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The Kaduna State Government gives medical assistance to elderly patients who are between the ages of 70 and above. This was made known by the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Paul Manya Dogo, during the Open Kaduna Ministry of Health Media Programme (OpenKDMoH). The aim of the program was in agreement of the Ministry of Health and Human Services in Collaboration with Journalists that report on health matters since the year 2016 to interact quarterly to discuss current health status in the state with the support of Community Health Research Initiative(CHR) and Kaduna State Accountability Mechanism for Maternal Newborn and Child Health (KADMAM). Dr. Paul said the patients to receive the assistance include those suffering from diabetes, hypertension or both as they will be provided with very good drugs during clinic visit, and should they be admitted to hospitals, they will be provided with money to pay the admission fee. Adding “there is a life assurance component where a token is paid to the family should they die during admission. We are doing all of these in partnership with Server Pharmaceutical International. “On recruiting over one thousand medical professionals, it is done in other to improve the human resource situation of the general hospitals and for better quality of services.”
Leadership Nigeria Newspaper NEWSKaduna Government Recruits 1,240 Medical Professionals, Gives Medical Assistance To Elderly PatientsPublished 2 days ago on April 13, 2018 By Kaduna, RAHILA ABDULLAHI The Kaduna State Government gives medical assistance to elderly patients who are between the ages of 70 and above. This was made known by the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Paul Manya Dogo, during the Open Kaduna Ministry of Health Media Programme (OpenKDMoH). The aim of the program was in agreement of the Ministry of Health and Human Services in Collaboration with Journalists that report on health matters since the year 2016 to interact quarterly to discuss current health status in the state with the support of Community Health Research Initiative(CHR) and Kaduna State Accountability Mechanism for Maternal Newborn and Child Health (KADMAM). Dr. Paul said the patients to receive the assistance include those suffering from diabetes, hypertension or both as they will be provided with very good drugs during clinic visit, and should they be admitted to hospitals, they will be provided with money to pay the admission fee. Adding “there is a life assurance component where a token is paid to the family should they die during admission. We are doing all of these in partnership with Server Pharmaceutical International. “On recruiting over one thousand medical professionals, it is done in other to improve the human resource situation of the general hospitals and for better quality of services.” The government in its bid to raise the accreditation status of its training schools, The College of Midwifery Tudun Wada Kaduna was given full accreditation a month ago, also an executive bill on the establishment of a multi campus State College of Nursing and Midwifery was recently sent to the State Assembly for passage in to Law. This is to make the training of such cadre of staff more accessible to qualified young men and women across the state and to run the college at a significantly reduced administrative cost. The allocation to health sector has increased steadily from 7.5% in 2016, 11.5% in 2017 to 16% in 2018 of the total state budget. This indicates “we have not only met but has exceeded the Abuja declaration of allocating 15% of total state budget to health.He said.

Source: Leadership News

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The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has been notified of the circulation of a falsified version of Augmentin (Amoxycillin + Clavulanate potassium) in Cameroun.

Amoxycillin + Clavulanic acid is used to treat a range of bacterial infections and is listed as a WHO Essential Medicine.

The existence of the falsified product was reported to WHO in early 2018 by an NGO. The NGO reported that this product was available at patient level in a street market of Douala, Litorral Region, Cameroun. Samples were sent for quality-assurance laboratory testing and the result shared with WHO. The result of analysis did not identify any of the expected active ingredient.

The packaging of the falsified product appears to be a close imitation of the genuine product manufactured by GSK (GlaxoSmithKline), although there are some mistakes on the packaging inscription. The source(s) of the falsified product has not yet been identified.

The stated manufacturer (GSK) has confirmed they did not manufacture this falsified version. No known adverse reactions to this product have been reported.

NAFDAC advices wholesalers, distributors and pharmacies that products should be obtained from authentic and reliable sources. Increased vigilance is hereby encouraged within the supply chain to avoid infiltration of the falsified product.

NAFDAC implores healthcare providers to ensure vigilance to prevent the administration of the falsified product to unsuspecting patients.

Healthcare providers and the general public should notify the nearest NAFDAC office of any information concerning the distribution, sale and use of the falsified Augmentin product.

SIGNED MANAGEMENT

NAFDAC………..Safeguarding the health of the Nation!!!

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ( NDLEA ) on Wednesday called on parents and communities to step up monitoring of youths against drug abuse.

The agency said in Lagos that most youths who abused drugs would deny doing so.

The NDLEA Assistant Director, Drug Abuse Preventive Education ( DAPE ), Mrs Stella Ngwoke, made the assertion in Surulere during a community awareness campaign on drug abuse and misuse.

The campaign was organised by the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists.

Ngwoke spoke on “The Role of NDLEA in Combating Drug Abuse in the Country”.

She described illicit drugs as any substances that could transformed the central nervous system and affect the person’s behaviour or thought.

“Parents need to face the challenges their children are experiencing as regards drug abuse by checking their activities.

“Denial of drug abuse by their children is a problem that must also be faced by parents if they want this menace to be eradicated easily.

“Parents should not be too tired to listen and pay attention to their needs because once they lose faith in you, they can never confide in you,’’ the official said.

Ngwoke said that drug abuse posed a serious problem for the victim, the family and the entire society.

According to her, a person that abuses drugs should not be taken as a criminal but s sick person.

She said that drug abuse brought misery to the family, adding that the victim would be more predisposed to contacting the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and some other illnesses.

