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    Navy, Delta Govt flag off yellow fever vaccination
    By Edeki Igafe

    The Delta government in collaboration with the Nigerian Naval Engineering College (NNEC), Sapele, on Friday flagged-off a yellow fever vaccination campaign in Sapele Local Government Area of the state.

    Speaking during the opening ceremony , Commodore Nanmanle Damtung, NNEC Commandant, said that no fewer than 5,000 people are targeted to benefit from the five-day exercise.

    According to Damtung, those targeted to benefit from the exercise include staff and students of the naval college, people of Ogorode which is the host community and members of staff of about three companies located in the area.

    He noted that the college would provide the logistics while the state government would provide the vaccines.

    Delta government initiated the exercise and we keyed into it. We are collaborating to assist and facilitate in providing some of the logistics.

    Our staff will assist in carrying out the vaccination, not only in our environment (barracks), but in the community, generally.

    In this exercise, the Sapele Naval Engineering College community alone will be running into about 1, 200 or so.

    Then, the larger community of Ogorode area that includes the Flour Mills and the Sapele Power area will add up to another 3,000 to 4,000 persons. That will make up an excess of 5,000 people, Damtung said.

    Dr Mordi Ononye, Commissioner for Health, Delta, represented by the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Sapele area, Dr Abeke Kingsley, said that the exercise was timely.

    Ononye commended the Nigerian Navy for their resilient on health issues.(NAN)

    Source: NAN News

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    AU court strikes out laws criminalising homeless people in Africa
    Police swoops are a common occurrence in major cities in the name of vagrancy and those arrested are questioned in an effort to induce them to self-incriminate.

    In an advisory opinion issued following a request from the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU), the African Court considered the compatibility of vagrancy laws with the African Charter on Women and Childrens Rights and ruled that the vagrancy laws are against the Charter.

    In its request for an advisory opinion, the lawyers informed the Arusha-based Court that most African Union countries retained laws which criminalise the status of individuals as being poor and homeless as opposed to specific reprehensible acts, generally referred to as vagrancy laws.

    According to PALU, most African countries abuse vagrancy laws to arrest and detain people even when there is no proof of criminal conduct.

    PALU said the vagrancy laws were overly broad and left wide discretion on the police and other law enforcement officers as to how to enforce the law.

    The Court ruled that the vagrancy laws, in their formulation as well as in their application, had criminalized poverty and poor people and promoted the discriminatory treatment of the underprivileged and marginalized people in society, which also deprived individuals of their equality before the law.

    The Court also found that arrests for vagrancy-related offences, where they occurred without a warrant, were not only a disproportionate response to socio-economic challenges but also discriminatory since they targeted individuals because of their economic status.

    The application of vagrancy laws often deprives the underprivileged and marginalized of their dignity by unlawfully interfering with their efforts to maintain or build a decent life or to enjoy a lifestyle of choice.

    Consequently, the Court found that vagrancy laws were incompatible with the notion of human dignity as protected under the Charter.

    The Court also noted that arrests and detentions under vagrancy laws were incompatible with the arrestees right to liberty and the security of their person as guaranteed under the Charter.

    The Court ruled that arresting individuals under vagrancy laws and soliciting statements from them about their possible criminal culpability was against the principle of presumption of innocence.

    The enforcement of vagrancy laws, generally, is incompatible with the right to freedom of movement as guaranteed under the Charter.

    The Court found that forced relocation, which was permitted by vagrancy laws in some African countries, is also incompatible with the Charter.

    It said the arrest and detentions based on vagrancy laws are incompatible with the Charter.

    The Court also held that the forcible relocation of vagrants is incompatible with the preservation of the sanctity of the family as a basic unit of society as guaranteed under the Charter.

    The lawyers Union had moved to the Arusha-based court to seek an advisory opinion on the violation of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child also known as the Childrens Rights Charter.

