Daybreak, Politics, Entertainment, Sport

Tag: WHO

WHO tasks health reporters on continuous reportage to tackle COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy
..as stakeholder calls for funding to ensure post COVID-19 socio economic recovery
By Joyce Remi- Babayeju
The World Health Organization, WHO, Nigeria Country Representative, Dr. Walther Molumba has tasked members of the Association of Nigeria Health Journalists, ANHEJ, not to relent in their continuous reportage to tackle the COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Nigeria.
WHO, Head of Communication Unit at the Nigeria Country Office, Ms Charity Warrigon who represented Dr. Molumba made this call today at a 2 Day Annual Conference with the theme: Improving Confidence in COVID-19 Vaccine in Nigeria Beyond 2021: The Role of the Media’ organized by ANHEJ at Auta Ballefi,Nasarawa State.
While commending the doggedness of health reporters at the break of COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria Warrigon said that the conference with the theme, “Improving confidence in COVID-19 Vaccine”. This theme is timely and apt, as it not only speaks to the present, but also to the future of making Nigerians healthier.
She noted that the pandemic which has affected everyone and every country in a manner unexpected, also came with the challenge of absence of sufficient knowledge to inform development of vaccines as the sciences were limited, which were exploited by mischief makers, through what we call, infodemics.
She therefore called on the media to be resolute in building and maintaining trust as the profession is one out of a few that have historically been proven to be trusted to provide information that shape the behavior and lives of generations of peoples the world over.
“The media and journalists are the bridge between scientists and the public. It behoves on every member of the Fourth Realm of the Estate to, as social responsibility, ensure the provision of accurate, timely, credible, understandable, relevant, and actionable information through various communication channels.”
According to her the Nigerian media and Journalists in the face of challenges have proven to be highly professional by rising to the test of the COVID-19 hesitancy by educating, mobilizing, and creating awareness amongst the populace.
This she credited to invaluable work done by ANHEJ over the years in help in helping people make informed decisions and positive choices to promote their health.
We can only improve on what we have achieved so far and even do better, as there is so much to attain in driving confidence in the vaccination effort by building trust and continuously being a trusted and reliable source, she emphasized.
She called for continuous public remainder that, for the foreseeable future, people must continue to wear masks, physically distance, and avoid crowd. Being vaccinated doesn’t mean that we can throw caution to the wind and put ourselves and others at risk.
The Coordinator of the Africa Health Budget Network, AHBN, Dr. Aminu Magashi Garba in presentation titled” Nigeria’s COVID-19 Funding and Recovery Plan: The Place of the Media” called for increased budget to ensure recovery from the pandemic which is a multi-faceted and far reaching into our socio-economic fabric which includes social protection programmes, job creation and the building of social infrastructure like roads, access to water/sanitation, and electrification schemes.
Magashi who was represented by Dr. Obinna Onuoha, the Senior Programme and Partnership Officer of AHBN, said, ” With all efforts underway towards recovery from COVID-19 the Media stands front line and center in ensuring that all Nigerians are well informed with the facts : what findings have been received and from whom, what plans from government are in place to utilize these funds to provide quality health, what are the checks and balances to ensure these dedicated funds offer value for money, what are the steps taken to ensure all concerned parties are held accountable in the disbursement and utilization of these funds, what are the feedback mechanisms from the beneficiaries of these health intervention.
He stressed that health reporters are entrusted with the responsibility of providing these answers health budget through factual,verified and timely information, adding that every COVID-19 funding and recovery plan touches the lives of all Nigerians.
He further called on the media to ask questions on recovery plan
to elicit transparency and mutual accountability.
November 25, 2021
WHO calls for more Budget investment by countries on Mental health amid COVID-19 pandemic
…Sets new mental health target for 2030
By Joyce Remi- Babayeju
As a new World Health Organization, WHO Atlas Report has shown low investment on mental health budget globally ,the health body has called on countries to step up their budget investment on mental health amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghabreyesus called on countries to increase their investment on mental health.
Ghabreyesus said, “It is extremely concerning that, despite the evident and increasing need for mental health services, which has become even more acute during the COVID-19 pandemic, good intentions are not being met with investment.”
“We must heed and act on this wake-up call and dramatically accelerate the scale-up of investment in mental health, because there is no health without mental health.”
He noted, “In 2020, just 51% of WHO’s 194 Member States reported that their mental health policy or plan was in line with international and regional human rights instruments, way short of the 80% target.”
