CONCERNED  by epileptic power supply in Nigeria, energy stakeholders are intensifying calls for the review of the privatisation of the power sector.
The stakeholders say that the privatisation has failed to bolster the power sector and light up Nigeria.
“Privatisation exercise in 2013 is ordinarily envisaged to take care of the power chain of generation, transmission and distribution. The entire privatisation is due for review. Most importantly, there is a need for the decentralization of the grid since there are lots of technical aggregate and commercial losses for the grid power,” President of Nigeria Consumer Protection Network Kunle Olubiyo told The ICIR.
Olubiyo further noted that there was a need to encourage eligible customer status that would allow direct transmission of power to cities and industrial clusters paying for power costs, rather than having everyone in centralised grid power.
“Nigeria has several industrial clusters, there is a need to enable grid decentralisation since the grid is currently overstretched with several technical, aggregate and commercial losses which affect what the Discos get for distribution. The Transmission Company of Nigeria also needs to be unbundled.”
Nigeria’s power sector was privatised in 2013. It was described by most energy analysts as ‘a bold step’ in opening up the nation’s electricity market for private sector-led participation while allowing investments into the generation, transmission and distribution value chains.
However, eight years down the line, the Nigerian government still pays subsidy to the tune of N120 billion monthly to sustain liquidity flow for the privatised sector, having engineered a ‘political rather than economical’ halting of appropriate tariff pricing and efficient cost recovery mechanism for the sector.
Also, although Nigeria has attracted several funding and technical support from the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB), available data show that energy poverty is still on the rise in the country.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had once explained that the Nigerian government had, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), pumped about N1.5 trillion into power sector intervention funds in the last two years.
However, these interventions have failed to lift Nigeria from energy poverty as World Bank, in its recent report on Nigeria’s power sector, indicated that over 78 per cent of electricity consumers in Nigeria received less than 12 hours of electricity supply daily.
The bank, a key financial and technical supporter of Nigeria’s power sector, also noted in a recent meeting with newsmen that a total of 74 per cent of power users in Nigeria were dissatisfied with the supply of electricity across the country.
Nigeria’s power generation has continued to hover around 4,000 megawatts for years, rising to 5,000 megawatts at few peak periods, despite the government’s target to grow it to 7,000 megawatts.
“The power sector has not improved. It is not improving because the process that led us to the privatisation is faulty, very faulty. There is no proper trackable performance agreement that helps us know the level of progress such that if they are not met, the government could take up its infrastructure. This has been challenging to the sector,” Associate Consultant to the British Department of International Development (DFID) Celestine Okeke told The ICIR.

The number of confirmed cases of the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus in Los Angeles County is on the rise, prompting renewed calls for residents to take advantage of existing vaccines.
Although COVID-19 cases, hospitalization rates, and mortality rates are still low across the county, this particular variant—which may be twice as transmissible as the traditional strain—has a special risk of prolonging the pandemic, which will It mainly affects those who have not yet been vaccinated.
"This is an unvaccinated epidemic," Los Angeles County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrell said at a briefing on Thursday.
Of the 123 people diagnosed with Delta variants in Los Angeles County, 110 were not vaccinated and 3 were partially vaccinated. There were two hospitalizations in this group.
In contrast, variant cases were found in 10 fully vaccinated individuals, but none of them ultimately needed this level of care.
Ferrer said: "If you are fully vaccinated, there will be a lot of protection." "And for the very few people who may eventually get a breakthrough vaccination case, they really do not have a serious disease."

As the Covid pandemic recedes dramatically in the West, Europe is opening its doors to Americans -- but the reverse is not holding true, with the United States not budging on restrictions imposed 15 months ago.
President Joe Biden has hailed progress on vaccination, with a goal of reaching 70 percent of Americans with at least one dose by July 4, and health authorities have eased recommendations on masks, but the language on travel restrictions has remained constant.
"We look forward to the resumption of transatlantic travel as soon as the science permits," State Department spokesman Ned Price said Monday.
"I'm not able to put a specific timeframe on it, only because it will depend in large part on the course of the epidemiology, on the response to the virus around the world, and developments, including the impact and the presence of variants," he said.
Biden has vowed to restore alliances after Donald Trump's turbulent presidency, last week courting European allies on his first foreign trip. But he has made clear he is not in a hurry on travel, with his administration again renewing through July 21 the closing of the land borders with Canada and Mexico.
The United States during the pandemic has also banned travel on most visitors coming from the European Union as well as Britain, along with Brazil, China, India, Iran and South Africa.
Biden, however, has allowed a growing number of exemptions, with journalists, students and others able to travel despite the restrictions on ordinary tourists.
By contrast, the European Union has decided to reopen its borders to Americans on condition they are vaccinated or present test results that show they are negative.

ABUJA — Nigeria’s president asked parliament to approve 895.8 billion naira ($2.18 billion) as extra budgetary provision to fund the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines and military equipment, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
The government has said it will draw up a supplementary budget to cover the cost of COVID-19 vaccinations, for which no provision was made in the 2021 finance bill adopted in December.
Nigeria had planned to spend 13.6 trillion naira ($33.10 billion) in 2021, up 21% from the previous year.
President Muhammadu Buhari proposed to fund 45.63 billion naira of the 83.56 billion naira required for the COVID-19 vaccine by drawing on existing World Bank loans as well as other grants totalling $113.22 million.
“The availability of COVID-19 vaccines and the procurement terms were still uncertain at the time of finalizing the 2021 budget,” Buhari said in his letter to parliament.
Nigeria plans to issue $3 billion or more in Eurobonds as international capital markets (ICM) open up and interest rates decline, after the coronavirus pandemic disrupted markets last year.
Buhari said the health ministry and primary healthcare agency has developed a COVID-19 program for the country that intends to vaccinate 70% of eligible Nigerians this year and next.
In addition to purchase of COVID-19 vaccines, the president asked for more funds for the military.
“Our security and law enforcement agencies urgently need to procure additional equipment and other resources in response to the prevalent security challenges across the country,” he said.
Nigeria faces rising insecurity – ranging from mass abductions at schools, kidnappings for ransom, armed conflict between herdsmen and farmers, armed robberies and various insurgencies – that has been a drag on growth and job creation.

As part of efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the set up of 38 oxygen plants across the country.
One of each plant will be set up in all the states while Abuja and Lagos will have two plants each.
This was made known in a communiqué issued by the Nigerian Governors’ Forum on Wednesday.
The statement contained briefings from different representatives on different issues bordering on the workings of the country. This includes Boss Mustapha, the Secretary-General of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19.
Mr Mustapha had appeared before the Forum to give an update on the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Besides the plan to set up oxygens across the country, Mr Mustapha also said a supplementary budget had been submitted by the federal government to enable the country access additional vaccines for its citizens.
While he commended state governors for rising to the challenge of the time by providing exemplary leadership and resources to curb the impact of the pandemic, the SGF also called for continued action to maintain non-pharmaceutical interventions.
These interventions include enforcement of COVID-19 guidelines in public places and government institutions, heightened surveillance, risk communication, social mobilisation, testing and reporting of data, vaccination, as well as sustained clinical care for patients.
This new step to contain the virus comes amidst praises from experts who have hailed the nation’s efforts towards managing the pandemic.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A repurposed arthritis drug has shown positive results in a clinical trial of patients hospitalised with Covid-19, according to a paper published Wednesday (June 16) in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Tofacitinib, taken orally and sold under the brand name Xeljanz among others, was tested in a trial of 289 patients hospitalised with severe Covid across 15 locations in Brazil.
Half received the drug - a 10mg pill twice a day - and standard care like glucocorticoids that tamp down an overactive immune response, while the other half received a placebo and standard care.
After 28 days, 18.1 per cent of the group receiving the tofacitinib progressed to respiratory failure or death, compared to 29 per cent in the placebo group.
This represented a statistically significant relative risk reduction of 63 per cent.
Respiratory failure refers to a patient requiring non-invasive ventilation through an oxygen mask, or being intubated and placed on a mechanical ventilator.
Deaths after 28 days occurred in 2.8 per cent of patients in the tofacitinib group and in 5.5 per cent of those in the placebo group.
Serious side effects occurred in 14.1 per cent in the tofacitinib group and in 12 per cent in the placebo group.
"We are encouraged by the initial findings of our randomised trial of tofacitinib in patients hospitalised with Covid-19 pneumonia," said Dr Otavio Berwanger of Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, which coordinated the trial in collaboration with Pfizer.
"These results provide new information which indicates that the use of tofacitinib when added to standard of care, which includes glucocorticoids, may further reduce the risk of death or respiratory failure in this patient population."
Tofacitinib belongs to a class of drugs called Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors.
It is approved in the United States to treat conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ulcerative colitis.

