At least seven people in five U.S. states were infected with the novel coronavirus weeks before the states reported their first cases, a large new government study showed, pointing to the presence of the virus in the country as early as December 2019.
Participants who reported antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 were likely exposed to the virus at least several weeks before their sample was taken as the antibodies do not appear until about two weeks of infection, the researchers said.
The samples came from Illinois, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and were part of a study of more than 24,000 samples taken for a National Institutes of Health research program between Jan. 2 and March 18, 2020.
Of the seven samples, three were from Illinois, where the first confirmed coronavirus case was reported on Jan. 24, while the remaining four states had one case each. Samples from participants in Illinois were collected on Jan. 7 and Massachusetts on Jan. 8.
The data suggests the virus was in the U.S. states far from the initial hotspots and areas that were considered its points of entry into the country, the study said. “Data suggest that more rapid and widespread implementation of testing could have allowed us to better realize the spread might have been worse than initially thought, perhaps influencing our level of response,” said Micheal Breen, director of infectious diseases and ophthalmology at GlobalData.
The data backs a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study that suggested the virus may have been circulating in the United States well before the first COVID-19 case was diagnosed on Jan. 19, 2020.
“This study allows us to uncover more information about the beginning of the U.S. epidemic,” said Josh Denny, a co-author of the study that was published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
The United States has so far reported 33.6 million cases, according to a Reuters tally.

Jerry Ramos spent his final days hooked up to an oxygen machine in a California hospital. He had blood clots in his lungs and his 13-year-old daughter in his thoughts.
“I have to be here to watch my princess grow up,” the Mexican American restaurant worker wrote on Facebook as he battled COVID-19. “My heart feels broken into pieces.”
Ramos didn’t live to see it. He died Feb. 15 at age 32, becoming one of the nearly 600,000 Americans who have perished in the pandemic and another example of the outbreak’s strikingly uneven toll on the nation’s racial and ethnic groups.
The approaching 600,000 mark, as tracked by Johns Hopkins University, is greater than the population of Baltimore or Milwaukee. It is about equal to the number of Americans who died of cancer in 2019. And as bad as that is, the true toll is believed to be significantly higher.
窗体底端
On the way to the latest round-number milestone, the virus has proved adept at exploiting inequalities in the U.S., according to a data analysis by the Associated Press.
In the first wave of fatalities, in April 2020, Black people were slammed, dying at rates higher than those of other ethnic or racial groups as the virus rampaged through the urban Northeast and heavily African American cities like Detroit and New Orleans.
Last summer, during a second surge, Latinos were hit the hardest. They suffered an outsize share of deaths, driven by infections in Texas and Florida.
By winter, during the third and most lethal stage, the virus had gripped the entire nation, and racial gaps in weekly death rates had narrowed so much that white people were the worst off, followed closely by Latinos.
Now, even as the outbreak ebbs and more people get vaccinated, a racial gap appears to be emerging again, with Black Americans dying at higher rates than other groups.
Overall, Black and Latino Americans have less access to medical care and are in poorer health, with higher rates of conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. They are also more likely to have jobs deemed essential, less able to work from home and more likely to live in crowded, multigenerational households, where working family members are apt to expose others to the virus.
Black people account for 15% of all COVID-19 deaths where race is known, while Latinos represent 19%, white people 61% and Asian Americans 4%. Those figures are close to the groups’ share of the U.S. population — Black people at 12%, Latinos 18%, white people 60% and Asians 6% — but adjusting for age yields a clearer picture of the unequal burden.
Because Black people and Latinos are younger on average than white Americans, it would stand to reason that they would be less likely to die from a disease that has been brutal to the elderly. But that’s not what is happening.
Instead, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adjusting for population age differences, estimates that Native Americans, Latinos and Black people are two to three times more likely than white people to die of COVID-19.
Also, the AP analysis found that Latinos are dying at much younger ages than other groups.
Thirty-seven percent of Latino deaths were of those under 65, versus 12% for white Americans and 30% for Black people. Latinos between 30 and 39 — like Ramos — have died at five times the rate of white people in the same age group.
Public health experts see these disparities as a loud message that the nation needs to address deep-rooted inequities.
“If we want to respect the dear price that 600,000 people have paid, don’t return to normal. Return to something that is better than what was,” said Dr. Clyde Yancy, vice dean for diversity and inclusion at Northwestern University’s medical school in Chicago.
He added: “It will be an epic fail if we simply go back to whatever we call normal.”

Registered nurse Luis Medina walked into his shift in December and was told a positive Covid-19 patient was resisting wearing his oxygen mask. Despite repeated attempts by a fellow nurse, they said, it was hard to communicate with the patient, because he spoke Spanish.
Medina, 25, who works at a community hospital near La Mirada, California, went to see the patient and explained in his native language the importance of wearing the mask and the consequences of not doing so.
"Just having that language barrier and being able to address that, the patient ended up getting better, because he kept the oxygen mask on," said Medina, a graduate of and part-time professor at Mount Saint Mary's University in Los Angeles.
Yet the past year has been particularly difficult, as he had been a nurse for less than a year when the coronavirus pandemic hit. Medina was used to seeing patients leave the hospital shortly after they arrived. With Covid-19, he wasn't so sure the majority of his mostly Latino patients would be leaving that quickly.
The pandemic has disproportionately hit Latinos throughout the country, who are already at a disadvantage as they are likely to work in front-line jobs and have the highest uninsured rates. Liz Guevara, 31, a nurse care manager at La Clinica del Pueblo in Washington, D.C., saw a majority of Latino patients during the pandemic, and she found knowing Spanish and being Latina to be a big help; the Washington area has a large Central American population.
"We need to be culturally competent. Just because a provider may speak Spanish doesn't mean the patient will be comfortable to talk about their pain," she said. "Patients are more reluctant to speak to a provider if they can't fully express themselves."
Beyond language, it's about understanding different customs and cultures — and some of the difficulties many families go through. Guevara, who came to the U.S. at age 6, said her parents struggled to get access to health care, which motivated her to study health care disparities, including the lack of Latino providers. The realization led her to a career in public health nursing. As someone who lacked a mentor while entering the field, she is passionate about the impact Latinos can make in the profession, whether it's through mentorship or programs.