The Atlas report showed that only 52% of countries met the target relating to mental health promotion and prevention programmes, while the 2020 target met was a reduction in the rate of suicide by 10%, by only 35 countries had a stand-alone prevention strategy, policy or plan.
Also the report showed that only 2% of government health budgets was spent on mental health in the last years.
WHO said that only 25% of responding countries met all the criteria for integration of mental health into primary care. While progress has been made in training and supervision in most countries, the supply of medicines for mental health conditions and psychosocial care in primary health-care services remains limited.
Director of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Use at WHO said, ” the new data from Atlas shows us that we still have a very long way to go in making sure that everyone, everywhere has access to quality health care
Meanwhile WHO has we extended mental health targets from 2020 to 2030 which includes new targets for the inclusion of mental health and psychosocial support in emergency preparedness plans, the integration of mental health into primary health care, and research on mental health.
October 12, 2021
WHO basks in euphoria of malaria vaccine to save millions of children yearly
By Joyce Remi- Babayeju- with agency report
The World Health Organization, WHO, is currently basking in the euphoria of groundbreaking malaria vaccines RTS,S/ASO1 potent to revingorate the fight against deadly malaria fever in children.
Shortly after the debut of the malaria vaccine, WHO recommended widespread use of the RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S) malaria vaccine among children in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions with moderate to high P. falciparum malaria transmission.
According to the global health agency, the recommendation is based on results from an ongoing pilot programme in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi that has reached more than 800 000 children since 2019.
While expressing euphoria on the malaria vaccine rollout , WHO Director General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, ” “This is a historic moment. The long-awaited malaria vaccine for children is a breakthrough for science, child health and malaria control,”
“Using this vaccine on top of existing tools to prevent malaria could save tens of thousands of young lives each year.”
According to WHO, Malaria remains a primary cause of childhood illness and death in sub-Saharan Africa as it kills more than 260 000 African children under the age of five annually.
The health agency says in recent years, there have been reports of a stagnation in progress against the deadly disease before the groundbreaking feat.
WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti said, “For centuries, malaria has stalked sub-Saharan Africa, causing immense personal suffering.” “We have long hoped for an effective malaria vaccine and now for the first time ever, we have such a vaccine recommended for widespread use.
” Today’s recommendation offers a glimmer of hope for the continent which shoulders the heaviest burden of the disease and we expect many more African children to be protected from malaria and grow into healthy adults.”
Daybreak reports that WHO recommends that in the context of comprehensive malaria control the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine be used for the prevention of P. falciparum malaria in children living in regions with moderate to high transmission as defined by WHO. RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine should be provided in a schedule of 4 doses in children from 5 months of age for the reduction of malaria disease and burden.
October 8, 2021
WHO commends Nigeria on Patients Bill, as Africa records 7 out of 10 maternal deaths Globally
By Joyce Remi- Babayeju
As Nigeria joins in the global celebration of the 2021 Patient Safety Day, the World Health Organization, WHO has commended the Federal Government for it’s efforts in establishing the Patient Safety Bill.
WHO Country Representative to Nigeria and the Head of Mission Dr. moeti Matshidiso gave this commendation in a message to mark the day in Nigeria.
The theme for the 2021 Patient Safety Day is ” Safe maternal and newborn care” with a campaign to “act now for safe and respectable childbirth”.
Matshidiso said that this year’s theme is apt as Nigeria continues in ir’s efforts to ensure safe birth and reduce the high maternal and newborn mortality in the country.”
In the light of this the National Demographic Health Survey in Nigeria shows a ratio of 512/1000 live births and newborn mortality at 39 per 1000 livebirths.
Meanwhile the African Region contributes nearly 7out of 10 maternal deaths and 1 out of 3 newborn deaths globally, the WHO Country Representative noted.
Speaking further on the health calamities the Region faces, Matshidiso enumerated major causes of maternal mortality among pregnant women as postpartum hemorrhage, hypertensive diseases, and sepsis and in newborns top causes of deaths includes premature birth, babies not getting enough oxygen during births and infections.
She noted that women are confronted with a range of of confrontations of challenges as patients, often face physical and verbal abuse and exclusion from decision makings about their care .
According to Matshidiso many of these deaths could be prevented by making sure patients feel safe respected and that their needs are heard and acted on, adding that by equipping the health workers with knowledge, skills and tools to take life- saving action.”
“We need to do something to stop the preventable deaths by ensuring our health facilities provide high quality , safe and effective healthcare.”
The situation was made worst during the the pandemic , some people have avoided seeking care in health facilities for fear of catching COVID-19 or other infectious diseases, Matshidiso noted.
