Health Archives - Inside Business Africa

Dec212021 by Joshua OlotuNo Comments

Health Ministry Develops Strategic Plan to Enhance Service Delivery in Y2022

Business, Health

… Holds Three-Day Retreat for Management Staff Lagos State Ministry of Health has developed strategic plans bordering on improved data management, strict implementation of regulations, income generation and budget performance, including budget drawdown and budget impact, to better position the State health sector for better service delivery in the year 2022. The development of strategic plans is an offshoot of a three-day end of year managerial retreat organised for management staff of the Ministry held at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, with the theme: “The Role of Leadership and Management in the Transformation Agenda of the Health Sector towards a Smart City”. Speaking on the objectives of the retreat, the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi explained that t...

Dec182021 by Joshua OlotuNo Comments

Akpabio Seeks UN Intervention in Malaria Vacc Production

Business, Economy, Health

The Honourable Minister, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, CON, has made a passionate appeal to the United Nations (UN) to consider giving the necessary support in the production of Malaria Vaccine to save millions of people that are dying from malaria related diseases every year in the Sub-Sahara region of Africa. The Minister made this statement when the Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Prof. Tijjani Bande paid him a courtesy visit on Thursday 16th December, 2021, in his office in Abuja. Sen. Akpabio who explained that the Sub-Sahara region of the continent has long been tagged as the ‘white man’s grave yard’ due to the devastating effect of malaria disease has been neglected for the last fifty years of medical advancement while Covid-19 have att...

Dec172021 by Joshua OlotuNo Comments

Lagos Commemorates Universal Health Coverage Day, Pledges Quality Healthcare

Economy, Health

The Lagos State Government, in line with the United Nations proclamation of 2017, has commemorated the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day in all the five Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA) Divisional Offices. In her address at the Lagos Divisional Office, situated within the Maternal and Child Centre, Eti-Osa, the General Manager of LASHMA, Dr. Emmanuella Zamba, said that the State Government had established ILERA EKO social health plan in order to attain its Universal Health Coverage as conceptualised in the T.H.E.M.E.S Development Agenda. She reiterated that ILERA EKO is aimed at providing affordable, quality and equitable healthcare to Lagos residents, irrespective of their socio-economic differences, assuring that the Agency would not relent in its efforts to ensure ...

Dec152021 by Joshua OlotuNo Comments

COVID-19 Guidelines: Lagos Commences Prosecution Of Defaulters

Economy, Health

Concerned with the dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases seen in the evolving fourth wave, the Lagos State Government has commenced prosecution of inbound international passengers who fail to submit themselves for Day Two and Day Seven PCR tests as mandated by the Federal COVID-19 protocols and guidelines. Speaking on the development, the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, noted that the prosecution of defaulting inbound passengers became necessary in order to mitigate the evolving fourth wave of COVID-19 infection in the State. He said: “Lagos State Government is concerned with the dramatic rise in cases seen in the evolving fourth wave. Identifying that our previous waves are associated with non-compliance of inbound passengers with the ...

Nov122021 by Joshua OlotuNo Comments

Climate-linked Health Risks To Rise, COP26 Panelists Warn

Business, Economy, Health

If you thought the COVID pandemic was disruptive and deadly, climate change will be so much worse. So said a slew of panelists Tuesday at the UN climate talks in Glasgow, warning about escalating climate-linked health threats such as disease, heatstroke and air pollution. But they also called out the health systems in rich nations as part of the problem, with the healthcare sector responsible for up to 5 per cent of global carbon emissions. “We need to recognise the role of health systems as emitters,” said Rachel Levine, the US assistant secretary of health. “We cannot stand back and only tell others what they should do to protect our patients.” The main sources of emissions from the healthcare sector include the manufacture and transport of medical goods, as well as the constructi...

Oct262021 by Joshua OlotuNo Comments

Africa Investment Forum: Projects worth $140 million on the table to boost vaccines and healthcare in West and East Africa

Agriculture, Business, Health

Members of the Africa Investment Forum team showcased two projects during a virtual investor roundtable as the continent looks to boost its healthcare sector and attract much-needed investment in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The projects, jointly worth around $140 million and located in East and West Africa, were previewed for potential investors. The roundtable, held 21 October, is part of a series of events organized by the Africa Investment Forum and hosted by the Atlantic Council to drum up interest in the Forum’s upcoming Market Days, where a range of investment opportunities will be unveiled. The invited participants represented the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors. The first opportunity, with a project cost of $96 million, is for the development of a 250-bed spe...

Sep292021 by Joshua OlotuNo Comments

Strengthening Africa’s pharmaceutical industry: learning the lessons from COVID-19

Business, Economy, Health

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted Africa´s vulnerability due to its reliance on imports for most vaccines, medicines and other health product needs. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) estimates that Africa imports about 94% of its pharmaceutical and medicinal needs from outside the continent at an annual cost of US$16bn. High-level representatives of governments, development finance institutions and UN agencies, together with representatives of the private sector, non-governmental organizations and academia, met virtually today on the margins of the 76th UN General Assembly to explore innovative solutions to the systemic barriers hindering development of the continent´s health industries and to discuss ways to strengthen Africa's pharmaceutical industry. ...

Sep242021 by Joshua OlotuNo Comments

Niger to Improve Women and Girl’s Access to Nutrition and Health Services

Health, Innovation

The Nigerien government will be able to provide its population with better health coverage with financing approved today by the World Bank. This 15-year multiphase program will use innovative and comprehensive nutrition and health interventions to improve health system efficiency, equity, and sustainability, as well as boost girls’ and women’s empowerment. The project aligns with Niger’s investment case, supported by the GFF, to accelerate health and nutrition outcomes for women, children and adolescents Niger's health system faces immense challenges. Despite progress in recent years, the country has a high under-five mortality rate of 77 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2020 and stunting continues to have devastating effects on the long-term development of Niger's human capital. Lac...

Sep172021 by Joshua OlotuNo Comments

In Dialogue with Eswatini, Committee on the Rights of the Child welcomes legislative progress and asks about child Health

Business, Health

The Committee on the Rights of the Child today considered the combined second to fourth periodic reports of Eswatini on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, with Committee Experts welcoming legislative progress, and asking about child health related issues, such as age determination and nutrition, also raising the issue of corporal punishment. Presenting the report, Themba Nhlanganiso Masuku, Deputy Prime Minister of Eswatini and head of the delegation, noted that children made up almost half the country’s population, adding that their education, social protection and health was a priority for the Government. However, challenges to the welfare of Eswatini’s children included the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which had closed schools for over a ...

Sep172021 by Joshua OlotuNo Comments

Guinea declares end of Marburg virus disease outbreak

Economy, Health

Guinea today declared the end of the Marburg virus disease outbreak having recorded no new cases over the past 42 days—two incubation periods, or the time between infection and the onset of symptoms. The virus was confirmed on 9 August, marking the first time the disease emerged in the country and in West Africa. Only one case—the index patient who was diagnosed with the virus posthumously—was recorded and more than 170 high-risk contacts monitored for 21 days. The disease, a highly infectious virus that causes haemorrhagic fever, was detected in southern Guinea, the same region where the initial cases of the February—June Ebola 2021 outbreak as well as the 2014—2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak were detected. Guinea’s health authorities, with support from World Health Organization (W...