Malaria is responsible for 11 per cent of maternal deaths in Nigeria, Jhpiego, a non-governmental agency and an affiliate of John Hopkins University, said on Thursday.
The Country Director of the organization, Emmanuel Otolorin, said in Abuja that about 20 per cent of children who die before the age of five die of malaria.
"Eleven per cent of women who die in pregnancy and childbirth, die because of malaria, about 20 per cent of children who die before the age of 5 die because of malaria, so malaria is a big problem; in fact, there are more deaths from malaria in Nigeria than deaths from HIV, leprosy, tuberculosis all put together.
Mr. Otolorin said that there is the need to create awareness so that more pregnant women and children can gain access to malaria commodities.
"As you know, malaria is a major cause of maternal mortality, and newborn mortality globally and particularly in Africa and more specifically in Nigeria.
"There are very simple interventions that have been identified by WHO and in the global bodies for controlling malaria in pregnancy, but the problem is that in this country, a very low percentage of pregnant women access such interventions," he said.
Mr. Otolorin said there should be a strict adherence to twice dosage of malaria treatment for all pregnant women to reduce maternal mortality from malaria.
"Every pregnant woman should take an anti-malaria drug at least twice in pregnancy, whether or not she has symptoms of malaria, because we know that when they don't have symptoms of malaria, they have malaria parasite in their blood.
He said malaria parasite can cause anaemia, can damage the placenta and reduce the exchange of food and oxygen between the mother and baby so that the baby is starved while in the stomach.
The Jhpiego Country Director said pregnant women must take anti malaria drugs once they start to feel the baby moving.
Prevention of deaths from malaria
The country director said that early recognition of persons who have clinical malaria is possible with the use of rapid diagnosis tests so as to prevent deaths from malaria.
He said about 50 per cent of persons being treated for malaria actually suffered from symptoms of fever, and that treatment should begin with artemisine combination therapy.
Mr. Otolorin also spoke on the importance of sanitation, stressing that water-logged areas is a breeding ground for malaria.
"Sanitation is key because breeding ground for mosquitoes needs to be eradicated, swampy areas, anywhere water can collect, especially during the raining seasons; collection of water in bottles, plastic bottles, pots and pans, and so on.
"Once you have stagnant water, the mosquitoes can lay their eggs there and they grow, and then you have mosquitoes coming out of breeding ground very close to our houses.
"So you need to clear the surroundings, you need to make sure that you don't have containers that harbour stagnant waters around; these are part of the environmental control for preventing malaria," Mr. Otolorin said.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
100,000 babies born annually in Nigeria are HIV positive
A recent report has shown that between 50,000 and 100,000 of babies born in the country yearly are carriers of HIV.
The report was released on Tuesday in Abuja, when the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, hosted the National Steering Group of the Global Plan towards the Elimination of New HIV Infections among Children by 2015 and Keeping their Mothers Alive.
The group was constituted by President Goodluck Jonathan in April 2012 to help mobilise national leadership for global plan on eliminating mother-to-child transmission, implementation and keeping their mothers alive.
The NSG has since been working across states of the federation, seeking to end transmission of the scourge.
In her presentation, entitled, ‘Update on eMTCT in Nigeria,’ the National Coordinator (HIV/AIDS Division) in the Federal Ministry of Health, and member of the group, Dr. Evelyn Ngige, said global target was to reduce the number of new HIV infections among children by 90 per cent and reduce the number of AIDS-related maternal deaths by 50 percent.
According to the report, while the current population of HIV positive persons in Nigeria stands at 3.1million, the number of births in the country annually is six million.
Besides, while HIV prevalence remains 4.1 per cent, the population of HIV positive pregnant women annually in the country is put at 229,480.
The report said, “Fifty-eight per cent of women attend Ante Natal Care, at least once; 45 per cent attend, at least, four times; 35 per cent of births occur in health facilities; 39 per cent deliveries by skilled birth attendants, while HIV babies born annually are between 50,000 and 100, 000.”
The report also indicated three bottlenecks, which it attempted to address.
They are strengthening human resources for health; improving efficiencies in the HIV commodities; and supply chain management and improving early infant diagnosis.
The report was released on Tuesday in Abuja, when the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, hosted the National Steering Group of the Global Plan towards the Elimination of New HIV Infections among Children by 2015 and Keeping their Mothers Alive.
The group was constituted by President Goodluck Jonathan in April 2012 to help mobilise national leadership for global plan on eliminating mother-to-child transmission, implementation and keeping their mothers alive.
The NSG has since been working across states of the federation, seeking to end transmission of the scourge.
In her presentation, entitled, ‘Update on eMTCT in Nigeria,’ the National Coordinator (HIV/AIDS Division) in the Federal Ministry of Health, and member of the group, Dr. Evelyn Ngige, said global target was to reduce the number of new HIV infections among children by 90 per cent and reduce the number of AIDS-related maternal deaths by 50 percent.
