Health

WHO appeals for $1.5bn to deliver healthcare in crises

Published

4 months ago

January 15, 2024

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday launched a $1.5 billion emergency appeal to provide care to more than 87 million people affected by ongoing crises in 2024, including in Africa the occupied Palestinian territory, Ukraine, Sudan, Syria and the Horn of Africa.

The appeal comes at a time when climate change, drought and other extreme weather events, are fuelling food insecurity, conflict and displacement, causing deeper and increasingly complex health emergencies, leaving healthcare increasingly under fire.

Every humanitarian crisis is a health crisis, WHO said, and each dollar invested in its lifesaving work nets a return on investment of at least $35.

Speaking from the UN agency’s headquarters in Geneva, Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus urged donors and governments to step up support.

“There are only two ways to reduce the human suffering caused by health crises: increase the funding or reduce the needs. Neither is happening at the moment,” he said in a statement.

The UN Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, fully endorsed the appeal, saying it represented “a very small price to pay to protect the health of the most vulnerable and to prevent deepening of the global health crisis.”

For example, he said nine months of war in Sudan has stretched the country’s health system far beyond its capacity, affecting people who depend on everyday care as well as civilians injured in the fighting.

Additionally, weak disease surveillance and low vaccine coverage for preventable diseases have contributed to recurrent measles outbreaks.

Similar situations have occurred in Haiti, Somalia, Yemen, and many other countries, where infectious diseases such as cholera are both being driven by and exacerbating the broader humanitarian crisis. One billion people worldwide are now at risk of the deadly waterborne disease.

Meanwhile, “global health is under threat like never before,” Griffiths said. In 2023, 1,300, attacks on healthcare across 19 countries were reported, leading to more than 700 deaths and 1,100 injuries to health workers and patients.

Since the start of the current hostilities between Hamas and Israel, there have been more than 624 attacks on healthcare in the occupied Palestinian territories, he said, resulting in the deaths of 619 health workers and patients, and another 826 injured.

Also speaking, Dr Mike Ryan, the head of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, echoed this concern.

“We are witnessing an era in which attacking healthcare has become a tactic of war – not euphemistically referred to before as collateral damage or accidental damage, but actually fundamentally a weapon that is used to increase the terror and to deny people the health service that they need,” he said.

February, marks two years since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where healthcare is “not just a service”, according to the UN’s top humanitarian official in the country, Ms Denise Brown.

“The availability of healthcare holds a community together,” she said, speaking from Geneva. “So, I would argue that the loss of healthcare also is the beginnings of the loss of a sense of community.”

Citing WHO, she said there have been more than 1,400 attacks on health infrastructure in Ukraine since the war began, and 14 have occurred since Dec. 29, 2023.

Brown praised the dedicated healthcare professionals in Ukraine who continued to require immediate support from WHO and other institutions, but voiced concern over a potential decrease in humanitarian funding this year.

Earlier on Monday, the UN launched a $4.2 billion humanitarian appeal for the country.

“The war is not over, the suffering continues, and the support of Member States continues to be absolutely fundamental to the work that we do, including in healthcare,” she said.

Health

Outbreak: Zamfara Govt. confirms 4 deaths, 177 cases

Published

6 days ago

May 10, 2024

NewsDirect

The Zamfara Commissioner for Health, Dr Aisha Anka has confirmed the outbreak of unknown illness in the state which recorded four deaths and 177 cases so far.

Anka confirmed this in a statement issued in Gusau on Friday by the Information Officer of the ministry, Malam Bello Ibrahim.

According to the commissioner, the disease is characterized by abdominal distension, accumulation of fluid in the abdomen, enlarge liver, enlarge spleen, fever and general body weakness.

“The illness is found in Maradun, Shinkafi and Gusau local government areas in the state.

“Children are mostly affected and the cases are associated with water consumptions.

“So far, four deaths have been recorded, 177 cases were detected,” Anka said.

“The incident has been reported to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), partners and all other relevant stakeholders.

“The ministry of health is currently on the emergency response phase to identify the illnesses and causes.

“Various biological human and animal samples, soil samples, water samples, agricultural and foodstuff samples have been taken to Lagos and Abuja laboratories for analysis.

“The ministry will continue to update the general public and all relevant stakeholders and partners on any update about the outbreak,”she added. (

Health

Assembly passes Kano Pre-Marital Health Screening Bill

Published

3 weeks ago

April 29, 2024

NewsDirect

Kano State House of Assembly has passed a bill for a law to compel intending couples to undergo HIV, hepatitis and sickle cell anaemia screening before marriage.

The passage followed deliberations in the Committee of the Whole House during plenary session,
presided over by the Speaker, Ismail Falgore on Monday in Kano.

After deliberations, the lawmakers approved the 3rd reading of the bill, read by the Deputy Clerk, Alhaji Nasiru Magaji.

Shortly after passage of the bill, the Majority Leader of the house, Lawan Hussein (NNPP-Dala), stated that “any person
intending to marry shall first submit self for medical examinations.”

He said the bill was considered and passed after the 3rd reading, following various legislative processes.

The leader further said that the bill was passed because the state had been battling with different health issues, including
HIV because people go into marriages without medical screening.

He said that the bill, if signed into law, would save many lives and curb the spread of life-threatening diseases.

“The bill will safeguard the health of citizens by institutionalising pre-marital testing to check the spread of diseases
like hepatitis, HIV and sickle cell anaemia,” he added.

Health

WHO to begin vaccination against Human Papilloma Virus May 27 in Kogi

Published

3 weeks ago

April 24, 2024

NewsDirect

The World Health Organisation (WHO), says it plans to commence vaccination against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) on May 27 in Kogi.

The state’s Team Lead of WHO, Dr Muktar Toyosi, said this when he led his team on an advocacy visit to the State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) on Wednesday in Lokoja.

Toyosi said that the vaccination was meant for girl child of between the age nine and 14.

He said the ongoing sensitisation was to keep the people informed, and educate them on the vaccination of their children to protect them against cervical cancer in future.

”Kogi falls within the second phase of the programme. We are soliciting for the cooperation of the media in educating the people of the state on the HPV vaccination.

“There need for girls child across the state to take the vaccination to safeguard their future.

“Although the vaccine was initially scarce and difficult to get, the good news now is that it has been made available by the government,” Toyosi said.

Also speaking, the State Technical Assistant for WHO, Dr Ahmed Attah, said that the HPV mostly affect women, adding that the vaccination remained a preventive measure against the disease.

Attah, a former state Chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) and a former Chief Medical Director (CMD), Kogi Specialist Hospital (KSSH) Lokoja, urged parents and guardians to avail their children of the vaccination to justify government’s investment.

In his response, the Kogi NUJ Chairman, Mr Seidu Ademu, described the health sector as very critical, stressing that the vaccination was a right step in the right direction.

Ademu promised a robust partnership with WHO to enable the team to achieve its set goals.
He stressed the need to inform, educate and sensitise the general public on the need to embrace the vaccine by ensuring that girls within the age range were vaccinated.