    The lawyers sought to know whether vagrancy laws are friendly to various sections of the Protocol, the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women (the Womens Rights Protocol) and whether States Parties to the Charter had positive obligations to repeal or amend their vagrancy laws to conform with the Charter, the Childrens Rights Charter and the Womens Rights Protocol. (PANA/NAN)

    Source: NAN News

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    Experts sensitise teenagers on rape, violence

    A girl being defiled

    By Justina Auta

    Experts have sensitised youths on ways to avoid rape and other forms of violence gainst women and children, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    The seminar for teenagers was organised in Abuja by an NGO, Supporting Hands Initiative (SHI) and WAVE Foundation as part of 16 days activism to end Gender Based Violence (GBV).

    The Founder, SHI, Mrs Bassey Ita-Ikpang said the advocacy would educate young pupils on human rights, good attitudes with a view to eliminate all forms of violence and improve hygiene.

    Ita-Ikpang decried the increasing cases of violence against women and girls, adding that boys were also victims of such abuse, hence parents and the society needed to also pay attention to them.

    These boys grow and become the future men, so we need to begin talking to them now, inculcating in them from early age on how they should relate with girls.

    We are marking the 16 days of activism to see what we can do differently so we brought in both boys and girls to talk to them, catch them young and for them to grow with the idea that these things are wrong, she said.

    She also advised parents to listen, pay attention and monitor their children to enable them detect early any form of abuse or violence they might be experiencing.

    On her part, President, WAVE Foundation, Mrs Lola Ibrahim, stressed the need to stop all forms of harmful practices such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) on girls.

    Ibrahim, who is also a survivor of FGM, decried the physical, psychological and emotional trauma the practice had on the victims.

    Female genital mutilation should be stopped. Girls should be allowed to live a life free from torture, degrading human acts.

    Parents instead of cutting the girls genitalia all in the name of you want to keep her intact or away from sex, should educate the child on morals and virtue.

    Let her know the difference between bad and good. Once you educate her, you have empowered her to be able to decide what is right and wrong, she said.

    Also, the President Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Mrs Ladi Bala, said the seminar would further raise awareness on GBV especially among young girls and boys.

    Bala noted that physical, mental, verbal, psychological, economic or emotionally violence leaves a mark on the affected persons.

    She, therefore, advised teenagers to report any form of violence with a view to eliminating the practice and ensuring offenders were prosecuted.

    An Obstetric and Gynaecology doctor, Amina Ismail-Are, advised teenagers to ensure cleanliness and proper menstrual hygiene to reduce risk of contacting any infection.

    Also, Dr Abiola Abiodun, a family Health Physician also sensitised the students on physical hygiene, types of sanitary pad and proper care of the body.

    NAN reports that the organisation disbursed menstrual hygiene kits, face masks, writing materials and other items to the students. (NAN)

    Source: NAN News

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    AU welcomes Nigeria ahead of AfCFTA kick-off

    AfCFTA

    The African Union Commissioner for Trade and Industry, Albert Muchanga, said in Addis Ababa on Friday that instruments signifying Nigerias entry into the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will be received at the commissions headquarters shortly ahead of next years kick-off of trading.

    Speaking during the AfCFTA Business Forum 2020 to discuss the status of preparations to launch the continental trading, Muchanga said the launch of trading will facilitate the growth of African enterprise and enhance the capacity of industries producing goods to a wider population.

    Nigeria, which signed the AfCFTA agreement in 2019, officially ratified the agreement on 12 November. The instruments of ratification are expected to be received at the AU on Sagurday, 5 December, the deadline for the ratification.

    AfCFTA Business Forum 2020, whose main theme was to discuss the AfCFTAs role in post coronavirus (COVID-19) Recovery, Resilience and Structural Transformation, involved various panel discussions on what is required to ensure trading kicks off in January 2021.

    The Business Forum was attended by senior business leaders, including African heads of state and leaders of multinational firms operating across various borders.

    According to the AU Commission, 1 January 2021 will mark the start of a landmark period during which African countries will start to really trade with themselves.

    It is a historic moment for our continent as the worlds largest free trade area opens its doors to traders both large and small, said the AU in a statement circulated before the meeting on Friday.

