By Abujah Racheal

Federal Government has declared that the Madagascar COVID-19 herb syrup did not show any evidence that it had real curative properties against COVID-19.

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, made the disclosure in Abuja at the 52nd Joint National Briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF), on COVID-19.

According to him, the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), has shared its final report on the evaluation of the COVID Organics from Madagascar.

He said that the initial report showed that its main ingredient is the same as Artemisia annua.

While the preparation at high dose showed activity in reducing the frequency of cough, it did not show any evidence that it has real curative properties against COVID-19.

However, we shall continue to support all genuine efforts toward finding local COVID-19 cures, Ehanire said.

The minister also said that the COVID-19 cases recorded daily over the past weeks now fluctuate within the 500 to 700 bracket, with 543 new cases in the past 24 hours.

Accordingly, the nations confirmed total number in Nigeria so far is 38,344, of which 15,815 were successfully treated and discharged.

We have regrettably recorded 813 fatalities, mostly with co-morbidities and tested a total of 247,825 persons in all.

We can rightly assume from the exponentially increasing numbers that the pool of potentially infectious persons in the community is rising.

And with that, the risk of infection for citizens at all levels of society, since a very significant number of persons testing positive is not in observation or treatment, the minister said.

He, however, commended persons of influence in society, who tested positive for COVID-19 and came out publicly to declare it and entrust themselves to prescribed treatment.

Ehanire noted that those concerned did the nation a lot of good by showing that there was no shame and nothing to hide about COVID-19, and they also contributed immensely to building confidence in the health system.

While commending the nations health care providers for their efforts, the minister said that in spite of this, the focus was still on prevention, being better and cheaper than cure.

Ehanire said that the Federal Ministry of Health through the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), now had 59 molecular diagnostic laboratories for COVID-19 tests activated.

He added that with a little improvement in logistics, lack of availability of testing capacity should not be a tenable excuse any more.

The minister also disclosed that all states of the federation, including the FCT , were receiving support from the COVID-19 response through the Regional Diseases Surveillance Enhancement (REDISSE), Project.

With this support, all states of the federation will receive N100m to enhance high impact priority response activities. The soon-to-be-reactivated BHCPF will join the funding pool, Ehanire said.

The minister said that Tuesday July 21, 2020, was the reporting day of the Ministerial Expert Advisory Committee on COVID-19, when the leadership of the Ministry of Healths Agencies and Departments received the second report from the Chairman, Prof. Oyewale Tomori.

According to him, its findings are highly instructive and will be shared with agencies, the PTF and stakeholders.

Speaking on the Eid-el-Kabir Sallah celebration, Ehanire urged Muslims and Nigerians not to forget the precautions that had been prescribed, so as to reduce the risks of COVID-19 transmission.

He said: All over the world, mass gatherings have been linked with the mass infections and casualties in other countries, which we see in the media each day, and which we are trying to avoid, in order not to overwhelm the capacity of our health system.

Since the risk of crowding cannot be ruled out in places of worship and pose a serious hazard for COVID-19 transmission, it is very wise that persons over 60 years, the obese and those in treatment for hypertension, diabetes, cancer, HIV, among others, or have had a transplant, should stay at home, pray at home.

I also strongly advise that travel be avoided in this period, except for a critical reason.

Speaking on some of the seemingly confused symptoms of COVID-19, the minister said that although COVID-19 could present with symptoms like fever, similar to malaria, it is not malaria.

Symptoms like cough, sore throat, fever, loss of sense of taste or smell, difficulty in breathing, headache, and less commonly, diarrhoea, body pain, catarrh, shivering, fatigue, especially when several symptoms occur together, are suggestive of COVID-19.

A test is required, the health minister advised.

Source: NAN News

By Abujah Racheal

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says there are now 59 laboratories with the capacity to test for COVID-19 across 29 states and the FCT, while two rapid diagnostic are in the pipeline for validation.

Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director-General, NCDC, made this known during the Presidential Tasks Force (PTF) on COVID-19 briefing on Thursday in Abuja.

Ihekweazu said that the centre was working to ensure that testing capacity was available in remaining states across the country.

He stated that the NCDC team was currently in Zamfara, Kebbi, Gombe, and Taraba states.