The Biden administration is buying 500 million doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine to donate to the world, according to three people familiar with the plans, amid calls for the United States and other wealthy countries to play a more substantial role in boosting global supply.
President Biden is slated to announce the plan at the Group of Seven meeting in Britain this week and told reporters Wednesday as he boarded Air Force One to Europe that he would be announcing his global vaccine strategy.
Ahead of the G-7 summit, the British prime minister’s office said the United States and Britain will work to resume travel between the two “as soon as possible” and launch a task force on the issue.

Florida Covid whistle-blower Rebekah Jones hopes to unseat scandal-scarred Rep. Matt Gaetz
The scientist who said she was fired by Gov. Ron DeSantis for refusing to censor Florida's Covid-19 numbers said Tuesday she’s hoping to unseat another high-profile Republican politician in the state — Rep. Matt Gaetz.
Rebekah Jones said the congressman, currently under investigation by the Justice Department for allegedly paying an underage girl for sex, is vulnerable.
“I hope I do better than a sex trafficker,” Jones told NBC News. “It’s absurd that he’s still in office. Someone like that should not go unchallenged.”
Jones, who currently lives in Maryland, made the announcement on a new Instagram account she set up after her Twitter account was suspended. She said she ran afoul of Twitter for repeatedly reposting a Miami Herald article highly critical of DeSantis.
“I had hoped that someone in the Republican Party would step up and primary him, and I’ve yet to see that happen,” Jones said in the video. “And so, if it takes me going home to Florida to run against Matt Gaetz, then I will do it. If it means getting one child sex trafficker out of office, you’re damn right I’ll do it.”

To get to a place where “life can start to look closer to normal,” President Joe Biden set two vaccination goals and gave the country two months to hit them.
These are the latest in his string of vaccination goals: First, to get 160 million adults fully vaccinated and second, to get at least one shot in 70 percent of adults.
NBC News is tracking the progress toward these goals and whether the current vaccination rates are on target. This article will be updated weekdays before noon ET.
For context, on the day Biden announced this new round of goals, 105 million adults had been fully vaccinated and 56 percent of adults had at least one shot.
This follows earlier goals. In December, President-elect Biden announced the goal of 100 million shots in his first 100 days in office, which was later upped to 150 million and then 200 million. The country reached the 200 million goal.
The administration introduced new tactics in May to encourage vaccinations, from walk-in appointments at pharmacies to shifting vaccine allocations. Ride-share companies offering free rides to vaccination sites and new dating app features encouraging vaccinations were among other approaches promoted by the administration.

Physical therapist Aimee Schuh, 31, will get married in September in an outdoor ceremony in South Carolina, after having to reschedule her wedding twice due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
As with most pre-pandemic weddings, there will be dancing. But there will also be masks and hand sanitiser available for guests, who are requested to be vaccinated, if possible, to keep others safe.
Ms Schuh said several guests are undergoing cancer treatment or have an autoimmune disorder, while other relatives and friends will be bringing infants who cannot be vaccinated, including her newborn niece, who will be only about a month old at the wedding.
"I already know I'm going to get family members calling me, telling me it's their choice. And yes, I understand that's your choice. You don't have to be vaccinated to come. But we are going to ask you to wear a mask, because we just don't want that virus spreading to those at risk if we can avoid it," Ms Schuh told The Straits Times.
She reckons that just the vaccination request would deter some family members from turning up.
"Honestly, I'm okay with it. If you're not willing to protect my newborn niece, you're not welcome," she said.
Buoyed by rising vaccination rates, the United States has increasingly rolled back its mask requirements in recent weeks.
On May 13, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention declared that fully vaccinated people no longer needed to wear masks, whether indoors or outdoors, in most situations.
Other states followed suit and eased their own mask and social distancing requirements, as did businesses across the country. This essentially replaced mask mandates with an honour system of trusting that those not wearing masks really had been vaccinated.
But that has left many Americans who want to be cautious, like Ms Schuh, having to navigate how to interact with sceptical loved ones who doubt the need for vaccinations or masks. Others never believed in the severity of Covid-19 to begin with.

A group representing some of the nation's property owners asked the U.S. Supreme Court late Thursday to block enforcement of an order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that has stopped landlords from evicting tenants who aren't paying their rent during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Keeping that order in place "will prolong the severe financial burdens borne by landlords under the moratorium for the past nine months," the group said, in an emergency application directed to Chief Justice John Roberts filed by the Alabama Association of Realtors.
"Landlords have been losing over $13 billion every month under the moratorium, and the total effect of the CDC's overreach may reach up to $200 billion if it remains in effect for a year." With the pandemic winding down the application said, the need for the eviction ban is fading.
In March, the Biden administration extended the moratorium on housing evictions through the end of this month.
A federal judge in Washington, D.C, ruled in May that the CDC had no power to issue the moratorium on foreclosures. But the judge stayed his order to give the government time to appeal. A federal appeals court declined to lift the stay, leaving the moratorium in place.