The NDLEA official added that drug abuse could lead to crime.

“The NDLEA, in combating drug abuse, has introduced two strategies: the supply reduction – which has to do with reducing drugs in the society – and the demand reduction.”

Ngwoke said that the agency was collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Education to infuse drug education in the curriculum of secondary schools.

M John Bamikole, Principal Officer, Narcotics Substance Directorate, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control ( NAFDAC ), also tasked parents to properly monitor their children’s activities.

“When last did you go to your children’s room to check the content of their bags?’’

“Farm parties exist where people put things in the vent of their air conditioners, which spread drugs that affect people,” he said.

Bamikole urged youths at the event to go to streets and other places where smokers and drug abusers usually lurked to educate them on the consequences of their actions.

“There is need for people to wake up to their responsibilities and be their brothers’ keepers so that the menace will be eradicated completely,’’ he said.

The NAFDAC official listed weight gain or loss, constant deep sleep, deteriorating physical appearance, unusual smell and impaired coordination as some signs of drug abuse.

The Chairman, Obele Odan Community Development Area in Surulere, Mr Yusuf Osagie, called for proper enforcement of the law against illicit drugs peddling.

“Drug abuse is not desirable in any society, and should be discouraged; it can lead to fragmentation in the family, and also death.

“Parents should pay attention to what their children are doing and know the kind of friends they keep,” Osagie advised.

Source: NAN

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The Benue State police in collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) officers have arrested a J-5 truck with cartons of tramadol drugs. The commissioner of police,Fatai Owoseni who paraded the suspects alongside the substance disclosed that the substance which was packed in different boxes with different names upon checking turned out to be tramadol, a drug taken by youths to commit crime. Owoseni while conducting journalists round averred that there was an intelligence report that a J-5 bus coming from Aliade to Makurdi was transporting substance packaged in different cartons believed to be dangerous drugs.Based on the report the police with officers of NDLEA mobilized and accosted the vehicle with its two occupants.

According to the CP, the two suspects arrested have made useful information and investigation is ongoing. In another development, twelve armed robbers were arrested at different locations of the state, with several items used in perpetrating crimes like locally fabricated pistols, military uniforms, caps, walkie talkie and other weapons including a carton of dangerous drugs recovered from them. The CP while commending the general public for their support through timely information called on the citizens to say something when they see something

Source: Leadership News

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The President, Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria (AGPMPA), Dr. Frank Odafen has urged Nigerians to desist from self-medication or obtaining medical treatment from quacks.

He counseled them to always consult qualified and experienced medical personnel, whenever they are sick, adding that such would reduce the high rate of preventable deaths being recorded in the country.

Odafen called on government to address the problem of multiple taxation and exorbitant tax imposed on privately-owned medical facilities.

Speaking, yesterday, in Abuja, Odafen appealed to the Federal Government to make healthcare service accessible to the entire populace in line with the universal health coverage.

He lamented that 13 years after introduction of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), most Nigerians still pay from their pockets for healthcare services, adding that this is not promoting universal health care coverage.

He said: “Eighty per cent of the patients pay from their purses, with no form of insurance. It is generally observed that majority of Nigerians cannot afford to pay for their health needs, and most times wait till they are in emergency before seeking medical aid.

Source: Guardian News

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Press Conference by the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) at the Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria, National Secretariat, Ayuba Wabba House, Abuja, on Monday, 16th April, 2018.

Gentlemen of the Press, we want to use this medium to intimate you of the happenings in the health sector. It is no more news that there is incessant industrial unrest in the health sector which root cause derives from the insensitivity and lackadaisical attitude of the drivers of the health sector.

You will recall the JOHESU suspended her last nationwide strike action on 30th September, 2017, after signing of Memorandum of Terms of Settlement which was to be implemented which five(5) weeks after the date of suspension of the strike.

For the avoidance of doubt, the issues amongst others are:

1. The upward adjustment of CONHESS Salary Scale.

2. Arrears of Skipping of CONHESS 10.

3. Employment of Additional Health Professionals.

4. The Implementation of Court Judgments.

5. Upward review of Retirement Age from 60-65.

However,it is disheartening to note that after six (6) months of the suspension of our last strike and still counting, the Federal Government has not done anything tangible over the pending issues, especially on the flagship issue of CONHESS adjustment and payment of arrears of CONHESS 10 skipping.

JOHESU, as a mature and responsible organisation, gave 21 days notice on 5th of February, 2018, in the first instance, to enable the Federal Government do the needful. At the expiration of the 21 days notice, the leadership of JOHESU reconvened to re-appraise the situation on ground and noted the lackadaisical attitude of the Federal Government towards the implementation of the Memorandum of Terms of Settlement signed on 30th September, 2017.

In furtherance with our mantra as peace lovers who have the interest of the masses at heart, another 30 working days ultimatum was issued to the Federal Government on 5th of March, 2018, to alert the Government of the impending nationwide strike.

However, on Thursday, 5th April, 2018, the Hon. Minister of Labour and Employment invited the leadership of JOHESU to a meeting wherein we were told that our issues were still being looked Into. The leadership reported same to the NEC of JOHESU which upheld the ultimatum issued, since the Government seemed to be taking JOHESU for a ride.

Consequent upon this, therefore, JOHESU has no other choice than to proceed on an indefinite nationwide strike action as from midnight of Tuesday, 17th April, 2018; when the 30-working days is expected to expire.