In a bid to scale up national testing, the DG said the centre was leveraging on existing laboratory and converting them to test for COVID-19.

There are high throughput labs that existed for HIV testing, GeneXperts. Other approaches are inclusion of private laboratories and rapid diagnostic test kits.

There are 45 labs that can carry out real time PTR testing across the country, while four mega PCR labs have been activated to include; two national reference lab and the defence reference lab in Abuja, one lab at the, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital and another in Lagos, he said.

Ihekweazu also informed that seven private laboratories have been activated in Lagos, while two were almost ready in Abuja.

The private sector has seen its not as easy as we originally have thought, he said.

He added that 13 GeneXperts have been activated in 10 states, out of 400 available in the country.

On rapid diagnostic test kits, the DG said the centre have been working with Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria to validate a number of kits.

There are two that are showing good promise, the validation process is ongoing and in the next couple of weeks, we should be able to know if they are able to be included, Ihekweazu said.

On the target to test two million people by the end of this month, the DG said the testing in itself was not the goal, but that the goal was to bring people into care through testing and enable contact tracing to happen for those who were positive and generally move the system along.

On complaints from Nigerians over delay in getting COVID-19 test results, Ihekweazu informed that an online platform was underway where patients could access using a code to download their results once they get a message notification.

That platform is almost ready, we will be piloting it in Abuja first, once it demonstrates utility, we will scale it up across the country, the DG said.

Ihekweazu said the centre was ramping up stockpile of reagents and the country would have foresaw testing challenges.

He further informed that 250,000 people have been tested in the country so far. He announced that Nigeria carries out 3,000-4,000 tests daily.

Source: NAN News

A group of 95 migrants were returned to Khums, Libya by the coast guard.

IOM staff were onsite to provide needed assistance and report that among them were four women, the IOM tweeted.

Earlier on Wednesday, the IOM said that 131 illegal immigrants, including 13 miners, were rescued off the countrys western coast.

The IOM estimates that more than 6,100 illegal immigrants have been rescued off the Libyan coast and returned to Libya so far in 2020, compared with 9,225 in 2019.

The fall of the previous Muammar Gaddafis government in 2011 has created a state of insecurity and chaos in Libya.

This has made Libya a preferred point of departure for illegal immigrants to cross the Mediterranean Sea towards European shores.

Immigrant shelters in Libya are overcrowded with immigrants, despite repeated international calls to close them. (Xinhua/NAN)

Source: NAN News

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on Wednesday appointed 18 civilian governors for the states, including two women for the first time.

Appointment of civilian governors for the states constitutes a completion for the structures of the transitional period, said Hamdok at a press conference in the capital Khartoum.

According to a prime ministers decision, Ayman Khalid Nimir was appointed as governor of Khartoum State, Abdalla Shangrawi Ohaj for the Red Sea State and Abdalla Ali Ahmed Idriss for Gezira State.

We wanted to preserve the balance with regard to women participation and make their participation greatly satisfactory, said Hamdok.

It is worth noting that the appointment of state governors had faltered for about 10 months amid differences over the structures of Sudans transitional authority.

Since the ouster of former President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, Sudans states have been governed by the military in accordance with a decision issued by then Chairman of the Transitional Military Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, on April 12, 2019.

On Aug. 21, 2019, Sudan started a 39-month transitional period under a transitional government of military and civilian elements. (Xinhua/NAN)

Source: NAN News

Australia is experiencing a health and economic crisis like nothing we have seen in the last 100 years, Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, said in a press conferencegiving a special budget update on Thursday.

The government has acted swiftly and decisively to provide economic support for workers, households and businesses of around AD289 billion or the equivalent of 14.6 per cent of GDP, he said.

Thereal GDP isforecastto fall by seven per cent in the April-June quarter and 3.75 per cent in the calendar year 2020, he said.

Net debt is expected to increase to AD677.1 billion, 35.7 per cent of GDP by July next year.

These harsh numbers reflect the harsh reality we have facedThe economic and fiscal outlook remains highly uncertain, he said.

He said there was a significant decline in tax receipts and a large increase in government payments,due to the COVID-19 pandemic andthe bush fires, leading to a dramatic change in the budget position.

