PharmaTimes

Aug152017 by PharmaTimesNo Comments

Lack of Funds Thwarts HIV/AIDS Control in Jigawa

NEWS

Lack of funds has been identified as a major hindrance affecting the conduct of HIV/AIDS test in the designated centres across Jigawa State. Chairman, Jigawa State House of Assembly Committee on Health, Alhaji Lawan Bullet, made the disclosure while presenting a report on the HIV/AIDS Test Situation in health facilities across the state. He said their findings also showed that the State Agency for the Control of Aids, SACA, did not receive any overhead cost since 2015, despite the provision of N1.8 million in its recurrent vote, thereby affecting the activities of the agency in controlling the spread of the disease. According to him, the state assembly has directed the state government to release the remaining N44 million allocated to SACA to enable the agency meet with its obligati

Aug152017 by PharmaTimesNo Comments

Unilorin Medical Students Offer Free Surgeries to 20 Indigent Persons

NEWS

The final year medical students of the University of Ilorin have performed free cataract surgeries for 20 indigent people as part of their projects. They also offered free screening to many people. Speaking on behalf of the students, Moshood Mustapha said the students decided to contribute a token to show concern for those affected by cataract but could not afford the cost of surgery. "It is a two-day-programme. We conducted screening on the first day and surgery on the second day. There would still be post operation programme and we would need to spend more money," Mustapha said. Head of the Department of Medicine, Professor Joshua F. Owoeye said cataract, was the number one cause of blindness, adding that it was curable. He said: "It is as a result of the fact that peop

Aug142017 by PharmaTimesNo Comments

Averting Abuse of Pharmacy License through Investment

Editorial Opinion, NEWS

Stakeholders in the pharmacy profession are unanimous in their opinions that abuse of pharmacy license by practitioners remains a major factor militating against the development of the profession in the country. Popular opinion agrees there is the need to confront the challenge using multi-pronged approach such as: re-orientation of young pharmacists, enforcement of relevant laws by PCN, mandatory capturing of personal data of all members, funding, collaborative efforts by practitioners and the entire stakeholders in the industry, as well as adoption of the whistle blower strategy, etc. Recall that upon graduation from the universities in the 1960’s up to late 1980’s, pharmacists got their dream jobs with minimum effort. But all that changed when the Nigerian economy began to head sout

Aug142017 by PharmaTimesNo Comments

Lassa Fever: Ogun Places 106 Under Surveillance

NEWS

The Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Babatunde Ipaye, has said that the number of the people who had contact with a victim of Lassa fever in the state has increased from 66 to 106 as of last Friday. He disclosed this on Sunday in a telephone interview with our correspondent. The commissioner said additional 40 contacts had been identified between Friday and Sunday and they were being monitored. He, however, appealed to the residents not to panic over the outbreak of the disease, as measures were being taken to contain its spread. A 22-year-old male patient was on Thursday placed under medical observation at the State Hospital, Ijaiye, Abeokuta over Lassa fever infection. Ipaye said all the contacts had been given thermometers to check their temperature, with health and

Aug142017 by PharmaTimesNo Comments

Health Minister Warns Drug Dealers to Relocate

NEWS

The Minister who led the team of top Federal Government officials on a two-day working visit to the state noted that, “Yes there are doubters who think the government was not serious with the policy but I have emphasized that this is the last extension of the relocation deadline. I want everyone to get serious and start building at the new locations.” Dealers in Aba, Kano, Onitsha and Lagos were mandated by the Federal Government to move to a new site in realization of the newly introduced Coordinated Wholesale Centre (CWC). Drugs and allied products dealers and distributors in Onitsha, Anambra State and elsewhere have been warned by the Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole to relocate as the latest extension of the deadline to next year was going to be the last. The minister af

Aug142017 by PharmaTimesNo Comments

Lagos may be Declared Lassa Fever-Free Tomorrow

NEWS

•Agege council enlightens residents on disease If the second test on two patients admitted for the dreaded Lassa fever at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba comes out negative, the state may be certified free of the disease tomorrow. The facility’s Chief Medical Director, Prof. Chris Bode, told The Guardian yesterday that the earlier infected duo tested negative to the ailment at the weekend and were recuperating very fast. He hinted that they would be discharged if the outcome turns favourable since there was no fresh case. He said: “I can tell you that the patients have received the full compliments of treatment and are responding well. They both tested negative to the virus with the last examination but we hope to conduct another test Monday or Tuesday bef

Aug142017 by PharmaTimesNo Comments

Open Drugs Market Ends 2018, Says Minister

NEWS

THE Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, on Saturday said the Federal Government was determined to stop the sale of drugs in open markets in the country at the end of 2018. Adewole made this known when he visited the site for the construction of a Pharmaceutical Coordinated Wholesale Centre at Oba, near Onitsha in Anambra State. The Federal Government had announced July 31, 2017 as the deadline to end the sale of drugs in open markets. “Maybe, people believe the Federal Government joking; government does not joke. We do not want fake drugs or falsified labels. We just want genuine drugs and the only way to do so is centralising the drug market so that we can determine what comes in and goes out. “We have agreed to extend the deadline till December 31, 2018 and that would

Aug142017 by PharmaTimesNo Comments

Senate Probes Sale, Consumption of 42 banned Anti-Malarials

NEWS

NAFDAC, Health Minister refute claims The Senate recently mandated its Committee on Health to commence investigations into sale and circulation in the country of 42 anti-malaria drugs banned by the European Union (EU). The decision of Senate followed a motion by Senator Theodore Orji (PDP-Abia Central) during plenary in Abuja. Presenting the motion on the floor of the Senate, Orji said that the drugs, which were banned by the EU, were still being sold and consumed in the country. Citing a report available to him, the senator said the reasons given for the blacklisting of the 42 drugs in EU member countries is that they are considered dangerous and linked to cause of kidney failure. He listed the drugs to include: Alaxin 60mg tablet (dihydroartémisinine)B/8; Alaxin oral suspen

