Health

Image source: Wikipedia By Ali Elias The Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) has recorded a major breakthrough in HIV prevention, announcing that fewer than one per cent of babies born to HIV-positive mothers enrolled in its care have contracted the virus—a success rate comparable to international standards. This was revealed on Tuesday by Professor Oliver Ezechi, Director of Research at NIMR, during the institute’s monthly media chat in Lagos, an event designed to brief the public on current research milestones. According to Ezechi, over 7,000 women have participated in NIMR’s Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) programme nationwide, with 5,717 of them delivering their babies at NIMR’s health facility. Remarkably, in the past four years, no HIV-positiv...

By Ali Elias The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a dire warning about the escalating burden of breast cancer, with cases projected to increase by 38% globally by 2050. This alarming trend, highlighted in a new report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), also predicts a 68% rise in annual deaths from the disease. Published in Nature Medicine on Monday, the findings indicate that if current trends persist, the world will witness 3.2 million new breast cancer cases and 1.1 million related deaths annually by mid-century. “The burden will be disproportionately felt in low- and middle-income countries, where access to early detection, treatment, and care remains limited,” the report warns. According to Dr. Joanne Kim, an IARC scientist and co-author o...

photo credit: Realnews By Ali Elias The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has affirmed its commitment to safeguarding public health following reports of a Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) outbreak in China and other regions. In a statement released on Tuesday in Abuja, Dr. Jide Idris, Director-General of the NCDC, outlined the agency's proactive measures to address any potential threats.  Dr. Idris emphasized that while the World Health Organization (WHO) has not classified HMPV as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), the NCDC is closely monitoring global developments in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.  “Nigeria’s National Influenza Sentinel Surveillance (NISS) system has not detected any ...

By Ali Elias Following our report, Doctor Allegedly Harvests 13-Year-Old Boy’s Kidney During Surgery, Police Complicit, Father Cries Out For Justice, we received what appears to be an earlier statement outlining the Enugu State Government’s efforts to clarify the allegations surrounding the-now-15-year-old Chidera Nnamdi. Investigations revealed the boy was born with only one kidney. In the statement, Commissioner for Children, Gender Affairs, and Social Development, Mrs. Ngozi Enih, shared findings from credible medical facilities, refuting the claims and exposing the role of quack practitioners in the initial procedure. The government, she emphasized, is committed to ensuring justice and has offered further investigations at any facility of the family’s choice. Below is the full clari...

By PR In furtherance of its war against cancer, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), along with its partners - TotalEnergies Upstream Nigeria Limited, SAPETRO, CNOOC, and PRIME 130 - has inaugurated a cutting-edge mammography centre at the Federal University Teaching Hospital, Lafia, Nasarawa State.  The centre, which is the second – one Mammography Centre had earlier been commissioned at Garkida General Hospital, Gombi Local Government Area, Adamawa – along with the series of free cancer screening programmes by the NNPC Foundation, is part of a strategic push by NNPC Ltd to improve access to early cancer detection and treatment to tackle the high mortality rate in Nigeria.   Speaking at the commissioning of the facility, the Chief Upstream In...

Determining nationality in this situation isn’t as straightforward as one might think. Since planes travel over different countries and cross many borders, it can be tricky to decide if the baby belongs to the country where the plane took off, the country it’s flying over, or even the country where it lands. Different countries have different rules for assigning nationality, and not all of them apply the same way when a birth happens on an aeroplane. Let’s break it down. The basics of nationality for babies born on planes When a baby is born on the ground, their nationality is usually decided based on where they’re born or their parents’ citizenship. But in the sky, things aren’t so simple. Here are the main ways a baby’s nationality might be determined if they’re born on a pla...

BY PR The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPC Ltd) through NNPC Foundation, its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm, is set to launch a free cancer screening campaign to address Nigeria's rising cancer cases The campaign tagged “Cancer Awareness and ZSX Screening” will provide, not just free cancer screening to indigent Nigerians, but also health education, workshops, and consultations with healthcare professionals aimed at empowering individuals to recognize early symptoms, adopt preventive health measures, and better understand the importance of regular screenings.  The campaign which will be organised in collaboration with local health authorities and expert healthcare providers is targeted at reaching about 3,000 individuals across the six geo-political zo...

THE Presidential candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 election, Mr Peter Obi, has described healthcare as a critical foundation for the growth and development of any society. Obi stated this during a visit to the Dame Irene Okwuosa Memorial Hospital, Irefi Oraifite in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra state, on Saturday. He commended the humanitarian disposition and team spirit of the health personnel towards saving lives, especially the offering of free heart surgeries for hundreds of patients in the hospital. He said: “I’m very impressed with what I saw today. “I have said it severally, this kind of facility is what we need to replicate in other sectors by well meaning individuals. “If we have the kind of doctors I saw here working as a team and saving lives, you ...

Photo courtesy: BusinessDay Prof. Kehinde Tijani, a Professor of Surgery at the University of Lagos, has warned that a persistent penile erection lasting more than four hours is a medical emergency that can cause permanent erectile dysfunction if not treated promptly. In his inaugural lecture, Tijani emphasized the importance of seeking immediate specialist care for surgical intervention, stating, "A delay of more than 24 hours can lead to permanent erectile dysfunction." He also highlighted the need for early evaluation of males in couples experiencing infertility, saying, "Males account for at least 50 per cent of cases in couples with infertility. For couples experiencing infertility, the man should be evaluated first by doing a semen analysis." Additionally, Tijani call...

EMMANUELLA Arukwe, Managing Director of NNPC Foundation, has expressed concern over rising prevalence of heart disease fatalities in the country. Arukwe spoke at the 53rd annual general meeting and scientific conference organised by the Nigerian Cardiac Society (NCS) on Wednesday in Port Harcourt. The theme of the conference was “Socio-Economic Burden of Rising Cardiovascular Disease Profile in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Represented by Mrs Dominion Eugenia, the Foundation’s Executive Director of Finance, Arukwe said that the foundation was supporting healthcare initiatives to lower mortality rates. She said that data from global heath institutions revealed more than 18 million annual deaths from cardiac failure, making the disease the leading cause of global deaths at 32 per cent. ...