Australias conservative government was planningto be back in the black and produce the first budget surplus since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis (GFC)of about AD5 billion this year, but the hopes have been obliterated by the pandemic.

The projected 2020-21 deficit is about four times the last record, which was AD54.5 billion when Australia tackled the 2008 GFC.

The unemployment rate will peak at 9.25 per cent by Christmas, said Frydenberg, though the effective rate, whichincludes thosenot looking for work or part-time workers working fewer hours,is likely muchhigher.

Australian Bureau of Statistics said this week theunemployment rate is currently 7.4 per cent and Frydenberg said the effective rate currently is more than 11 per cent.

More than 870,000 jobs were lost between March and May this yearand about one million workers saw their hours cut.

But the governments wage subsidy programme for employees has supported morethan 960,000 businesses and not-for-profits, helping some 3.5 million workers.

The government has so farintroduced fiscal support measures worth AD164 billion, or 8.4 per cent of GDP, he said.

Australias economy is entering recession territory due to the economic malaise from the COVID-19 pandemic for the first time in 29 years, with the official figures coming in September.

Finance Minister, Mathias Cormann, said Australia was in a better, stronger, more resilient positionthan about any other country in the world.

He added that Australia had outperformed nearly every other country, and that it was in a strong position for economic recovery.

Mining was one of the few sectors where the Thursdays economic update showed a bright spot, withinvestment in Australia expected to grow for the first time in seven years by four per cent in 2019/20 and another 9.5 per cent in 2020/21.

Its well known there can be volatility when it comes to iron ore prices so we continue to make sure we protect the stability of our budget settings in that context, Cormann said.

Australia has recorded more than 13,000 coronavirus cases and 133 COVID-19-related deaths. (dpa/NAN)

Source: NAN News

Left to right Ayodeji Adelopo, Programme Director SOS Childrens Village Isolo, Eucharia Uzosike, Nestl Cares Representative and Maryam Daramola, National Corporate Relations Officer, SOS Childrens Home during the donation of relief materials by the Nestl Cares

By Vivian Ihechu

Nestl Nigeria volunteers donated food, beverages and personal hygiene products to children in 18 orphanages across Nigeria under its Global Employee Volunteer Programme, Nestl Cares.

Nestl Cares is aimed at enhancing volunteer activities and providing opportunity for Nestl employees to give back to society by offering their time, talent and resources.

Relief materials donated by staff and matched by the company reached over 700 children in 18 orphanages in the country.

The orphanages include the SOS Childrens Village, Isolo-Lagos, Sought After Childrens Orphanage, Ajah-Lagos, SOS Childrens Home Jos, Adonai Orphanage Home Kaduna, Nigerian Red Cross Motherless Babies Home Enugu, Modupe Cole Memorial Child Care, Yaba, Lagos.

Others include the Rachels Home, Abuja and St. Annes Childrens Home, Warri, Delta State.

Mrs Victoria Uwadoka, the Corporate Communication and Public Affairs Manager, Nestl Nigeria, said: we recognise that in times like this, the most important concern for caregivers is providing adequate nutrition for their children while ensuring the highest standards of hygiene to keep them safe.

This is why we have come together on the platform of Nestl Cares to provide nutritious food and beverages, as well as personal and homecare hygiene products to orphanages we support across Nigeria.

We are pleased that the items contributed by the volunteers were matched by the company, another way we leverage our resources at Nestl to deliver impact in our communities.

These donations are part of Nestl Nigerias contribution toward supporting the most vulnerable among us, most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

We trust that the items will assist caregivers in meeting the nutritional and welfare needs of the children during these difficult times.

Mr Ayodeji Adelopo, the Programme Director, SOS Childrens Village, Isolo Lagos, who received the items on behalf of the organisation, said these times are challenging for all of us, and these are the times when support is really needed.

I would like to thank Nestl and its employees for not failing to provide the much-needed support.

At the Adonai Orphanage Home, Kaduna, the Director, Pastor Samuel Oyelowo and the Matron, Rev. Mrs Elizabeth O. Afuwape, who received the donations on behalf of the orphanage, also thanked Nestl for the support, especially in these times when good nutrition and hygiene are important to ensure the health of the children in the home.