    Rwandan President Paul Kagame said the start of the continental trading should particularly involve the private sector.

    The Rwandan president said constant communication should be intensified during the period in order to highlight the benefits of the new trading arrangement.

    We must be able to communicate the benefits of free trade, President Kagame said.

    The AfCFTA Business Forum is the African Unions premier multi-stakeholder platform for heads of state and government, private sector leaders, SMEs, civil society and other stakeholders to explore how intra-Africa trade and the African Continental Free Trade Area can develop the continent, the AU Commission said.

    This years session focused on what the start of trading could mean for Africas recovery from the impact of Covid-19; and what businesses needed to do to successfully position themselves in this vast, new market.

    Currently, the percentage of trade that African countries do with each other is a mere 16 per cent. The bulk of the continents trade is with the rest of the world, and most African exports are in raw materials including extractive commodities like oil, gas and minerals which are vulnerable to market volatility.

    The AfCFTA is set to transform the way business is conducted across Africa. Trade barriers will be drastically reduced and traders of all sizes will have access to a much bigger market than before.

    The bigger market will spur producers to upscale and so support increased industrialization and value addition on the continent, the AU said.

    The AfCFTA will be the platform for boosting manufacturing and mechanised farming. More employment opportunities will thus be generated for Africas burgeoning young population, according to the AU.

    We are stimulating the emergence of value addition in Africa, Muchanga said during a panel debate. (PANA/NAN)

    Source: NAN News

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    Maternal mortality: Marie Stopes urges FG to scale-up Family Planning services

    Maternal death

    By Justina Auta

    An NGO, Marie Stopes International Nigeria (MSION), has urged Federal Government to scale-up Family Planning (FP) policies and services to reduce maternal mortality rate.

    The Country Director of MSION, Mr Effiom Nyong-Effiom, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

    Nyong-Effiom said improving access to family planning services would reduce incidences of unsafe abortion and enable families to space and plan for the children they could cater for.

    He said that the organisations target was that by 2030, every woman should have access to family planning services and there wouldnt be any record of death from unsafe abortion.

    Our target in Marie Stopes International Nigeria is that by the year 2030, no woman should have a need for family planning and not access it, and no woman should die from unsafe abortion.

    This is our 2030 dream, and that means we need to begin to meet people where they have the need even in hard-to-reach areas. No woman should be left behind.

    Government needs to think around that if we really want to eliminate or reduce maternal deaths, which is 507 for every 100,000 live births.

    According to him, MSION, in collaboration with other organisations, trained 7,500 government providers and currently supporting 2,500 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) to deliver voluntary
    and quality family planning services across the country.

    Nyong-Effiom explained that the group had developed a franchise model to support 400 private business operators to also give quality family services and post-abortion care services for people
    who patronise the private sector.

    The country director said 23 functional outreach services largely supported by DFID, was also established to enable women to access family planning services easily.

    Each of the 23 outreach services reach about 1,500 women monthly, and it is exciting for us because some of these places have no form of healthcare and we know that is where
    reproductive needs are highest.

    In 2019, we reached out to 2.4 million women with quality family planning services; this has averted close to 36,000 maternal deaths.

    We all know that FP is one of the cheapest way to reduce maternal deaths, he said.

    In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nyong-Effiom said the organisation had set up an internal response team to ensure that access to family planning services was not
    disrupted by the lockdown that followed the outbreak of the virus.

    He explained that within the first three months of the COVID-19 outbreak, we saw 774,000 women in our outreach services, which is more than 38 per cent more than we
    normally see.

    For our clinics, we started offering more services, for instance if you call our contact centre that you want service but that you cannot come, we will send a vehicle
    to you or send a service provider to attend to you, he said.

    The country director, therefore, stressed the need for stakeholders to carry out more family planning enlightenment events in schools and among youths.

    He also emphasised scaling up of services and adoption of family planning methods to reduce maternal mortality and unsafe abortion. (NAN)

    Source: NAN News

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    FG grants 6 water use licences to Kano state

    Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano state.