Therefore, JOHESU Unions hereby direct all her members in Federal Health Institutions all over the country to commence the strike immediately (midnight of Tuesday, 17th April, 2018) unfailingly, States and Local Government Health Institutions are, by this, placed on red alert and are to continue intense sensitization and mobilization of our members.

Source: Pharma Times

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In the latest foray into personalized medicine, scientists design tumour vaccines specific to each patient’s tumor. Although the technology is in its infancy and the trial is small-scale, the findings are incredibly promising.

Over recent years, there have been various attempts to produce anti-cancer vaccines.

Most of these efforts have focused on designing a vaccine that recognizes a generic target on a tumour.

This method ensured that the vaccine would be able to attack most tumors, but it also meant that it lacked specificity — every tumor is different.

Recently, researchers set out to design a vaccine that is much more patient-specific. They attempted to tailor a vaccine to specifically match the patient’s individual disease.

The research took place across a range of institutions, including the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and the Lausanne Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Switzerland.

The team concentrated on people with advanced ovarian cancer, a particularly difficult cancer to manage; treatment normally involves surgery followed by chemotherapy and, although there is often a good response initially, patients tend to relapse and become resistant to treatment.

Though the study only set out to determine whether such a personalized treatment was possible and safe, the results were positive and the authors believe that the technology has enormous potential.

Each tumour has its own set of mutations, making it unique. The vaccine designed by the team was a so-called whole-tumor vaccine. This means that rather than targeting just one region of the tumor, it attacks hundreds, or even thousands, of sites.

Lead study author Dr. Janos L. Tanyi explains, “The idea is to mobilize an immune response that will target the tumor very broadly, hitting a variety of markers including some that would be found only on that particular tumour.”

Naturally, T cells mount an immune response against tumors, but this vaccine heightens their attack and helps them to overcome the cancer’s robust defenses.

The team’s results were published last week in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Also, scientists have discovered that a solution might lie in a new drug that tackles cancer cells differently.

An experimental new drug may tackle treatment resistance in cancer.

In the study paper, now published in the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, they report how the experimental drug showed promising results in animal models of both breast and colorectal cancer.

The drug targets a molecule that helps cancer cells to read instructions in their DNA. In fact, targeting this function has received attention lately as a new approach to treating cancer.

“Treatment-resistant tumors represent a significant threat for patients,” says study author Charles Coombes, who is a professor of medical oncology at Imperial College London in the United Kingdom, “as once a cancer stops responding to treatments there is increasingly little clinicians can do.”

The new drug, called ICEC0942, has been licenced to a private company. They have developed it further and entered it into a phase I clinical trial that started treating people in November 2017.

The trial will assess the safety and effectiveness of the drug in humans. It is likely to be several years before it is approved for clinical use, however.

Also, new studies show a correlation between cell phones and cancer in lab rats, but the evidence may not resolve ongoing debates over causality or whether any effects arise in people.

The ionizing radiation given off by sources such as x-ray machines and the sun boosts cancer risk by shredding molecules in the body.

But the non-ionizing radio-frequency (RF) radiation that cell phones and other wireless devices emit has just one known biological effect: an ability to heat tissue by exciting its molecules.

Still, evidence advanced by the studies shows prolonged exposure to even very low levels of RF radiation, perhaps by mechanisms other than heating that remain unknown, makes rats uniquely prone to a rare tumor called a schwannoma, which affects a type of neuron (or nerve cell) called a Schwann cell.

The studies are notable for their sizes. Researchers at the United States National Toxicology Programme, a federal interagency group under the National Institutes of Health, tested 3,000 rats and mice of both sexes for two years—the largest investigation of RF radiation and cancer in rodents ever undertaken in the U.S.

European investigators at the Ramazzini Institute in Italy were similarly ambitious; in their recent study they investigated RF effects in nearly 2,500 rats from the fetal stage until death.

Also, new research suggests that iron tablets taken by millions may cause bowel cancer.

A study found even low doses of the chemicals ferric citrate and ferric EDTA, which are commonly found in over-the-counter iron supplements, increase levels of a protein associated with the disease.

The findings were published in the journal Oncotarget.

Lead author Professor Scheers, from the Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, said: “We can conclude ferric citrate and ferric EDTA might be carcinogenic, as they both increase the formation of amphiregulin, a known cancer marker most often associated with long-term cancer with poor prognosis.”

This is not the first time such concerns have been raised, with a study released two years ago suggesting the DNA of cells in blood vessels can be destroyed within 10 minutes of swallowing iron tablets.

Previous research suggests excessive iron levels ‘switch on’ genetic pathways that lead to bowel cancer.

Meanwhile, according to a recent study, the immune system may play a more important role in age-related cancer than previously thought.

To create these vaccines, Dr. Tanyi and team pored over the immune cells present in the patients’ blood. They were on the lookout for precursor cells that they could extract and grow in the laboratory.

From these, they developed a population of dendritic cells.

Dendritic cells are messengers, of sorts, in that they consume antigen material (in this case, parts of a tumor) and present it to T cells to spark a response.

The dendritic cells were taken from the patients’ blood and then introduced to extracts of their tumors and activated with interferon gamma, which is a chemical that is critical in the immune response. Finally, they were injected into the patients’ lymph nodes.

Source: Guardian News

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Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (MLSN) have explained why Nigeria is ranked low in healthcare services.