Mosaic receives grant from United States Department of Agriculture to expand telemedicine services

Mosaic Life Care was recently awarded $902K from the United States Department of Agriculture Distance Learning and Telemedicine federal grant.
Funds will be used for telemedicine devices for increased access to quality health care within northwest Missouri communities. Telemedicine services will flow from the hub in St. Joseph to the rural end-user site, with equipment installed at Mosaic Medical Center – Maryville, Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing plant, and Mosaic Medical Center – Albany.
The telemedicine expansion eliminates the need to travel for medical visits or risk dangerous transfers in emergency situations. The service also allows physicians to spend less travel time to rural communities and more time interfacing with patients.
Mosaic Medical Center – Albany President Jon Doolittle said this would continue Mosaic’s efforts in technology advancements.
“Mosaic Life Care remains committed to providing a variety of high-quality, in-person medical services in all of its hospitals and clinics,” Doolittle said. “However, changing consumer preferences and the experiences of the past year have highlighted the need for us to be excellent in virtual care, as well. This grant will help us continue our investments to provide technology-enabled access to world-class care, close to home.”
Rural residents in Maryville and Albany will gain access to virtual hospitalist services, electronic intensive care units, and access to over 70 categories of specialty care through the over 200 specialists at Mosaic Life Care at St. Joseph Medical Center and the extended Mayo Clinic Care Network. Mosaic Life Care will also expand telemedicine capabilities to deliver behavioral health services through a partnership with Family Guidance Center in St. Joseph to provide emergency behavioral health assessments to Maryville and Albany residents.
Nate Blackford, Mosaic Medical Center – Maryville president, said the expansion of telehealth services has been on their radar for several years.
“This grant will enable us to more rapidly make these much-needed services available to our patients and communities,” Blackford said. “From mental health to specialty care, telehealth will enable us to both extend and enhance the care being delivered.”

The federal government recently warned Nigerians against travelling to countries currently experiencing the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The warning was predicated on the fact that new infections from such places could worsen our fragile situation. The airlines were also told that they could be fined as high as $3,500 for each passenger coming from these affected countries. To demonstrate its seriousness, the federal government declared 90 travellers who recently visited or arrived from India, Brazil and Turkey as potential health hazards.

According to the chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, these identified individuals failed to observe the newly instituted mandatory protocols recently put in place against the spread of the virus, adding that the public declaration was necessary in other to drive home the need for Nigerians to take extra care to avert the third wave of the scourge. Mustapha further stated that health officials would not accept COVID-19 PCR test results older than 72 hours upon passengers’ arrival in Nigeria.



Apart from the named travellers who flouted the country’s COVID-19 protocols, many Nigerians now hardly put on face masks or maintain social distancing. To many, the virus no longer causes serious harm to those infected. However, the number of deaths and infections in the last few weeks across the country is enough reminder that the pandemic is still very much potent.

As at the time of going to press, the country had recorded about 170,000 infections and 2,200 deaths across 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). But these relatively low figures should not be taken for granted particularly with what is happening in India which recorded the highest single-day spike of more than 6000 deaths barely 24 hours ago.

Since the third wave of the pandemic started, India had recorded 2.24 million new COVID-19 cases with 16,257 deaths in the first seven days. The surge has overwhelmed hospitals, morgues and crematoriums and has left families scrambling for scarce medicines and oxygen. Health experts in the country believed mass religious gatherings and political rallies were the major factors that led to this major health disaster. To say the least, Nigeria does not have what it takes to handle such major health crisis.

We therefore call on every Nigerian to sustain the precautions that have ensured the number of infections did not outgrow our fragile health system. Religious clerics, traditional rulers and other stakeholders must lead the efforts for the continued adherence to protocols put in place by the Nigerian government. No time is more apt for the collective effort against COVID-19 than now, especially since the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Federal Ministry of Health have not done much to vaccinate the public. As of this week, less than two million people have been vaccinated in the country for the first dose, while only about 100,000 Nigerians have taken the second jab in a population of over 200 million people.

In the absence of an effective COVID-19 vaccine distribution across board, what the country has for now are the infectious disease protocols which must be adhered to pending when most Nigerians are vaccinated. Under the prevailing circumstance, prevention remains the most plausible cure.

FEC approves N895.5b supplementary budget for military, pandemic
Ahead of the G7 Leaders Summit, the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassadors have urged the G7 leaders to urgently share 20 per cent of COVID-19 vaccine doses to poorer countries to reduce further spread and the threat of mutant strains.
They made the demand in an open letter sent to G7 Leaders Summit slated for between June 11 and June 13, 2021 in Cornwall, United Kingdom.
The Goodwill Ambassadors include Ramla Ali, Fernando Alonso, David Beckham, Orlando Bloom, José Manuel Calderón, Sofia Carson, Gemma Chan, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Olivia Colman, Billie Eilish, Pau Gasol, Whoopi Goldberg, David Harewood, Sir Chris Hoy and Angelique Kidjo.
Others are Téa Leoni, Lucy Liu, Juan Manuel López Iturriaga, Ewan McGregor, Alyssa Milano, Andy Murray, Liam Neeson, Liam Payne, Katy Perry, Sergio Ramos, Claudia Schiffer and Teresa Viejo.
They joined 28 high-profile UNICEF ambassadors and supporters to ask G7 world leaders to ensure fair and equitable vaccine supply to low-and middle-income countries.
“The world has spent one year and a half battling the COVID-19 pandemic, but the virus is still spreading in most countries and producing new variants with the potential to put us all back where we started. This means more school closures, more healthcare disruptions, and greater economic fallout – threating the futures of families and children everywhere,” the letter reads.
They alerted that COVAX, the global initiative supporting poorer countries in accessing vaccines, was already facing a shortfall of 190 million doses and proposed that to help cover the shortfall, G7 countries should donate 20 per cent of their vaccines between June and August, amounting to over 150 million doses, as a temporary stopgap measure to compensate for the shortfall.
MEANWHILE, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at its meeting in Abuja, yesterday, approved a draft 2021 supplementary budget of N896 billion to facilitate procurement of military equipment and COVID-19 vaccines.
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, disclosed this while addressing journalists shortly after the FEC’s meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.
She explained that the supplementary appropriation contained an aggregate sum N770.60 billion to further enhance the capacity of the defence and the security agencies to help tackle insecurity challenges in the country.
She said N83.56 billion was set aside for COVID-19 vaccination programme, covering 30 million vaccines from Johnson and Johnson and logistics costs for the deployment of the vaccines.
Ahmed said the budget provided N40 billion for sundry allowances in the health, education sectors and other wages, as well as N1.69 billion for the Nigeria Comprehensive AIDS Programme.
The minister also explained that government would draw from N39.58 billion to finance the supplementary budget and N135 billion from special levy accounts for the same purpose.