At its first pop-up vaccination event on April 10, the Northeast Mississippi Coalition Against Covid-19 gave shots to nearly 40 people in Shannon, a town where roughly 60 percent of some 1,800 residents are African American.
Though a fraction of the doses typically given out at large mass vaccination sites, the event was a success, say organizers — a coalition of health care providers and elected officials. Held outdoors, it allowed for a physically distant, communal atmosphere that many have missed over the past year.
Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak
“People would get their shot, and then say, ‘I’m going to get my wife or my daughter,’” said Dr. Vernon Rayford, a Tupelo internal medicine physician and coalition member.
The group has held two more events and administered a total of 110 doses, Rayford said. More pop-ups are scheduled.
Mississippi had already narrowed an outsize gap in Covid-19 incidence and mortality rates for its Black residents, leveraging community partnerships to promote masks and physical distancing while dispelling rumors. Now health advocates hope to stretch those partnerships to help ensure vaccines reach all Mississippians equally.
It appears to be working. Vaccine rates are neck and neck among Black and white residents, with available state data showing a slightly higher rate for whites and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data showing the opposite. Mississippi is one of the few states where the Black rate isn’t lagging significantly behind the rate for whites.
And as of mid-May, African Americans, who make up 38 percent of the state’s population, are getting 40 percent of the doses given each week, said state epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers.
“We continue to reach parity with our doses,” Byers said during a May press conference.
This is the latest phase of Mississippi’s dramatic turnaround on Covid-19 among its Black residents.
In the first four months of the pandemic, the incidence of Covid-19 was almost three times higher for African Americans than whites — 1,131 cases per 100,000 for Black Mississippians compared with 403 cases per 100,000 for whites. Mortality in those first months was almost twice as high for African Americans — 46.2 per 100,000 compared with 24.6 per 100,000 for whites, based on an analysis of weekly Covid-19 reports published by the Mississippi State Department of Health.
“Covid revealed what many already knew in the public health community: that the inequities in Black and brown communities have existed for a long time,” said Victor Sutton, who directs the state health department’s preventive health and health equity division.
That disproportionate toll on Black Mississippians started to wane, though, as Covid-19 cases began a rapid climb in the state and the rest of the country in the fall. Public health officials saw per capita rates of infection and deaths for African Americans drop below the rates of the white population. Through the peak of the holiday Covid-19 wave in mid-January, the infections and deaths rose for both groups, but the rates for African Americans remained lower than for whites.
State health department officials pointed to outreach through churches, historically black colleges and universities and community organizations that reinforced the importance of masking and physical distancing among African Americans. Efforts were also underway to reach other underserved groups, including Hispanics across the state, Native Americans in eastern Mississippi and Vietnamese communities on the Gulf Coast.
While Mississippi was among the first states to drop its mask rules, the groups hit hardest by the pandemic were more open to masking and physical distancing than the overall population, health officials said.
“It didn’t get political in the African American community,” Rayford said.
In Tupelo, the Temple of Compassion and Deliverance’s Bishop Clarence Parks was among the Mississippi clergy who used his pulpit both in his church and on Facebook. He lost his 91-year-old mother to Covid-19 on April 9, 2020. Hers was among the first cases diagnosed in Tupelo.
“It did give me a sense of urgency,” Parks said. “I saw what Covid was doing.”
In addition to moving church services online and into the parking lot, Parks made a point to talk to his congregation about how to protect themselves, their parents and grandparents from Covid-19. As small groups came back inside the church, masks were required. He talked to other pastors about safeguarding their flocks. Parks, 61, posted on Facebook when he got his Covid-19 vaccine.
In his congregation of 400, Parks estimates about 15 became infected with Covid-19.

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the take-off of the National Senior Citizens Centre. He has also approved the constitution of its 12-member board with immediate effect.
This is in line with Section 16 (2) (d) of the Nigerian 1999 Constitution as amended which mandates the State to provide adequate social services and improve the quality of life of the elderly.
The National Senior Citizens Centre was passed into law as the National Senior Citizens Centre Act, 2017 to cater for the needs of senior citizens (70 and above) in the country.
To realize this noble objective, and in order to ensure relevance and spread, persons of proven integrity from key ministries and organisations have been appointed into its Governing Board.
Consequently, President Buhari has appointed M.A. Muhammad, a retired air vice-marshal, as the Chairman of the Board with Mansur Kuliya, representing the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development; Chris Isokpunwu representing the Federal Ministry of Health; Umar Utono representing the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing; and John Magbadelo representing Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity as members.
Other members include: Bulus Kimde representing the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs; Sani Mustapha representing the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD); Usman Ahmed representing the Geriatric Association of Nigeria; Arc. Victoria Onu representing the Coalition of Societies for the Rights of Older Persons (CORSOPIN) and three other stakeholders namely Dorothy Nwodo, Mohammed Namadi and Emem Omokaro who also serves as the Director General.
The President also approved the appointment of Ahmed Habib as the new Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to replace Mr Muhammad who is now Chairman of the National Senior Citizens Centre.
The appointments are for an initial period of four years.