The MLSN National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Casmir Ifeanyi, attributed the drop to the inability of health managers to arrest the increasing infant mortality rate.

Ifeanyi, who declared this in Enugu after the association’s 12th annual public health lecture, added also cited the inability of the country to control the recent outbreaks of communicable diseases in the country.

He also included the ravaging Lassa fever, Cholera and Meningitis in various parts of the country.

The 2017 Mo Ibrahim ranking of health services in African countries had recently placed Nigeria at the 48th position.

He said: “As stakeholders in the healthcare services industry, it is our candid opinion that this poor ranking is largely due to the defective health administrative system in the country. There is also the lack of good governance structure in the delivery of healthcare services.”

The body stressed that in the past, Nigeria produced yellow fever and other human vaccines to meet its needs, and even exported to some countries in the African region.

The national publicity secretary lamented that Nigeria today, has become a dumping ground for all sorts of vaccines, adding that the continuous deployment of these alien microbial-based vaccines among the population poses a serious challenge.

He disclosed that most of the vaccines are produced using alien microbial strains from countries that were trailing behind Nigeria after its independence.

Meanwhile, the Dental Support Foundation (DSF) has canvassed the implementation of the Nigerian Oral Health Care Policy.

The DSF Chairman, Dr. Bidemi Dawodu, made the appeal at the official unveiling of the body, which was incorporated in 2015.

He explained that the prevalence of oral diseases as dental caries and periodontal disease, have been a major source of concern to professionals in the health sector.

The DSF, which is made up of some dental practitioners, said the action would make it possible for primary oral healthcare centres to be established in each local government area in the country.

According to the foundation, it would also improve the oral health of Nigerians, increase oral healthcare awareness, create job opportunities and promote dentistry.

Members of the board include a dental surgeon with over 35 years experience, Dr. Ademola Ademuson, a consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon with the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Dr. Akanbi Oluwarotimi, and Consultant General, Dental Practice (Family Dentistry), with Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Dr. Ishaku Danfillo.

Others are a family dentistry specialist with core interest in Endodontics and Aesthetics; Dr. Enere Owoturo, Dr. Dahiru Labo, Dr. Grace Mang, Dr. Bola Awokoya and Dr. Bidemi Dawodu.

Source: Guardian News

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Bukky George is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of HealthPlus Limited, the company that recently announced an important partnership with Alta Semper Capital.

Details of the deal have it that the UK-based private equity firm (Alta Semper Capital) will invest the sum of US $18m in HealthPlus, thereby enabling the first integrative Nigerian pharmacy to expand its retail outlets.

In light of this development, we have chosen to feature the woman behind the HealthPlus success story as our corporate personality of the week. Let’s get to know how she built Nigeria’s leading pharmacy from scratch.

Bukky’s early childhood and education

Bukky George was born in Lagos in 1970. Unlike some other successful Nigerian men and women in business we know, she was not born with a silver spoon in her mouth. As a matter of fact, her childhood was fraught with difficulties. This is because her father married many wives and had a total of thirty-six children. Bukky was the ninth child.

Against all odds, her parents (especially her mother) did everything possible to ensure that she got all the necessities she needed, including access to an education. She had her primary and secondary school education in Lagos and later proceeded to the University of Lagos where she studied Pharmacy between 1987 and 1992. She graduated top of her class and did her internship with the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

Bukky George has a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the Lagos Business School. She is a registered member of the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, and member of the General Pharmaceutical Council (UK).

Her professional life

During her National Youth Service year, Bukky worked at Glaxo Smith Kline Consumer Nigeria Plc, which was back then known as Smith Kline Beecham. It was here that she got her first corporate experience, working in different units such as sales, production and quality control. After she was done with her National Youth Service, Bukky was hired by May & Baker Nigeria Plc as a medical representative, a position at which she worked briefly before returning to Glaxo Smith Kline as a full-time staff.

At Glaxo Smith Kline, Bukky also worked as a medical representative. Her job involved relating with clients (mainly medical doctors) through presentations, exhibitions, as well as marketing. This job helped her to develop vital skills that would later in life be useful to her, including presentation and marketing skills. She was also very good at her job, always emerging the best sales rep of the month.

The secret to her success as a young professional was her love for the job. According to her, “I loved organizing; I was enterprising, and always paid great attention to detail, which is some of the key success factors of a retailer.”

She, however, resigned in 1999 at the level of an assistant manager and moved on to achieve greater things.

The establishment of HealthPlus and CasaBella International

After four years of working in two of Nigeria’s leading pharmaceutical companies, the promising young woman decided to channel the hands-on professional experiences she had garnered into starting her own business. Consequently, HealthPlus Limited was born. The company was incorporated in 1996 but began full-time operations three years later in 1999. With dedication, Bukky and her team built the company into the leading pharmacy chain in Nigeria and indeed, the whole of West Africa.

HealthPlus retails quality products ranging from medicines to nutritional supplements. It also retails home medical equipment such as blood glucose test kits, Body Mass Index (BMI) measurement tools, etc. Also, HealthPlus sells natural remedy products and provides mobility aids and other pharmacy services through its pool of professionals.

By 2014 (barely two decades after HealthPlus was started in a small store at Ikeja GRA), it had already expanded to thirty strategically located branches. The company also had over a hundred and twenty full-time employees and was taking steps to institutionalise the business. The founder had a vision for the company- “to be the Boots Pharmacy of Nigeria”.

