The World Bank has approved 178.1 million U.S. dollar loan on Thursday to support the Philippines efforts in addressing malnutrition.

The Washington-based bank said it will support the delivery of nutrition and health care services at the primary care and community levels to help reduce stunting that is characterised by prolonged nutritional deficiency among infants and young children.

The persistence of high levels of childhood undernutrition in the Philippines, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and could lead to a significant increase in inequality of opportunities in the country, said Ndiame Diop, the World Bank Country Director.

Diop said improving the nutritional status of children is key to the Southeast Asian countrys goals of boosting human capital while strengthening the economic recovery and prospects for long-term growth.

Globally, food prices, already on the rise since the second half of 2020, have reached a record high this year, leading to food security problems worldwide.

Unless immediate action is taken, millions of children will face the increased risk of undernutrition, the bank warned. (Xinhua/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ummul Idris/Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu

Source: NAN News

By Kevin Okunzuwa

Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo on Thursday handed over a twin fully furnished and equipped High Court complex at Idogbo, Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area(LGA), to the State Chief Judge, Justice Joe Acha.

Obaseki, was represented at the occasion by Mr Kennedy Osifo, Chairman,Edo State Oil and Gas Producing Area Development Commission (EDSOGPADEC).

The governor said the project was his administrations commitment to improving the processes of dispensation of justice in the state judiciary in line with his Making Edo Great Again (MEGA) agenda.

He said the project, executed by EDSOGPADEC, had been fully equipped and furnished for comfort of judiciary staff for quick dispensation of Justice and decongestion of the prisons.

Handing over the complex, the governor also directed EDSOGPADEC to immediately rehabilitate and tar the access road to the court complex.

Acha, who inaugurated the court complex, commended the state government for the gesture.

He said the new courts would speed up dispensation of justice, especially when the state judiciary had also prioritised human capacity building of its personnel.

The CJ said the new courts had rekindled the hope of judiciary staff especially, Judges, who before now were compelled to preside over cases under bad conditions.

Earlier, the CJ, who performed the groundbreaking ceremony of an new Magistrates Court complex at Egba-Idogbe community, Ikoba-Okha LGA, said that the judiciary had never been this fortunate in terms of infrastructure development.

Acha used the occasion to draw the attention of the governor to some court buildings in the state which he said required urgent rehabilitation. ( NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Uche Anunne

Source: NAN News

By Cecilia Ijuo

The Nigeria Union of Teachers(NUT) has threatened to embark on a nationwide strike if the Kaduna State Government fails to reverse the decision to sack 2,357 teachers, including its National President, Audu Amba.

The union made its position known on Wednesday at its National Executive Council meeting at the Teachers House, Lugbe, Abuja.

The NUT Deputy National President Kelvin Nwankwo, said the sack followed refusal by the president and some teachers to write a competency test organised by the Kaduna State Government among other reasons.

It is very sad and curious that the dismissal letter relative to the NUT President was in the Public domain via the social media even when it has not been served on him.

The intention clearly is to intimidate the NUT President and embarrass the teachers in Nigeria, he noted.

The union reiterated its commitment to stand by the president and other sacked teachers in the state.

The NUT family reaffirms its commitment to stand with its revered President Comrade Audu Titus Amba and all the teachers in Kaduna State.

The union will continue to perform its historical role of defending the rights of teachers in Nigeria and no amount of anti labour policies of the Kaduna State Government and elsewhere can diminish this resolve, it stated.

The union stated that rather than issue dismissal letters, the government ought to have explored the option of training and retraining to improve the competency of teachers.

We are teachers and best suited to know the concept of test administration which is a settled and accepted tool for the assessment of the performance of a learner in his or her educational career.

However, this lofty tool has been maliciously bastardised and abused in Kaduna State.

It has been deployed as an instrument of vendetta targeted at labour leaders, who dared to perform their statutory and historical role of advocating the advancement of the welfare of teachers.

The National Executive Council (NEC) of our great Union in good faith had in accordance with international best practices in the teaching profession advocated that the Kaduna State Government should rather embark on continuous teacher training programme.

This is what obtains in other professions such as Nursing, Medicine and Law, it stated.

NUT, which noted that about 21, 780 teachers were dismissed or retired in 2018, said the recent sack was one too many.

It is pertinent to state that the Kaduna State Governments purported Competency Test was held during the pendency of Suit No NICN/54/2021 before the National Industrial Court, Kaduna Division.

Furthermore, the purported dismissal of 2,357 Teachers was done during the pendency of another Motion on Notice.

The motion sought for an order restraining the Kaduna State Government from dismissing any teacher in the Public schools in Kaduna State for not writing and or passing its competency test.(NAN)

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edited by Sadiya Hamza

Source: NAN News

The healthy eye of a patient was mistakenly removed instead of the damaged one during an eye operation in one of Slovakias major hospitals, blinding the patient as a result.

The TARS news agency reported on Wednesday.

The doctor who conducted the operation was no longer in contact with patients, a Bratislava University Hospital spokesperson said.

The hospital offered the victim and his family psychological care and support in coping with the consequences.

According to TASR, the health supervision authority have started an investigation into how this unprecedented case could have happened.

