HIV and AIDS

By Auwalu Birninkudu

The Bauchi State Government on Tuesday said HIV/AIDS prevalence in the state significantly dropped from 6.8 per cent recorded in 2001 to 0.4 per cent in 2019.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Aliyu Maigoro, made the disclosure in Bauchi on Tuesaday at an event to mark World AIDS Day, annually celebrated on Dec. 1 to raise awareness on the scourge and remember those who died of the condition.

Maigoro said 25,809 people were presently living with the dreaded virus across the 20 local government areas of the state.

He added that 20,961 of the infected people were receiving treatment at designated health facilities in the state.

The commissioner noted that of those receiving treatment,94 per cent had witnessed viral load suppression andexpressed satisfaction with the state government effort and collaborators effort, saying it was an excellent feat in the fight against the scourge.

He pledged the state governments readiness to sustain the effort on Voluntary Caunselling and Testing (VCT) for effective and wider coverage for a HIV-free generation in the near future in the state.

Maigoro advised couples to sustain the good culture of protective sex, while health workers should always sterilise all medical and other relevant equipment and adhere to the rules on blood transfusion.

The commissioner attributed the drastic reduction in the HIV/AIDS prevalence in the state to governments will and support from stakeholders.

He pledged the state governments readiness to collaborate with the organised private sector, civil society groups, philanthropists, as well as donor agencies for effective healthcare delivery to the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme for this years World AIDS Day isGlobal Solidarity, Shared Responsibility.

Source: NAN News

Bird flu in South Korea poultry farm

South Korea on Wednesday confirmed another highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) case from a local poultry farm, sparking further concerns over possible nationwide transmission of the disease.

A suspected case from an egg farm in Sangju, 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul, earlier this week tested to be a highly pathogenic H5N8 strain of bird flu, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs.

Local authorities said they are currently culling 188,000 chickens being raised at the farm, along with 120,000 quails.

South Korea plans to further slaughter 251,000 chickens within a 3-kilometer radius of the infected farm as well.

The authorities also plan to carry out tests on all farms within a 10-kilometer radius and issue a 30-day movement ban.

On Nov.28, South Korea confirmed a highly pathogenic AI case at a duck farm in Jeongeup, the first such case to be reported from a poultry farm since March 2018.

Authorities have culled around 400,000 domestic birds due to the infection from Jeongeup.

The ministry said there was a small creek around the infected farm, which can serve as a habitat for wild birds.

They are investigating whether the two separate cases from local farms were related.

Poultry farms nationwide are critically vulnerable to being infected with avian influenza, Vice Agricultural Minister Lee Jae-ouk said at a briefing.

There are also major overseas cases in Europe and Japan. As the number of migratory birds will increase here through January, another highly pathogenic case can be found anywhere, he added.

A transport ban has been imposed on poultry farms and related facilities, as well as their automobiles, in North Gyeongsang Province and Chungcheong Provinces, through Thursday.

South Korea has raised its guard against the disease since late October, when it found highly pathogenic bird flu near a creek in Cheonan, 92 km south of Seoul. It was the first confirmed case of avian influenza from wild birds in 32 months.

The ministry said earlier in the day that two additional cases from wild birds were confirmed, in Anseong, 77 kilometers south of Seoul, and Jeongeup in North Jeolla Province, raising the total cases here since October 12.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza is highly contagious and can cause severe illness and even death in poultry.

Considering that the country has confirmed 12 highly pathogenic AI cases from wild birds since October, we are in a critical situation, the ministry said. (Yonhap/NAN)

Source: NAN News

File Photo: Doctors,

By Emmanuel Oloniruha

The Medical Director, Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abuja, Prof. Saad Ahmed, has advised medical practitioners who had benefited from governments investment in the health sector to reconsider their decisions to leave Nigeria for practice in other countries.

Ahmed gave the advice at the Annual General Meeting and scientific conference of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), FMC Jabi Chapter, in Abuja.

He said that the rate at which the country was losing its professional healthcare providers to other countries was worrisome.

He urged medical practitioners who had benefited from government investment in the health sector to think about Nigeria and the wellbeing of the people.

When the country has invested so much in you by not paying tuition fee and other social services, even if you want to leave, I think you should think back on all those investments and see how you can give back to the country.

Preferably, one should stay here, serve the nation and the people.

We should think deeply that we are Nigerians and that Nigeria has invested in us. We should consider that we have people and relations living here. The moment we leave, the system here is going to suffer.

I know as a medical student, I was paying N95 out of which N90 was for accommodation and five naira for medicals.

Even up till now, I know of a university that medical students are paying N27,000 for a session and fee is not for tuition but for services, medicals, library, hostel maintenance and others, he said.

Ahmed said that if nothing was done to urgently address the issue of brain drain in the health sector, the countrys healthcare system would collapse.

There has to be adequate planning to address these monumental concerns.

Of recent, I have lost more than 10 staff of FMC to countries like Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom and other places, Ahmed said.

He also advised medical practitioners in Nigeria to be watchful not to contract COVID-19 in the course of rendering their services to the nation.