In 2015, Bukky George disclosed plans to further expand the company by adding 48 more branches. There are currently more than 45 HealthPlus outlets across Nigeria and some West African countries. With this partnership with Alta Semper Capital, many more are definitely on the way.

Following the success of HealthPlus, Bukky also took steps to establish CasaBella International which was eventually incorporated in 2008. The company is equally a retail chain, but with a special focus on beauty and grooming products. In 2010, the CasaBella store was established in Lagos. Today, it offers a wide range of beauty brands such as creams, fragrances, hair extensions, soaps, etc.

Besides overseeing the daily operations of her businesses, Bukky George also sits on the boards of several companies. She is a member of the Pharma Strategic Committee, a body that oversees the affairs of the Nigerian Pharmaceutical industry. She is also an associate member of Women in Management and Business (WIMBIZ), as well as the current Chairman of Sanofi Pharmacy Advisory Board.

She has also received several awards and recognitions, including the honour of being the first recipient of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria Board of Fellow’s Award for Excellence in Community Pharmacy. In 2012, she was invited as a Panelist to the IFC Euro Week in Frankfurt, Germany. She was also selected for the Fortune 500 Global Women’s Mentoring Program in 2014.

Bukky is married to Charles Babajide George, and together they have four children.

Information for this article was obtained Naira metrics

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Bukky George is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of HealthPlus Limited, the company that recently announced an important partnership with Alta Semper Capital.

Bukky’s early childhood and education

Her professional life

She, however, resigned in 1999 at the level of an assistant manager and moved on to achieve greater things.

The establishment of HealthPlus and CasaBella International

Picture of a HealthPlus Facility

Bukky is married to Charles Babajide George, and together they have four children.

Source: Pharma News

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The Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) has enjoined the Federal Government to establish vaccine factories for production of vaccine range meant for routine under-five children immunization programmes.

The National Publicity Secretary of the association, Casmir Ifeanyi, gave the advice during a press briefing at the AMLSN 196th National Executive Council meeting held in Enugu.

According to Ifeanyi, “If we must get it right in the combat against communicable diseases especially the vaccine preventable types, the Nigerian Government must ensure the establishment of vaccine factories particularly for the production of the vaccine range used in the National Immunization Programmes, especially those for children under five.”

But he lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for the recent reconstitution and inauguration of the governing boards of all the tertiary hospitals and some agencies under the Federal Ministry of Health.

He said: “Also, the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria applauds the two chambers of the 8th National Assembly under the leadership of Senator Bukola Saraki and Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara for the expeditious passage of the establishment bill for the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC).

“It is our hope that the NCDC establishment bill, when assented to, will help in repositioning the NCDC and enable her deliver on its core mandate and hence redeem the nation from the looming plague of emerging and re-emerging diseases and non-communicable diseases.”

He further said: “We are all aware that we are still within the lower rungs of the ladder occupying ingloriously the 48th position in Africa, in the 2017 Mo Ibrahim ranking of healthcare services amongst African countries.”

He said: “As major stakeholders in the healthcare service industry, it is our candid opinion that this is largely due to the defective health administrative system in Nigeria, and lack of good governance structure in the delivery of healthcare services.

“In the early days of this country, we produced yellow fever and other human vaccines to meet in-country needs for vaccines and exported same to very many countries within the African region.

“Today, our government has failed in this aspect and has continued to pay lip service to the issue of vaccine preventable diseases such as the ones enumerated above.

“Nigeria has become a dumping ground for all sorts of vaccines produced using alien microbial strains coming from countries that were trailing behind Nigeria at independence.

“The continuous deployment of these alien microbial based vaccines amongst our population, poses a serious challenge as it has been evidenced that many of these alien microbial based vaccines have failed to elicit the requisite immunogenicity and the recipient therefore remains vulnerable even after vaccination.

Source: Daily Trust News

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Following the alleged failure of the Federal Government to meet up with the Memorandum of Terms of Settlement, which was signed with the health workers under the aegis of the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) in September 2017, the body has directed all health workers nationwide to down tool by 18 April, if the government does not redeem her pledge with them.

The National Chairman of JOHESU, Comrade Biobelemoye Joy Joshua, issued the directives on Monday 16 April, at a press conference, organised by the group at the Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria, National Secretariat, Ayuba Wabba House, Abuja.

Joshua who recalled their previous meeting with the government noted that JOHESU suspended her last nationwide strike action on 30 September, 2017, after the signing of the Memorandum of Terms of Settlement, which was to be implemented within five weeks after the date of suspension of the strike.

He however noted that it was shocking that the six months after the suspension of the strike, the Federal Government is yet to do anything tangible over the pending issues, especially on flagship issue of CONHESS adjustment and payment of arrears of CONHESS 10 skipping.

It was on this note he stated thus: “Consequent upon this, therefore, JOHESU has no other choice than to proceed on an indefinite nationwide strike action as from midnight of Tuesday, 17 April ,2018, when the 30-working day is expected to expire”.

Some of the other issues the group is demanding are:

The upward adjustment of CONHESS salary scale
Arrears of skipping of CONHESS 10
Employement of additional health professionals
The implementation of court judgements
Upward review of retirement age from 60-6

Source: Pharma News

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An international consortium of researchers has reported that an Ebola vaccine appears to provide volunteers protection against the virus two years after they were injected — encouraging findings both for the public health community and the vaccine’s manufacturer.

