innovation, collaboration and determination. The eradication of malaria is not just a health goal; it is an economic imperative.”

Sanwo-Olu said the benefits of eradicating malaria in the State would go beyond health success, noting that a malaria-free Lagos would not only raise productivity and enhance quality of life, it would also bring about better education outcomes.

The Governor said the objectives were ambitious but achievable. The efforts, he said, required government agencies, healthcare providers, community leaders, development partners, and residents to work together. He said tracking must be done on monthly basis to ensure consistent monitoring of the progress

“This vision is ambitious but achievable. It requires all stakeholders to work together with unwavering resolve. Success will not come overnight, but with sustained effort and collective action, we will prevail. This effort reaffirms our commitment to safeguarding the lives and livelihoods of every Lagosian,” Sanwo-Olu said.

Minister of State for Health, Dr. Isiak Salako, observed that Lagos had the most comprehensive implementation strategy to roll back malaria, noting that the State had shown the tendency to achieve total elimination.

He said the Federal Government had supported efforts by sub nationals, taking steps to reverse the trend of malaria epidemic.

He assured that the change made by the United States government in funding global health care would not adversely impact the progress recorded by Nigeria to rid the country of malaria.

Lagos Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, said Lagos, over the last 15 years, had been winning the war against malaria due to improved diagnosis, immunisation and effective treatments.

“Due to intense programmatic work, malaria prevalence in Lagos has declined from 15 per cent in 2010 to 10 per cent in 2015 and now 2.6 per cent in 2025. These efforts have made Lagos fall into the low transmission category.

“Despite this, malaria remains a major public health issue in Lagos with around 900,000 cases recorded per annum. Over 50 per cent of outpatient visits in public health facilities are due to febrile illnesses presumed to be malaria.”

Stressing on the strategy being implemented by the State Government to drive malaria pre-elimination, Prof. Abayomi said with a strong political will and innovative infrastructural transformation, Lagos would push forward its responses against malaria elimination.

He added that Lagos would have a unique opportunity to achieve its malaria prevention objectives with human resource strategy, digital interventions, health financing through insurance and steadfast partners in donor and private sector space.

The Minister of State for Health, Dr Iziaq Salako, said on Friday that President Bola Tinubu remains committed to providing adequate and qualitative healthcare delivery for all Nigerians.

The minister disclosed that part of the Federal Government’s plan to tackle the challenge of brain drain in the health sector is to recruit more health professionals to aid qualitative healthcare delivery to Nigerians.

Salako also said that the government is engaging with Nigerian health workers abroad to leverage their expertise and rich exposure to improve the health sector development in the country.

The minister disclosed this on Friday during his tour of the FG health facilities in Ogun State.

During the tour, the minister was at the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta as well as the Federal Medical Centre, Idi Aba, Abeokuta among others.

Addressing a town hall meeting at the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Salako disclosed that the FG is “harvesting” the contributions of Nigerian doctors in the UK, US, and Ireland amongst others to support the country’s healthcare system.

He noted that to mitigate the japa syndrome, the government is expanding its capacity to train more health workers and has been given the green light by Tinubu to recruit more health workers to address the shortage of manpower in the health sector.

We are expanding our capacity to train health workers, we are also harvesting the Nigerian health workers in the diaspora – we are having a robust diasporan engagement with Nigerian health workers in the UK, US, and Ireland, they may not be physically present but we can still harvest their contributions to the health sector in Nigeria.

“Mr President has given us a waiver to recruit more health workers than any other sector. These are the mechanisms we are putting in place to make sure that we address the challenges in the health sector”, Salako stated.

Salako also appealed to the state government to domesticate the Mental Health Act at the state level to expand access to mental health care for the residents of the state.

Speaking with the journalists, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, said that the state will domesticate the Mental Health Act, adding that it is part of the commitment of the state to the people.

Coker stated, “We are going to domesticate the act because it’s one of our commitments to the people. With the pressure of society, more people suffer from mental health challenges. It is our job to ensure that our citizens are kept safe.

“Collaboration with the federal government is continuous daily. We collaborate on the primary health level. We have facilities that the federal government is helping us to upgrade. We will continue to partner with the federal government in every area possible to serve the good people of our dear state”.

Earlier in his address, the Provost and Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Paul Agboola, disclosed that the hospital is ready to partner with the state government to domesticate the Mental Health Act.

“It’s quite a great joy for us that the Minister is visiting the hospital. We are looking for collaboration from the Ministry of Health on the implementation of the Mental Health Act.

“We want to collaborate with the state government to domesticate the Mental Health Act in the state. I have spoken with the Commissioner for Health and she is ready for the domestication”, Agboola stated.

1. Air Pollution is a Silent Killer

Polluted air, especially in cities, contains harmful particles that damage lung tissue over time. Prolonged exposure increases the risk of lung cancer, even in those who have never smoked.

2. Secondhand Smoke is Just as Dangerous

Breathing in smoke from others’ cigarettes can be just as harmful as smoking. The American Lung Association warns that secondhand smoke causes thousands of lung cancer deaths annually.

3. Radon Gas Exposure Happens Indoors

Radon, a naturally occurring radioactive gas, seeps into homes from the soil. Long-term exposure is a leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers.

4. Workplace Toxins Put Many at Risk

Jobs that involve exposure to asbestos, diesel exhaust, and other harmful substances increase the likelihood of developing lung cancer, even without smoking.

5. Genetic Factors Play a Role

Some people inherit mutations that make them more susceptible to lung cancer, regardless of their lifestyle. A family history of lung cancer can be a significant risk factor.