She emphazied that the current spate of maternal deaths was heightened by the COVID- 19!pandemic with many people have avoided seeking care in hospitals for fear of catching the virus or other infectious disease, adding that to combat this hesitancy there is need to build community as well as invest more in good infection prevention and control practices.
She called on all stakeholders such as governments , civil society, the private sector, health workers and communities to speak up for patient safety and to act now for safe and respectful childbirth.
Daybreak reports that the World Patient Safety Day is celebrated every year on 17 September, to raise awareness of the importance of people-centred care and preventing harm to patients.
September 19, 2021
JUST IN: NCDC DG Ihekweazu Appointed Assistant DG Of WHO
The Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Chikwe Ihekweazu, has been appointed as the Assistant Director General of Health Emergency Intelligence at the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Ihekweazu’s appointment – which comes into effect on November 1, 2021 – was disclosed in a letter signed by the WHO Director General, Tedros Ghebreyesus.
“I am pleased to welcome Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu as an Assistant Director-General for Health Emergency Intelligence from November 1, 2021.
“He will lead the work on strengthening pandemic and epidemic intelligence globally, including heading the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Berlin.
“Dr Ihekweazu is currently the Director-General of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. He was trained as an infectious disease epidemiologist, has over 20 years of experience working in senior public health and leadership positions in several National Public Health Institutes, including the South African National Institute for Communicable Diseases, the United Kingdom’s Health Protection Agency, and Germany’s Robert Koch Institute.
“He has led several short-term engagements for WHO, mainly in response to major infectious disease outbreaks around the world.
“Dr Ihekweazu, a Nigerian national, who was born in Germany, is a graduate of the College of Medicine, University of Nigeria and has a Masters in Public Health from the Heinrich-Heine University, Dusseldorf, Germany. In 2003, he was awarded a Fellowship for the European Programme for Intervention Epidemiology Training and subsequently completed his Public Health specialization in the United Kingdom.
“He is widely published in medical peer-reviewed journals,” Ghebreyesus’ statement partly read.
Sources in the NCDC also confirmed the development to Channels Television and disclosed that the inauguration of the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence is expected to take place later on Wednesday.
Dr Ihekweazu is expected to partake in a panel session at the ceremony, even as the hub seeks to bring together partners worldwide to collaborate and create tools and data needed for countries to prepare, detect and respond to pandemic and epidemic risks.
This special event will also include a ceremony to recognize Chancellor Angela Merkel’s outstanding leadership in global public health.
September 1, 2021
WHO monitors new variant of Coronavirus
A new Coronavirus strain, named Mu, has been designated a variant of interest by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Mu, or B.1.621, was first identified in Colombia and cases have been recorded in South America and Europe.
The WHO’s weekly bulletin on the pandemic said the variant has mutations suggesting it could be more resistant to vaccines, as was the case with Beta, but that more studies would be needed to examine this further.
It said: “Since its first identification in Colombia in January 2021, there have been a few sporadic reports of cases of the Mu variant and some larger outbreaks have been reported from other countries in South America and in Europe.
“Although the global prevalence of the Mu variant among sequenced cases has declined and is currently below 0.1 per cent, the prevalence in Colombia (39 per cent) and Ecuador (13 per cent) has consistently increased.
“The epidemiology of the Mu variant in South America, particularly with the co-circulation of the Delta variant, will be monitored for changes.’’
There were currently four Coronavirus variants of concern, as deemed by the WHO, with the Alpha variant first recorded in Kent seen in 193 countries, Beta in 141, Gamma in 91 and Delta in 170 countries, while Mu was the fifth variant of interest.
September 1, 2021
COVID-19: WHO Donates 26 Ventilators, Other Items To Nigeria
The fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria has received a boost, as the country received 26 ventilators and other equipment from the World Health Organisation.
Nigeria also took delivery of 3,560 fingertip oxygen pulse oximeters as authorities step up efforts to curb the spread of the disease in the period of a third wave.
Minister of Health Dr Osagie Ehanire received the donated items on behalf of the Federal Government on Thursday in Abuja.
“We thank you and appreciate these additional assets as we have to deal with the fears of the third wave of COVID-19,” Ehanire told the WHO’s Country Representative Dr Walter Kazadi, who presented the items to him.
The items were delivered on the same day Nigeria recorded its highest daily infections in six months, amid a strike by resident doctors in the country and growing concerns about widespread protocol violations by citizens.