    By Patricia Amogu

    Mrs Getrude Madina, Head public Relations, the Nigeria Integrated Water Resources Management Commission (NIWRMC), says the Federal Government has granted six water use licences to the Kano State Water Board.

    Marina said in a statement in Abuja said the Licences was issued through the Nigeria Integrated Water Resources Management Commission (NIWRMC).

    The statement quoting Mr Magashi Bashir, Executive director, NIWRMC, as saying that the licenses were to enable the State access, officially extract water, and to aid them expand water wells, and improve water supply to the Nigeria Bottling Company from the Challawa Plant.

    By law, the Commission had been mandated to issue licenses for water use, as well as regulate water resources in Nigeria, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    The licensing of various water users is necessary and important to the nation at a time like this when the Government is up- scaling revenue generation and job creation, among others, the statement stated.

    Meanwhile, the Managing Director, Kano State Water Board, Dr Wambai was elated and appreciated the Federal Government and the NIWRMC for the great honour done to the entire Kano State, by providing them official permit to use water for their operations.

    We will adhere strictly to the terms and Conditions attached to the Licenses which are derived from the Water Resources Act CAP W2, LFN 2004. he said(NAN)

    Source: NAN News

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    Membership of EndSARS not immunity from investigation, says FG

    Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed,

    By Rotimi Ijikanmi
    The Federal Government says being a member of #EndSARS protest is not an immunity from being investigated or charged for any offence or breach of the laws.

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated this on Friday in Lagos at a meeting with Title Editors of Nigeria Newspapers.

    The minister, who was responding to a question on alleged arrest of some #EndSARS protesters and sponsors, said nobody is above investigation or prosecution.

    Being a member of #EndSARS protest does not grant you immunity if you have committed any crime against the land. The key thing is that you must be treated according to the laws.

    Even those whose accounts were frozen, the Central Bank of Nigeria went to court to seek permission to freeze the accounts. I am also aware that some of them whose international passports were seized had been returned.

    None can stop the government from investigating anybody, including #EndSARS protesters. Whoever you are and whatever you are doing, you must not take the laws into your hands.

    You must follow the due process because where your rights end is where someone elses rights start, he said.

    Mohammed said there was no clampdown on the protesters and their supporters, adding that government is following the due process in the investigations being carried out.

    Source: NAN News

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    Africa will fight COVID-19 misinformation -WHO official

    WHO

    Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Director for Africa says Africa Infodemic Response Alliance (AIRA) will fight COVID-19 misinformation in the continent.

    WHO inaugurated AIRA on Thursday to coordinate actions and pool resources in combating misinformation around COVID-19 pandemic and other health emergencies in Africa.

    Moeti, in a statement posted on the WHO Regional Office for Africas website, said misinformation could kill and ensure diseases continue to spread in health emergencies.

    People need proven, science-based facts to make informed decisions about their health and wellbeing, and a glut of information an infodemic with misinformation in the mix makes it hard to know what is right and real.

    This crucial new alliance brings unique reach, knowledge and skills to help stop the impact of dangerous misinformation.

    According to the statement, digital platforms have been inundated with COVID-19-related information since the pandemic began in late 2019.

    Information about the virus has been shared and viewed over 270 billion times online and mentioned almost 40 million times on Twitter and web-based news sites in the 47 countries.

    It has been shared in 47 countries of the WHO African Region between February and November 2020, according to UN Global Pulse, the United Nations Secretary-Generals initiative on big data and artificial intelligence.

    A large proportion of this information is inaccurate and misleading and continues to be shared by social media users intentionally or unknowingly every day.

    The COVID-19 infodemic is amplified online through social media but health misinformation is also circulating offline.

    In measuring precisely how much of what is circulating is misinformation is difficult, but fact-checking organisations in Africa say they have debunked more than 1000 of such misleading reports since the onset of the pandemic.

    Some of the widely shared misinformation includes conspiracies around unproven treatments, false cures and anti-vaccine messages.