6. Early Symptoms Are Often Overlooked

Persistent cough, chest pain, difficulty breathing, and weight loss are warning signs. Because lung cancer is not expected in non-smokers, many cases are diagnosed late and often ignored.

7. Screening Saves Lives

Low-dose CT scans help detect lung cancer early, even in those without a smoking history. Early detection improves treatment outcomes significantly.

Lung cancer is not just a smoker’s disease. Environmental exposure, genetics, and occupational hazards put non-smokers at risk too. Recognizing these factors and prioritizing early detection can make a difference.

The Kwara State Government has commenced the upgrade of 70 Primary Health Care facilities across the state’s three senatorial districts, elevating them to Level 2 PHCs at a cost of N5 billion.

Executive Secretary of the Kwara State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Prof Nusirat Elelu, disclosed this during the contract signing ceremony at the agency’s headquarters in Ilorin.

The intervention, according to Elelu, includes infrastructural upgrades, solarisation, provision of staff quarters, potable water supply, and the supply of ultra-modern hospital equipment across all benefiting PHC facilities.

A statement by KWSPHCDA’s Press Secretary, Alade Opeyemi, released on Sunday, highlighted the role of the World Bank-supported Immunisation Plus and Malaria Progress by Accelerating Progress and Transforming services project in funding the initiative.

The intervention is coming with the support of the World Bank-supported IMPACT services project,” the statement read.

“It will make Primary Health Care facilities better positioned to provide quality and improved healthcare services across the state.

“The overall objective is to make all PHC facilities ‘fit for purpose’ since the PHC system is the first contact with the people at the grassroots in the national health system,” Elelu explained.

The intervention is coming with the support of the World Bank-supported IMPACT services project,” the statement read.

“It will make Primary Health Care facilities better positioned to provide quality and improved healthcare services across the state.

“The overall objective is to make all PHC facilities ‘fit for purpose’ since the PHC system is the first contact with the people at the grassroots in the national health system,” Elelu explained.

She urged contractors to deliver quality work, warning that any contractor who fails to meet standards will have their contract terminated.

She emphasised that the agency would closely monitor the projects to ensure judicious use of the funds.

This is part of the efforts of the Kwara State Government to revitalise the PHC system in the state,” Elelu stated.

Recalling past efforts, she noted that 53 PHCs had previously been renovated, while nine others are currently undergoing renovation.

More facilities, she added, would be upgraded in the near future to enhance grassroots healthcare delivery.

“This is a further demonstration of the commitment of the administration of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to the Primary Health Care system,” Elelu said, revealing that 1,005 PHC workers, including doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals, were recently recruited to strengthen the system,” she said.

IMPACT Programme Manager, Dr Michael Oguntoye, assured all that the contracts would be delivered within three months, stressing that the state government would not tolerate undue delays.

According to Oguntoye, the PHC upgrade is one of several interventions under the IMPACT project, aimed at reducing maternal and child mortality.

“The primary beneficiaries of the IMPACT project are under-five-year-old children and women,” he said, adding that the initiative would also enhance access to health services for all residents in the state.

Additionally, Oguntoye noted that the IMPACT project would strengthen national monitoring and evaluation systems while contributing to service quality improvement and demand generation at a national level.

The automatic ventilator system, a lifeline for patients struggling to breathe, lay dormant, its digital screens dark and unresponsive. The medical team was forced to resort to a manual ventilator, a primitive device that required someone to press a bag, known as an Ambu bag (a hand-held device that delivers positive pressure ventilation to patients who aren’t breathing well), to push air into the lungs of the patients.

It was a laborious and exhausting process, one that required a team of three medical students to take turns pressing the bag for 30 minutes each.

One of them saddled with the responsibility of pressing the hand-held device told PUNCH Healthwise that the lack of power supply which forced them to use the manual ventilator led to the deaths of two out of the four victims of the gas explosion brought to UCH.

The medical student who was at the A&E unit when two of the family members died around 2 am the next day, argued that they could have survived if the hospital had power.

He explained that the automatic ventilator system, with its precise and consistent air delivery, might have made all the difference.

He recalled, “I was one of the students pressing the Ambu bag. We worked in shifts, trying to keep the patients alive. But it was clear that we were fighting a losing battle. The manual ventilator just wasn’t enough.

“It was heart-breaking. We did everything we could, but it just wasn’t enough. I keep thinking about what could have been if only we had power.”

Another avoidable death

Thursday, January 23, 2025, was a day that would be etched in the memories of those who witnessed the tragic event that unfolded at the Radiology Department of UCH.

It was a day that began like any other, with patients and their families gathered in the waiting area, anxiously awaiting their turn to undergo various medical tests.

The atmosphere was reportedly tense, with patients waiting in large numbers in the crowded area to be called in.

The CT scan, a vital piece of equipment, had been faulty for hours, causing delays and disruptions to the scheduled tests.

According to one of the doctors on duty that day who simply identified as Tony, the power generator which was the only source of electricity had damaged the CT scan a day before.

Tony recalled to our correspondent how a blood-curdling scream from a woman who had been sitting patiently with her mother, caught the attention of everybody.

He recounted the heart-breaking scene, describing how the woman’s mother, an elderly lady confined to a wheelchair, had been scheduled for a CT scan at 8 am that morning.

Despite her fragile condition, Tony said the elderly woman was forced to wait for hours, unable to receive the medical attention she desperately needed due to the faulty scanner and power generator.

Tragically, she succumbed to her condition while waiting for her turn, her life slipping away in the very place where she had sought help.