Dr Ehanire expects the ventilators to come in handy in the race to halt the spread of the pandemic.
“Ventilators are becoming very useful, especially for early response in the period of COVID-19, and even after COVID-19, they will remain assets all over the country,” he said.
Dr Kazadi believes Nigeria has performed relatively well in containing the first and second waves of the pandemic.
He also found Nigeria’s national case fatality rate which he put at 1.3 percent, a level that was half the regional average, encouraging.
With the country now battling the third wave of the pandemic, Dr Kazadi expects it to achieve success in flattening the curve. The WHO is also ready to play its part.
“It is against this backdrop we wish to demonstrate our continued support of the ministry’s efforts in further strengthening the country’s capacity in case management,” he said.
Nigeria recorded 747 COVID-19 infections in 13 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Wednesday.
It is the highest in almost six months since February 19 when the nation recorded 1,492 cases – data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) revealed.
Four new deaths were also reported, raising Nigeria’s toll from the disease to 2,167 with 165,208 discharged cases out of a total of 176,011 confirmed infections.
The country has received donations from some global bodies and countries in its fight against the pandemic – from vaccines to ventilators.
Dr Ehanire promised that the Federal Government would keep an inventory of the ventilators and assured Nigerians that the items donated will be properly utilised.
August 6, 2021
Hostile intention hides in US “support” for WHO
By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily
Recently, Washington has been frequently showing its “care” and “support” for the WHO, which made a sharp contrast to its habitual indifference to the organization, as well as its past practices of defunding and withdrawing from the organization.
Is the US really righting its wrongs and sincerely starting to support the work of the WHO?
Not really. What Washington supports is merely the WHO’s plan for the second phase of the global study into the origins of COVID-19 which lacks objectivity and a spirit of cooperation. The plan echoes with the lab leak hypothesis made by the US, and is a typical example of the White House manipulating the WHO on some important agenda and topics.
Origin tracing of COVID-19 must be evidence-based, led by experts and free from interference. It is a principle agreed by the international society.
However, Washington is obviously talking the talk but not walking the walk. It stressed the importance of evidence in origin tracing, but came up with nothing when fabricating the stories of the so-called lab leak in China and the infections of three employees of the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). It couldn’t even name the three infected employees.
The White House claimed that origin tracing should be led by experts, but it employed the intelligence community to find the origins of the virus and oppressed scientists who made objective and rational voices.
It said origin tracing shall be free from interference, but an origin tracing program by the National Institutes of Health of the US, which spotted antibodies against the novel coronavirus in blood samples collected in the country in January the last year, was halted by high-rank officials in the White House who said the program disturbed the origin tracing studies into China and was not in line with the national security of the US. The blood samples collected before January 2, 2020 were sealed from further testing.
Such practices exposed not only the habitual double standard of the US in dealing with international affairs, but also its vicious intention to politicize origin tracing and discredit China.
What the US has done over the past year mirrors the country’s hypocrisy in its so-called “care” and “support” for the WHO.
Washington turned a deaf ear to the warning of the WHO when COVID-19 just broke out, and declared national emergency over the virus more than 40 days after the WHO sounded alarm. When the number of COVID-19 infections exceeded a million in the US, American politicians even attacked the WHO, saying the pandemic control response by the organization was a failure. At the most critical moment of the fight against the virus, when the WHO was seeing the most urgent need of funding, the White House decided to defund and withdraw from the organization. It also declared that it could even work to set up an alternative to the UN body instead. Such practices were called “a crime against humanity” by editor-in-chief of The Lancet Richard Horton.
Though the US has been reengaged in the WHO and claiming to support “multilateralism,” it has never abandoned the strategy of “America first” and egoism.
When the WHO was calling developed countries to offer vaccine support for developing countries, the US was hoarding doses and restricting export of vaccine materials. When the WHO expressed its hope to reinforce global anti-pandemic cooperation, the US was stigmatizing other countries, labeling the virus, politicizing origin tracing and dividing the international society. When the WHO was stressing the importance of quarantining political virus, the US was acting arbitrarily and employing the intelligence community to lead the origin tracing work.
The US, passing the buck to China, is trying to turn the dangerous virus into a blackmail, said a Russian media outlet.
The genuine support for the WHO is not embodied in what one says, but what one does. To adopt the most strict, comprehensive and thorough control measures after the outbreak of the pandemic is what shall be done to support the WHO, which plays a leading role in the global fight against the virus.
And that’s how and what China has done. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hailed that the high speed and massive scale of China’s moves are rarely seen in the world and praised China’s actions as setting a new benchmark for combating transnational infectious diseases.