Ahmed commended members of the ARD for their necessary support to the healthcare system of the country, especially at FMC Jabi, calling for continuation of such support to move the sector forward.

The President, ARD FMC Abuja, Dr Arome Adejo, said that the week-long AGM and conference was to discuss the issue of COVID-19 pandemic and brain drain, as well as proffer solutions.

Adejo stressed the need for Nigeria to look inward even when there had been a breakthrough with the vaccine for COVID-19. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

A petrol station in Mongolia

The Mongolian government on Wednesday decided to reduce the price of processed fuel by 50 per cent amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our peoples livelihoods have been badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the government decided to reduce the price of processed fuel by 50 per cent from Dec. 3 to April 1.

In order to support the livelihoods of residents of ger areas of the capital city Ulan Bator during the pandemic, said Prime Minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh.

The current price of processed fuel is 150,000 Mongolian tugriks (about 52.8 U.S. dollars) per ton.

Mongolia replaced low-grade coal with processed fuel in Ulan Bator in 2019 to curb air pollution.

In other words, the processed fuel is currently used only in the capital city, which is home to over half of Mongolias 3.2 million population.

Around 220,000 households live in Ulan Bators ger (yurt, or round-shaped dwelling) districts, with no running water, central heating or sewerage systems, according to government data.

As of Wednesday, Mongolia has reported 812 COVID-19 cases, including 380 locally transmitted cases.

The Asian countrys nationwide lockdown, imposed on Nov. 12 after reporting its first locally transmitted case, expired on Tuesday.

However, the Mongolian government has extended the lockdown in Ulan Bator and the provinces of Selenge and Arkhangai by 10 days until Dec. 11. (Xinhua/NAN)

Source: NAN News

New Zealand Parliament

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declared a climate emergency on Wednesday, telling parliament that urgent action was needed for the sake of future generations.

The declaration was based on the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that global emissions need to fall dramatically to avoid more than 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming.

New Zealand joins 32 other countries, including Canada, France and Britain, who have declared a climate change emergency.

This is a declaration of science, Ardern told parliament.

This declaration is an acknowledgement of the next generation. An acknowledgement of the burden they will carry if we do not take action now.

The symbolic step was made at the same time the government announced it would require the public sector to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025.

Agencies would need to measure and publicly report on their emissions and to offset any they cant cut, Ardern announced in a statement.

Requiring the public sector to be carbon neutral within five years highlights the Governments commitment to leadership on climate change and the urgency of the action required, Ardern said

She said it was an important step forward in New Zealands plan to be carbon neutral by 2050.

This policy, alongside todays declaration of a climate emergency, serves as a message to the public sector to get our own house in order, she said.

Labour, Greens and the Maori Party voted for the declaration which was more than enough for a majority, while ACT and National voted against it. (Xinhua/NAN)

Source: NAN News

COlVID-19 vaccine

Pfizer and BioNTech on Wednesday became the first vaccine developers in the race to alleviate the COVID-19 pandemic to get regulatory approval after completing all stages of clinical testing.

The companies a U.S. pharma giant and its once relatively unknown partner in the German city of Mainz announced that Britains regulatory authority for pharmaceuticals had issued emergency use approval for their vaccine.

The go-ahead from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) paves the way for Pfizer and BioNTech to begin delivering doses immediately to the country, they said.

The companies have already signed an agreement to supply a total of 40 million doses to Britain over the course of 2020 and 2021.

Regulatory approval is still pending in the European Union and the United States, after requests were submitted to the relevant authorities there earlier this week.

This constitutes the first emergency use authorisation following a worldwide phase-3 trial of a vaccine to help fight the pandemic, Pfizer and BioNTech said in a statement.

Pfizer chief executive hailed the British regulators emergency approval as a historic moment in the fight against CO|VID-19.

The vaccine has been found to be 95 per cent effective against COVID-19.

In a final analysis of clinical trials released in November, based on tests involving tens of thousands of volunteers, Pfizer and BioNTech said it worked almost equally well across different demographic age groups and that no safety concerns were noted.

The drug protects against the COVID-19 lung disease caused by the novel Coronavirus. It remains unclear whether the vaccine also prevents the carrier from passing on the virus.

BioNTech chief executive Ugur Sahin said the vaccines approval for emergency use in Britain will reduce the number of people in the high-risk population being hospitalized there.

Britain has counted one of the worlds highest national death tolls in the pandemic, with almost 60,000 people having died after catching the virus, according to the Department of Health.

A spokesperson for the ministry said that the government had accepted the MHRAs recommendation.

This follows months of rigorous clinical trials and a thorough analysis of the data by experts at the MHRA who have concluded that the vaccine has met its strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness, the spokesperson added.

The BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine is also the first vaccine with regulatory approval to use mRNA technology, which draws on the virus genetic code to train the bodys immune system to create antibodies against it.

In Russia, China and most recently Bahrain, vaccines have already been made available and some of the population has received the jab.