According to the report, while the current population of HIV positive persons in Nigeria stands at 3.1million, the number of births in the country annually is six million.
Besides, while HIV prevalence remains 4.1 per cent, the population of HIV positive pregnant women annually in the country is put at 229,480.
The report said, “Fifty-eight per cent of women attend Ante Natal Care, at least once; 45 per cent attend, at least, four times; 35 per cent of births occur in health facilities; 39 per cent deliveries by skilled birth attendants, while HIV babies born annually are between 50,000 and 100, 000.”
The report also indicated three bottlenecks, which it attempted to address.
They are strengthening human resources for health; improving efficiencies in the HIV commodities; and supply chain management and improving early infant diagnosis.
Outrage over pardon for Alamieyeseigha
President Goodluck Jonathan came under heavy criticism yesterday over his granting of state pardon to convicted former Governor of Bayelsa State Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.
Jonathan presented a request for approval of the pardon to the Council of State which held a meeting at the State House in Abuja yesterday.
Although there was no official announcement on the outcome of the meeting, a member of the council who attended confirmed to Daily Trust last night that the pardon was granted to Alamieyeseigha and six others.
The others were the late General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, former Bank of the North managing director Mohammed Bulama, retired General Oladipo Diya, the late General Abdulkareem Adisa, Major Bello Magaji and Muhammad Biu.
Daily Trust learnt that Jonathan told the council members that the Bayelsa Traditional Rulers Council on Monday submitted a request to him for a state pardon to Alamieyeseigha.
Alamieyeseigha, who served as governor of Bayelsa State with Jonathan as his deputy from 1999 to 2005, was impeached and later convicted for corruption. With the state pardon, he is now freed of the constitutional ban from holding public office in the future.
Yar'Adua, Diya and Adisa were convicted of plotting a coup against then Head of State General Sani Abacha in 1995. Yar'Adua died in prison in December 1997, while Adisa died several years after he was released from detention.
Under section 175 of the constitution, a state pardon is granted by the president after consultation with the Council of State.
It says: "(1) The President may -(a) grant any person concerned with or convicted of any offence created by an Act of the National Assembly a pardon, either free or subject to lawful conditions; (b) grant to any person a respite, either for an indefinite or for a specified period, of the execution of any punishment imposed on that person for such an offence; (c) substitute a less severe form of punishment for any punishment imposed on that person for such an offence; or (d) remit the whole or any part of any punishment imposed on that person for such an offence or of any penalty or forfeiture otherwise due to the State on account of such an offence.
"(2) The powers of the President under subsection (1) of this section shall be exercised by him after consultation with the Council of State."
'Encouraging corruption'
Senior lawyers, politicians and activists yesterday condemned the grant of pardon to Alamieyeseigha, saying it was an indication that Jonathan was not serious about the fight against corruption. They said also the inclusion of six others in the pardon list was a mere smokescreen.
Former Kaduna State Governor Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa said the pardon has shown that Jonathan has abandoned the fight against corruption.
"What is the justification for the pardon? Are they too old to stay in the prison where they belong? This is unfortunate particularly at this period when the government is talking about the fight against corruption," he said.
"This simply means that President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has abandoned his anti corruption crusade. It has a political manoeuvring."
President of the Civil Rights Congress, Comrade Shehu Sani, said he was in support of the pardon for Yar'Adua and the others but that it appeared they were on the list as a smokescreen to re-launch Alamieyeseigha into politics.
"I'm in support of pardon for Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, Oladipo Diya and co but I know they were simply used as a smokescreen. They were given pardon in order to give credibility to the pardon but the exercise was done because of Alamieyeseigha," he said.
Lawyer Festus Keyamo, in a statement last night, said the pardon for Alamieyeseigha "typifies the height of insensitivity of this government to the feelings of Nigerians about the war against corruption."
He added: "This pardon by the President teaches no bitter lesson to thieving and corrupt public officers. It encourages corruption at the highest and the lowest levels of public office and the decision itself is corruption per excellence."
Another lawyer, Bamidele Aturu, said if the pardon is truly granted, it "will signal the end of the existing phony war against corruption."
Former president of the Nigerian Bar Association Rotimi Akeredolu said the pardon does not rule out the fact that Alamieyeseigha has committed a crime which would still hold against him.
But lawyer Mike Ozekhome said the pardon "cleansed" the ex-convict of any "sin."
He said, "The stigma of being an ex-convict has just been totally washed away and such a person can contest elections. He is taken in the eye of the law that he has never committed any offence.
"Anyone who will blame President Jonathan for giving Presidential pardon to his former boss, who brought him out of the classroom, such will be living in a dream world of unreality. It is only natural that the President will want to pardon his former boss who has always been there for him."
