Nigeria News

The Representative of the World Health Organisation in Nigeria, Dr. David Okello has urged Rotary International not to relent in its advocacy and fund raising efforts to ensure that polio is eradicated from the world.

Dr. Okello who was the keynote speaker at the installation ceremony of District Governor of Rotary International District 9110 said Rotary’s commitment to the ongoing global polio eradication initiative is not in doubt.

In this issue:

The UN House Bomb Blast Remembered
Commemoration
Integrated Community Case Management
Nigeria gets US$ 225 million to fight Malaria
International Health Regulation
WHO in brief

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The Expert Review Committee on Polio Eradication and Routine immunisation in Nigeria met recently in Abuja for the 25th session since its inception. The committee reaffirmed its faith in the ability of Nigeria to stop polio from by end 2013.

Although, the polio eradication programme in Nigeria is faced by operationalas well as security challenges, the Expert Committee said that Nigeria can show the world something special adding that eradicating polio will be Nigeria's gift to the world.

The Independent Monitoring Board for Global Polio Eradication Initiative once observed that "People are the crucial ingredient in this programme and need to be viewed as such".

The roles being played by people in polio eradication especially the vaccination teams as the bridge between vaccine availability on one side and the open mouths of eligible children on the other side cannot be over-emphasied.

...endorses Malaria Programme Review Declaration

The Federal Ministry of Health in collaboration with the development and private partners commemorated the World Malaria Day 2013 with a run down of events to create awareness on malaria control efforts in the country.

The theme for the year "Invest in the future; Defeat Malaria" is a call to action for all stakeholders, hence the choice of the slogan "Time is Now."

Nigeria has joined the rest of the world to commemorate the 2013 World Tuberculosis (TB) Day.

The slogan for this year's campaign is ''Stop TB in my lifetime" while the theme is "Nigeria free of TB".  The event was held at the Ladi Kwali Hall, Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Abuja on Friday 22nd March 2013.

The Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria officially Released the Results of its Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) on July 11, 2013.  The Honourable Minister of Health of Nigeria, Prof C.O Onyebuchi Chukwu Released the Report on behalf of the President, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. GATS is a standard global  survey of adults aged 15 years of age or older that was conducted to monitor adult tobacco use and exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke in order to be able to effectively  track  tobacco control interventions.

Count Down to polio eradication in Nigeria, July 2013

In a bid to fine-tune strategies for reaching more children during Immunisation Plus Days, polio survivors were engaged recently in Igabi Local Government Administration (LGA), Kaduna state as community mobilisers with special focus on non-compliant families and children found on the streets.

Serving as testimonials, polio survivors otherwise called victims of polio infection worked as forerunners of the street vaccination teams, educating parents on the dangers of rejecting polio vaccination.

Based on the recommendations of the Guinea Worm Eradication International Certification Team, (ICT) Nigeria may be declared a Guinea Worm free nation by December 2013.

Speaking at the ministerial debriefing, the leader of the ICT, Professor David Moleyneux stated that the team visited seventeen (17) states and FCT, interviewed 1630 individuals in 136 villages in 60 LGAs in Nigeria.

The Federal Ministry of Health of Nigeria in collaboration with the WHO Nigeria country Office and the Senator Lee Maeba Foundation joined the rest of the world to mark the World Diabetes Day on 14th November 2013.

This year’s World Diabetes Day marks the fifth and final year of the 2009-2013 campaign on the theme: “Diabetes education and prevention” with the campaign slogan: Diabetes: Protect our future.