“At around 11 am thereabout, we heard a cry from behind us. It was a woman who was trying to wake up her wheelchair-laden mother scheduled for the CT scan that morning by 8 am.

The woman had been scheduled far before then for the scan but electricity and the machine being faulty caused her to be rescheduled again and again.

“The woman had died on the wheelchair that morning, waiting for the scanner to be fixed, for light to be restored. It’s saddening that she died waiting to be able to run a test for her treatment.

“The scanner has not been fixed till now (February 11). I wonder how many more people will have to die waiting for it to be fixed,” the doctor lamented.

Avoidable deaths, medical errors, and rejection of patients were common practices at the UCH for more than 100 days when the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company disconnected the hospital from the national grid over a debt of about N495 million.

It was gathered that for 109 days, the hospital was forced to operate in darkness, and relied on generators and manual devices to keep patients alive.

During this blackout, it was learnt that the hospital’s power supply relied solely on backup generators, inverters, rechargeable lamps, and solar-powered fans. These were either provided by the hospital’s management or, in some cases, by patients or their families in desperate need of care.

Beyond the pains endured by the patients, it was also observed that the blackout also took a toll on the medical staff, who worked under immense pressure to save lives without modern medical equipment.

How we treated patients with torchlights, other alternatives

Some of the doctors who spoke with PUNCH Healthwise said besides the stress of battling with manual equipment, they also had to use torchlights and phone lights to treat patients to reduce fatality.

For weeks, they said they were forced to rely on torchlights, rechargeable lamps, and even the faint glow of mobile phones to care for their patients.

Although the doctors had to reschedule major procedures to avoid risking the lives of the patients because of the power outage, our correspondent gathered that there were instances when they were forced to use torchlights to perform simple surgeries to save patients’ lives.

A senior physician at UCH identified as Dr.Adebayo recounted the difficulties of performing even the simplest procedures in near darkness.

“It was surreal. We had to use torchlights to check vital signs and administer injections. There was no time to waste, and we had to make do with what we had.

“The earlier days were the worst because even the hospital management didn’t know how to handle the situation. Recently, they provided solar bulbs for the corridors of almost all the wards, but that doesn’t mean the necessary medical equipment is functional.

“Without electricity, there’s always a risk of making medical errors. How can you expect someone to treat a patient using a torchlight and not make mistakes? While some errors may be minimal, there are certainly things we could have avoided if we had proper power,” he explained.

Another doctor on duty at the A&E explained, “When the lights went out, we couldn’t properly assess the patients. There was no lighting to conduct physical exams and no way to ensure everything was done safely. We had to rely on torchlight to guide us through each case, and that’s not acceptable for an institution like ours.”

“I remember one night in the emergency room when the power went out again. We had patients in critical condition, and there was no power to monitor their heart rates or oxygen levels. We had to use our phone flashlights, and the rest of us worked in shifts, holding the lights while others treated the patients,” explained Nkechi, a final-year medical student.

UCH power crisis

On October 26, 2024, the IBEDC disconnected UCH from the national grid over an outstanding debt of N495 million.

The spokesperson of IBEDC, Busolami Tunwase told one of our correspondents that the disconnection became unavoidable following the failure of UCH to pay the debt.

While saying the company expressed sympathy for the hospital’s situation, she confirmed that the disconnection was due to UCH’s significant outstanding debt.

Tunwase said the company was compelled to take the action because it was faced with increased pressure to meet its financial obligations.

“IBEDC was compelled to take this course of action as we are faced with increasing pressure to meet our financial obligations to the market”, she said.

Also speaking about the issue in November 2024, the Chairman of the Joint Health Sector Unions at the UCH, Oladayo Olabampe, disclosed that the hospital was spending about N80 million monthly on electricity bills despite its worsening financial situation.

According to him, the hospital’s inability to sustain the payment led to the disconnection of supply from the facility by the electricity distribution company on October 26.

Our correspondent observed that electricity was briefly restored to the hospital for 10 days starting November 17, 2024, but the power was cut off again on November 27, 2024.

The power was restored on February 12, 2025, after Minister for Power, Adebayo Adelabu, intervened and helped resolve the issue between the hospital and IBEDC.

Before the prolonged 109-day disconnection of UCH from the national grid, IBEDC had disconnected the tertiary institution on March 19, 2024, the third time in less than two months, over “accumulated bill indebtedness.”

While giving reasons for the disconnection in March, the Ibadan DisCo explained that it disconnected the hospital after failed attempts to engage with the facility’s management regarding the N495m debt, which had persisted for over six years.

Though the hospital earlier denied owing up to that amount, it later agreed and sought time to clear the debt.

During his visit, the minister explained that the energy bill for UCH was high because the hospital was paying for the power consumption of other entities within the premises.

He listed these entities to include the college of medicine, banks, business centres, dry cleaners, and pharmacies, which were allegedly not paying for their power consumption.

He assured that the government would ensure that these entities were held responsible for their power consumption and paid their energy bills separately.

Before power restoration

On February 10 and 11, 2025, just a day before the long-awaited restoration of power, our correspondent visited UCH and witnessed first-hand the devastating impact of the prolonged blackout.

Moving around the hospital at night, it was observed that the once bustling medical facility had transformed into a ghostly structure, bathed in near-complete darkness.

PUNCH Healthwise discovered that the usual hum of medical equipment and the constant bustle of nurses, doctors, and patients were replaced with an eerie silence, interrupted only by the occasional murmur of staff trying to navigate their way in the dark.

The corridors were dimly lit by a handful of solar-powered bulbs scattered in certain wards. But these were few and far between.