Thank you Nestle for remembering us, especially now that the children are not in school. This will go a long way to meet their nutritional needs, Samuel said.

Since its foundation over 150 years ago, Nestl has been committed to helping parents and caregivers to provide the right nutrition for their children. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

NNPC, Kebbi hovt. cultivate 2,675 hectares of cassava for bio-ethanol production Official

By Ibrahim Bello

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Kebbi State Government have cultivated cassava on 2,675 hectares of land for production of bio-ethanol in the state.

The Chairman of the Kebbi State Standing Committee on Biofuel, Prof. Mohammad Kaoje, made this known in a statement issued to newsmen on Thursday in Birnin Kebbi.

Kaoje said the cultivated area was part of the 5,000 hectares acquired for the project to be jointly financed at the cost of N500 million each by both NNPC and Kebbi government.

The obligation of both partners is that the state government is mandated to provide 20,000 hectares of land each for the cassava and sugarcane projects while the NNPC on the other hand is responsible for land validations.

I wish to seize this opportunity to report to you that KBSG has met all its obligations under the MoU.

In addition, it was agreed at a joint meeting of the partners that the state government should cultivate 5,000 hectares of cassava which will also form additional equity share for the state.

So far, 2,675 hectares have been cultivated and fully established. This is for the purpose of generating seedlings and raw material for test run of the machinery.

The NNPC on the other hand is responsible for land validation, soil testing, feasibility studies, community integration, stakeholders Engagement and Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), he said.

According to Kaoje, the land validation is contracted to Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto and Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola, in Sokoto and Adamawa States, for cassava and sugarcane respectively.

The chairman said that the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria was also handling the agriculture component of the feasibility study.

The feasibility studies, soil testing and mapping have reached advanced stage of completion.

The total financial implication of these to the NNPC is about N500 million.

The Kebbi State Government has expended nearly the same amount towards meeting its own part of the obligation, the chairman said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that NNPC and the state government signed an MoU in 2017 on cassava and sugarcane projects for bio-ethanol production.

The project targets about 20,000 hectares of land for local farmers to cultivates crops for the government in Gwazawa town in Kanya district of Zuru emirate in the state. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

COVID-19

By Douglas Okoro

The National Orientation Agency (NOA) says it has embarked on enlightenment and advocacy campaigns on the prevention of community spread of COVID-19 in some local government areas of Ebonyi.

The Director of NOA in the state, Dr Emma Abah, who stated this on Thursday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abakaliki, said the exercise was aimed at sensitising the rural dwellers.

He said that the sensitisation campaign, tagged: Increased Risk Communication and Community Engagement on COVID-19, was aimed at engaging people at the grassroots on the need to be committed in the fight against community spread of the virus.

According to him, the statewide advocary/sensitisation programme would afford the traditional rulers, town union leaders and stakeholders of the various communities in the state in-depth knowledge and understanding of COVID-19 preventive measures.

The NOA director said that the exercise, which was grassroots-oriented, was also aimed at emphasising need to observe restrictions on burial and other social gatherings in order to stay safe.

He added that the initiative was equally geared towards addressing the dangers associated with open defecation and enlightening the rural dwellers, most of whom still lived in ignorance and doubt about the existence of the virus.

Abah urged the people of the state to increase their level of personal hygiene by maintaining regular hand washing and obeying all government approved restrictions and protocols in their various communities and villages to prevent community spread of the virus.

Our advocacy/sensitisation campaign is aimed at stopping community spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic ravaging the global community.

We believe that rural dwellers will listen and believe their traditional or community leaders when they educate and advise them on the necessary safety measures to take to avoid contracting the disease.

We want the traditional rulers and stakeholders to assist us to extend the crusade to hard-to-reach areas, especially the vulnerable people and those who are above 50 years of age.

The Federal Government has always made efforts through well-conceived and articulated programmes to address challenges, such as COVID-19 and we know that this engagement will assist in passing the message across, Abah said.

He appealed to traditional rulers, town union leaders, religious leaders and stakeholders in Ebonyi communities to spur the people to adhere strictly to the COVID-19 protocols.

Abah commended state and federal governments for their commitment to tackling the spread of the virus, adding that collective efforts were required to effectively combat the disease.