Ditching the Blueprint And Aligning with the CDC
The past few weeks have seen most states lift many remaining COVID-19 restrictions. Meanwhile, California residents awaited the moment when the State would provide details regarding its anticipated June 15 economic reopening.
That moment finally came on May 21, 2021, when California health officials announced the reopening was on track and will bring drastic changes to restrictions.
The biggest change is the retirement of the State's Blueprint for a Safer Economy framework and removal of capacity limits and physical distancing requirements, regardless of setting. This means businesses across all sectors will be permitted to open at full capacity, if they so choose.
Other changes include full alignment with the CDC's guidance regarding face coverings (which differ for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals) and lifting all restrictions on travel outside the state (with a note that any future travel restrictions will also be in alignment with the CDC).
Additionally, California will not require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to engage in any activities, though individual businesses may still choose to do so (and some counties have imposed vaccine-status related requirements). Nonetheless, the State plans to keep recommendations for such verifications in place for "mega events" (outdoor events with 10,000+ people and or indoor events with 5,000+ people).
Location Is Still Everything
California's plans to reopen its economy will almost certainly mean a significant portion of the State will follow suit. However, it is important to remember that individual counties and cities can still impose their own stricter precautions, and businesses generally must follow whatever is the strictest set of applicable guidelines.
Some counties have already announced their plans to align with the State's updated reopening plans and guidance, but some have not yet addressed the issue, indicating that they may opt for a more gradual approach to lifting local restrictions. Businesses operating in counties that still have higher infection levels will want to watch closely for any tighter restrictions that may remain in place, particularly around those requiring or encouraging continued remote work where possible.
What About Cal/OSHA's Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS)?
As previously reported, Cal/OSHA proposed revisions to its ETS on May 7, 2021. In the wake of the CDC's May 13, 2021 updated mask guidance, Cal/OSHA held off on making proposed changes at its May 20, 2021 meeting. Cal/OSHA is now preparing new proposed revisions to the ETS, and intends to make an updated proposal available for review by May 28, 2021. We expect that any new requirements may more closely align with the CDC's mask guidance, and will be issued by the slated June 15, 2021 reopening date.
Meanwhile, employers must still comply with any restrictions mandated by Cal/OSHA, and must continue to abide by the November 2020 ETS (and associated guidance) until further binding guidance is issued.
Workplace Solutions
There are still many moving pieces and uncertainties as California moves towards its plan to reopen next month. If you need any assistance with your workplace safety planning, or have questions about requirements related to reopening or expanding operations in adherence with State and local restrictions, Seyfarth's Workplace Solutions is here to help with these and other COVID-19 related questions.

Many states have not done their analysis and cannot say how much it would cost additionally on their premium to support this process.
To further reduce the menace of Tuberculosis (TB) in Nigeria, some experts in the health sector have called for the integration of TB services into state health insurance schemes.
Speaking at the 4th annual legislative summit on health in Abuja on Tuesday, Emeka Ogbuabor, a board member of Stop TB Partnership, said the move has the potential to yield additional funding for service delivery and eliminate user fees for TB patients.
The two-day summit, which began on Monday, is themed; "Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Health Security; Two Sides of a Coin for an Efficient Health System."
Mr Ogbuabor said there is an existing huge funding gap in TB management, even as the disease kills 18 persons per hour in the country.
"We have about 70 per cent funding gap. Of the 30 per cent funds we used in 2019, 23 per cent were developmental assistance funds; only 7 per cent were domestically mobilised," he said.
He said it is important for the country to prioritise TB if the country is to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by the year 2030.
"From the UHC perspective, that means we need to increase coverage, improve access and use, and then improve quality of TB care. This way we can guarantee improved TB outcomes."
Challenges
Mr Ogbuabor said one of the key challenges in TB domestic resources mobilisation is how to integrate the disease into health insurance schemes.
He said; "many states have not done their analysis and cannot say how much it would cost additionally on their premium to support this process.
"How can we get the various state legislatures to include this in their agenda, and interface with their various state governments to get the required funds to do an actuarial study to find out how much it will cost, and use it as an advocacy tool to push for the equity funds to be released and fill the funding gap."
He said TB should top political agenda in the country, making it a development issue.
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis is a contagious disease that is caused by a bacterium (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that often affects the lungs.
Nigeria remains one of the 30 countries globally with the highest burden of TB. She ranks first in Africa with the number of undetected cases.
Although TB is one of the vaccine-preventable diseases which is also curable, statistics from the WHO shows that every year, around 245,000 Nigerians die from TB, and about 590,000 new cases occur.
Of the 590,000 new cases, experts say around 140,000 are also HIV-positive.
Data released by 'Stop TB Partnership' in March shows that global treatment and diagnosis of TB cases witnessed a drastic decline in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has infected millions of people worldwide.
The report also indicates that disruptions in services caused by the pandem