For the most part, the hallways remained shrouded in darkness, adding an unnerving sense of urgency to the already tense atmosphere.

In the wards, patients lay in their beds, some hooked up to life-saving machines, but these machines were rendered useless without the power to run them. The soft, flickering light from rechargeable lamps offered little comfort, struggling to stay on in an environment where power was more a luxury than a guarantee. Patients in the emergency room, many in severe pain or requiring urgent care, were also enduring significant discomfort due to the lack of electricity. The A&E wards were overcrowded, and without proper lighting, there was no way to ensure adequate ventilation.

Our correspondent observed that the only light came from solar-powered bulbs, but there was no power to run fans or air conditioning. As a result, the temperature in the ward was unbearable, with everyone visibly sweating.

Some patients’ relatives were seen using hand fans or rechargeable fans in a desperate attempt to alleviate the heat.

Despite the restoration of power in UCH, the story shared by many doctors and medical students who spoke with our correspondent paints a picture of the challenges they endured during the prolonged blackout.

Even though the power was eventually restored on February 12, 2025, after the intervention of the Minister for Power, many hospital staff members are still struggling with the emotional and psychological toll of working under such harsh circumstances.

Other horrible experiences

A breast cancer patient at the UCH reportedly lost her life due to complications arising from the hospital’s blackout.

PUNCH Healthwise gathered that the patient, who was in dire need of a chest tube insertion, could not receive the necessary medical attention due to the lack of electricity.

According to a medical student who was on call at the time, the patient was admitted with breast cancer complicated by pulmonary edema.

“We were called to attend to the patient, but we were unable to insert the chest tube due to the lack of electricity.

The family was asked to provide a lamp, which they did, but it was not enough to facilitate the procedure,” the student said.

She added, “As the night progressed, the patient’s condition started to deteriorate. I could feel the weight of the situation as we worked frantically in the dark, trying to stabilise her. I had no idea how long we could continue like this, and deep down, I feared the worst. By the time the HO called the medical team on-call, they had no choice but to escalate the situation to the senior registrar.

“The SR, after assessing the situation, told us that passing the chest tube (an essential procedure for draining the fluid from her lungs) was simply too risky in the dark. He explained that he’d tried something similar in the past and the patient hadn’t made it, and he wasn’t willing to take that risk again without proper lighting.

“It was a difficult decision, and even though I understood the reasoning, I couldn’t shake the feeling of helplessness.

“The SR said he would come in first thing in the morning, by 7 AM, to perform the procedure. We all hoped that the patient would make it through the night, but I knew we couldn’t wait that long. The HO advised us to stay close by, hoping the patient would hold on until morning.

“The next morning, when we arrived, the worst news awaited us. By the time the SR had arrived to perform the chest tube procedure, the patient had passed away. She had died sometime during the night, alone in a hospital room, under conditions that no patient should have to endure.”

The medical student explained that the hospital’s solar power system was not functioning, and the backup generators were not available.

We had to use phone torchlights to administer medication and monitor the patient’s condition, the student said. “It was a very challenging situation, and we were all frustrated by the lack of resources.”

The medical student expressed concern about the impact of the blackout on the quality of care provided by the hospital.

“We are doing our best to provide care to our patients, but it is becoming increasingly difficult. We need a reliable source of electricity to be able to do our jobs effectively.”

Another student identified as Julius Olaniyi narrated how the lack of electricity at UCH almost claimed the life of a gastroenteritis patient.

Olaniyi, who witnessed the incident, said the patient’s family had been transferred from one hospital to another before arriving at UCH, only to be told that there was no electricity in the A&E unit.

According to him, the patient, a young woman, was lying by the roadside near the hospital’s main gate, vomiting greenish substances and unable to talk properly.

The medical student said he was returning from UCH when he stumbled upon the patient and her family.

I was returning from UCH when I saw the patient lying by the roadside. There were some women around her, but they left when they realised I was a medical student. The patient was vomiting greenish substances and was unable to talk properly. She told me that they had been transferred from one hospital to another before arriving at UCH, only to be told that there was no electricity in the Accident and Emergency unit.

“I had to call my father to get the contact of a private hospital where the patient could receive treatment.

“I was able to get the patient to the hospital, and she eventually survived. But I knew that if I hadn’t intervened, the patient might not have made it,” he noted.

Despite restoration, medical students continue to groan

One of the most affected areas by the prolonged blackout at UCH was the Alexander Brown Hall and Ayodele Falase Post-Graduate Hall, the hostels occupied by medical students of the University of Ibadan, whose campus is located within the hospital’s premises.

Even though power was restored to the hospital on February 12, 2024, the hostels where these medical students reside continue to remain in darkness.

This ongoing power issue has left many students frustrated and struggling to carry out their daily activities, despite the hospital’s efforts to return to normalcy.

Some of the students, who spoke , shared their frustration and narrated the terrible experiences they went through because of lack of electricity within the hostel.

They expressed frustration about the impact of the blackout on their education.

A 400-level medical student, Gerald Olukungi said the situation has taken a dire toll on the students, who have been forced to adapt to a new normal of hardship and resilience.

Olukungi explained that the lack of electricity has affected every aspect of their lives, from studying to personal hygiene.

“Getting water has been very difficult for us. We have to fetch water from alternative sources, often at great personal risk.

“I have had to fetch water from a construction site near the hostel. The water is not even clean, but we have no choice,” he said.

Gerald also lamented that the students had to spend extra money to fetch water.

He added, “The cleaners charge up to 2,500, 3,000 naira to fill up the drums. It’s a lot of money that could have been spent on other things. The students have also had to deal with the stress of going to fetch water, which has affected their health.”