To offer timely assistance when the WHO is in dire need of funding, materials and vaccines is the genuine support for the organization. China has made two batches of donations to the WHO totaling $50 million, and provided massive medical materials for the international society. It was the first country to promise to make its COVID-19 vaccines a global public good when they are developed. So far, the country has offered more than 700 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for the international society. China has always been science-based, professional, serious and responsible on origin tracing, and was the first country to cooperate with the WHO on the global studies of the origins of COVID-19 and achieved science-based conclusions. What China has done defines what shall be done to support the WHO.
In February the last year, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his gratitude to all the people in China who sacrificed many aspects of their normal lives to prevent the virus from spreading to others.
However, the US is today trying to coerce the WHO on some important agenda and topics through political manipulation, so as to authenticate that the lab leak hypothesis is true. This is an injustice for the Chinese people who have made huge sacrifice and contribution, and a disgrace in the history of human civilization. China will never accept it.
Scientific issues shall be resolved with scientific approaches. No matter what the US does to call its coercing practices “care” and “support,” its hostile intention to discredit, oppress, and contain China through politicizing origin tracing will only become clearer and clearer.
July 31, 2021
China is certified malaria-free by WHO
By Zhang Penghui, People’s Daily
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday officially granted China a malaria-free certification. The UN health body called it a notable feat for a country that reported 30 million cases of the disease annually in the 1940s.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus congratulated China in a press communique. He said China’s success was hard-earned and came only after decades of targeted and sustained action.
“China’s tireless effort to achieve this important milestone demonstrates how strong political commitment and strengthening national health systems can result in eliminating a disease that once was a major public health problem. China’s achievement takes us one step closer towards the vision of a malaria-free Western Pacific Region,” said Takeshi Kasai, Regional Director, WHO Western Pacific Regional Office.
The WHO grants the certification of malaria elimination to a country or a region when it has reported no indigenous malaria transmission for three consecutive years, established an effective and rapid detection and monitoring system for the disease, and set up a plan for malaria prevention and control.
China has seen no locally transmitted cases of malaria for four consecutive years since 2017, and officially applied to the WHO for the certification of malaria elimination last year.
In the press communique, the WHO detailed China’s practice and experience of eliminating malaria. Chinese scientists discovered and extracted artemisinin in Chinese herbal medicine, and the core compound of artemisinin-based combination therapies is the most effective antimalarial drugs available today. This discovery earned Chinese scientist Tu Youyou the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. China is also one of the first countries in the world to extensively test the use of insecticide-treated nets for the prevention of malaria.
Besides, China has established a national infectious disease reporting system and a laboratory testing network for malaria, and improved the monitoring systems of malaria vectors and drug resistance of plasmodium.
The country further reduced its malaria caseload through a strict adherence to the timelines of the “1-3-7” strategy and the “3+1 defense line” at border areas. The “1” signifies the one-day deadline for health facilities to report a malaria diagnosis; by the end of day 3, health authorities are required to confirm a case and determine the risk of spread; and, within 7 days, appropriate measures must be taken to prevent further spread of the disease. The “1-3-7” model has been promoted worldwide and officially incorporated into the WHO’s technical document.
Pedro Alonso, Director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme spoke highly of China’s achievements and experience in eliminating malaria. He said over many decades, China’s ability to think outside the box served the country well in its own response to malaria, and also had a significant ripple effect globally. The Chinese government and its people were always searching for new and innovative ways to accelerate the pace of progress towards elimination, he added.
According to data released by the WHO, there were 229 million cases of malaria worldwide in 2019 and 409,000 deaths.
July 3, 2021
WHO Declares An End To Second Ebola Outbreak In Guinea
The World Health Organization on Saturday officially announced the end of Guinea’s second Ebola outbreak which was declared on February 14.
“I have the honour of declaring the end of Ebola” in Guinea, WHO official Alfred Ki-Zerbo said at a ceremony in the southeastern Nzerekore region where the disease surfaced at the end of January.
It was the second such outbreak in the poor country of 13 million people since the devastating 2013-2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa, which left 11,300 dead in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Ebola causes severe fever and, in the worst cases, unstoppable bleeding.
It is transmitted through close contact with bodily fluids, and people who live with or care for patients are most at risk.
Guinea reacted quickly to this year’s outbreak, however, building on its previous experience of fighting the disease.
Among other measures, the country launched an Ebola vaccination campaign this year with the help of the WHO.
June 19, 2021