The 74th World Health Assembly has just ended. All plenary sessions were open to be viewed on the WHO website. In this article Nigeria Health Watch's Kemisola Agbaoye revisits some of the discussions around pandemic preparedness and response, and the potential implications for Nigeria.
Given the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact it has had on the world, it has become critical that every citizen is aware of the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005 and what it means for us. The IHR identifies health-related events that each State Party (country) signs up to and is bound by these regulations to report to the World Health Organisation (WHO). It provides guidance on prevention, detection, and response to public health emergencies with the potential for international spread to the 198 World Health Organisation (WHO) member states.
The IHR 2005 is a legally binding instrument that consists of 66 articles, including communication and coordination mechanisms and activities between WHO and states parties, roles and responsibilities of WHO and IHR National Focal Points (NFPs) in member states, and disease surveillance and responses activities required in-country and at points of entry. It also specifies the core capacities that countries must have to fulfil these functions. One of the major objectives of the IHR, is to control the spread of a severe public health threat, such as COVID-19, while avoiding unnecessary interference with international traffic and trade. Given the events of the last year and a half, it has come under immense scrutiny on its sufficiency to meet its desired objectives.
The COVID-19 pandemic has posed the most significant threat to human life and livelihoods in recent times. This has necessitated widespread restrictions to international traffic and trade with the institution of travel bans and lockdowns to mitigate its spread. How did the IHR 2005 function in this pandemic? How did countries and WHO adhere to the provisions of the IHR? Were the provisions in the IHR sufficient to prevent, detect and respond to the pandemic?
To answer these questions, the WHO convened two important committees to assess both the performance of the IHR, but also the performance of the WHO and its member states in responding to the pandemic. The first committee is the IHR expert review committee whose mandate was to review the functioning of the IHR during the COVID-19 response. The second committee is an independent panel of experts set up to review the spread, actions and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The panel was tasked with providing evidence-based recommendations to ensure that countries and global health institutions including the WHO, are better prepared to address health threats.

President Biden announced Thursday the U.S. will donate 75% of its unused COVID-19 vaccines to the U.N.-backed COVAX global vaccine-sharing program, acting as more Americans have been vaccinated and global inequities have become more glaring.
Of the first tranche of 25 million doses, the White House said about 19 million will go to COVAX, with approximately 6 million for South and Central America, 7 million for Asia and 5 million for Africa.

Jeannie Wells had hoped that regular visits would resume at her elderly mother’s New York nursing home once all the residents were fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
Around Easter, her wish finally came true, and she was able to hold the 93-year-old’s hand more than a year after bringing her mother to the facility for rehabilitation for a fractured hip and knee.
But that reunion was short-lived. Visits were quickly stopped for about six weeks after an employee tested positive for Covid-19, and Wells said visits are still far from normal even when there haven’t been outbreaks.
Covid-19 vaccines have allowed nursing homes in the U.S. to make dramatic progress since the dark days of the pandemic, but senior care facilities are still experiencing scattered outbreaks that are largely blamed on unvaccinated staff members. The outbreaks and ensuing shutdowns have jolted family members who were just starting to enjoy in-person visits with loved ones for the first time in a year.
For full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak
While the outbreaks inside nursing homes now are much smaller, less frequent and less severe than during the height of the pandemic, there continue to be hundreds of deaths each week attributed to the coronavirus. According to federal data, 472 nursing home deaths were related to Covid-19 in the first two weeks of May, down from 10,675 in the first two weeks of January.
Now we must control the disease from all directions and effectively vaccinate. Nursing homes are still spreading most of the epidemic, and we should do our best to stop it.

Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, has said the Federal Ministry of Health is working with critical stakeholders to fast track the establishment of local vaccine production plant in Nigeria.
He also disclosed that the country will receive the next consignment of the COVID-19 vaccine as the COVAX facility has communicated that the upcoming allocation is likely between July and September 2021 but that the exact dates are still being finalized.
“While we are pushing for equity, justice and fair play in the global allocation of vaccines, the Federal Ministry of Health is working with critical stakeholders to fast track the establishment of local vaccine production plants in Nigeria.”
“This initiative will be seizing on the environment created by the lopsided availability of vaccines, momentum around intellectual property waivers and health security imperatives that vaccines represent.”
Shuaib further disclosed that bilateral conversations are ongoing to see how Nigeria can access the surplus vaccines being stockpiled by developed countries.
“On this, we are working closely with the Embassies and High Commissions in Nigeria and communication remains clear that the allocation of vaccines from friendly countries is most useful now, not later when vaccines become widely available.”
Shuaib pointed out that GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance through UNICEF and in partnership with NCDC and NPHCDA have donated $8M worth of PPE to be used by primary health care workers across all 36 States and the FCT.
“These PPEs are already on their way to the sub-national level, courtesy of UNICEF. We thank our partners and value their continued partnership in supporting our frontline health workers.” Shuaib added.
On the COVID-19 vaccination exercise, Shuaib said 1,956,598 targeted eligible Nigerians have been vaccinated with their first dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
“Of this number, 66% are frontline workers, 22% are healthcare workers, while 12% belong to the elderly group.”
“Furthermore, 73,465 Nigerians have also received their 2nd dose across 36 states and the FCT. This includes His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who both received their second doses on Saturday, May 29.”
“Similarly, you would have seen that in many States, the Governors, members of the legislature, traditional and religious leaders have publicly started taking the second dose of their vaccinations.”
“Only yesterday, members of the Presidential Steering Committee including myself received our second doses of the vaccine.
“I can assure you that we are all doing well. Indeed, on my part, the side effects following the second dose were much less than the first dose.”
“We continue to advise that all Nigerians who have received their first dose should check their vaccination cards for the date of their second dose, and proceed to the same health facility where they got their first jab, to ensure full protection against COVID-19.”
Shuaib stated that a total of 10,027 cases of mild, moderate and severe Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) reported as of May 30th, while 86 cases of moderate to severe incidents have been reported. All these individuals have since fully recovered.
“Five States which recorded the highest numbers of AEFI are Cross River (1,040), Kaduna (1,071), Lagos (796), Yobe (555), and Kebbi with 525 cases.
Shuaib encouraged all Nigerians to remain vigilant Each and every one of us must follow social distancing, mask-wearing, and curfew guidelines.
Shuaib encouraged all Nigerians to remain vigilant and must follow social distancing, mask-wearing, and curfew guidelines to curtail the menace of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Significant concern remains about the threat posed by the Coronavirus B.1.617.2 variant, also known as the Indian variant, which is observed to be a highly contagious triple-mutant strain of the coronavirus.”
“In England, cases of the variant have doubled in one week alone.
“It is very important that we take all the necessary precautions set out by the Government to prevent an uncontrolled outbreak here in Nigeria.”
Shuaib said vaccination remains the safest and most effective public health intervention known to man adding that vaccines have saved lives throughout history.
Executive Director also said the Federal Government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari is determined to overcome the supply challenges the world is currently experiencing and ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are accessible free of charge, to all eligible populations in Nigeria.