Corroborating him, another student simply identified as Emmanuel said that the students have had to deal with the stress of going to fetch water.

“It’s not easy, especially when you have to go to a construction site to fetch water. The water is not even clean, but we have no choice,” he stated.

Emmanuel explained that the students have had to go to other places to charge their devices.

“Some people come to classes just for the sole purpose of charging. Some people go as far as the UI to charge their devices.

“We are not getting the education that we need. We are not getting the basic necessities that we need to survive.

“It is a shame on all of us, from Nigeria at the top to UCH management down here,” he said

Obsolete equipment worsens power crisis — CMD

The Chief Medical Director of UCH, Prof. Jesse Otegbayo said obsolete equipment contributed to the lingering power crisis at the premier hospital.

While expressing concern over the deplorable state of electricity infrastructure in the hospital, the CMD added that many of the electrical infrastructures in the hospital were installed in 1957 when UCH was established and have aged over time.

Otegbayo lamented that the old equipment made it difficult for the hospital to resolve the power crisis, adding that it requires a lot of capital to revamp them.

Blackouts in hospitals may cause more deaths-Stakeholders

Stakeholders in the sector have raised concerns about the potential loss of lives as a result of blackouts in hospitals over lack of electricity.

The experts noted that hospital’s inability to provide basic services due to the lack of electricity may worsen patients’ health conditions, and lead to more deaths.

The president of the Healthcare Providers Association of Nigeria, Dr. Austine Aipoh told our correspondent that the blackout at UCH is a manifestation of the federal government’s neglect of the healthcare sector.

Aipoh attributed the blackout to the government’s failure to provide adequate funding for the hospital.

He noted that the hospital’s generators were non-functional due to lack of maintenance, which is a direct result of inadequate funding.

“The truth is that it all boils down to a governmental problem. The hospital is a federal government institution, 100 per cent funded and run. It is supposed to serve as a centre for learning, training, and research. However, due to the decadence in all sectors of the economy, the hospital is struggling to provide basic services.

“It is really sad that the government cannot buy generators or maintain the ones they have. This is a federal government institution, and it’s unacceptable that they cannot provide basic services like electricity,” he noted.

Speaking on how blackouts can have a devastating impact on the hospital’s operations, Aipoh noted that the lack of electricity has made it impossible for the hospital to run critical equipment, including blood banks, mortuaries, and gynecological stations.

“Without power, you can’t run a facility. You can’t afford to have light in the blood bank, otherwise, the blood will get spoiled. You must have light in the mortuary service, otherwise, you’ll have problems. There must be a constant in the gynaecological station where you have IVF and frozen embryos, otherwise, they’ll get spoilt” he stated.

Aipoh called on the government to increase its allocation to the health sector, noting that the current allocation is inadequate.

He also urged the government to prioritise the provision of basic services like electricity in hospitals.

FG to install solar mini-grid to solve UCH power crisis

The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Power, revealed plans to implement a permanent solution to the power challenges faced by the institution.

The minister of power, Adebayo Adelabu said the government would install a solar-powered mini-grid for the hospital to reduce energy costs and ensure a sustainable power supply.

Adelabu explained that the mini-grid would provide a reliable source of power for the hospital and help reduce their reliance on the national grid.

The minister added that the initiative will begin this quarter and is expected to be completed within six to nine months.

Once operational, he explained that the solar-powered system would significantly reduce the institutions’ energy bills to less than one-third of the current cost.

“The Federal Government has put in place a permanent solution to reduce the burden of energy costs on these institutions and I can assure you, it will be implemented this year.

“We are going to do the same thing for UI and UCH. By the time we implement that, in my honour, we are starting implementation this quarter and within six to nine months, it will be completed.

“By the time we are done with this, your energy bill will be less than one-third of what you are incurring now,” he stated.

The minister raised serious concerns about energy theft and power fraud within UCH, stressing the need for greater accountability in power consumption.

According to Adelabu, several commercial entities operating in the area, including banks and businesses, are consuming electricity without paying for it.

He emphasised that the issue of unpaid energy usage contributes significantly to the escalating power costs faced by the institutions.

In response, the power minister said the government is implementing a strategy to separate power consumption in UCH.

“A new transformer will be installed to differentiate between the energy usage of the hospital, the College of Medicine, the students’ hostels, and the surrounding businesses. This move is part of a larger plan to ensure that each entity bears responsibility for its electricity consumption, ensuring fairness and preventing institutions like UCH from unfairly covering the costs of businesses and private residences,” he explained.

European Union (EU) Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS hosted members of the private sector to promote and strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to manufacture vaccines, medicines, and other health products.

The meeting with the private sector also focused on increasing efforts to ensure Nigeria is well equipped to provide the necessary workforce for the health sector in the medium-term, including in both Research and Development as well as Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) paths for those in supportive roles.

EU investments in specific health domains include: MAV+ (€18m, involving various implementers) to boost skills and jobs; support to public health institutes (€4.2m); furthering actions in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) (€12.5m – regional); and MAV+ (€5.5m via UNICEF) to support digitalisation in the supply chain.

Others are: Support to SRHR (€40m via UNICEF/UNFPA); Safe Birth Africa project (€20m multi-country), Digital Health (€2.9m); MAV+, EIB loan to EMZOR Pharmaceuticals (€14m) to enhance access to finance and markets, and HDX which is a dedicated financing instrument targeting the private sector.

Speaking during the meeting of the EU with the private sector in Lagos, Head of Cooperation, EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Massimo De Luca, noted that the EU is forming sustainable partnerships to increase access to quality, safe, effective, and affordable health products.