An earlier study, conducted in Guinea near the end of the devastating West African Ebola outbreak, showed the vaccine from Merck, which is given in a single shot, rapidly generated protection against the virus. But how long that protection lasts remained an open question.

A fast-acting, long-lasting vaccine given in a single dose would be an effective tool for controlling dangerous Ebola outbreaks. Vaccinating health care workers, for instance, could prevent the type of spread within hospitals that, in the early days of an outbreak, can turn a smoldering outbreak into a conflagration

“The ideal vaccine in these regions would have long-term durability,” said Dr. Angela Huttner, an infectious diseases specialist at Switzerland’s University Hospitals of Geneva and the lead author of the paper. “This is really good news because this vaccine is destined for places where logistics are very difficult. Having to do booster shots would be very impractical in these regions.”

The new study, published in Lancet Infectious Diseases, shows that two years after getting the vaccine, volunteers had high and stable levels of antibodies to the Ebola Zaire virus. (This vaccine only targets that one strain of Ebola.) Volunteers who received a high dose of the vaccine had, on average, higher antibody levels than people who received a lower dose. But there were solid levels of antibodies even among people who got the lower dose.

“It’s very encouraging,” Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy, said of the new findings. Osterholm was not involved in the study.

Merck, which has said it is working toward a 2018 licensure filing with the Food and Drug Administration, also welcomed the results.

“This publication is the first demonstration of the durability of the antibody responses induced by V920 out to 2 years,” the company said in a statement, using its developmental name for the vaccine. (In scientific trials, the vaccine is identified as rVSV-ZEBOV.)

“We are encouraged by these important results and testing of long-term follow-up samples from additional trials is planned or ongoing to corroborate these findings,” Merck said.

Huttner and colleagues conducted a Phase 1 trial of the vaccine in 2014-2015 in Switzerland. This new paper stems from a follow-up.

For this study, the Swiss researchers pooled data with two other groups that conducted Phase 1 trials of the vaccine in Africa — in Lambaréné, Gabon, and Kilifi, Kenya. In total, they had data from 197 people who received the vaccine. Both the Geneva and the Gabon volunteers will be followed for five years to see what happens to antibody levels over time. The Kenyan trial is finished.

Huttner said her team recently completed blood draws from the Geneva volunteers to look at the antibody levels after three years, but they have not yet had time to analyze the samples.

The study charts two years of antibody levels for the people vaccinated in Geneva and one year each in Gabon and Kenya. It found that antibodies that specifically target the main protein on the exterior of the Ebola virus remained high. But levels of another type of antibody, called neutralizing antibodies, dropped off quite quickly. Huttner noted, however, that may be a testing problem; there isn’t a good test to measure neutralizing antibodies to Ebola.

With Ebola, it is not clear exactly what is needed to protect against infection. But Huttner said the thinking is that the Ebola-specific antibodies are more important.

She is hopeful the data at two years will prove to be predictive of long-term protection. “Our hypothesis is that the values we’re seeing at two years shouldn’t change too much at three, four, and five years.”

If true, the vaccine could potentially be useful in both an emergency response setting and as a longer-term tool to protect scientists who work with Ebola virus, Doctors Without Borders teams that typically lead Ebola responses, and health care workers in places where Ebola outbreaks could crop up.

It has been thought that long-term protection might require a two-dose vaccine, like the type being developed by Janssen Vaccines and Prevention BV, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.

Osterholm warned it is too early to say if the Merck’s vaccine’s protection will be that durable. “We don’t know that yet,” he said

Source: Stat News

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For years, birth control pills have been used exclusively by women. However, it seems that a change is on the horizon. According to a new study which was presented in Chicago at the Annual Endocrine Society Meeting, a male birth control pill that is safe and effective may be around the corner.
The proposed pill called Dimethandrolone Undecanoate or DMAU effectively reduces testosterone and other hormones responsible for producing sperm. The lead author of the study, Dr. Stephanie Page, who is an endocrinologist at the University of Washington School of Medicine, stated that “everyone’s goal in this field is to develop a method for men that have minimal side effects and the Holy Grail would be to develop something that also has a health benefit for men.”
Although, there are quite a number of options for women when it comes to birth control including hormone-based pills, injections and intrauterine devices, men have smaller options, which basically include vasectomy, coitus interruptus and condoms.
The new study relied on 83 men between the ages of 18 and 50, who received different dosage of the drug: 100, 200 or 400 milligrams. After taking the drug for 28 days, researchers found that testosterone in the blood dropped to castrate levels. Castrate levels which is the term used to refer to the target range of testosterone in the blood after chemical or surgical castration and it is usually tagged at 50 nanograms per decilitre.
Dr. Seth Cohen, an assistant professor of Urology at New York University said that the normal testosterone in a man is usually from 350 to 1,100 nanograms per decilitre but the men in the study had theirs at 13 nanograms per decilitre. According to Mayo Clinic, that low level of testosterone will only be found in prepubescent boys and girls not in adult men.
The study however only relied on results from a small sample of men, which is not sufficient to get it any approval from regulatory authorities anytime soon. However, Dr. Page said that a longer term research with the drug.
Another reason to be sceptical would be the fact that the new study has not been published in any peer-reviewed journal and until the community of scientists have the opportunity to pick apart the study, there will still be doubts about it.
Even though it is still a long way from the local pharmacy, it’s a welcomed move in the right direction.