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, looks to me like a man who enjoys the company of controversy. But I am not sure that controversy enjoys his own company on issues that seem crystal clear to most people. This Senior Advocate of Nigeria prefers the company of fogginess. He complicates and compounds what seem to most people clinical and straightforward, attempting to use his convoluted sense of legalese or constitutionalese as the fulcrum of his attempts at public deception.
Some time ago when virtually all Nigerians were talking about what came to be known, accepted and recognised as “Abacha’s Loot,” that is the humongous sums of money stolen by Dictator Sani Abacha, Mr Malami preferred to call it “Abacha’s money.” He used the expression “Abacha’s money” either because, like his boss, he doubted whether Abacha stole Nigeria’s money or he did so to make it seem as though Nigeria was trying to steal Abacha’s money from Abacha because he was dead.
When Nigerians insisted that he should call a spade a spade instead of a garden fork, he murmured something that is not worth remembering. But he had given himself away as an unrepentantly partisan fellow. To rub salt into that injury he claimed that his law firm had been chasing that loot and he got paid for it. If it was Abacha’s money why did he seek to bring it into the coffers of the Federal Government? No answer. Now, he has accepted that there is something called “Ibori’s Loot,” the money traced to associates of Mr James Ibori, former Governor of Delta State. He is not calling it “Ibori’s money.”
But that is beside the point. If Ibori’s Loot came from the coffers of the Delta State Government, fairness would prescribe that the money, when recovered, would be returned to the State in cash or kind. But Mr Malami is engaging in some strange variant of legalese that defies common sense or law or fairness or natural justice to deprive Deltans of their money. Now, he has taken his well established partisan and sectional position to the cow controversy. I know that all lawyers show partisanship in favour of any client who pays for their voices. But Malami is paid by Nigeria’s taxpayers and his position on the Asaba Declaration by the Southern Nigeria Governors recently is disturbing because it gives him away as a very biased public officer who normally ought to be non-partisan and seen to be so.
One of the decisions taken by the Governors was to ban the open grazing of cattle in all the states of Southern Nigeria, a decision taken by Governors from the APC, PDP and APGA. This is an indication that the issue received unanimous acceptance across all political, ethnic and religious divides. This is how Malami responded to the decision: “It is about constitutionality within the context of the freedoms expressed in our Constitution. Can you deny the rights of a Nigerian? For example, it is as good as saying, perhaps, maybe, the northern governors coming together to say they prohibit spare parts trading in the north. Does it hold water for a northern governor to come and state expressly that he now prohibits spare parts trading in the north? If you are talking of constitutionally guaranteed rights, the better approach to it is perhaps to go back to ensure the Constitution is amended. Freedom and liberty of movement among other rights established by the Constitution if, by an inch you want to have any compromise over it, the better approach goes back to the National Assembly to say open grazing should be prohibited and see whether you can have the desired support for the constitutional amendment.
It is a dangerous provision for any governor in Nigeria to think he can bring any compromise on the freedom and liberty of individuals to move around.” This rambling statement is simply an exercise in circumlocution and he knows it. That is why he never mentioned any section of the Constitution that provides freedom of movement for cattle. The 1999 Constitution states in section 41 (i) “that every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof, and no citizen of Nigeria shall be expelled from Nigeria or refused entry thereto or exit therefrom.”
I have combed through the Constitution and found no section where the right to freedom of movement is guaranteed to cows. None. So his reaction brought no clarity to the issue because the issue is clear: the right to freedom of movement is specifically meant for human beings. Even some developed countries that have shown dedication to the protection of animals do not have provisions in their laws that permit animals to roam about and destroy people’s properties. Mr Malami has two options in the matter. If he is convinced that he is right he should take the matter to court so that we can have a declaratory judgement on the constitutionality or otherwise of the decision taken by the Southern Governors.
The second option is that he can go to the National Assembly and ask for an amendment to the Constitution to accommodate the rights of cows to freedom of movement. For now, there is no such right no matter how elastic he thinks the rights contained in the Constitution are. Cattle husbandry has moved from the ancient practice of open grazing to ranching or confined grazing. If a cattle merchant purchases a piece of land to graze his cattle within a ranch or a confined space under laws provided within the jurisdiction of his business he has nothing to fear. But no sensible person will accept a situation whereby cows can be allowed to move freely, eat up people’s crops in their farms and deprive the farmer of his own source of livelihood. The reason that cows do not have human rights anywhere because they are not human beings. One would have thought after all the troubles that open grazing has caused in a State like Benue that the decision-makers in Nigeria would find it convenient to look at the matter dispassionately instead of making it a north-south issue. A lot of persons have been killed by these AK-47 wielding herders in various Benue communities making the Governor look like a tenant squatting on their land. They even audaciously tried recently to take his life simply because he insists that cattle rearers cannot, must not, take their cattle through people’s property destroying their lives and sources of livelihood. Similar problems have occurred in several other states of the federation between cow herders and crop farmers causing death and destruction. This state of affairs is an obvious disincentive to harmonious co-existence. To dim the growing flame of discontent between farmers and herders the Governor of Kano State, Mr Ganduje has offered the most realistic solution: ranching.
His view accords totally with the realities of the moment. Moving cattle from place to place belongs to the past. Nigeria seems to have been swarmed by herders from various neighbouring countries who come not only with their cattle but also with dangerous weapons. Nigeria has become an unwilling recipient of illegal arms which have taken Nigeria’s insecurity problem to an unprecedented height. Now the whole country is under the thumb of criminals flashing sophisticated weapons with which they have turned the country into Dante’s inferno. Governor Ganduje has offered to accommodate as many cattle as possible in ranches in his state. Other states that have land can also do so under a mutually acceptable arrangement so that we can put this nightmare behind us.
The Federal Government must emphasise to herders that they must begin now to do their business differently from the anachronistic method of the past. That method is unsuitable for today’s Nigeria where the rights of other people cannot be trampled upon without consequences. The major problem with this matter is that ethnic bigot are unwilling to accept that no one has the right to destroy other people’s business so that their own business can flourish. So the cow controversy is not a north-south issue. It is not even a human rights issue. It is strictly a business transaction issue. The era of open grazing is gone and gone forever. That is an incontrovertible fact which must be driven into the heads of those who are in the cattle business. The old practice is no longer sustainable today. This is a new day. There must be a paradigm shift. The Federal Government and our elected politicians must drive the message home to their constituents. That way we can have a win-win situation in which no business is the only winner while other businesses are losers.

