Nigeria's National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) on Tuesday said the country is on course to win the fight against polio in the shortest possible time.
At a summit in Abuja to review the routine immunization against polio in Nigeria, the agency said three years and counting without the wild poliovirus in the most populous African country was nothing short of a milestone.
"The toward a polio-free Nigeria has begun. However, there's a need for health workers to access insecure areas in Borno and some parts of the northeast region," said Faisal Shuaib, head of the NPHCDA.
Experts attending the two-day summit in Abuja are expected to review Nigeria's efforts toward polio eradication and identify gaps.
According to Shuaib, progress has been recorded on reaching inaccessible children, sustaining communication and social mobilization, strengthening routine immunization and vaccine management and accountability.
"Together, we can finish the job of flushing polio out of the country," the official said, further expressing the optimism that Nigeria will soon obtain a polio eradication certificate.
He said health officials in the country had worked tirelessly with a very strong surveillance system.
As recently as 2012, Nigeria had accounted for more than half of all polio cases worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.
Nigeria's last polio case was recorded in August 2016, making it the last country in Africa to record wild polio virus infections.
Xinhua
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
Monday, December 2, 2019
Video - Nigeria's Oshoala gunning for record-equalling 4th player award
FC Barcelona women's striker Asistat Oshoala leads Super Falcons teammates Chia-maka Nna-dozie and Uchenna Kanu in the shortlist for the 2019 African Women's Player of the Year award. The 25 year-old is aiming to win the prize for a record-equalling fourth time.
Friday, November 29, 2019
Nigeria unveils plan for digital economy
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday directed ministries, departments, and agencies to comply with the ongoing transition of all government operations to digital platforms that will enhance efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery under the new digital dispensation.
Buhari said the transition to the digital economy was no longer optional, but "an absolute necessity" while launching the e-government masterplan expected to guide and drive the digital dispensation, at the opening ceremony of the e-Nigeria 2019 conference in Abuja.
"Our recent introduction of the Nigerian E-government Masterplan will further consolidate our successes to date and increase interoperability among the different ministries, departments, and agencies of government.
"A key requirement of the e-government master plan is for all government institutions to create a digital transformation technical working group that will work with the ministry of communications and digital economy to ensure seamless and coordinated implementation of projects, programs, and policies," the Nigerian leader said.
According to him, the digitization of key operations in public service such as the use of the Bank Verification Number, Treasury Single Account and the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System had enabled the government to save cost and fight corruption.
Xinhua
Buhari said the transition to the digital economy was no longer optional, but "an absolute necessity" while launching the e-government masterplan expected to guide and drive the digital dispensation, at the opening ceremony of the e-Nigeria 2019 conference in Abuja.
"Our recent introduction of the Nigerian E-government Masterplan will further consolidate our successes to date and increase interoperability among the different ministries, departments, and agencies of government.
"A key requirement of the e-government master plan is for all government institutions to create a digital transformation technical working group that will work with the ministry of communications and digital economy to ensure seamless and coordinated implementation of projects, programs, and policies," the Nigerian leader said.
According to him, the digitization of key operations in public service such as the use of the Bank Verification Number, Treasury Single Account and the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System had enabled the government to save cost and fight corruption.
Xinhua
Thursday, November 28, 2019
Video - Nigerians push for freedom of expression against new bill
Nigerian citizens are strongly pushing against a bill capable of limiting freedom of expression amongst social media users. It's called the "Protection From Internet Falsehood and Manipulation Bill." It would essentially allow the government to block access to internet whenever it deems fit.
47 Nigerian men plead not guilty to homosexuality charge
Forty-seven Nigerian men pleaded innocent on Wednesday to a charge of public displays of affection with members of the same sex, an offence that carries a 10-year jail term.
Homosexuality is outlawed in many socially conservative African societies where some religious groups brand it a corrupting Western import.
The Nigerian men, who appeared at a court in the commercial capital Lagos, were among 57 arrested in a police raid on a hotel in the impoverished Egbeda district of the city in 2018.
Police said they were being “initiated” into a gay club, but the accused said they were attending a birthday party.
The trial is a test case for a law banning gay marriage, punishable by a 14-year jail term, and same-sex “amorous relationships”. It caused international outcry when it came into force under former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014.
Nobody has yet been convicted under the law, prosecution and defence lawyers in the case told Reuters. But Human Rights Watch and other activists say it has been used to extort bribes from suspects in exchange for not pursuing charges.
“Police officers will stop you and then get you arrested, extort money from you and begin to call you names,” Smart Joel, one of the defendants, told Reuters before the hearing. “I just wish the case will be quickly dismissed as soon as possible,” added Joel, 25, who runs a laundry and dry cleaning business.
Spokesmen for Nigeria’s police and ministry of justice did not respond to text messages and phone calls seeking comment on the extortion allegations.
Activists working to protect rights of sexual minorities in Nigeria said they were tired of harassment.
“The vagueness of the law makes it impossible to get a conviction,” Xeenarh Mohammed, executive director of the Lagos-based Initiative for Equal Rights (TIERS), told Reuters. “What does ‘amorous showing of same-sex affection’ mean?” she added.
The case was adjourned until Dec. 11.
The judge granted each of the men bail, provided they can post 500,000 naira ($1,634.52) and provide a surety who is either a civil servant or resides in Lagos state and has a “reasonable” income.
Reuters
Related stories: Bill banning gay marriage approved in Nigeria
Hunting down gays in Nigeria
Video - Nigeria's anti-gay law denounced
Homosexuality is outlawed in many socially conservative African societies where some religious groups brand it a corrupting Western import.
The Nigerian men, who appeared at a court in the commercial capital Lagos, were among 57 arrested in a police raid on a hotel in the impoverished Egbeda district of the city in 2018.
Police said they were being “initiated” into a gay club, but the accused said they were attending a birthday party.
The trial is a test case for a law banning gay marriage, punishable by a 14-year jail term, and same-sex “amorous relationships”. It caused international outcry when it came into force under former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014.
Nobody has yet been convicted under the law, prosecution and defence lawyers in the case told Reuters. But Human Rights Watch and other activists say it has been used to extort bribes from suspects in exchange for not pursuing charges.
“Police officers will stop you and then get you arrested, extort money from you and begin to call you names,” Smart Joel, one of the defendants, told Reuters before the hearing. “I just wish the case will be quickly dismissed as soon as possible,” added Joel, 25, who runs a laundry and dry cleaning business.
Spokesmen for Nigeria’s police and ministry of justice did not respond to text messages and phone calls seeking comment on the extortion allegations.
Activists working to protect rights of sexual minorities in Nigeria said they were tired of harassment.
“The vagueness of the law makes it impossible to get a conviction,” Xeenarh Mohammed, executive director of the Lagos-based Initiative for Equal Rights (TIERS), told Reuters. “What does ‘amorous showing of same-sex affection’ mean?” she added.
The case was adjourned until Dec. 11.
The judge granted each of the men bail, provided they can post 500,000 naira ($1,634.52) and provide a surety who is either a civil servant or resides in Lagos state and has a “reasonable” income.
Reuters
Related stories: Bill banning gay marriage approved in Nigeria
Hunting down gays in Nigeria
Video - Nigeria's anti-gay law denounced
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)