This is great. Hope that the vaccine can be supplied to everyone who needs it.

Digital marketer Rashmi Sinha, 28, has been living solo in Mumbai for the last five years. Not very long ago, she was drawn to the organic food-eating habit. “And just then, the pandemic happened. At a time when your immunity plays a significant role in battling the Covid-19 infection, I felt I was on the right path. I reduced chemicals in my diet, and practised yoga every day,” she says.
Sinha began discussing this transition with her friends; some suggested that she take it up a notch and try the alkaline diet. “It’s based on the idea that replacing acid-forming foods with alkaline eats can improve your health. It doesn’t require you to spend a lot; in fact, it comes free of cost. You can use all the resources already available in your kitchen to follow this lifestyle,” she shares, arguing in favour of this dietary change over other fads that require
Almost a year into following the regimen, Sinha tested positive for Covid-19 a few weeks ago, and was asymptomatic. “Had I not done the RT-PCR test before boarding a flight to Assam, where my home is, I wouldn’t have known that I was infected. I was functioning perfectly well, and did not have any symptom, barring mild body ache. I think the fact that I had managed to alkalise my body and improve my health, helped me fight Covid-19 effectively.”
The alkaline diet rocketed into mainstream conversation when British celebrity Victoria Beckham tweeted about an alkaline diet cookbook in January 2013. But Dr Eapen Koshy says it’s a practice he has been following for 20 years. In the midst of the global pandemic, when the world is struggling to understand ways of survival, Dr Koshy says keeping the body alkaline is the way forward.
In his latest book, Survive Covid: By Staying Alkaline (Konark Publishers), Indian-born Dr Koshy, who practises plastic surgery in Lagos, Nigeria, says, “it is not the virus that’s to blame. Pathogens and organisms have been part of the ecosystem for eons. It is our own weakened immune systems that have responded with fatal inflammatory responses”.
Dr Koshy writes in the book, “The answer to the current pandemic and all the other pandemics in the future lies in alkalinising the body. In my practice, I haven’t seen people following an alkaline lifestyle getting sick in the pandemic.”
He explains that an alkaline pH of 7.4 is the perfect balance that a human body should maintain to be free of all illness. A pH of 7 is neutral, 0 is most acidic and 14 is most alkaline. For sustainable life, the pH level must be at 7.4 or close to it. He writes, “The white blood cells, which are on the frontline of our immune system and protect us from illnesses, become lethargic and weakened in an acidic pH balance; and they get immediately perked up and alert when the body has an alkaline pH balance.”
Unfortunately, modern medicine has gone down the chemical route instead of looking at nutritional changes that can influence good health, he feels. “For instance, if you want to bring down your cholesterol level, you are prescribed Statins. But these are the most dangerous class of drugs. We consume white sugar, one of the greatest toxins, almost every day. We want to treat diabetes, but do not want to stop eating at midnight. It’s habits like these that are leading to the lowering of global immunity today,” he argues.
All food items are either acid-producing or alkaline or neutral. But, how does one differentiate? Dr Koshy explains, “We need more bitter in our lives. Vegetables like cabbage, carrot, etc are alkaline. We also have herbs like ginger, turmeric and garlic that have more alkalinity in them. To move further up the alkaline ladder, you can have gooseberry, moringa leaves, avocado, berries, leafy greens, quinoa, olives, and nuts. Even spirulina, a blue green alga, and some varieties of the mushroom family are superfoods with high alkalinity.”
He suggests that we restrict the consumption of animal milk and milk products. “These are acid-producing, mucus producing and cardiac unfriendly. Even a cow gets her calf to wean off her milk by the time it is six months old. Why are we drinking the milk way into adulthood then?”
Dr Koshy has bad news for you when he says viruses will keep evolving, and are “here to stay”. “And so, we need to learn to be able to live around them. Fungi are another whole group of viruses. They are also transmitted easily,” he explains, pointing to the recent rise in black, white and yellow fungus cases in the country. “As the world’s immunity deteriorates, fungi can emerge with various lesions. The key is to build a strong immune system that remains unaffected by these.”
Sweedal Trinidade, Senior Dietetics Officer (HOD) PD Hinduja Hospital & Medical Research Centre, agrees that the consumption of unprocessed foods, fruits and vegetables, contribute to good health. Besides, taking calcium and vitamin D3, naturally our kidneys perform the natural job of producing bicarbonate ion that neutralises acid in blood to regulate the body’s pH.
At 60, Dr Koshy practises what he preaches. He runs 5 km every morning, drinks turmeric water and does 10 surya namaskars. “Most 20-year-olds won’t be able to beat me during the runs. When the pandemic started last year, the first 300 patients that I saw were not wearing an N95 mask. I used a regular mask to treat them. Resources were yet to be dispatched from China and India, and we had to make do with whatever was there at the facility. I continue to see patients even today, and not once have I experienced COVID-19 symptoms.”
The only exit strategy from the pandemic, he says, is alkalisation and upgradation of body immunity. “Vaccines and masks are mandatory now. I wish regular workout, alkaline diet, and waking up before sunrise were also made mandatory for all.”

Due to the pandemic, it’s been a tough one for people globally, especially in the health space. With major challenges facing the Nigerian health sector, Ossai Ifeanyi, CEO and Co-Founder of CribMD has become a problem solver to Nigerians.
The inability of Nigerians to receive medical care when they need it has been a personal problem for Ifeanyi; who lost his aunt because she couldn’t get access to visit a doctor even though she was financially capable. Looking back at this bitter moment, he decided to create a solution to make it easier for Nigerians (most importantly those in the rural areas) to get care from the comfort and safety of their homes.
His solution became CribMD! – The fastest rising health-tech company in Nigeria, with co-founders Lorna .M Johnson and Michael Ngiri.
At CribMD, they understand the need for quality healthcare, especially in these times; and they are constantly evolving to meet the challenges of everyday healthcare. Using state-of-the-art technology to bridge the gap more than ever before, CribMD provides affordable healthcare plans that enables access to verified doctors and health services across Nigeria. The CribMD integrated secure platform enables:
● Doctor House Calls
● Telemedicine appointments
● CribMD Health Plan
● Online Pharmacy – Verified Medicine Prescription & Delivery
While patients have all their medical care expenses covered, CribMD offers a 30% discount to support other startups and small businesses that want to provide healthcare plans to their employees to help them live better.
Ifeanyi says that the company’s act is already impacting the healthcare system as patients no longer have to provide their entire medical history each time they want to see a new doctor. They also do not have to queue up in front of a clinic all day for a slight chance to see a doctor or risk getting the Coronavirus while they wait.
CribMD is growing rapidly and has found strong backing in funding from Sputnik ATX, Norrsken, and other notable brands with monthly recurring revenue of $20K+ and over 1K subscribers and 25K patients on their waitlist. Nigerians are very enthusiastic about what CribMD provides, and a large percentage believe that it is the future of healthcare.
As Ossai would say – CribMD is medicine re-humanized and democratized! Our mission remains to deliver quality, affordable, and accessible healthcare to the masses.

