Health
Sanwo-Olu opens SDGs multi-storey Sickle Cell Centre at LASUTH
Sanwo-Olu opens SDGs multi-storey Sickle Cell Centre at LASUTH
• Intervention will stem infant mortality rate — Orelope-Adefulire
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Friday, inaugurated the two-storey Paediatric Sickle Cell Centre sited in the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja.
The medical facility was donated by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) occupied by Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire.
Sanwo-Olu described the intervention as a “remarkable donation” strategic to the state’s healthcare value chain.
The governor said the project would scale up response time to cases and stem infant mortality.
He said, “This collaboration with the Office of the SSA to the President on SDGs is a testament to our collective commitment to improving care for children living with sickle cell diseases. “I acknowledge Princess Orelope-Adefulire for her vision and unwavering commitment to healthcare advancement that made this centre a reality.
“This will not only transform our healthcare landscape, it will also add to the number of child care facilities in Lagos.
“If we all work together, we can achieve a lot more together. This hospital will provide a comprehensive care that will include early diagnosis, advanced treatment and continuous management to children that are suffering the debilitating condition.
“The centre will also serve as a hub for research and education, which will foster and deeper understanding of the disease. More importantly, it will contribute to reducing infant mortality index.”
Sanwo-Olu said the facility would nurture an environment where children would get holistic care tailored to their individual needs, including medical treatment and psychological support.
The governor expressed appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for finding Lagos worthy to benefit from the intervention.
He said the project had further reinforced the health vision of the President to enhance the nation’s capacity to meet global health coverage.
Minister of State for Health, Dr Tunji Alausa, described sickle cell as health burden on the nation.
He said the disease doesn’t affect carriers alone, it also places constraints on family members and community as a whole.
Alausa called for optima use of the facility adding that the centre would provide top tier care for patients and researchers.
He thanked the SSA to the President for her contributions to the health sector.
Mrs Orelope-Adefulire, a former Deputy Governor of Lagos, said sickle cell disease had impacted communities across the nation negatively, subjecting families to psychological torture.
This, she said, informed the priority accorded the development of modern medical care capability to address the growing cases.
The SSA said three million people are living with sickle cell disease in Nigeria, projecting precarious outlook for the country.
She said the President approved the initiative to further demonstrate his commitment to achieving all targets set in Goal 3, Target 2 of the SGDs and leave no one behind in the initiatives rolled out to address the challenges.
She said, “This intervention is a cardinal pillar of healthcare and empowerment in the Renewed Hope Agenda of the current administration. Knowledge and skill among the public health workers are critical to improving the care for sickle cell cases.
“Before now, LASUTH treated 45 out of 1,000 patients weekly due to constraints of space and facilities.
“This Sickle Cell Care Centre will contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal 3, Target 2, which seek to end preventable deaths of newborns and children under five years of age, thereby reducing global burden to 25 per 1,000 by 2030. In Nigeria, our target is to achieve zero per 1,000 at the end of implementation period.”
She thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his leadership and commitment to the achievement of the SDGs through his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The SSA also hailed Governor Sanwo-Olu for his unwavering commitment to the socio-economic transformation of Lagos State and collective desire to achieve the SDGs.
LASUTH Chief Medical Director, Prof. Adetokunbo Fabanwo, said the facility would offer preventive and therapeutic care to child sufferers, thanking Orelope-Adefulire for supporting the teaching hospital with the project.
He said the centre would take off the burden of the Paediatric Unit in the teaching hospital, which was challenged by surging cases of child sufferers.
The new facility, he said, offers conducive environment for treatment.
“LASUTH is blessed with dedicated staff that look after children with sickle cell disease. In the new Centre, child patients will have the benefit of a conducive environment to be attended as out patients; those in need of a day or prolonged admission can also be admitted,” Prof. Fabanwo said.
Head of the Paediatrics, Haematology, Oncology Unit at LASUTH and Coordinator of the centre, Dr. Ijeoma Akinwumi, gave details of the activities that would be carried in the facility.
The Associate Professor of Paediatrics said the centre would cater for children between zero age and 18 years, giving them comprehensive care in their moments of crisis.
She said the centre is equipped to carry out diagnosis of sickle cell within 10 minutes.
She also said the units in the facility include multi-disciplinary unit, counseling unit, X-Ray therapy unit, laboratory and pharmacy.