The tragic mistake happened against the backdrop of an industrial dispute in the Slovak health sector.

Earlier, a week ago, the doctors union LOZ said that around 3,000 doctors were ready to quit if the poor pay and increasingly unbearable working conditions did not improve.

Due to an exodus of staff, especially to the Czech Republic and Austria, the remaining doctors in Slovakia had been overloaded for years, and the situation was exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. (dpa/NAN)()

HS/CHOM

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Edited by Halima Sheji/Chioma Ugboma

Source: NAN News

By Fidelia Okosodo
Some cell phone technicians in Mararaba, Nasarawa State , have called on the Federal Government to provide them necessary incentives to boost their business.

The cell phone technicians made the appeal in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday.

One of the technicians, Mr Ahmed Muhammadu, who operates at Heart Plaza, said though the business had helped to meet some family needs, with more support from government, he could do more for his family.

He said his desire was to scale up his business to create jobs and wealth.

Muhammadu said he faced the challenge of lack of inadequate fund, working materials and gadget.

He, therefore, called on government at all levels to help the artisans by providing them with the necessary financial and logistics support to expand their businesses.

We have written to the government on several occasions for them to help our business but no response he said.

If handsets are not manufactured in Nigeria but we, Nigerians, can repair them when they are faulty, it means that if well trained we will have the capacity to manufacture them here in Nigeria, he said.

Miss Charity Igozie, another cell phone technician, said the high cost of shop rent was the major factor that discouraged a lot of people from coming into the business.

She added that she ventured into the business to enable her further her education.

She told NAN that if governments would subsidise the rents it would be creating more jobs as more youths would take to the trade.

Igozie said that she trained herself in higher education from the money she made from the business.

She also called on the government to assist the artisans by subsidising their tools.

In my bid to keep my customers, I decide to repair customers at little profits.

At times I end up not making any profit because many people doubt my ability because I am a woman, she said.

Another technician, Mr Emmanuel Olayinka, said being in the business for five years has broadened his knowledge about phones and communication gadget.

Olayinka called on the authorities to beef up security around major business premises as their shops were being raided by thieves on regular basis.

He advised other cell phone technicians to endure the challenges encountered in the business as they await the Federal Government to improve on their business environment.

He urged the Federal Government and Non-Governmental Organisations to support their business with grants and loans.

Mr Christopher Mailo, a student from Futo University, said repaired cell phone in school on part time basis to augment the stipends from his sponsors.

According to him, he learnt the skill from his elder brother who is also into the business.

I also do the business whenever schools are on holidays to earn a living and save some money ahead of school resumption, he said.

He said from the money he made from the business he paid for his hostel while his parents took care of his school fees.

Even as a student, I can produce a good phone if am given the opportunity and equipment.. In our country today, we have thousands of cell phone technicians who are good in the field.

I want to appeal to the government to provide the necessary equipment so that we can start producing phones in our country and stop importing them, he said.

Mailo also said that the technicians faced the challenge of irregular power supply which was compounded by the high cost of fueling their generators. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Uche Anunne

Source: NAN News

By Stephen Adeleye

The Kogi State House of Assembly said the three impeached and suspended members of the House were black legs whose stock-in-trade was to cause disharmony between the executive and legislative arms of government.

The house position followed the deliberation on the discovery that the suspended lawmakers allegedly forged members signatures in what the house described as evil machinations to impeach the Speaker.

Three lawmakers, Ahmed Ahmed, former Deputy Speaker, Abdullahi Bello, former Majority Leader and Moses Ododo, former Chief Whip, recently impeached and suspended, had in a statement, claimed to have impeached the Speaker by a notice signed by 19 members.

Consequently, the House at its plenary on Wednesday, ordered its Ethics and Privileges committee to commence investigation into the alleged forgery.

The members, whose signatures were found in the documents, have denied ever signing any impeachment notice against the Speaker, Mathew Kolawole.

All the members who spoke on the issue, maintained that they at no time signed any impeachment notice.

According to them, the signatures attached to the purported impeachment notice were signed by members in May, endorsing the Presidential Aspiration of Gov. Yahaya Bello.

They accused the former Deputy Speaker of betrayal of trust, pointing out that the signatures collected to serve as attachment to the communique endorsing Gov Yahaya Bellos Presidential ambition was maliciously used by him to further his inordinate ambition of removing the speaker

Members maintained that though, the members were already on suspension, the issue should be thoroughly investigated and appropriate punishment meted on them, to serve as deterrent.

The House described the action of the former Principal Officers as shameful, reprehensible and demanded an unreserved apology from them.

Ruling on the matter, the Speaker, Prince Mathew Kolawole described the action as a gross violation of the house Rules and Privileges.

The speaker, therefore, directed the Chairman, Ethics and Privileges to do a diligent investigation on the matter by giving the acussed members fair hearing and report back to the house.

He, however, gave no time frame for the submission of the report.

He also thanked the members for believing in him, promising that the house under his leadership, would continue to work harmoniously with the executive to provide the much needed dividends of democracy to the people of the state.