He explained that the EU’s efforts are geared towards complementing the Federal Government’s efforts through direct grants, contribution agreements, and technical assistance to leverage efforts to address issues in the local manufacturing space

De Luca said: “There are five work packages. They include: Skills development through education and training; research and development including the use of AI and nano technology; digitalisation of essential dimensions of the ecosystem; centralised system for forecasting, procurement and distribution of quality medical products; and and trade investments and customs facilitation.”

He further stated that EU works via TEI MAV+ and other selected interventions with African partners to strengthen their local pharmaceutical systems and manufacturing capacity via a comprehensive 360-degree approach to tackle barriers in 3 key dimensions, including supply, demand sides, whilst creating an enabling environment for sustainable local manufacturing of vaccines and health products. “Specifically for MAV+, a country window of €18 million will largely focus on 3 specific objectives – skills development, resilient supply value chains, and access to finance and markets for locally produced goods. 

He said: “For skills development, the EU will also strengthen collaborative research and innovation, including through cooperation with European research institutes.

For digitalisation in the supply chain, this will include support to the establishment of bioequivalence and bioavailability facilities, good manufacturing practices, trace and trace, etc.

“For access to finance and markets, a dedicated Human Development Accelerator (HDX) Nigeria country window financing instrument will be available to improve access to finance for health care businesses, in particular for the private sector, to address areas like local production of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), etc.”

Highlighting the way forward to achieving the set goals, De Luca stated that the EU would maintain close coordination with its Member States and private sector via the informal Health Partners Meeting hosted by the EU Delegation in Abuja, bi-monthly.

We would leverage new financing instruments for private sector engagement such as the HDX, using equity, debts or guarantees, blended finance and/or impact financing,” he added.

Without a strong healthcare system that ensures millions of Africans have access to basic healthcare services, the continent's goals for development, economic expansion, and social stability will continue to be challenging to fulfil. On the fringes of the 38th AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Rwandan President Paul Kagame organised a high-level meeting on domestic health financing in Africa, where First Lady Oluremi Tinubu made this statement.

According to a statement by her Senior Special Assistant on Media, Busola Kukoyi, First Lady Tinubu called for a sustainable financing that ensures efficient mobilization and utilization of resources for both short, medium, and long-term impact.

She explained that achieving a wealthy continent is largely dependent on the health of the people, and with the impending funding gaps occasioned by recent policy changes in the United States, the African continent must look inward for sustainable solution

Sharing Nigeria’s perspective on the issue, she harped on the need for a health system that guarantees access to quality health services without imposing financial hardships.

Africa cannot continue to rely solely on donor funding and foreign aid, which, although helpful, are often unpredictable and unsustainable. Instead, we must develop innovative financing strategies tailored to our unique challenges and circumstances,” she said.

The First Lady pointed out that her role as the Global and National Stop TB Champion mirrors the role that other First Ladies, leveraging their position and platform, can play in resources mobilization for health from government, the private sector and donor agencies

Given the increasing funding gap for health on the continent, I urge us all to come together and commit to advocating for increased national health budgets. 

“In line with the Abuja Declaration, our governments should allocate at least 15% of their budgetary allocations to health. We must also support innovative financing mechanisms and explore sustainable models, such as expanding health insurance coverage, health endowment funds, and investments from the African diaspora. 

Accountability and transparency must be ensured, as funds allocated to health must be used efficiently and effectively”, she said.

Global and regional perspectives on domestic health financing in Africa and its contributions to the global agenda were also explored by Presidents and Heads of State of other nations present, including those of Rwanda, Ethiopia, Botswana, Kenya, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Barbados, donor agencies and funding partners.

They were unequivocal that Africa must begin to look inwards for homegrown solutions to its health care needs which include research, medications, technology, improved manpower and importantly, funding if it will be able to keep its citizens productive and prosperous.

The high-level meeting, on domestic health financing, organized by Rwandan President, Paul Kagame on the sidelines of the 38th African Union Summit Ordinary Session in Addis Ababa.

To reduce the transmission of HIV from mothers to their newborns, the Lagos State Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Saving One Million Lives Programme for Results (SOMLPforR), has trained 330 healthcare workers on the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV.

The two-day training focused on equipping participants with essential skills for managing HIV-positive pregnant women, early infant diagnosis, and postpartum treatment.

The training targeted three key groups: healthcare workers, mentor mothers, and laboratory personnel. The first category, PMTCT training, aimed to strengthen healthcare providers’ capacity to link HIV-positive pregnant women from traditional birth attendants (TBAs) to the PMTCT Programme.

The second category focused on training mentor mothers to provide psychosocial support and ensure retention in HIV care, while the third group, laboratory workers, were trained in early infant diagnosis, covering sample collection, storage, and transportation.

Speaking at the event, the Programme Manager of SOMLPforR, Dr. Mazeedat Erinosho, stressed the importance of the initiative in reducing maternal and infant HIV transmission rates.

She explained that Lagos State has over 60 PMTCT sites where mentor mothers facilitate care for HIV-positive pregnant women, ensuring they receive appropriate treatment throughout pregnancy and delivery.

“Saving One Million Lives is committed to improving maternal and child health outcomes. This training is a key strategy to equip health workers with the necessary knowledge and skills to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. “We are also building the capacity of our laboratorians to ensure early infant diagnosis is carried out efficiently, preventing further complication”, Erinosho stated.

On her part, the Director of Disease Control at the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Victoria Egunjobi, described HIV as a major public health concern that requires sustained preventive and curative efforts. She reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring access to quality HIV services across the state.