At least 20 people have been killed by Cholera following a recent outbreak of the disease in parts of Nigeria’s northeast state of Bauch, an official said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a news conference in Bauchi city, the state capital, Aliyu Maigoro, the state commissioner of health, said the state has instituted several control measures to combat the outbreak which has kill at least 20 people since April.
Maigoro said the index case was a 37-year-old housewife, who was admitted at a hospital on April 24 in Ningi local government area.
“Upon her admission, it was discovered there is an ongoing outbreak of the similar disease in neighboring communities,” said Maigoro, adding the disease has been found in nine local government areas in the state, and more than 300 people have been infected.
He said measures are in place to contain the spread, including mounting continuous surveillance for all epidemic-prone diseases as well as active search for cases of diarrhoea and vomiting.
Cholera is a highly virulent disease characterized in its most severe form by a sudden onset of acute watery diarrhea that can lead to death by severe dehydration.
The outbreak is common in Nigeria due to the poor water supply systems, especially in densely populated areas.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said Sunday that he is not getting vaccinated because he has already had Covid-19.
Speaking with a conservative host on WABC radio in New York, Paul, an ophthalmologist, said he won't change his mind unless "they show me evidence that people who have already had the infection are dying in large numbers or being hospitalized or getting very sick."
"I just made my own personal decision that I'm not getting vaccinated, because I've already had the disease, and I have natural immunity," Paul said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people who have been infected still get vaccinated because experts are not certain how long natural immunity lasts.
Paul was the first senator known to have contracted the coronavirus when he tested positive in March 2020.
Vaccination demand has fallen, with about 60 percent of adults in the U.S. having received at least one dose so far.
Republicans, including former President Donald Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, have promoted getting vaccinated, as both have been.
Yet Republicans remain perhaps the most a vaccination-resistant demographic. A recent PBS/NPR/Marist poll found that more than 4 in 10 Republicans say they have no plans to get vaccinated.
Paul has said for months that his natural immunity means getting vaccinated is unnecessary, even though scientists say the evidence about long-lasting natural immunity is murky.
Paul, a steadfast opponent of Covid-19 mitigation measures and mask mandates, has repeatedly clashed at Senate hearings with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious disease expert, arguing over topics from herd immunity to the origins of the virus.

An international not-for-profit organization, WaterAid Nigeria, Wednesday, called on the Federal Government to prioritise hygiene in healthcare facilities across the country as part of the COVID-19 pandemic recovery plan.

This was contained in a statement from the organization, where it specifically called on the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, to expedite action to safeguard healthcare facilities.

The statement also explained why the call was made now, which is because health ministers from around the world are preparing to attend the World Health Assembly meeting as a result to international struggles to bring deadly coronavirus under control.



The statement reads in part, "WaterAid Nigeria is calling for the country's Minister of Health, Honourable Dr Osagie Ehanire,to prioritise basic hygiene for health care facilities as part of the COVID-19 pandemic recovery plan. The demand comes as health ministers from around the world prepare to attend the World Health Assembly, against a backdrop of international struggles to bring the virus under control."

The statement also pointed that, "Two years ago the World Health Assembly's 194 members unanimously agreed to ensure universal access to water, sanitation, and hygiene in all hospitals and other health facilities - since then the pandemic has highlighted just how vital these basic services are in controlling the infection.

"Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, has described soap and water as akin to personal protective equipment and absolutely fundamental for stopping the spread of COVID-19."



However, the statement revealed that "However, in Nigeria, about 17% of healthcare centres lack do not have access to a water source, and four in five healthcare facilities (80%) still lacks somewhere to wash hands with soap to protect patients and healthcare workers from catching and spreading deadly infections. In the world's poorest countries, half of all hospitals and clinics have no clean water on site.

"When the World Health Assembly delegations last met in person, they passed a resolution to ensure that all healthcare facilities had water, sanitation, and hygiene. And yet, the data shows that across the world almost 2 billion people depend on healthcare facilities without basic water services, putting them at greater risk of catching COVID-19 and other deadly diseases.

"One in four healthcare facilities globally is still without clean water on-site, one in three still has nowhere to wash hands where patients are treated and one in ten still lacks decent toilets."



According to the statement 26 per cent of healthcare facilities in Nigeria do not have access to toilets.

"The resolution has not translated to realistic actions in Nigeria either. National data shows that 26% of healthcare facilities do not have access to toilets on-site and only 4% of healthcare facilities in Nigeria have access to combined water, sanitation, and hygiene services", it pointed.

Also according to the statement, "Last December, the WHO estimated that to bring clean water, handwashing facilities and decent toilets to the health care centres in the poorest countries would cost just $3.6 billion - which equates to around an hour and a half's worth of what the whole world spent in a year on the Covid-19 response.

"Furthermore, research has shown that money spent on the water, sanitation, and hygiene within healthcare is a 'best buy' for any country, producing a 50 per cent return on investment. It helps to: slow the spread of antimicrobial resistance - so-called Superbugs; prevent the spread of hospital infections; and reduce maternal and newborn deaths.

"Sustainable access to water, sanitation, and hygiene is a cost-effective measure that guarantees the fight against COVID-19 and future pandemics. This realises lasting health outcomes in Nigeria, enabling people to reach their full potential."

Meanwhile, the Country Director, WaterAid Nigeria, Evelyn Mere, said: "Two years ago, at the World Health Assembly, global leaders resolved to prioritise water, sanitation, and hygiene in all healthcare facilities. Now is the time for them to make good on those promises.

"Millions of people are at risk of contracting diseases because they use or work in a healthcare facility which lacks basic water services. In the twenty-first century, this simply shouldn't be and needn't be the case. The cost of investing to ensure every health centre and hospital in the poorest countries has a reliable water supply, working toilets, and good hygiene may seem high but the benefits of such an investment far outweigh the cost.

"Trying to create a robust pandemic preparedness and response plan without ensuring that every health care centre has clean water and the ability to keep its patients, front-line health workers and premises clean is like building a fortress with a gaping hole where the door should be. Unless leaders wake up to this, more lives will be needlessly lost."

Recently, the family of a chef, Peju Ugboma, accused a private hospital in Lagos of negligence which led to her untimely death.

Ugboma was said to have been admitted into the hospital on April 22, 2021, and was advised to undergo an elective surgery for fibroid. However, Peju eventually bled to death at the hospital after the surgery went awry.

A similar case happened when a young lady, Omolara Omoyajowo, after undergoing treatment for ulcer and malaria at a hospital in Ogun State was transferred to a public hospital where she was confirmed as ‘brought-in-dead’.

The two cases expectedly generated a lot of reactions from well meaning Nigerians, with many asking, “Are we truly safe”? In a system where private hospitals charge exorbitant fees, yet still fail to provide adequate care for the sick, what’s the hope of the common man?

What about public hospitals, some may ask? It is no longer news that many people no longer have faith in public hospitals. With poorly paid healthcare workers and inadequate equipment, it is not surprising that patients die from the smallest of ailments. Sicknesses, such as malaria and typhoid, that are easily treated in saner climes, have killed several people in my dear country. It is because of this that many troop to private hospitals, yet even those no longer offer the much needed succour for sick Nigerians.

It is particularly sad that even the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), travels to London (United Kingdom) for treatment. This was despite his campaign promises in 2014/2015 to curb medical tourism in the country. Pray tell, if the president does not have faith in Nigeria’s healthcare system, what is supposed to be the lot of the average citizen?

Imagine the number one citizen of the country enjoying qualitative healthcare in a conducive and comfortable environment, while the people he is meant to serve are dying in large numbers.

Breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer screening rates declined sharply during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA, and while they subsequently recovered, a large deficit remains, study findings indicate.
Ronald Chen (University of Kansas, Kansas City, USA) and co-investigators estimated that the “screening deficit associated with the COVID-19 pandemic across these 3 cancers for the US population was 9.4 million.”
They report in JAMA Oncology that this “may be a temporary delay” but suggest that “public health efforts are needed to address the large cancer screening deficit, including increased use of screening modalities that do not require a procedure.”
Data from the HealthCore Integrated Research Database, which includes approximately 60 million people with Medicare Advantage and commercial health insurance plans, revealed that screening for breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer fell substantially between March and May 2020 compared with the same months in 2019.
The greatest fall occurred in April 2020, when screening rates were 90.8% lower for breast cancer, 63.4% lower for prostate cancer, and 79.3% lower for colorectal cancer when compared with April 2019.
However, by July 2020, screening rates for breast and prostate cancers had almost completely recovered to 2019 levels, whereas the rate for colorectal cancer screening remained 13.1% lower.
The researchers note that although the screening rates generally recovered, the deficit in total screening numbers from January through July 2020 compared with the same period in 2019 was 3.9 million for breast cancer, 1.6 million for prostate cancer, and 3.8 million for colorectal cancer.
Chen and team also analyzed their data by geographic region and socioeconomic status (SES) and found that, for all three cancers, the sharpest declines in screening were recorded in the Northeast USA, while the West had a slower recovery compared with the Midwest and South.
“This corresponds to the differential timing of COVID-19 rates across different regions of the country, with New York and other Northeastern states reporting early and higher surges of COVID-19 cases,” they remark.
Prior to the pandemic, screening rates were greatest in the highest two SES index quartiles but these two groups then experienced the largest declines during the first months of the pandemic, which the investigators say “had the effect of narrowing the gap in screening across the 4 SES quartiles in 2020 compared with 2019.”
In multivariable analyses, increasing age and SES quartile were significantly associated with lower rates of cancer screening in 2020 versus 2019, whereas the use of telehealth was associated with significantly higher screening rates.
The study findings are consistent with those previously reported by medwireNews[SN1] , and Chen and team conclude that they further current knowledge by revealing “that the screening deficit was larger for breast and colorectal cancers, which require procedures (commonly, mammography and colonoscopy), compared with prostate cancer screening, which commonly involves a blood test (ie, prostate-specific antigen testing).”
However, the authors caution that “further study is needed to ascertain the reasons for the different screening deficits.”

Having solved the COVID vaccine problem, and now requiring public health support for these cancers, I think there is some correlation between the decrease in cancer screening rates and COVID.COVID-19 messed up too many plans.

At least 9.2 million people in Nigeria faced a crisis or worse levels of food insecurity between March and May this year amid armed conflicts, COVID-19's effects and climate change, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Monday.
Of these, an estimated 3.2 million are in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, the FAO said in a statement.
“This figure is expected to increase to over 12.8 million people, of whom 4.4 million are in the three northeastern states, during June–August 2021, unless resilience-focused and humanitarian actions are taken,” it warned.
The FAO’s statement also highlighted the increasing number of forced displacements in the country, particularly in areas where armed attacks are more intensive, which affects the lives of millions of people in Africa’s most populous country.
“Increased violence and forced displacement continue to affect the humanitarian situation in northeastern Nigeria – the key hotspot of the armed conflict in the country – that has been further aggravated by trade disruptions and an economic decline linked to the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19),” the FAO said.
Regarding climate change’s impact on the West African country, the FAO said it affects food security and nutrition in the northeastern states.
“With the deterioration of the food security situation and an increased risk of famine in areas of Borno state, providing agricultural inputs to the most vulnerable households in time for the planting season starting in June is crucial to quickly increase food availability and access,” it added.
The UN agency also stressed the importance of embracing the diversifying of livelihoods, production and income sources.
But don't cause a large-scale famine. Food security is an important factor in the stability of a country. Now more than 9 million people are suffering. I hope that our country and the world can improve this situation.

WASHINGTON — The federal government plans to shift the way vaccine doses are allocated among states, allowing some governors to turn down doses they don't need or want, as President Joe Biden pushes to get at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to 70 percent of adults by July 4.
Administration officials told governors on Tuesday that if a state doesn’t want all of its allocation, then the vaccines will go into a pool and be redistributed to states that need them, a senior administration official said. For weeks, some states, like West Virginia, have been reporting unused doses as demand wanes, while others, like Michigan, have clamored for more.
“It's really just an indication that we’re at a different phase now then we were even a couple of weeks ago in terms of access to supply, and we want to ensure that we free up unused and unordered doses,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday.

Wisconsin Catholic priest warns congregants against Covid vaccine, defying pope and his bishop
The pastor of a Roman Catholic church in Wisconsin has been leading his flock astray by urging them to shun the Covid-19 vaccine.
The Rev. James Altman, of the St. James the Less Catholic Church in La Crosse, made his feelings clear about the vaccines in a posting that appeared in the church bulletin on April 18.
“DO NOT BE ANYONE’S GUINEA PIG,” is the headline on the item, which goes on to make a number of false claims about the efficacy and safety of the vaccines, claims that have been debunked by the majority of the medical establishment.
“God is still the best doctor and prayer is still the best medicine,” it concludes.
Altman called the pandemic that has killed over 577,000 Americans and sickened more than 32.3 million a “hoax” during his Easter weekend services that attracted 300 to 500 parishioners, The LaCrosse Tribune reported.

The emergence of COVID-19 in 2020 led to a paralysis of activities including that of routine immunisation which is mandatory for every child. Experts have continued to warn that Nigeria stands at the risk of returning to the list of polio endemic countries if any child is left behind.
He was already in his mid- 40s and was still running in circles. It wasn't because he wanted to be at the bottom of his class and among his classmates whom after graduating from a prestigious secondary school in Jos, had moved on and had acquired degrees, properties, prestige, marital status/symbols, including making names for themselves.
Rather, he was fighting some internal powers which right from childhood had suppressed him and limited his psychological and mental growth which had in turn, belaboured his emotions and outlook towards life.
As a child, Ahmad was always angry, unsettled, absent minded and paranoid. He got frustrated over his inability to do things that others could do with ease. So many times during break periods in primary school, no football team ever wanted to include him in its group.
Being part of the team meant they were 10 and half in number and not the complete eleven which was the rule in the game of football. Running and engaging other winning techniques was going to be almost impossible for him to achieve and that was a burden to him and the team he was representing.
The reason was because he had been attacked by the wild polio virus at the age of three and was cripple in one leg. His mother, a young woman of 21 had to relocate from the city to their village with his pregnancy alongside his elder brother shortly after his father gained admission into the Ahmadu Bello university, Zaria in Kaduna State.
His elder brother had been immunised against the polio virus and was free from its malady. However, he was not immunised against measles and at four years, he died from a deadly measles outbreak which also claimed the lives of several children in the village.
Managing the situation gulped huge resources and was time and energy consuming. Not the frequent early morning journeys to Dala Orthopedic Hospital and other key health institutions in Kano, from Kaduna could remedy the situation. Even though the affected leg was operated upon and he was given a special kind of shoe which had a double sole in order to assist him stand straight, Ahmad could never be the same again.
The shoe was also supported by a carefully constructed metal which was made in circles and supported with a long straight metal which had been carved by the expertise of a welder and it had a had a buckle, s strap made from genuine leather. It was used to support the leg. These were heavy and dragging the leg whenever he walked was cumbersome, painful, slow and regretful.
However, it was the only remedy medical personnel could give in order to assist him walk straight. His shoulder and spine were taken into consideration.
His case was not as half as bad as that of his cousin in the village who was also affected by polio. The virus crippled her two legs, thereby making it impossible for her to stand. One leg became longer than the other and was shrunken. To walk, she needed the assistance of a stick as she would have to fling one of the legs forward, then struggle to lift her torso with the aid of the stick in order to move the other leg.
A journey that could be estimated to take 10 minutes would last 40 minutes whenever Ramatu was involved. That's not all, village miscreants and playboys took advantage of her situation to always profess false love just to have their way with her.
On the other hand, there were times she felt she wasn't good enough for any man as a result of her condition. Getting 'prospective suitors' coming to woo her love felt like huge favour, until she was impregnated and abandoned to give birth to a child whose father she wasn't sure of.
The experience of Ahmad and Ramatu resonates in the life of every child affected by the wild polio virus. If it hasn't happened, then it's bound to happen, or a part of it is disaster brewing to burst. While others have the support of a strong family base, the potential of majority is cut short by half.
Even with a strong and consistent support system, they go through, and daily fight stigma, discrimination, inferiority complex, self pity, hatred for the society and sometimes question the supernatural, inadequate government policies to alleviate their plight and the non implementation of existing laws and strengthening of institutions centered around disabilities, as well as cases of sexual abuse and molestation for the females.
Reasons responsible for their inability to get immunised can be likened to many waters that have gone past under a bridge. However, it cannot be unconnected to inadequate information, proximity and the lack of awareness in appreciating the devastating effects of polio and the hardship it brings in its saddle.
The world has kept evolving from medieval ages to modern times, even to post modernisation and today, information is at the finger tips of individuals about benefits of routine immunisation and the consequences of refusing it.