Aug142017 by PharmaTimesNo Comments

The Resurgence of Substandard Medicines in Nigeria: Implications and Way Forward

NEWS

All over the world, business in substandard medicine is regarded as a potentially deadly phenomenon. In Nigeria, it undermines all aspects of medical and healthcare delivery. The problem of fake, spurious, unwholesome and adulterated drugs has rocked the health system for years on end, and its effect on public health and the economy of the country remains tragic. In dissecting this topic, PHARMATIMES traces the history of the perennial menace and attempts to proffer way forward. The World Health Organisation defines substandard medicines as unauthorised medical products that fail to meet either their quality standards or specifications or both. Healthcare remains one of the biggest challenges in this part of the world, and access to healthcare apart from cost, has been greatl...

Aug142017 by PharmaTimesNo Comments

15 EU Countries, Hong Kong And Switzerland Caught Up In Tainted Egg Scandal

NEWS

Insecticide-tainted eggs from European poultry farms have been found in Hong Kong and Switzerland as well as 15 EU countries, the European Commission has said. The European Commission said all had received eggs contaminated with the pesticide fipronil, adding that a meeting of EU ministers to discuss the scandal had been provisionally scheduled for 26 September. "We would like this meeting to happen with some distance to the events and have as many facts established as possible," European Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva told a press conference. "This is not, let's be clear, a crisis meeting," she said. The EU countries affected are Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Sweden, Britain, Austria, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Denmark, ...

Aug142017 by PharmaTimesNo Comments

Kwara State Government Denies Outbreak Of Mystery Disease

NEWS

The Kwara State Government on Friday denied a report that an outbreak of a mystery illness had claimed 70 lives in Oro-Ago in Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state. Suleiman Alege, the State’s Commissioner for Health, said the report is a mere rumour as the ministry has no confirmed outbreak of disease or fatalities in any part of the state.Kwara State governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed Mr. Alege said there are epidemiological systems for reporting suspected disease outbreaks in the state and that if any occurs, the State Health Response team would be the first to know and is always ready to swing into action. The commissioner recalled that when there were reported cases of Cholera in some communities in the state, the state government immediately deployed emergency kits to the affe

Aug112017 by PharmaTimesNo Comments

UNICEF Opens Extra Centres to Tackle Malnutrition in Bauchi

NEWS

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has established six additional centres for Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) in Bauchi to tackle the menace among children in the state. The CMAM site opened as part of activities marking the 2017 World Breastfeeding Week. Chief of Bauchi UNICEF field office, Abdulai Kai-Kai, represented by UNICEF Nutrition Specialist in Bauchi, Philomena Irena, said 11 million children under five years are malnourished in Nigeria. He lamented that despite sustained campaigns, the level of exclusive breastfeeding in Nigeria is only 17 percent which according to him at least 5.4 million children miss out on its benefits which contributed to the problem of chronic child malnutrition in many parts of the country.‎ He commended the Bauchi

Aug112017 by PharmaTimesNo Comments

Fight Against Diarrhea: USAID, Kebbi Train 17 Medical Officials

NEWS

As part of the efforts to curtail diarrhea in Kebbi State, the United State Agency for International Development (USAID) and Kebbi State Government, in collaboration with Sustaining Health Outcomes in the Private Sector Plus (SHOPS Plus) have trained 17 medical personnel from the private hospitals in the state under the Push Diarrhea Away programme. While delivering her speech during the launch of the SHOP Plus progamme in Birnin Kebbi, the Head of the USAID team and the chief party Mrs Ayodele Iroko said during the awareness campaign embarked on by her team, over 1000 children suffering from diarrhea were treated in seven local government areas of Kebbi State. Mrs Iroko stated that their mission was to save the lives of the children and ensure that diarrhea was pushed from the state. ...

Aug112017 by PharmaTimesNo Comments

Nigeria Governors Appoint Ahmad Abdulwahab as Health Coordinator

NEWS

Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF, has engaged Ahmad Abdulwahab as its new Health Coordinator. The medical doctor is an experienced health systems expert with over 20 years’ experience in the health sector both within and outside the Country. Abulrazque Barkindo, NGF spokesman, said Abdulwahab “will function as an embedded consultant at the Forum’s health sector where the NGF has recorded a series of successes including the delisting, a couple of years ago, of the country from the group of Polio ridden countries of the world”. Ahmad has worked with both Government and International organizations. He was a Director of Public Health in the Yobe State Ministry of Health; a State Team Manager, Deputy National Programme Manager and subsequently the National Programme Manager of the 65-mill

Aug112017 by PharmaTimesNo Comments

Study Reveals how Saliva help Wounds Heal Faster

NEWS

A recent study has revealed that human saliva contains a chemical (antimicrobial peptide) which boosts the formation of blood vessels and helps the process of recovery from an injury. According to a study published online in the Journal of Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), a salivary peptide called histatin 1 promotes blood vessel formation which is critical to the efficiency of wound healing. “The clear results of the present study open a wide door to a therapeutic advance. They also bring to mind the possible meaning of animals, and often children licking their wounds,” said Thoru Pederson, Editor-in-Chief of the FASEB Journal. Also commenting on the findings of the study, Vicente Torres, an Associate Professor at the faculty of dentistry, Universi