Source: Pharma Times

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The Joint Health Sector Union ( JOHESU ) says it has commenced nationwide indefinite strike in earnest.

Mr Obisesan Oluwatuyi, General Secretary of the Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals ( NUAHP ) disclosed this in an interview with our correspondent on Wednesday in Abuja.

Oluwatuyi said that they would not call up the strike until government meets their demands.

He said: “The soldiers have been let loose, no retreat, no surrender until government does the needful”.

Members of the JOHESU had earlier threatened to embark on a nationwide indefinite strike beginning on Tuesday midnight due to alleged Federal Government’s failure to meet their demands.

Mr Josiah Biobelemoye, President of the union, who issued the strike notice on Monday, attributed the industrial action to what he described as the “insensitivity and lackadaisical attitude of drivers of the health sector’’.

He directed all JOHESU members in federal health institutions across the country to commence the strike at midnight of April 17.

Biobelemoye listed their demands to include upward adjustment of CONHESS Salary Scale, arrears of skipping of CONHESS 10 and employment of additional health professionals.

Other demands are implementation of court judgments and upward review of retirement age from 60 to 65 years.

Biobelemoye, who said that the union suspended its last nationwide strike on Sept. 30, last year, after signing a Memorandum of Terms of Settlement (MOTS), with the federal government.

According to him, the MOTS was supposed to be implemented within five weeks after the date of suspension of the strike.

He, however, noted that six months after the suspension of the nationwide strike, government was yet to do anything tangible over the pending issues.

According to him, the union had on Feb. 5 given a fresh 21 days ultimatum to enable government meet the agreement reached.

The JOHESU president stated that the union gave an additional 30 working days effective from March 5, after the expiration of the earlier 21 days ultimatum.

Biobelemoye, who described the union members as peace lovers, emphasised that the 45 days was given simply because the union had the interest of the masses at heart.

“It is disheartening to note that after six months of suspension of our last strike and still counting, the Federal Government has not done anything tangible over pending issues especially on the flagship issue of CONHESS adjustment and payment of arrears of CONHESS 10 skipping.

“JOHESU as a mature and responsible organisation gave 21 days notice on Feb. 5, this year, in the first instance to enable the Federal Government to do the needful.

“At the expiration of the 21 days notice, the leadership of JOHESU reconvened to re-appraise the situation on ground and noted the lackadaisical attitude of the government toward the implementation of the Memorandum of Terms of Settlement signed on Sept. 30.

“On April 5, 2018, the Minister of Labour and Employment invited the leadership of JOHESU for a meeting wherein we were told that our issues were still being looked into, this shows that government is taking JOHESU for a ride,’’ he said.

Biobelemoye urged members at the states and local government health institutions on continuous sensitisation and mobilisation for possible solidarity strike, if government failed to attend to their demands.

He also called on well-meaning Nigerians including traditional leaders, elder statesmen, opinion leaders and general public to prevail on government to implement MOTS entered into with JOHESU on Sept. 30, 2017.

Biobelemoye explained JOHESU members were not clamouring for equality with doctors but equity and justice, advising medical doctors and the Federal Ministry of Health to change their perception of the demands.

JOHESU draws its membership from the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives ( NANNM ), Medical and Health Workers Union ( MHWUN ), and Senior Staff Association of University Teaching Hospitals.

Others include Research Institutes and Associated Institutions, Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals and Non-academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutes.

Source: The Nation

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-NAFDAC DG, PSN President, Others to Grace Event

The 21st Annual National Conference of the Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria (NAIP) themed “Imperatives for National Drug Security” starts Tuesday 17 April, 2018, at The Kwara Hotels, Ilorin, Kwara State.

Speaking with journalists at a media parley on the conference in Lagos, Pharm. Ignatius Anukwu, national chairman, NAIP said that the conference which holds from Tuesday 17 April to Friday 20 April will help re-focus attention on what the nation needs to do to achieve self-sufficiency in the production of essential medicines.

Caption: Pharm. John Adekoje, director, media & publicity, NAIP; Pharm. Nnenna Okwuosa, member, conference planning committee, NAIP; Pharm Ignatius Anukwu, national chairman, NAIP and Pharm. Ikenna Orakwe, director of programmes, NAIP.

Pharm. Anukwu, while disclosing that Prof. (Mrs) Mojisola Adeyeye, the director general, NAFDAC will deliver the keynote address on the conference theme, bemoaned the dependence of the nation’s huge population on other countries for its drug needs.

He explained that while the National Drug Policy provides that 70 percent of medicines used in the country should be manufactured locally, a number of audits carried out put the percentage of indigenously manufactured medicines between 18 to 25 percent of the total medicines used in the country.

He stated further that despite the indigenous pharmaceutical companies are about 170 with over 200 production pharmacists, the business and practice environment for the companies and pharmacists is quite strangulating, lamenting that the government has not given the industry reasonable patronage over the years. The government, he added has also failed to give adequate protection to indigenous pharmaceutical companies.

The Nigerian pharmaceutical industry, he said, is however a burgeoning sector with a potential market value of between 800 million US dollars and more than 2 billion US dollars annually, adding that the sector should be supported by the government.

The NAIP, he stated further is also greatly concerned about the rising cases of reports of drug abuse and addiction in Nigeria, noting that the Association shall embark on a walk against drug abuse to educate members of the public on how to combat the ill during the conference as well as support the NAFDAC campaign against the menace.