Health-care workers and patients were an important focus of WHO Regional Director for Europe Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge’s visit to Greece last week. During the second day of his visit, Dr Kluge spoke directly with health-care professionals and individuals at the accommodation site for refugees and migrants in Eleonas and the mega-vaccination centre Prometheus in Maroussi, northern Athens.
Leaving no one behind
Arriving at the Eleonas refugee and migrant camp, Dr Kluge was welcomed by Greek Minister of Health Dr Vassilis Kikilias as well as President of the National Public Health Organization (EODY) Mr Panagiotis Arkoumaneas.
The accommodation site has been operational since August 2015, and provides shelter to approximately 2200 individuals of more than 20 nationalities. Health-care services in the camp are provided by PHILOS – Emergency Health Response to Refugee Crisis, a programme of the Greek Ministry of Health that is implemented by EODY.
During a tour of the site, Dr Kluge spoke with Amin, an asylum seeker from Nigeria, who recounted his journey and experience with the health-care system in Greece. Amin explained that he had to leave Nigeria for political reasons, following the deaths of both of his parents. Born and raised in Nigeria to a Nigerian mother and Somali father, Amin suffers from a number of health conditions, including diabetes, which led to the amputation of one leg, glaucoma, kidney failure and hepatitis B.
Dr Kluge asked Amin about his journey to Greece. “I had to leave Nigeria,” Amin said, “so I got to Lebanon, and then to Turkey and from there to Greece. It was a very dangerous road.” However, Amin also shared that he has hope: “Things are difficult,” he said, “I have a lot of problems. But I have hope.”
Support of health workers
Amin spoke of the support he has been receiving from health-care workers, including his social worker Christina, who has been working for EODY since December 2019 and is currently working with Amin in the Eleonas camp as part of the PHILOS programme.
Christina has worked with Amin daily for the past year, supporting him in getting access to primary health-care services, which are provided within the camp. Depending on the issue Amin is facing, Christina may accompany him to a hospital for further assistance. Through her role as a social worker, Christina also helps Amin to participate in various integration programmes and make progress with his asylum request. They share a close relationship, and Amin wishes to stay in Greece largely because of the support and assistance he receives from his care workers.
“I wish to you a lot of courage,” Dr Kluge said to Amin at the conclusion of their conversation. “At WHO, we believe in leaving no one behind. There is always hope.”
“Working for the good of the people”
Following his visit to the Eleonas camp, Dr Kluge, accompanied by the Minister of Health as well as Secretary General for Primary Health Care Dr Marios Themistocleous, visited one of the mega-vaccination centres of Athens: the Prometheus centre in the HELEXPO exhibition and congress building in Maroussi. Dr Kluge toured the facility and spoke with people receiving their vaccines.
The mega-vaccination centre is mostly staffed by members of the Hellenic military forces. As such, the centre delivers a clear message about the critical importance of collaboration across government agencies and the need to unite in a common effort against the virus.
Over 2.5 million vaccinations have been carried out in Greece. Just over 1.7 million people have received their first dose, and 770 000 are currently fully covered with both doses.
Dr Kluge spoke with 2 health-care workers at the centre, Nikos and Maria. “We are working for the good of the people,” said Nikos, a plastic surgeon with the navy who has been working there for several months.
Prior to assuming duties at the centre, Nikos was completing his residency in the United Kingdom. He explained the challenges he encountered while bringing his family back during the first wave of the pandemic. He managed to get his family to Greece on the last flight out of the United Kingdom, but the stress of the family’s separation weighed heavily on him until then.
Nikos has first-hand experience with COVID-19, as he caught the virus a few months ago. He experienced very mild symptoms and has now recovered fully. However, as he told Dr Kluge, the period during which he was sick was particularly stressful, as his wife is also a health-care worker and they have a 2-year-old child at home.
“What I am doing now is my contribution to society,” Nikos stated. “A military doctor has to be ready in both times of war and times of peace. The people I see at the vaccination centre every day are, in my eyes, my mother and my father. I feel proud about my country and the way it has addressed the pandemic.”
Vaccination as a common good
“Everyone should get vaccinated for the common good,” said Maria, “and in order to be able to see our loved ones again.” Maria, a nurse enlisted with the air force, is originally from Nafplio, Greece. She also experienced a COVID-19 scare, and although she did not contract the virus, she has shared the challenges of living alongside the virus every day, adapting to this new reality and being separated from loved ones for extended periods of time.
In Maria’s experience, most people who come to the vaccination centre abide by the public health and social measures and are eager to receive their vaccines.
The Regional Director thanked Maria and Nikos for their work while also congratulating the organization of the vaccination centre, commending the positive feedback he heard from those getting their vaccines and highlighting the importance of working together to defeat COVID-19.

The fragile peace in the nation’s troubled health sector may witness another setback following a new circular by the Federal government to stop the payment of salaries to medical house officers, nursing interns, medical laboratory science interns, and all other health interns. The affected healthcare professionals have said the circular was a shock to them said they were not carried along but currently studying the circular and would resist it if not good enough. The development which has sent shock waves across the country could potentially constitute a setback to recent gains within the sector. In the circular dated April 12, 2021, and released by the National Council on Establishments, NCE, the highest decision-making body in the civil service showed that all medical house officers and interns have been removed from the payroll of the federal civil service. The circular signed by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, reads in parts: “The National Council on Establishments (NCE) at its 42nd meeting held from 30th November to 4th December 2020 in Ikeja, Lagos State reviewed the current status of the internship programmes/housemanship/NYSC doctors in the service and approved their removal from the schemes of service as posts attracting grade levels in the salary structure.“The Council based its decision on the grounds that the period of these programmes/services forms part of the training in their respective professions. The intern shall, however, be considered for the payment of allowance to be determined by the national salaries, incomes, and wages commission. “This approval will be reflected in the subsequent edition of the schemes of service.” However, in a separate chat with Vanguard, some of the affected healthcare professionals expressed shock at the circular adding that they were investigating the circular as they were not carried along. In a reaction, the views of the National President, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria, AMLSN, Prof James Damen said: “I was very surprised with this development. Are we moving forward or going backward. We are mounting pressure on the Federal Government for the inclusion of our interns in the central posting of our interns and then just seeing this information. “I am looking forward to getting the details of the circular before we react appropriately. In developed nations, before releasing this type of circular, professionals involved would have been consulted. We are just reading this information on social media,” he said. On his part, the National Secretary of Nigeria Medical Association, Dr Philip Ekpe, who said it was too early to react, said: “It’s too early for the NMA to have a position. The circular came out (Thursday), but NMA will look at it. If it is not good enough we will resist it.” On his part, the President of the National Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, Dr Okhuaihesuyi Uyilawa said: “We have to investigate properly before making a statement.”

