Health
FG begins free Cesarian Sessions in over 100 hospitals (See list)
FG begins free Cesarian Sessions in over 100 hospitals (See list)
The Federal Government has begun offering free Caesarean Section (CS) procedures in more than 100 hospitals across Nigeria, according to the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).
NHIA Director-General, Dr. Kelechi Ohiri, announced the development in Abuja, explaining that the initiative falls under the Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care (CEmONC) Programme.
He noted that the scheme is operational across federal, state, private, and faith-based medical facilities located in all six geopolitical zones of the country.
According to Ohiri, women in need of assistance only need to provide a National Identification Number (NIN), which may be presented either before or after hospital admission.
He clarified that the determination of eligibility lies with the hospital’s social welfare department, which assesses patients’ financial situations.
“Once assessed, eligible women receive the CS at no cost and are automatically enrolled into a health insurance plan under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), managed at the state level,” he disclosed.
Dr. Ohiri emphasized the collaborative nature of the effort, which involves both public and private sector healthcare providers with the goal of tackling maternal mortality.
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“The nationwide coverage is across key health institutions,” the NHIA boss stated.
He listed major beneficiaries in the North-West region to include Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital and Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital in Kano; Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital and Maryam Abacha Women and Children Hospital in Sokoto. Others are Ahmad Sani Yariman Bakura Specialist Hospital and several General Hospitals in Zamfara and Kebbi states.
In the North-East, the program covers Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe; University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital; Federal University of Health Sciences Teaching Hospital, Azare; Federal Medical Centres in Nguru and Jalingo; and Modibbo Adama University Teaching Hospital in Yola.
North-Central institutions include Federal Medical Centres in Bida and Keffi; University of Abuja Teaching Hospital in Gwagwalada; and General Hospitals in Suleja, Mokwa, and Tunga Magajiya.
For the South-West, beneficiaries include Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Federal Medical Centre Ido-Ekiti, State Hospital Abeokuta, State Specialist Hospital Okitipupa, and Oba Ademola Maternity Hospital in Ijemo.
In the South-South region, the list includes University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Federal Medical Centre Yenagoa, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, and University of Benin Teaching Hospital.
He stated that the South-East had the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Ebonyi; David Umahi University Teaching Hospital, Uburu, Ebonyi; NOFIC Abakaliki, Ebonyi, among others.
Faith-based and private hospitals are also included in the initiative, among them St. Gerard’s Catholic Hospital in Kaduna, St. Patrick Hospital in Abakaliki, Yusuf Dantsoho Memorial Hospital, and Sir Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa Memorial Hospital in Kafanchan.
Ohiri revealed that more than 200 additional facilities are currently undergoing assessment for inclusion, which could significantly broaden the program’s reach.
“This initiative is a critical part of the government’s commitment to ending preventable maternal deaths.The free CS services are not limited to federal facilities; state-owned, private, and mission hospitals have been engaged to reach as many women as possible,” he noted.
He further explained that there is no formal enrollment process to benefit from the coverage.
“As long as a woman presents her NIN and is evaluated by the hospital’s social welfare unit as financially incapable, the surgery will be offered free of charge,” he said.
Ohiri urged the public to spread awareness about the program, particularly in underserved communities where the cost of delivery can be a major obstacle.
FG begins free Cesarian Sessions in over 100 hospitals (See list)
Health
Health workers threaten strike over pay rise arrears
Health workers threaten strike over pay rise arrears
The Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP) has demanded immediate payment of the seven-month arrears of their 2024 pay rise, to avert industrial action.
The decision was reached at the end of the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of NUAHP and Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) on Tuesday in Jos.
A communique was issued at the end of the meeting, jointly signed by Kamal Ibrahim and Martin Egbanubi, the national president and general secretary of the body.
Members under the NUAHP include the pharmacists, physiotherapists, medical laboratory scientists, imaging scientists, dental technologists.
Others are occupational therapists, health information management practitioners, dental therapists, dieticians and other related Health professionals.
The union leaders said the NEC expressed dissatisfaction over the delay in implementing the 25 per cent and 35 per cent Review of Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS).
“The NEC-in-session was particularly worried about the seven months’ arrears (June 2023 to December 2023) of the 25 per cent and 35 per cent CONHESS in spite of being captured in the 2024 budget and now in the 2025 budget.
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“NEC described the delay in the payment as unacceptable and considered it a violation of item five of the FG-JOHESU Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on October 29, 2024, and the resolution reached on December 20, 2024, respectively.
“NEC, therefore, demands the payment of these arrears without further delay to avert industrial action,” they said.
They contended that despite the signing of the MoU between the federal government and JOHESU on October 29, 2024, after the suspension of the union’s nationwide strike, the government had yet to fulfil its obligations in the agreement.