In his own reaction, Barrister Yahaya Mahmud (SAN), said Jonathan has the constitutional power to pardon anybody in consultation with the council of state, as provided by section 175 of the constitution.
Constitutional lawyer Fred Agbaje said the pardon would promote integration and unity among diverse groups.
In its reaction, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) last night said the presidential pardon for Alamieyeseigha was "laughable and tribalistic."
CPC spokesman Rotimi Fashakin said the decision was akin to granting posthumous pardon to the likes of notorious armed robber Lawrence Anini.
"There is a better way to show solidarity with one's boss than this utterly reprehensible action.... This is another proof that the Jonathan regime is not averse to corruption," Fashakin said.
Secretary General of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), Willy Ezugwu, said, "This is saddening.... This has also confirmed that the president is hobnobbing with corruption and that Nigerians should not put their hope on him to move the nation forward."
Confusion
There was confusion earlier yesterday as to whether the pardon was granted. News filtered early in the day that the council of state was meeting to ratify a memo by Jonathan in which he was seeking to grant a pardon for Alamieyeseigha.
At about 7.50pm, the Federal Government-owned News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) sent out a news alert, saying the Federal Government had granted "state pardon" to Alamieyeseigha and the six others.
But 17 minutes after, NAN issued another alert saying: "Kindly disregard earlier SMS on state pardon for Alamieyeseigha and six others. Thanks."
A member of the Council of State, who confirmed that the pardon was granted, said the council also discussed and approved two new nominees for two Federal executive bodies.
The council meeting was attended by former leaders Yakubu Gowon, Shehu Shagari and Ernest Shonekan, as well as many state governors. But former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former President Ibrahim Babangida and former head of state Muhammadu Buhari did not attend the meeting.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Seven foreign workers killed by kidnappers
Security operatives in Bauchi State yesterday said they were still investigating allegations of the killing of seven expatriates kidnapped in Jama'are Local Government Area of Bauchi State.
Last month seven expatriate workers of Setraco Nigeria Limited were kidnapped by unknown gunmen. An Islamic Group called Ansaru claimed responsibility for the abduction of the seven expatriates that included five Lebanese, one Briton and one Italian.
Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Hassan Mohammed Auyo told Vanguard, "Police have no evidence that the expatriates were killed. We are still investigating the matter and the veracity of the information pasted on web site allegedly by the group".
Reliable top security sources in Bauchi told newsmen that they heard about the killings of the expatriates as everybody heard about it, adding: "We are still making our enquiries to get the correct information, because we did not carry out any rescue operation either jointly or separately. We are still monitoring the situation".
However Britain, Italy and Greece confirmed yesterday, that it was true that the militants might have killed the hostages, which they condemned as barbaric and cold-blooded.
The Ansaru group on Saturday announced the deaths of all the expatriates abducted from a construction site of Lebanese company Setraco on February 16 in Bauchi.
Ansaru, considered an offshoot of Nigerian Islamist Boko Haram, backed up its claim with "screen captures of a forthcoming video showing the dead hostages," SITE, an intelligence group said.
According to SITE, "the group stated that the attempts by the British and Nigerian governments to rescue the hostages, and their alleged arrest and killing of people, forced it to carry out the execution."
Police, last month, said the hostages were four Lebanese, one Briton, a Greek citizen and an Italian, while the company said the Middle Eastern hostages included two Lebanese and two Syrians.
Ansaru said it had carried out the kidnapping to avenge what it called 'atrocities by European nationals against Islam.' The victims-- three Lebanese citizens and one each from Britain, Greece, Italy and the Philippines-- were all employees of a Lebanese construction company, Setraco.
UK, Greece, Italy react
British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, said all the hostages were "likely to have been killed" by their captors.
"This was an act of cold-blooded murder, which I condemn in the strongest terms," he said, expressing his determination to work with the Nigerian authorities "to hold the perpetrators of this heinous act to account, and to combat the terrorism which so blights the lives of people in northern Nigeria and in the wider region."
The Italian Foreign Ministry in a statement branded it "a horrific act of terrorism for which there is no explanation except barbaric and blind violence.
"No military intervention to free the hostages was ever attempted by the interested government," it said, adding that the killings were "the aberrant expression of a hateful and intolerable fanaticism."
The Greek foreign ministry said: "Available information suggests that the Greek citizen abducted in Nigeria alongside six nationals of other countries are dead.
"Based on the information we have, there was no rescue operation."
'Our motives'
In an e-mail sent to journalists announcing the kidnapping two days later, Ansaru said the motives were "the transgressions and atrocities done to the religion of Allah... by the European countries in many places such as Afghanistan and Mali."
Ansaru has been linked to several kidnappings, including the May 2011 abductions of a Briton and an Italian working for a construction firm in KebbiState, near the border with Niger.