The practice of medical tourism might be a thing of pride for the elite class who can afford it, but it is costing countries like Nigeria billions of dollars which goes out of the economy every year. If these monies will be rechanneled into the economy, then patients’ trust has to be reignited in the Nigerian medical professional and system.
Founder and Consultant Gynaecologist of Tabitha Medical Centre, Dr Chito Nwana was discussing challenges of the business of medicine in Nigeria, during the Nairametrics Business Half Hour Show on radio.
Even though people are free to spend their hard-earned money the way they want to, Nwana noted that the money had been earned within the Nigerian economy, but would subsequently be sent into the economy of countries like the United States, India, United Arab Emirates, where these people hoped to get better medical services.
Introducing patient-centric models
Previous experiences have caused people to be wary of hospitals and health centres in the country, so that once they feel they can afford it, they would rather travel abroad.
“Tabitha is built on a patient-centred care system where we regard our patients as clients and pay attention to customer service. Before now, the medical practitioners did not pay attention to this because the thought was that patients cannot do without the services, and would nevertheless, come for it. However, I think patients want to be treated like they matter because this is critical in generating traffic.
Without them, we don’t have a business, and without us, they may not have the best health. It is important that we build patient trust in us again so that we can reverse medical tourism in a way that is beneficial to us and to the country. We need them to know and believe that we can do those things they travel out for, here in the country and safely according to international standards,” Nwana stated.
Eliminating quacks from the system is also another red sea that the Nigerian medical professionals will have to cross if they ever hope to restore trust in the system.
Nwana, who is a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology pointed that Nigerian professionals were being engaged in other countries of the world, a clear indication that the country is not lacking in expertise. However, most of these professionals in the country have plans of migrating to other countries in search of greener pastures, resulting in a brain drain and instability in the system.
“For the past 12 years I have interviewed doctors and nurses, one thing common to most of them is the ultimate plan to leave the country. It is a serious problem but we cannot fault them since they want to go to countries where they think they will get better reward for their labour,” Nwana explained.
As part of the patient-centric model, Tabitha Medical Centre also operates a system where 10% of the profit is plugged back into providing pro-bono surgical services for emergency cases where the patients clearly cannot afford the entire cost.
“In this way, we are balanced because we don’t ignore that there are people that might need our services but would not be able to afford it. So, we try to help them without affecting our net profit,” he stated.
A fragmented system in need of funding
Like every other sector, the medical services sector needs funding but does not seem to be attracting any investor. Nwana explained in the show that this could be attributed to the low returns on investment in the medical sector.
“The reality is that being a good medical practitioner does not make you a good business person, and for the most part, these hospitals and medical centres are solely owned by medical professionals who are not necessarily business-savvy. After taking care of running expenses and salaries, most of them have to struggle with the profit margin,” he said.
Hospital owners should allow business management and financial experts handle the finances, and focus on delivering premium medical services, the way they know how to. Multiple taxation and illegal levies is also another clip on the wings of the medical sector, hampering their ability to scale and grow.

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has decried the scrapping of the salary of medical house officers and other health interns by the Federal Government.
Dr Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, the President of NARD, said this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Abuja
Okhuaihesuyi said that the NARD was making its own investigation to confirm the veracity of the news, adding that it would be addressed appropriately.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Federal Government through the National Council of Establishment (NCE) stopped the salaries of medical house officers.
Others categories of officers affected include dental house officers, nurse interns, pharmacist interns, medical laboratory science interns, and NYSC doctors.
Dr Folashade Yemi-Esaa, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, had said that interns shall be considered for the payment of allowance to be determined by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission.
According to her, this approval will be reflected in a subsequent edition of the schemes of service.
The implication is that the salaries of all health interns in Nigerian health institutions including that of house job have been removed from the payroll of the Federal Civil Service.
NARD President described the new development as inappropriate and taken without the interest of Nigerians at heart.
He said that such a policy would not lead to the development of the health sector in the country because the categories of those affected provide significant service to people.
Okhuaihesuyi said that the welfare of medical and health workers should be of priority to the federal government especially now that the COVID-19 pandemic is ravaging the world.
He said if such action is taken against health workers then “the housing allowance, the furniture allowance and every other thing for the politician should be scrapped”.
He called for the quick reversal of the directive in order to ensure the promotion of the welfare of affected officers and entrench industrial harmony.

The United States will resume use of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration announced Friday, following an 11-day pause.
"With these actions the administration of Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine can resume immediately," CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Friday evening during a media briefing.
The joint announcement came after a CDC advisory committee voted to recommend lifting the pause, but advised adding a warning about the increased risk of very rare but severe blood clots. The vote was 10 to 4, with one abstention for a conflict of interest.
The warnings, in the form of fact sheets that will be distributed to people who receive the vaccines, have already been prepared and approved in anticipation of the vaccinations resuming, the FDA's Dr. Peter Marks said Friday. "Those are available for use immediately."
"Today's presentations and discussions have convinced me that lifting the pause on J&J's vaccine is in the best public health interest of the U.S. population," said Dr. Henry Bernstein, a professor of pediatrics at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell in New York and a member of the CDC's advisory committee.
The CDC and the FDA recommended the pause April 13, after receiving six reports of dangerous blood clots in the brain among the more than 7 million people who had received the Johnson & Johnson vaccination.
A day later, the CDC's advisory committee, called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, met to review the available data on the cases and make a recommendation on how to proceed. Ultimately, however, the committee felt it didn't have enough information to make a recommendation at that time, and instead decided to reconvene this week.

As higher education leaders mark 25 years since the creation of Hispanic-serving institutions, they're assessing how these colleges and universities can enroll and graduate more Latino students amid the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last fall, colleges saw a 5 percent drop in Latino undergraduate enrollments. The dramatic decrease came one year after Latino college enrollment had increased by nearly 2 percent, according to Deborah Santiago, CEO of Excelencia in Education, a nonprofit that analyzes how higher education institutions are enrolling, retaining and graduating Latino students.
"There was a lot of progress and accelerating enrollment. We were seeing increases in completion as well," Santiago said during a virtual briefing on Hispanic-serving institutions held on Wednesday. "In one year, we saw a precipitous drop, scaling back some of the enrollment progress."
While HSIs make up only about 18 percent of all colleges and universities, they enroll and graduate over 60 percent of the nation's Latino college students. HSIs are defined as institutions where at least a quarter of the student body is Hispanic.
In the briefing, education officials and Latino members of Congress reflected on the growth of these institutions while discussing how they can step up to recent challenges.
"Equity is a big focus for us moving forward," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said during the briefing. "Institutions like HSIs play a major role in that. So when we're talking about recovery as a country, we need to acknowledge HSIs and the important work that they do to promote equity and access for all students."
In their 25 years of existence, HSIs have grown exponentially, from about 189 colleges and universities to 539 as of last year. This is due to an increase in Latino college students who are mainly concentrated in several predominantly Hispanic areas, cities and states.