The Western media is focused on the struggle between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, with searing images of the humanitarian disaster that is unfolding. Yet the magnitude is tiny compared to the humanitarian crisis in northern Nigeria. Total confirmed deaths number 239 in the current round of fighting between Hamas and the Israelis. In comparison, there have been at least 755 deaths since January 1, 2021 in northeastern Borno State, the epicenter of the Boko Haram insurgency; in northeastern Nigeria alone, over 2.9 million are internally displaced. In northwestern Kaduna and Zamfara states, both heavily afflicted by armed banditry, cumulative deaths since the turn of the year are at least 705. (Many more have been kidnapped.) Reporting from northern Nigeria is difficult, and thus casualty figures are likely an undercount. Now, the World Food Program is sounding the alarm over the looming prospect of famine. Already, a large majority of Nigerians (86 percent) lack access to a safely managed source of potable water.
In northeastern Nigeria, food and other relief is provided almost entirely by UN agencies and some 150 Nigerian and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Yet their personnel are under attack from Boko Haram and other jihadi organizations who accuse aid workers of, among other things, "Christianizing" the indigenous Muslim population. The other bookend of humanitarian frustration is that relief workers credibly complain that their efforts are too often thwarted by the army and the police in the name of "security." At least some security operatives complain that humanitarian relief reaches jihadis.
Why does the ongoing tragedy in northern Nigeria—and indeed much of the rest of the Sahel—attract so little attention in the developed world? Part of the answer is that the Sahel and northern Nigeria are far away. Few Americans have a personal link to it, unlike the large number that are invested in Israel and Palestine in one way or another. Many, perhaps most, Americans are convinced that what happens in Israel and Palestine directly affects U.S. interests. Further, issues in the conflict in northern Nigeria and the Sahel, in many ways a civil war within Islam, are obscure to twenty-first-century Americans. Popular media coverage is also limited: for a long time, media access to the war zone has been inhibited both by jihadis and the security services. "Compassion fatigue" in the aftermath of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria also plays a role.
Whatever the reasons, the bottom line is that the ongoing tragedy in the Sahel and northern Nigeria merits more humanitarian attention from the United States than it receives.

