Health
Nigeria okays use of India-made Oxford malaria vaccine
FG approves Oxford malaria vaccine
The Federal Government has granted approval for the use of R21/Matrix malaria vaccine developed by scientists at Oxford University.
Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed this in Abuja on Monday.
Nigeria has thus become the second country in Africa, after Ghana, to approve the vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd.
The vaccine is said to be 80 per cent effective. The only vaccine currently endorsed for malaria by the World Health Organisation (WHO) is the RTS, S/AS01 (RTS,S) vaccine which is 29 per cent effective in preventing severe malaria.
Adeyeye said at Monday’s press briefing, “The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in exercising its mandate as stipulated by its enabling law, NAFDAC Act CapN1, LFN 2004, is granting registration approval for R21 malaria vaccine.
“The vaccine is indicated for prevention of clinical malaria in children from five months to 36 months of age. The storage temperature of the vaccine is 2-8 °C.”
She said NAFDAC received the dossier of the R21 and subjected it to independent review by experts from Nigeria’s tertiary institutions and the agency’s in-house vaccine review committee.
The director-general added that a joint review was then called after the team assessed the vaccine as “adequate” and the in-house committee also assessed it as “satisfactory”.
She said, “Overall, the R21 malaria vaccine dossier complied substantially with best international standards with which the dossier was benched-marked as mentioned above. The joint review committee concluded that the data on the R21 malaria vaccine were robust and met criteria for efficacy, safety, and quality.
“It was also adjudged that the vaccine’s known and potential benefits outweigh its known and potential risks, thereby supporting the manufacturer’s recommended use.
“A provisional approval of the R21 malaria vaccine was recommended and this shall be done in line with the WHO’s malaria vaccine implementation guideline.
“While granting the approval, the agency has also communicated the need for expansion of the clinical trial conducted to include a phase 4 clinical trial/pharmacovigilance study to be carried out in Nigeria.
“The brief on the approval of the R21 Malaria vaccine has been communicated to the minister of health and national Primary Health Care Development Agency for appropriate actions toward immunisation in the respective population.”
Health
OSSAP-SDGs inaugurates 20-bed health centre in Oyo community
OSSAP-SDGs inaugurates 20-bed health centre in Oyo community
The Office of Senior Special Assistant on Sustainable Development Goals has inaugurated a 20-bed primary health centre and renovated the existing primary health facility at Isokun in the Oyo West area of Oyo State.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs), Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, at a brief handover ceremony, thanked President Bola Tinubu for his leadership and dedication to collaborating with sub-national governments to deliver crucial interventions and accelerate the achievement of the SDGs in Nigeria.
Represented by Nura Ali Rano at the event, Orelope-Adefulire stressed the importance of the SDGs as a global call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure peace and prosperity for all by 2030.
She also spoke on the need to prioritize interventions with significant impact on multidimensional poverty, such as basic healthcare, vocational skills development and education, in alignment with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
She said strategic projects such as the Mother and Child Centre had become essential given the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Oyo Central Senator, Dr Yunus Akintunde, who facilitated the project, expressed his gratitude to President Tinubu and OSSAP-SDGs for selecting his constituency for the significant project.
He described the primary health centre as the biggest in Oyo State while emphasising the state’s commitment to fully utilising the facility, as part of a broader plan to of mitigation that will reduce the need for residents to seek medical treatment outside the constituency.
Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu commended OSSAP-SDGs for the good job and bringing such a world-class facility to the Oyo central constituency.
Health
Physiotherapist: Cellphone, laptop use can increase dementia risk
Physiotherapist: Cellphone, laptop use can increase dementia risk
Using mobiles and laptops may increase the risk of dementia, a physiotherapist has warned.
His analysis suggests that the posture people adopt while using their devices can reduce blood flow to the brain, which leads to cognitive decline.
Research has previously shown that more time spent on cognitively passive behaviours — like watching TV — leads to an increased risk of dementia, regardless of physical activity levels. However, cognitively active passive activities — like using the computer — were associated with a lower dementia risk.
Abrahams who has reviewed research on the subject says ’emerging evidence and clinical trials have indicated the potential consequences for cognitive and neurological health’.
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“The persistent pressure on the arteries by holding your head in a forward position, as many people do when looking at their phones, can lead to a chronic reduction in the diameter of those arteries, potentially reducing the amount of blood which can reach the brain.
“Any restriction in these blood vessels may cause a decrease in blood flow to the brain, resulting in various brain-related diseases.”
According to Abrahams, Alzheimer’s disease is going to become more prevalent as the population ages, but his research points to daily habits of poor posture from staring down at our phones as a potential cause of an increase in cases.”
In his advice, he said “Hold your phone somewhere where you don’t need to bend forward. Take a positive step in your spine and brain health by using your phone when you can keep your neck in its natural alignment, and when you use a laptop, adjust your working environment to support a healthy posture.”
Physiotherapist: Cellphone, laptop use can increase dementia risk
Health
Sickle Cell Foundation, LUTH celebrate bone marrow transplant breakthrough
Sickle Cell Foundation, LUTH celebrate bone marrow transplant breakthrough
The first two Sickle Cell Disease patients admitted to the Sickle Cell Foundation of Nigeria/Lagos University Teaching Hospital, SCFN/LUTH, Bone Marrow Transplant Centre in Lagos, have been discharged and are under observation.
The patients, one paediatric and one adult, successfully underwent the first-of-its-kind Bone Marrow Transplant, BMT, in Nigeria and West Africa, heralding a groundbreaking achievement for Nigerian healthcare.
The feat was achieved at the state-of-the-art Centre following weeks of meticulous care and preparation, including chemotherapy, blood transfusions, and bone marrow stem cells harvested from family donors, then infused into the patients.
With this achievement, the SCFN in partnership with LUTH is the first non-profit organisation in Africa to lead a comprehensive bone marrow transplant initiative for sickle cell disorder.
The milestone marks a significant step forward in the treatment of sickle cell disease and other blood disorders and positions Nigeria as a hub in West Africa for advanced medical care particularly in hematology-oncology.
The Centre, equipped with advanced technology and staffed by highly skilled medical professionals, provides a comprehensive range of services for patients undergoing bone marrow transplants, even as no less than 127 potentially qualified patients are lined up to undergo the procedure.
The achievement is particularly significant for Nigeria, which has one of the highest burdens of SCD globally. Before the establishment of the center, Nigerian patients seeking bone marrow transplants had no option but to seek treatment abroad, often incurring significant costs and facing challenges related to access and affordability.
One of the mothers of the discharged patients said, “Our Bone Marrow Transplant experience has been remarkable, filled with hope and certainty. I felt confident in the exceptional care we received at the Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria/LUTH BMT Centre. From the moment of admission to discharge, the medical staff provided round-the-clock attention,” said the mother of one of the discharged patients.
In the views of the Chairman, Board of Directors. Sickle Cell Foundation of Nigeria, Chief Tunde Afolabi, SCFN’s journey is far from over.
Sickle Cell Foundation, LUTH celebrate bone marrow transplant breakthrough
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