    In addition, WHO stated that among others, the AIRA would work collaboratively to counter false information around COVID-19 vaccines.

    It will also complement on the ground public health awareness raising and community engagement efforts by creating demand for vaccines in the region.

    The network is the first initiative of its kind and it brings together 13 international and regional organisations and fact-checking groups.

    The network comprise experts in data and behavioural science, epidemiology, research, digital health, and communications to detect, disrupt and counter damaging misinformation on public health issues in Africa.

    The Alliance will encourage proactive disclosure by data holders and support journalists and media outlets to effectively share lifesaving information based on scientific evidence and debunk disinformation on health issues.

    It also aims to support individual African countries in developing tailored infodemic management strategies, including analysing trends and behaviours, recruiting specialists and refining systematic engagement strategies rooted in research and analytics.

    This initiative puts into practice key recommendations on infodemic management that were developed by over 1300 experts from across disciplines in early 2020 under the auspices of WHOs global Information Network for Epidemics (EPI-WIN).

    The Alliance members are Africa CDC, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the United Nations Verified initiative and the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF).

    Others are the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and United Nations Global Pulse.

    Participating and supporting bodies include Nigerias Dubawa, Africa Check, Agence France-Presse Fact Check, PesaCheck and Meedan. (NAN)

    Source: NAN News

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    45 Tanzanians arrested over human trafficking

    Human Trafficking

    Tanzanian immigration authorities said on Friday they had arrested 45 citizens within the past 11 months in connection with running illegal human trafficking business

    Anna Makakala, the Commissioner General of the Tanzania Immigration Services Department, said this at a news conference in the capital Dodoma.

    Makakala said the 45 suspects have been arrested in different parts of the nation from January to November this year.

    Section 54 of the Immigration Services Act of 2015 provides for an imprisonment of 20 years or fines to the tune of 20 million Tanzanian shillings (about 8,625 dollars) or both to a person convicted on human trafficking, she said.

    She added that the 45 suspects were facing trial in courts, adding that during the past 11 months a total of 15,266 illegal immigrants were arrested in the country.

    The commissioner said most of the more than 15,000 illegal immigrants were facilitated by the 45 Tanzanians to gain entry into the country without valid travel documents.

    She warned people against involvement in human trafficking, saying those found dealing with the inhumane business will face the full force of law. (Xinhua/NAN)

    Source: NAN News

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    Olufemi Peters emerges new VC of Open University

    VC NOUN, Olufemi Peters

    By Emmanuel Afonne

    Prof. Olufemi Peters has emerged as the new Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).

    A statement issued on Friday by the Director, Media and Publicity, NOUN, Mr Ibrahim Sheme stated that Peters, a Professor of Chemistry, and of Ogun state origin, emerged after defeating six other candidates in a keenly contested election.

    Peters, a former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of NOUN, is expected to take over the reins from the outgoing Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abdalla Adamu, whose five-year single tenure would elapse on Feb. 10, 2021.

    Sheme stated: Professor Peters, boasts an impressive track record of academic excellence spanning three decades, including many competencies in the area of ODL.

    He has over 60 published works, 44 of which are Journal articles, and the remaining are peer reviewed published proceedings and technical reports in the fields of chemistry, polymer science and technology, as well as agriculture.

    He has also published works in ODL in peer reviewed international and local journals; He holds a PhD (Degradation and Stabilisation in Polymers) from Victoria University of Manchester, Institute of Science and Technology (1988), United Kingdom.

    Peters holds a Bachelors degree (Second Class Upper) in Chemistry from University of Ibadan (1979), and a Masters degree in Polymer Science and Technology from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, (1982).

    The newly elected VC is the owner of a Google scholar index of 8, and has supervised a total of 16 postgraduate students, seven of whom were doctoral candidates (four of whom are now professors).

    Aside from having been a member of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (2007), he is also a member of other professional bodies, the statement quoted Sheme as saying.

    According to Sheme, Prof. Peters belongs to the Polymer Institute of Nigeria (PIN); the African Council for Distance Education (ACDE); the Materials Science

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