They urged the government to consider the implications of resuming the suspended strike action on the health sector and the nation in general if it failed to urgently address the matter.
“NEC calls on President Bola Tinubu to honour his promise to JOHESU by directing relevant ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and other organs of the federal government to expeditiously deal with this matter for sustainable industrial harmony and in the public interest,” they said.
The unions also urged the government, at all levels, to implement tax reduction on clinical allowances like call duty, shift duty, and teaching to cushion the effects of the high cost of living on the livelihood of health workers.
“It called on the government to grant a subsidy on electricity tariffs to Nigerians in low-income residential areas, hospitals and educational institutions across the country.
“The NEC also urged the government to consider decentralisation of power generation, transmission and distribution amongst sub-national,” they said
The union leaders said NEC also called on the government to step up actions through political will to ensure the nation’s refineries are producing at optimal capacity.
They urged the government to make petroleum products available at affordable prices.
Health workers threaten strike over pay rise arrears
(NAN)
Health
Household plastics can cause fatal heart diseases – Study
Household plastics can cause fatal heart diseases – Study
Daily exposure to certain chemicals called phthalates, used to make plastic household items, has been linked to hundreds of thousands of global deaths from heart disease a new analysis of population surveys shows.
For decades, experts have connected health problems to exposure to certain phthalates found in cosmetics, detergents, solvents, plastic pipes, bug repellants, and other products.
When these chemicals break down into microscopic particles and are ingested, studies have linked them to an increased risk of conditions ranging from obesity and diabetes to fertility issues and cancer.
In the study, researchers at NYU Langone Health, focused on a kind of phthalate called di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), which is used to make food containers, medical equipment, and other plastic softer and more flexible.
Exposure has been shown in other studies to prompt an overactive immune response (inflammation) in the heart’s arteries, which, over time, is associated with increased risk of heart attack or stroke.
In their new analysis, the authors estimated that DEHP exposure contributed to 356,238 deaths, or more than 13 percent of all global mortality from heart disease in 2018 among men and women ages 55 through 64.
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“By highlighting the connection between phthalates and a leading cause of death across the world, our findings add to the vast body of evidence that these chemicals present a tremendous danger to human health,” said study lead author Sara Hyman, an associate research scientist at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
The authors say the resulting economic burden from the deaths identified in their study was estimated to be around $510 billion and may have reached as high as $3.74 trillion.
In a past study from 2021, the research team tied phthalates to more than 50,000 premature deaths each year, mostly from heart disease, among older Americans. Their latest investigation is believed to be the first global estimate to date of cardiovascular mortality — or indeed any health outcome — resulting from exposure to the chemicals.
A report on the findings published in the journal Lancet eBiomedicine, said the team used health and environmental data from dozens of population surveys to estimate DEHP exposure across 200 countries and territories.
The information included urine samples containing chemical breakdown products left by the plastic additive.
Among the key findings, the study showed that losses in the combined region of East Asia and the Middle East and the combined region of East Asia and the Pacific accounted, respectively, for about 42 percent and 32 percent of the mortality from heart disease linked to DEHP.
A possible explanation, the authors say, is that these countries face higher rates of exposure to the chemicals, possibly because they are undergoing a boom in plastic production but with fewer manufacturing restrictions than other regions.
“There is a clear disparity in which parts of the world bear the brunt of heightened heart risks from phthalates. Our results underscore the urgent need for global regulations to reduce exposure to these toxins, especially in areas most affected by rapid industrialization and plastic consumption,” said study senior author Leonardo Trasande.
Household plastics can cause fatal heart diseases – Study
Health
UBTH management confirms killing of medical doctor
UBTH management confirms killing of medical doctor
THE Public Relations Officer of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Joshua Uwaila on behalf of the management of the hospital, on Tuesday confirmed the killing of one of its physiotherapists , identified as Dr Alex Ogunniyi.
Uwaila said that the management of the hospital has written to the Edo State Police Command and copied the Department of State Service to investigate and arrest the killers of Ogunniyi as he said that Ogunniyi was killed last Friday on his way to having his lunch in one eatery behind the hospital.
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Uwaibi said, “A physiotherapist with the University of Benin Teaching Hospital was shot dead on Friday while on the way to have his lunch.
“It was gathered that a vehicle was chasing another. The one behind was shooting at the one in front and a stray bullet hit the deceased in the neck. He was taken to the Accident and Emergency department but he didn’t make it.
“We have written to the Edo Police Command and copied the DSS calling for investigation and the need to bring the killers to justice.”
The development led to some health workers protesting the gruesome killing of their colleague.
UBTH management confirms killing of medical doctor
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