HIV is being treated as a chronic illness, and it is our responsibility to ensure access to both preventive and treatment services.

“This training will enable health workers to provide the necessary care, encourage early testing, and support those who test positive to live healthy and productive lives.”

The Lagos State Programme Coordinator for HIV, Dr. Oladipupo Fisher, provided further insights into the structure of the training, which engaged 120 healthcare workers, 120 laboratory technicians, and 90 mentor mothers.

According to him, the approach is designed to improve service delivery and reduce vertical HIV transmission rates.

The process begins with testing pregnant women during antenatal care. Those who test positive are enrolled in the PMTCT program, placed on antiretroviral therapy, and closely monitored throughout pregnancy and delivery.

“Specialised delivery procedures are followed to minimize the risk of transmission, and newborns receive immediate care based on strict protocols.

Fisher also emphasised the critical role of laboratory officers in early infant diagnosis. “Proper collection, batching, transportation, and analysis of blood samples from newborns are crucial. This training enhances our ability to efficiently handle Dried Blood Spot (DBS) samples, which help in making informed medical decisions.”

Fisher noted that these trained women, who are also living with HIV, serve as counselors, guiding expectant mothers through their journey and reassuring them that they can give birth to HIV-free babies.

“Mentor mothers provide psychosocial support, help pregnant women understand their treatment plans, and ensure adherence to antiretroviral therapy.

They also guide them in making informed choices regarding breastfeeding or formula feeding,” he added.

Fisher further explained the importance of postnatal follow-up, stating that HIV-exposed infants are monitored closely after birth.

“At six weeks, we conduct early infant diagnosis tests. From birth, the baby is placed on antiretroviral medication as a preventive measure, ensuring double protection against the virus. Continuous monitoring is essential to prevent transmission and improve health outcomes.”

Participants at the training expressed their appreciation for the initiative, highlighting its impact on their professional practice and commitment to improving HIV care services.

One of the participants, Dr. Adigun Ololade, a Clinical Medical Officer at the General Hospital, Gbagada, acknowledged the training’s role in identifying gaps in current care practices. “This training has helped me recognize key areas where we need improvement. I will certainly share these insights with my colleagues and ensure we implement better care practices for children, in line with USAID’s goal of leaving no child behind in HIV care,” he said.

Organized by the Lagos State Ministry of Health in partnership with the Saving One Million Lives Programme for Results (SOMLPforR), the two-day training is designed to equip healthcare workers with the skills needed to provide inclusive and confidential care for young people.

The training will help create a more supportive healthcare environment for adolescents, strengthen providers’ ability to handle and refer to youth-related health issues, and promote ethical standards by addressing stigma and discrimination.

Participants, selected from secondary and tertiary health facilities across Lagos, are being trained in batches from February 11 to 20, 2025, to ensure widespread impact.

At the event, the Program Manager of SOMLPforR, Dr. Mazeedat Erinosho, highlighted the importance of adolescent health, noting that young people make up more than 60% of the population.

She stressed that healthcare workers must be well-prepared to handle the unique challenges young people face during this crucial stage of life.

“Adolescence is a delicate period that requires careful attention,” Dr. Erinosho said.

“A teenage girl today will become a woman tomorrow, and a young boy will grow into a father. We cannot leave their care to just a few specialists—every healthcare provider must be ready to support them.”

She encouraged participants to be open-minded and willing to learn, unlearn, and relearn best practices in adolescent healthcare.

The training also focuses on key areas such as nutrition, sexual and reproductive health, and effective communication to help healthcare workers build trust with young patients.

Director of Family Health and Nutrition at the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Folasade Oludara explained that the training is designed to close knowledge gaps among young healthcare workers while also updating the skills of their more experienced colleagues

She noted that many young people avoid public hospitals because they fear being judged, stigmatized, or discriminated against by older healthcare providers.

“Youths and adolescents should feel safe and welcomed when they visit a hospital,” Dr. Oludara said. “This training will help ensure that young people have a positive experience in our health facilities, encouraging them to take their health seriously and seek medical care without fear.”

Participants described the training as insightful, saying it gave them a better understanding of adolescent health needs.

A medical social welfare officer from General Hospital, Lagos, Okunmuyide Oluwakemi said the sessions helped her see the importance of social support in adolescent development.

“This training has been an eye-opener. I plan to share what I’ve learned with my colleagues so we can work better with the medical team,” Oluwakemi said. “When doctors refer young patients to us, we will be able to provide complete care that addresses both their medical and social needs.”

Director of Health Services at Lagos State University (LASU), Dr. Nasir Ariyibi praised the initiative, saying it would help improve healthcare services in higher institutions. “Most of our patients are young people aged 15 to 25 who need specialized care,” he said.

This training will help us create a more welcoming environment for them, ensuring they get the support they need during this important stage of life.”

Lagos State is committed to providing a safe and inclusive healthcare system for young people, free from stigma and discrimination. With ongoing support from SOMLPforR, the government is focusing on training healthcare workers to better handle adolescent health challenges.

By making healthcare services more youth-friendly, Lagos aims to improve access to essential medical care, encourage healthy habits, and ensure that young people receive the support they need as they grow into adulthood.

In Kano, the situation is particularly dire, with the state contributing an estimated 9% of Nigeria’s 68 million malaria cases in 2021.

Malaria is also a major cause of hospital admissions in Nigeria, with 30% of admissions attributed to the disease.

The Médecins Sans Frontières has reported a disturbing increase in malnutrition cases in Kano, particularly among children under five.

The organisation has also observed a “twin peak” of malaria and malnutrition, with a significant number of children suffering from both conditions.