The director said that the agency was engaging traditional rulers, town union leaders and other critical stakeholders in various communities to shore up support in the fight against the deadly novel coronavirus.

NAN reports that the team visited three local government areas, namely: Afikpo North, Ezza North and Ebonyi, in Ebonyi South, Ebonyi central and Ebonyi North zones respectively.

Source: NAN News

COVID-19

By Ifeanyi Nwoko

Five countries have been identified as responsible for over 80 per cent of the COVID-19 cases in West Africa,
the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) said.

Addressing Members of ECOWAS Parliament during the Second Extra Ordinary Session which is holding via video conference, WAHO, however said that the case fatality rate in the region is under control.

Prof. Stanley Okolo, the Director General of WAHO, while making presentation to Parliament, said that as at July 16, the five countries recorded 84,118 cases out of the 96,936 cases in the region.

Okolo said five countries contributed almost 80 per cent of the COVID-19 cases in the region, namely: Nigeria, Ghana, Cote dIvoire, Senegal and Guinea.

What is important is to note the case fatality rate: how many people died because of COVID-19.

In our region, it is still relatively low at about 1.6 per cent, but that of course hides the fact that it is a rise from about 0.5 per cent to some countries that are at about 6 per cent, he said.

The WAHO boss added that if the number of active cases were to be considered, then Guinea Bissau with over 1,000 active cases would be added to the list of highest contributors.

He said that the case fatality rate for the region was currently at a median of about 2.16 per cent and an average of 1.6 per cent.

But the range of people dying after COVID-19 diagnosis is from about 0.57 per cent in Ghana to about six per cent in Niger.

If you look at our active cases, it is common where we have a higher population density.

We are not able to get all the figures from some districts in Mali and Niger due to insecurity.

He re-echoed the disclaimer about the peculiarity or not of COVID-19 among certain age groups, sexes or class.

He, however, noted that the younger people accounted for more of the cases, adding that the age-group contributed to the highest number of those who are nonchalant about precautions.

He explained that COVID-19 does not respect age or sex.

Yes, diagnosis is common in men than women, but when you look at the age distribution, you will find that from the youngest to
the oldest, COVID-19 tends to cut across all ages but commonest in the young age group.

These are the people who often dont take things serious and that is the tragedy of our situation in West Africa, because they are the ones who often survive, but then, if they do infect the old ones, we will have a major problem.

So, we have to target the young ones. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Mr Alex Tarka, NAPE president

By Edith ike-Eboh

Mr Alex Tarka, President, Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) says the delay in the passage of Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) has negatively impacted exploration in the oil and gas sector.

Tarka made this known at Virtual workshop on Leveraging fiscal regulations to attract Investments in the Petroleum sector, on Thursday.

He said that there was the need for policy that would help drive the expected investments and stimulus in the upstream oil and gas sector for employment generation and economic growth.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Minister of State for petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylvahad onJuly 14announced that the PIB would be sent to the NASS in two weeks

NAN also reports that the National Assembly (NASS) said it is expecting the new PIB soon for deliberations and debate to begin on the much-awaited piece of legislation

He said there was need for aggressive exploration in the country noting that new fiscal policy of the PIB must reduce government participation to enable investors to participate.

He said that currently only the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had been involved in exploration in the country.

This, he said, was not good for the sector with the role oil and gas sector played in the economic development of the country.

NAPE president noted that government must ensure that it stuck to the date it had proposed in the presentation of the PIB to the National Assembly and ensure that its speedy paasage.

Due to lack of PIB, no exploration is currently going on in the country, only NNPC is the one operating; this is not good for the industry.

The industry especially the upstream needs a lot of palliatives, waivers and stimulus to operate to enable it sustain employment .

We need policies in place to get thing done properly, he noted.

Tarka further noted that delay in passing PIB had driven away many investors to the sector adding that the quick passage of the bill would show the seriousness of Nigerian government in developing the sector.

Exploration is expensive, especially here, so as an investor, if I dont see any seriousness by government to show how safe my investment will be, I will keep it elsewhere.

Until PIB is passed, investors will continue to look elsewhere to invest, so, there is no better time than now to rob minds on this issue and get the bill passed, he added. (NAN)

Source: NAN News