However, it remains unclear how effective these vaccines are and what side effects they could have. (dpa/NAN)

Source: NAN News

A dangerous snake in a hidden terrain

By Amina Ahmed

Mr Adamu Suleiman, Secretary, Duguri Ward Development Committee (WDC), in Alkaleri Local Government Area (LGA) of Bauchi State says the community witnessed about 42 snake bites from May to November 2020.

Suleiman said this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Duguri.

He noted that snake bites had become rampant in the community, threatening the daily existence of the people.

Suleiman attributed the existence of snakes in the community to its closeness to the Yankari National Park.

Snake bites are becoming too rampant in Duguri because they migrate to the community due to its closeness to Yankari.

From May to November 2020, five persons died after they were bitten by snakes but arrived late at the hospital, while 37 persons were diagnosed and treated in hospitals in Gombe and Plateau.

Other cases were treated by traditional healers.

Farmers have resorted to using rain boots, hand gloves and eye glasses to protect themselves while on the farm and residents are vigilant at home, he said.

He said that although the authorities have been fumigating the area with chemicals, the problem had persisted.

We sprayed the environment, but that has not yielded any result, he said.

Suleiman expressed sadness over the cost of treatment, adding that the residents were mostly peasant farmers with little income.

Victims of snake bites have to travel to either Plateau or Kaltungo in Gombe state for treatment, he said.

He said that the WDC has always advocated for an harmonious relationship between medical personnel and traditional healers in the community for prompt first aid treatment.

He called on the State Government to commence clinical services on snake bites in the area.

Speaking to NAN, 20 year old Miss Rabi Duguri, a victim of snake bite described the situation as terrible.

I was in the farm and something bit me not knowing that it was a snake until after three days, by which time the venom had circulated in my body.

So far, we have spent N200,000 for treatment within eight weeks, but the venom is still much in my system.

I am calling on the government and good people of Bauchi state to help me as my leg is already peeling away, she said.

Also, Mr Ado Saleh, another victim said that he spent N38,000 for treatment in Plateau.

NAN reports that Duguri is 61 kilometers from Bauchi City. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Soap making

By Muftau Ogunyemi

The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has trained 400 women and youths in soap and candle making, and allied products production in the three senatorial districts of Ondo State.

Dr Nasiru Ladan, Director General (DG) of NDE made this known at the launch of cosmetology intensive training for women and the youth on Wednesday in Akure.

Ladan, who was represented by the State Coordinator of NDE, Mr Dare Awokoya said the gesture was part of the directorates efforts to meet ever increasing challenges of job creation and generation in the country.

According to him, NDE had initiated a series of programmes and schemes that were of immense benefit to the unemployed with a view to create skills that would have a far reaching impact on the lives of millions of youths.

The vocational skills development department of NDE has carefully selected a total of 400 women across the three senatorial districts in Ondo State.

The training is to address unemployed women and youths in soap making and allied products like insecticides, Dettol, Izal, perfumes, shampoo pomade and candle making, Ladan said.

He said that no fewer than 100 trainees had earlier benefited from the directorates sustainable agricultural development programme.

Ladan said the participants were trained on modern agricultural practices especially in the area of raising broiler chicks.

Also,the special public works department of the directorate has launched its Graduate Attachment Programme in which 50 unemployed youths benefited from the internship programme, he announced.

The DG promised that more programmes would be on board for the youth across the state.

He urged beneficiaries of all the schemes in the state to take their training seriously in order to have value for the money spent so that the training programme could be sustained. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Interpol personnel on assignment

The Interpol global police co-ordination agency on Wednesday warned that organised criminal networks could be targeting COVID-19 vaccines, and could look to sell fake shots.

Interpol, with headquarters in France, said it had issued a global alert to law enforcement agencies across its 194 member countries.

This was to alert them to prepare for organised crime networks targeting COVID-19 vaccines, both physically and online.

As governments are preparing to roll out vaccines, criminal organisations are planning to infiltrate or disrupt supply chains.

Criminal networks will also be targeting unsuspecting members of the public via fake websites and false cures, which could pose a significant risk to their health, even their lives, said Interpol secretary general Juergen Stock. (Reuters/NAN)

Source: NAN News

Femi Fani-Kayode

By Taiye Agbaje

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Wednesday, asked the Federal High Court, Abuja, to revoke the bail granted to the former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode.

EFCCs Lawyer, Mohammed Abubakar, who prayed Justice John Tsoho to grant his plea, said that Fani-Kayode had continued to be absent in court for his trial lately.

Abubakar, who enjoined the court to issue a bench warrant on the defendant, also urged the court to summon his surety to show cause why the bail bond should not be forfeited.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the ex-minister was, on Nov. 10, 2016, admitted to N50 million bail bond with a surety in the like sum.

EFCC alleges Fani-Kayode diverted N26 million he had received from the embattled National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.) during former President Goodluck Jonathans administration.

However, the defence counsel, Mr Wale Balogun, urged the court to dismiss the EFCCs oral application.

As at the time of filing the report, the case is still ongoing. (NAN)

Source: NAN News