The opening ceremony of the conference will be chaired by Alhaji (Dr) Ali Ahmed, speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, while Pharm. Ahmed Yakasai, president, PSN will be the chief host, he said.

Source: Pharma News

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Zimbabwe’s former army chief Constantino Chiwenga has fired more than 15,000 nurses who went on strike to demand better wages.

Mr Chiwenga led the military takeover last November that resulted in the overthrow of President Robert Mugabe – and is now vice-president.

In a statement, he said money had been released to the health ministry to pay outstanding allowances to the striking nurse on Monday, but they had not returned to work.

“While this demonstrates good faith in the part of government, the prompt transfers which have been effected against demonstrable economic challenges facing the country, has not quite surprisingly persuaded the striking nurses to go back to their stations in the interest of saving lives and helping helpless patients under their care.

The government said in a statement on Tuesday that it regarded the industrial action as politically motivated, and that it would immediately employ new nurses and recall those who retired from the service to replace the sacked health personnel.

The government now regards this lack of remorse as politically motivated and thus as going beyond concerns of conditions of service and worker welfare.”

The decision to fire them had been taken “in the interest of patients and of saving lives”, the vice-president said.

The strike by the nurses over better pay and working conditions was the second this year and followed a month-long strike by doctors last month.

Source: Leadership News

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The Enugu State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association says it will provide services in the state hospitals despite the ongoing strike by the Joint Health Workers Staff Union.

The state NMA chairman, Dr. Cajetan Onyedum, gave the assurance on Wednesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Enugu. Onyedum said that patients and their caregivers in the state should not panic.

He said that the members of the association have been mobilised to provide reasonable level of services at the affected hospitals. He said that medical workers had always filled the gap created by the striking workers each time they embarked on such.

Onyedum said that there was the need for unity of purpose among workers in the health sector. He said that various groups under different guises, intents and purposes should not spring up to cause disharmony within the sector. According to him, medical doctors are aware that they cannot do the work in the sector all alone.

He said that they were appreciative of the roles of other levels of workers in the health sector.

“We are aware that we do not do this job alone, as there are other allied workers with us. However, when this type of strike occurs, we try to cover up in order to maintain reasonable level of service delivery,” he said.

NAN reports that JOHESU had, in the midnight of Tuesday, embarked on an indefinite nationwide strike over the failure of the Federal Government to meet up with its members’ demands.

Source: NAN

The post NMA Enugu State Counters JOHESU, Promises Adequate Services In Hospitals appeared first on Swank Pharm.

AGCNigeria is in the business of medication safety. It is in the core of our values to build solutions that ensure that medications dispensed / administered by health professionals and medications being used by patients are as safe as possible.

This is one of the reasons why GenRx was created. GenRx, the desktop app that helps community and hospital pharmacies manage inventory, sales, receipts and accounts is also capable of auto-detecting drug expiration, drug interactions and drug overdose before medication is dispensed to patients, thereby, ensuring medication safety.

As an extension to this, AGCNigeria developed an Android app that health professionals can use to check for drug interactions and verify if the combination is safe for use by the patient before dispensing / administering the drugs. AGCNigeria offers this android app for FREE to all health professionals.

So, you can head to https://GenRx.AGCNigeria.org/ddi/android to download the APK file for FREE and install on your mobile phone.

How to use the app:
1. First, go to https://GenRx.AGCNigeria.org/ddi/android to download the APK file.
2. Install the app on your mobile phone and launch it.
3. Register on the app by inputting your details (name, email, profession…) and submit.
4. Search and select the drugs you wish to check for drug interactions and submit. The result will be displayed instantly if there are drug interactions or not.
5. The app will also suggest additional resources for you to read about any/all the drugs you have inputted.

It is that easy! GenRx drug interaction checker is much less data intensive compared to other drug interactions app like MedScape which requires lots of heavy updates and downloads.

Download and install the app. Kindly send us your feedback contact@agcnigeria.org . We will appreciate it.
Also, if you find the app very useful, do share with your friends, especially your medical colleagues.

Our web URL link as well:

https://www.agcnigeria.org/blog/AGCNigeria-launches-Free-Android-App-for-Checking-Drug-Interactions/

Join Our BBM Channel; Swank Pharm on C002BF98F

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The Assistant Comptroller General of Customs, Zone A, Aminu Dahiru, has urged Customs agents to assist in curbing importation of Tramadol into the country.

Speaking during the swearing-in ceremony of Tony Iju Nwabunike as the head of the National Executive Council of the Association of the Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, Dahiru said that there was a need to stem the tide of Tramadol importation because the drug was destroying lives in Nigeria.

Tramadol is a very powerful painkiller and according to the spokesman for the NCS, Mr. Joseph Attah, the drug is found in use by terrorist organisations in the country.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reportedly issued a warning about the non-medical use of the synthetic opioid across West Africa.

It said that the rise in consumption and trafficking of the drug was serious, worrying and needed to be addressed as soon as possible.

The UNODC also estimated that yearly seizures of Tramadol in sub-Saharan Africa had risen from 300 kilogrammes to more than three tonnes since 2013.

Speaking further, Dahiru urged the brokers to always make sincere declarations with correct value, and less documentary alterations in order to facilitate trade and move Nigeria forward.

The event, according to a statement from the association, was witnessed by stakeholders in the maritime industry, well-wishers and some members of the National Customs Brokers Association of Liberia led by the President, Mr. Ivan Tumbey.

Source: Punch

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