It is no longer news that COVID-19 has disrupted services in all sectors across the world and Nigeria is not exceptional. But the news is that the pandemic threw up numerous challenges facing the health sector. In Nigeria, it brought to the fore the weak and unacceptable poor health system which has plagued health services for decades in the country. However, the pandemic which has continued to ravage countries across the world may have forced governments to begin to build and bridge the gaps in the health system. One state in Nigeria, that is using the experience it gained from the challenges thrown up by the COVID-19 outbreak remains the Lagos state. This may not be unconnected with the fact that the state serves as the country’s epic-centre for the pandemic and had recorded the first case of Coronavirus precisely 28th February 2020. To prevent and respond effectively for a possible disease outbreak in the future, the State is currently upgrading and building new infrastructure with the experience it gathered from the current pandemic.These projects and programmes dominated Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s two years account of stewardship in health, rendered by the State Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, last week. For Abayomi, these projects are designed to take care of the health and wellness of over 20 million Lagosians. According to him, the roadmap for the upgrade of infrastructure in the state-owned health facilities, being executed by the Medical Project Implementation Unit (MPIU) in phases were aimed at building resilient healthcare in Lagos and increase residents’ access to quality universal health coverage. Abayomi who explained that the comprehensive refurbishment was being carried out in short, medium- and long-term bases said in line with the Sanwo-Olu administration to achieve the goals set in the Health and Environment pillar of its T.H.E.M.E.S agenda, the upgrade is cutting across primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare. He disclosed: “In the last two years, the Sanwo-Olu administration has completed, equipped and handed over two multi-level Maternal and Childcare Centre (MCC) in Eti-Osa and Badagry.” Abayomi explained that the construction of another 110-bed MCC has been completed in Epe and due for commissioning in the coming weeks For him, the upgrade is being done in a sustainable way, which would take another decade for major repairs to be done, except statutory maintenance by the hospital management and the Lagos State Asset Maintenance Agency, LASAMA. “We have renovated and remodelled the Mainland Hospital in Yaba with future plans of making it an Institute of Research for Infectious Disease. We have also completed the remodelling and upgrade of Apapa General Hospital, just as we currently renovate Harvey Road Health Centre, Ebute Metta Health Centre, Isolo General Hospital and the General Hospital, Odan Lagos. All of these are in the effort to make health accessible.” He disclosed that the ministry has gotten approval for the construction of new hospitals to bridge gaps in access and services in the health sector. “In fulfilment of our medical infrastructure blueprint agenda, we have commenced the construction of a 280-bed General Hospital in Ojo, 150-bed New Massey Street Children’s Hospital, while the Governor has also approved the construction and equipping of 1,500-bed Psychiatric Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre at Majidun in Ketu Ejinrin. “In the course of the year, we have completed the construction of a four-storey Faculty of Basic Medical and Clinical Sciences Office Block at Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM) and plans have been concluded for renovation and upgrade of some facilities at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) in tandem with our medical infrastructure blueprint strategy for the tertiary health facilities. He said the upgrade would bring about fit-for-purpose healthcare facilities that would raise the capacity of the state to respond to contemporary and future health challenges. According to him, part of the new features include improved efficiency for physical maintenance, ease of movement, low carbon footprint, low energy consumption, infection prevention and control as well as staff and patient comfort. Oxygen centres “In partnership with the private sector, we have completed and handed over an oxygen plant at Mainland and Gbagada General Hospitals. We have delivered Triage and Oxygen Centres in 10 locations across Lagos. In raising staff welfare, we have started the construction of a 24-unit Doctors’ and Staff Quarters in at Gbagada General Hospital.” Abayomi also disclosed that work had begun on the blueprint designs for Comprehensive Health Centre, Primary Health Centre and Health Posts as part of the move to rejig their operations and service delivery. Abayomi disclosed that the state government embarked on the greenfield medical infrastructure projects to prevent issues noticed in health infrastructure across all levels of care in the State. He expressed optimism that all issues bedevilling medical health infrastructure will disappear when the medical infrastructure blueprint strategy is fully implemented. He added that the medical infrastructure blueprint agenda will help address the issue of brain drain, medical travels and patient welfare, stressing that the state government, through the strategy, hoped to attract medical tourism to the state. “The prototype of the newly remodelled and upgraded healthcare infrastructure in the state will conform with key elements of global standards health facility designs, which include natural light/ventilation, sustainable energy, patient flow, infection prevention, noise prevention, flood prevention, identifiable standout visual features as well as scalability and modular design for expansion. Vaccination Continuing, the commissioner alerted that Nigeria stands the risk of experiencing the third wave because less than one per cent of its population has been vaccinated. In Lagos, only about 260,000 people have been vaccinated against COVID-19, with the figure represented just one per cent of the state’s population. He said health facilities in the state have been placed on high alert to pick up early trends that may suggest a third wave of COVID-19. He said Lagos is working toward ensuring 60 per cent of the herd immunity, representing 14 million people is achieved. Among steps being taken to curb a third wave of the virus included aggressive testing, including mutant PCR testing to identify the particular virus strain. It also included the deployment of technology (EKOTELEMED) to track and monitor inbound travellers; enforcing non-pharmaceutical interventions; increase in oxygen supply and vaccination. He said of the 123 passengers of interest tracked between April 13 and April 27, 110 (89 per cent) were called by EKOTELEMED, with only 39 per cent reached and tracked, 66 per cent had Lagos as their final destination, while about 28 per cent filled in no address in Nigeria or filled in a foreign address. As of the time of this report, the total samples tested so far was 460,647, with 58,222 confirmed positive. Of this number, 168,312 (37 per cent) were tested in public laboratories while 292,335 (63 per cent) were tested in private laboratories. Third-wave Expressing fear that the third wave of COVID-19 may enter Lagos through the importation of new COVID-19 strains from inbound travellers, he noted that all strides gained in the fight against the virus would be lost without improved border surveillance against the importation of new and mutant strains. “All passengers arriving in Nigeria will now have to show a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of travel rather than the previous 96 hours period. I have hence instructed that all these protocols would be made more stringent to protect the residents of Lagos State from an impending third wave. As part of these protocols, passengers are to mandatorily isolate for the required seven days and will be strictly monitored through phone calls by our EKOTELEMED platform and physical visits to the passengers’ homes by our surveillance teams,” he said. He warned that anyone that flouts the rule or gives a fake phone number or address to evade the protocol would be identified, adding that such individual would be made to mandatorily isolate at any government or public-private partnership isolation centres or identified hotels for 10 days at their cost. Defaulters would be fined, while the passports of the indigenous passengers would be forwarded to the authorities for deactivation and foreigners may be subject to deportation. He advised residents not to assume the worst is over, urging them to continue to adhere to any precautionary measures. “Residents are still advised to stick to the laid down protocols of always wearing face masks in public gatherings, washing of hands and maintaining social distancing, even after receiving the vaccine.”

In my world, Covid-19 is the place where public health, infectious diseases and humanitarian crises collide. It’s as though all the past training from medical school, through to the humanitarian emergencies I’ve worked in from Haiti and Rwanda to north-east Nigeria and the Lake Chad Region, were a preparation for the complexities and multifaceted challenge of this moment in history. Government denialism, multilateral?chicanery and diplomatic quagmires are all part of this.
The US government’s support for intellectual property waivers has opened up possibilities. This seismic shift in positioning has gathered momentum and support for vaccine manufacturing in Africa is growing?rapidly. Recent moves by the EU are indicative of strengthening ties between the “twin continents” and signals of significant support for vaccine delivery and manufacturing capacity on the continent will hasten us off the road of dependency. Health security equals lives saved, economies?strengthened?and?jobs secured. The microbe has shown us that in our interdependent, interconnected world, our economic future depends on our ability to respond collectively to health crises, and to do so in a way that corrects the power imbalances of the past.
Covid-19 has shown that we Africans must move faster towards real self-sufficiency in diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccine production. No one will help us if we do not attempt to help ourselves. It is time to stop feeding off the scraps from the table of high-income countries.
The pandemic is a global humanitarian and economic crisis, not just a public health crisis. It is?the defining moment of our time. As in the?post-second world war period that gave rise to multilateralism as we know it,?Covid-19?is reshaping our world in ways that require a redesign of our systems?and changes in how we view our future. It is up to us as Africans to decide if we are to accept mere observer status or be a main player at the table.
Yet we as Africans must also accept responsibility for our share of the invidious?position?we are in. In part, it is due to poor governance, massive under-investment in human capital development, wholesale corruption and an over-dependency on external assistance. For too long we have sat back and allowed “do-gooders” to determine our fate.?The business model of some donors and western non-governmental organisations is rooted in old-fashioned ways of viewing Africa, with remnants of colonialism underpinning their decision-making, This is what constitutes the “do-gooder” syndrome.
In this new epoch, we must break free from the shackles of do-gooderism?and aid dependency.?There is a moment of opportunity in this awful crisis. We must seize it with courage. It is time for us to innovate and build our own institutions, ones that will stand the test of time like the pyramids of Kush.
The time is now. African leadership must do what is necessary in this moment to save lives and preserve livelihoods. The sleeping giant Nigeria must awake and join South Africa to?leverage?its geopolitical potential.
We have seen what is possible. Under the leadership of John?Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention,?Africa has shown it can rise to the occasion by orchestrating continental management of the pandemic response. Plans are being prepared for the production and manufacturing of vaccines in Senegal, Rwanda and South Africa.
This brings me to the shake-up needed in global systems. Covid-19 has shown that we need more than a mere decolonisation of aid. We need a reimagining and re-engineering of the international architecture, of how we interact as people and as systems.
We will need the sustained political will?and?true partnership from our multilateral and bilateral?partners and a sense of urgency to meet the moment we’re in. There are opportunities in this crisis for Africa’s long-term health security. These opportunities will be lost, stolen or taken away if we fail to expose the sense of entitlement from some of our do-gooder friends,?who seek to undermine or delegitimise the shifting paradigm or who have historically seen us more as charity case than partners. This is an opportunity to address the power imbalance that underpins the unequal availability of vaccines.
Coronavirus is threatening the global status quo. Those who are trying to shore up the old systems would seek in this moment to protect their power base. That cannot be allowed to happen if we are to build a world where public health is seen as a critical element of our future economic security.