Members who disowned the impeachment notice at plenary are Ahmed Dahir, Isah Umar, Enema Paul, Atule Egbunu, Ibrahim Usman Okadigbo, Suleiman Musa Atajachi.

Others are Bobby Anthony Ujah, Aro Aderonke, Musa Jomoh, Akande Moses. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Idris Abdulrahman

Source: NAN News

By Folasade Akpan

The Guild of Medical Directors (GMD), has urged the Federal Government to appoint its members into committees that would formulate or upgrade the operational guidelines and tariff of the NHIA.

The guild made the appealin a communiqu it issued at the end of its inaugural Business and Leadership Summit onWednesday in Abuja.

It said that at the summit, it pointed out that for the National Health Insurance Act (NHIA) to be successful, key providers of health care need to be effectively involved with the operational guidelines of such health insurance.

The communiqu also said that the Federal Government should strongly review the issue of actively leasing out some of its facilities to be managed by the private sector under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.

According to the communiqu, rather than continuous engagement in medical tourism by Nigerians, the Federal Government shouldpublicly advocate the use of Nigerian private hospitals with the innovative services that they go abroad to access.

The guild also advocated an urgent set up of the working committee for the continuous and permanent communication between the Federal Ministry of Health and the private sector with the representatives of GMD as key members.

However, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the National President, Dr Raymond Kuti, said that PPP was the way to go in delivering healthcare services to Nigerians.

The way we want PPP to run is for the government to give backing to the policies that will allow and approve that those doctors in medical practices in private sector can partner and integrate with government hospitals.

Lagos state is already doing that and there are hospitals in Lagos in which the sub services are being ceded to doctors in the private sector.

And they run them for it, the agreement is there and I think this is what we can replicate all over the country, he said.

According to Kuti,70 per cent of doctors work in the private sector, so their skills should be used in government hospitals as well, which is the PPP segment the group is interested in.

We have policymakers, let us sit down regularly and see how these things will work. Let us know the government policies and see how we in the private sector as doctors can use them.

Not every hospital should have its own theatre. If the government hospital has, for example seven theatres, we have doctors in private hospitals that can take their patients there and even operate on government patients round the clock.

So doctors in private hospitals can then be using or utilising governments infrastructure to give the best to the patients at affordable prices.

He also said that the guild which was being repositioned to remain a strong partner in the Nigerian health care sector, was wholly complimentary to the public health sector and comparatively better equipped to deliver quality health care.

He said that the goal of the guild was to inaugurate and sustain constructive dialogue with policy makers in the legislative arm of government.

According to him, this is with a view to achieving win-win solutions to the numerous challenges in the Nigerian healthcare sector. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Ese E. Eniola Williams

Source: NAN News

By Ismail Abdulaziz

Edited by Maharazu Ahmed/Sadiya Hamza

Source: NAN News

By Sumaila Ogbaje

Troops of 13 Brigade operating under 82 Division Nigerian Army on Tuesday, intercepted a vehicle laden with explosives and assorted ammunition around Utanga village toward Obudu Mountains in Cross River.

The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, in a statement on Wednesday, said a Toyota Camry car with registration number JAL 492 AA was used to convey the weapons.

Nwachukwu said the troops deployed at Forward Operating Base Amana attempted to stop the vehicle at their checkpoint but the driver evaded the checking and zoomed off.

He said the drivers recalcitrance compelled the troops to open fire on the vehicles tyres to immobilise it.

According to him, a thorough search conducted on the vehicle revealed that it was conveying 72 Improvised Explosive Device chargers, 121 Dynamite Liquid, 200 rounds of 7.62 mm (NATO) and 82 rounds of 7.62 mm (Special) ammunition.

Other items recovered in the intercepted vehicle are military uniforms and kits.

Members of the public are please urged to continue to support our troops with credible information that will lead to stemming the tide of insecurity across the country, he said. (NAN) ()

Source: NAN News

By Ijeoma Okigbo

Ladi Sonaike, Coach of Germany Womens National Team, said the just concluded Kwibuka T20 had been an eye opener for the team.

Sonaike, who is of Nigerian heritage, said the tournament had taught him a lot as a coach and exposed the players to a different style of game.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kigali on Wednesday, the coach added that the tournament was a challenging one.

I think for the team, it was challenging, challenging in a good way. I think it is highlighted the space that they want to play cricket in.

It has also shown that there are other teams out there that are playing not just a good style of cricket but a very good standard one.

I guess some of the players might have been a little bit surprised by the high standard, but they enjoyed the challenge all the same. From a coaching angle. It has been educating to be here.

To see how teams approach games, their fitness levels has been an eye opener for me, so yes, educational is the word for me, he said.

Sonaike, who has been a coach for 15 years, said he was hopeful to someday, return to Nigeria to help develop the game.

I have not thought about that before coming to Rwanda but now I am beginning to nurse the idea.

Anything is possible in the next few years, you never can tell. It will be good to contribute my part to Nigeria and seeing how much the team has developed is incredible, Sonaike added.

A total of eight countries participated in the 18th edition of Kwibuka T20 from June 9 to June 18 with Germany emerging seventh place. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ifeyinwa Okonkwo/Idris Abdulrahman

Source: NAN News