The victims were killed in March 2012 in neighbouring SokotoState during a botched rescue operation.
It also claimed the December kidnapping of a French engineer in KatsinaState, bordering Niger. The victim's whereabouts remain unknown.
Seven members of a French family, including four children, were also abducted last month in Cameroon, and Cameroon authorities said they were then taken over the border into restive northeastern Nigeria. Their whereabouts also remain unknown.
Meanwhile, Britain's military said, yesterday, that its warplanes recently spotted in Abuja were there to move soldiers to aid the French intervention in Mali and not to rescue foreign hostages kidnapped by the radical Islamic extremist group.
The extremist group partially blamed the presence of those planes as an excuse for killing seven foreign hostages.
Vanguard
Last month seven expatriate workers of Setraco Nigeria Limited were kidnapped by unknown gunmen. An Islamic Group called Ansaru claimed responsibility for the abduction of the seven expatriates that included five Lebanese, one Briton and one Italian.
Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Hassan Mohammed Auyo told Vanguard, "Police have no evidence that the expatriates were killed. We are still investigating the matter and the veracity of the information pasted on web site allegedly by the group".
Reliable top security sources in Bauchi told newsmen that they heard about the killings of the expatriates as everybody heard about it, adding: "We are still making our enquiries to get the correct information, because we did not carry out any rescue operation either jointly or separately. We are still monitoring the situation".
However Britain, Italy and Greece confirmed yesterday, that it was true that the militants might have killed the hostages, which they condemned as barbaric and cold-blooded.
The Ansaru group on Saturday announced the deaths of all the expatriates abducted from a construction site of Lebanese company Setraco on February 16 in Bauchi.
Ansaru, considered an offshoot of Nigerian Islamist Boko Haram, backed up its claim with "screen captures of a forthcoming video showing the dead hostages," SITE, an intelligence group said.
According to SITE, "the group stated that the attempts by the British and Nigerian governments to rescue the hostages, and their alleged arrest and killing of people, forced it to carry out the execution."
Police, last month, said the hostages were four Lebanese, one Briton, a Greek citizen and an Italian, while the company said the Middle Eastern hostages included two Lebanese and two Syrians.
Ansaru said it had carried out the kidnapping to avenge what it called 'atrocities by European nationals against Islam.' The victims-- three Lebanese citizens and one each from Britain, Greece, Italy and the Philippines-- were all employees of a Lebanese construction company, Setraco.
UK, Greece, Italy react
British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, said all the hostages were "likely to have been killed" by their captors.
"This was an act of cold-blooded murder, which I condemn in the strongest terms," he said, expressing his determination to work with the Nigerian authorities "to hold the perpetrators of this heinous act to account, and to combat the terrorism which so blights the lives of people in northern Nigeria and in the wider region."
The Italian Foreign Ministry in a statement branded it "a horrific act of terrorism for which there is no explanation except barbaric and blind violence.
"No military intervention to free the hostages was ever attempted by the interested government," it said, adding that the killings were "the aberrant expression of a hateful and intolerable fanaticism."
The Greek foreign ministry said: "Available information suggests that the Greek citizen abducted in Nigeria alongside six nationals of other countries are dead.
"Based on the information we have, there was no rescue operation."
'Our motives'
In an e-mail sent to journalists announcing the kidnapping two days later, Ansaru said the motives were "the transgressions and atrocities done to the religion of Allah... by the European countries in many places such as Afghanistan and Mali."
Ansaru has been linked to several kidnappings, including the May 2011 abductions of a Briton and an Italian working for a construction firm in KebbiState, near the border with Niger.
The victims were killed in March 2012 in neighbouring SokotoState during a botched rescue operation.
It also claimed the December kidnapping of a French engineer in KatsinaState, bordering Niger. The victim's whereabouts remain unknown.
Seven members of a French family, including four children, were also abducted last month in Cameroon, and Cameroon authorities said they were then taken over the border into restive northeastern Nigeria. Their whereabouts also remain unknown.
Meanwhile, Britain's military said, yesterday, that its warplanes recently spotted in Abuja were there to move soldiers to aid the French intervention in Mali and not to rescue foreign hostages kidnapped by the radical Islamic extremist group.
The extremist group partially blamed the presence of those planes as an excuse for killing seven foreign hostages.
Vanguard
Related stories: Video - Seven foreign workers kidnapped in Nigeria
Friday, March 8, 2013
Video - Deadly meningitis outbreak in Nigeria
A fresh outbreak of suspected cerebrospinal meningitis has killed more than 100 in north-west Nigeria and dozens more elsewhere in the country.People in the town of Jabo ave never seen anything like the past two weeks. They have just buried 60 people. The cause of the latest outbreak is unknown and health workers have treated people based on the symptoms they have shown.The government says medical teams have been deployed to carry out an immunisation and education programme and more epidemics are expected.
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