“The centre is built with electronic record technology to manage medical records of patients from birth to adult,” she said.
Health
Those spraying perfume in armpit, private parts risk cancer – Shehu Sani
Those spraying perfume in armpit, private parts risk cancer – Shehu Sani
Former senator and human rights activist, Shehu Sani, has issued a cautionary note to the public against spraying perfume directly on sensitive areas of the body such as the armpits and private parts.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, the former lawmaker from Kaduna Central recounted the tragic story of a young man named Salisu, who reportedly developed cancer after regularly applying perfume to those areas.
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“Don’t spray perfume in your armpit or private parts. If you are in the habit of doing that, learn from this,” Sani wrote. “A young man called Salisu used to do so, and suddenly it triggered a strange form of cancer in those areas. The spots got rotten and his health deteriorated. He is now dead.”
While noting that he had no scientific explanation for the incident, Sani said he was simply sharing the story as a word of caution.
“Just a piece of advice,” he added.
Those spraying perfume in armpit, private parts risk cancer – Shehu Sani
Health
Nigeria confirms 660 lassa fever cases, 122 die
Nigeria confirms 660 lassa fever cases, 122 die
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has identified Ondo, Bauchi and Edo states as the epicentres of the Lassa fever outbreak in the country.
Director-General of the NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, during a media briefing, yesterday, in Abuja, said that those states accounted for over 70 per cent of confirmed lassa fever cases reported so far in 2025.
Idris said that the three states contributed 71 per cent of the 660 confirmed Lassa fever cases recorded between January and the end of March 2025, with Ondo accounting for 30 per cent, Bauchi, 25 per cent, and Edo, 16 per cent.
The director general said that the NCDC had intensified a nationwide multi-sectoral response through its activated incident management system at the national level to coordinate the public health emergency across affected states.
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He said, “As the cases surge in these epicentre states, our response is focused on early detection, case management, risk communication, and community engagement. The transmission remains active in multiple local councils, with 28 states and 125 councils affected this year.”
Idris also said that 122 deaths had so far been recorded, resulting in a case fatality rate of 18.5 per cent—higher than the 17.5 per cent recorded during the same period in 2024.
He said that to combat the spread, the NCDC had deployed national rapid response teams to hotspot areas, trained healthcare workers on infection prevention and control, and scaled up community sensitisation.
The DG, therefore, stressed the importance of early presentation to health facilities to reduce fatalities.
Idris, who disclosed ongoing collaborations with key partners, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), to support surveillance, clinical care, and public awareness, said that the agency was also supporting research efforts to improve outbreak preparedness and response.
Nigeria confirms 660 lassa fever cases, 122 die
Health
Poisonous fluorides in toothpaste: Pharmacists counter televangelist’s claims
Poisonous fluorides in toothpaste: Pharmacists counter televangelist’s claims
Pharmacists have refuted recent claims made by a popular pastor that fluorides in food, toothpaste, and pharmaceutical products are poisonous and carcinogenic.
While acknowledging the pastor’s spiritual influence, the pharmacists provided crucial scientific clarity, asserting that fluoride, when used in approved quantities by regulatory bodies, is safe and beneficial for public health.
The pharmacists, on the platform of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, ACPN, made the clarifications, weekend.
Their intervention comes in response to trending videos where the religious leader vehemently condemned the pharmaceutical industry over the inclusion of fluorides in various consumer products.
Scientific facts
In a statement by the National Chairman, Ambrose Ezeh, and Secretary, Omokhafe Ashore, the pharmacists said: “We at ACPN will not attempt to tackle the pastor’s anointing in God’s word.
“But (we) will clarify with some scientific insight and background that the pastor’s exposition on fluorides was not totally in alignment with scientific facts.
“The ‘Use of Fluorides in Pharmaceutical Preparations and Foods’ declared: ‘Fluorides used in approved quantities by the relevant and appropriate food and drug regulatory agencies are safe’.
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“In strictly public health interest, the ACPN wishes to posit as follows: Fluoride used in approved quantities by the relevant and appropriate Food and Drug regulatory agencies are safe.
“While some researchers have indeed linked Fluoride with some cancers, oftentimes such incidences have been proven to be in instances where excessive amounts beyond the approved limits were used.”
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