Experts have highlighted the complex relationship between malaria and malnutrition, with each condition increasing the risk of the other.

To address the crisis, a multi-faceted approach is required, including strengthening healthcare facilities, reinforcing vaccine programs, and improving access to nutritious food.

Fatima’s story is one among thousands. For decades, preventable deaths occurred because there was no coordinated emergency response system. Too often, road accidents, pregnancy complications, strokes, and trauma claimed lives not because treatment was unavailable but because help did not arrive in time. Families watched in anguish as loved ones perished due to lack of access to timely emergency care.

NEMSAS was established to close this critical gap, ensuring every Nigerian, regardless of location or socioeconomic status, has timely access to emergency medical care. While the foundation was laid in previous years, it is under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda that NEMSAS has been prioritised, expanded, and integrated into Nigeria’s broader health sector reforms. With stronger political commitment, strategic investments, and a whole-of-government approach, NEMSAS is now a pillar of the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, strengthening emergency healthcare nationwide.

More than 40 percent of Nigerians live in rural areas with limited access to healthcare, and maternal mortality rates remain among the highest globally. The challenge is not just treatment but timely access to care. The three delays in healthcare highlight that reaching a facility in time is a leading cause of preventable deaths. In the past, pregnant women, accident victims, and critically ill patients had no reliable way to access emergency services. That is changing.

NEMSAS is a national, state-driven, community-anchored emergency medical system ensuring rapid response, timely transportation, and quality emergency care. As the operational arm of the emergency medical treatment gateway under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), it integrates emergency care within state health systems while maintaining a coordinated national response.

Collaboration is central to NEMSAS’s success. The initiative operates through a structured inter-agency framework, bringing together the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). FRSC responds to medical emergencies and road traffic accidents, NEMA coordinates mass casualty events, NPHCDA integrates emergency services into primary healthcare, and NHIA ensures coverage for enrolled patients. At the tertiary level, hospitals serve as emergency medical hubs for specialised critical cases.

This progress reflects the visionary leadership and strong commitment of the Coordinating Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, alongside state governors, local government chairmen, and state commissioners of health, whose collaboration and policy reforms have driven the evolving transformation. Through the Sector-Wide Approach (SWaP), these efforts have ensured a structured framework for integrating emergency medical services into Nigeria’s broader health reforms.

Private sector involvement has been instrumental in expanding ambulance networks, digital emergency response systems, and workforce training. Digital health platforms and emergency tech companies have introduced real-time ambulance tracking, optimising dispatch coordination. Partnerships with commercial transport operators, including the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), have extended emergency transport services to areas where ambulances are scarce. Security agencies are part of this network to better ensure emergency responders can operate safely in volatile regions.

This collaborative effort is saving lives. In Yobe, tricycle ambulances reach remote areas where standard vehicles cannot operate. In Anambra, private sector emergency response systems have enabled faster ambulance dispatch, improving survival rates. In Rivers, newly procured ambulances under the state emergency medical services system ensure families no longer have to watch loved ones die due to lack of emergency transport.

At the federal level, tertiary hospitals have been onboarded as emergency medical hubs, providing life-saving interventions. From January to December 2024, over 6,000 Nigerians have received emergency medical services through NEMSAS. In Yobe alone, over 1,000 lives have been saved, with a mortality rate as low as 1.5 percent among treated cases. The free 48-hour emergency treatment window has removed financial barriers, demonstrating focused leadership in improving health outcomes.

Recognising the urgency of reducing maternal and newborn mortality, NEMSAS has also prioritised rural emergency services and maternal transport initiatives. This decentralised transport model mobilises tricycles, boats, and commercial operators to serve as emergency responders in hard-to-reach areas. Pregnant women receive transport vouchers to cover emergency transport costs, ensuring financial constraints do not delay care. With support from the World Bank, this initiative has been implemented in 15 high-burden states, reaching underserved communities.

To further equip hospitals for maternal emergencies, the Maternal and Newborn Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII) was launched under the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII). This game-changing intervention complements NEMSAS and RESMAT by targeting high-burden areas with unacceptably high maternal deaths. The government has removed financial barriers by covering caesarean section costs for poor and vulnerable women in both public and private facilities. MAMII also strengthens emergency obstetric care in hospitals and primary healthcare centres, providing midwives and nurses with specialised training. Community health workers generate demand for skilled birth attendance, educate families on antenatal care, and guide pregnant women toward safe delivery options. By integrating these efforts with NEMSAS, the government is building a fully functional emergency response system that ensures timely, high-quality care.

Despite its successes, NEMSAS faces challenges. Limited public awareness remains a barrier—only 38 percent of Nigerians know about the 112 toll-free emergency number. Inconsistent state ownership has slowed adoption in some regions, requiring further advocacy and commitment. Infrastructure gaps, including poor roads and insufficient ambulances, continue to hinder rapid emergency response. Addressing these requires increased investment in human and material resources.

A renewed hope for health security is unfolding. Picture a Nigeria where emergency medical response is swift and universal, where no woman dies in childbirth due to lack of transport, and where accident victims receive immediate, life-saving intervention. This vision is fast becoming a reality.

NEMSAS is more than an emergency response system; it is a lifeline and a testament to Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda in action. By strengthening health security, emergency response, and universal access to care, we are laying the foundation for a healthier, safer Nigeria.

It is time for all stakeholders—state governments, healthcare providers, development partners, and the public—to rally behind this life-saving initiative. Because in the fight for survival, every second counts. And with NEMSAS, we are making those seconds matter. Saving lives is a shared responsibility.