Lee Evans, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and member of the famed “Speed City” runners from San Jose State, suffered a stroke last week and is unconscious in a Nigerian hospital.
Solofo Evans said a specialist is scheduled to check his father’s condition on Monday to see if Evans, 74, can be flown to the United States for further treatment.
Solofo Evans said Sunday that the family is working with the U.S. embassy in Lagos, Nigeria, to secure clearance if Lee Evans can safely be transported.
“Medically, he is not in a good place,” Solofo Evans said.
According to Segun Odegbami, a former Nigerian soccer great, Evans collapsed last week while having dinner with him and other friends. Odegbami said Evans has blood clots in his brain.
Evans is an assistant track coach at Odegbami’s International College and Sports Academy and has spent many years coaching African teams.
“We want to get Lee the best care,” said Ron Freeman, a 1968 Olympic teammate, who also works in Africa.
Freeman said Odegbami made it possible for Evens to get treated in a hospital.
“Segun is a blessing to Lee’s family,” Freeman said.
Evans, who graduated from San Jose’s Overfelt High School, was the first person to break 44 seconds in the 400 meters when he won the race at the Mexico City Olympics with a time of 43.86 seconds.
Evans also anchored the 1,600-relay team to a world record of 2 minutes 56.16 seconds. Both of the world records lasted for almost two decades. Evans, a member of the Olympic Project for Human Rights, wore a beret with his relay teammates during the medal ceremony in an ode to the Black Panther Party. The demonstration did not cause the same reaction as when fellow San Jose State runners Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised black-fisted gloves during the medal ceremony for the 200 meters.
In 2011, Evans had surgery to remove a large tumor in the pituitary gland area of his brain while visiting his sister in the Bay Area.
Evans began working for the United Nations in Africa after resigning as track and cross-country coach at the University of South Alabama in 2008.
This is really sad news. Pray for Lee Evans, hoping that he will get rid of the torment of the disease as soon as possible, especially now that he is still in the pandemic, so he must be safe.

The U.S. public health system was thrust into the limelight by the coronavirus pandemic, and a survey published Thursday found many Americans aren't happy with its performance.
According to the survey, conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in February and March, ratings of the nation’s public health system declined from 43% in 2009 to 34% in 2021. 
Positive ratings for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fell overall, from 59% in 2009 to 54% in 2021. Health experts say distrust and the politicization of public health measures contributed to Americans’ negative view of health institutions.
“How the public sees public health is incredibly important,” said Dr. Robert Blendon, co-director of the survey and professor of health policy and political analysis at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “When it comes to trust with health information, which is the heart of what public health is about, they’re much more likely to trust clinical physicians and nurses than public health institutions and agencies.”
Fewer than 4 in 10 adults report having "a great deal" or "quite a lot of trust" in the National Institutes of Health (37%), the Food and Drug Administration (37%) and the Department of Health and Human Services (33%).
Health experts say the politicization of public health measures such as masking, travel restrictions and stay-at-home orders also has influenced public opinion.
The survey found only 27% of Republicans said they had "a lot of trust" in the CDC, compared with 78% of Democrats. 
“We have not had another pandemic that has been politicized by party … Nobody had a Republican or Democratic view on polio vaccine. It just didn’t exist,” Blendon said. “The minute that happens, people of the party determine what’s going on based on their political views regardless of the facts.”
Despite people’s negative opinions of  federal agencies, they still regard them as important pillars of the nation’s health system.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Monday it has eased travel advisory ratings for the United Kingdom and Israel after raising both countries to its highest warning level last month amid COVID-19 concerns.
The State Department lowered the UK to a “Level 3: Reconsider Travel” rating and lowered Israel to “Level 2 – Exercise Increased Caution.” It was the second reduction in Israel’s rating in recent weeks.
Last month, the State Department boosted the ratings of about 120 countries to “Level 4: Do Not Travel” to align with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ratings. About 150 of 209 destinations rated by the State Department are listed at Level 4.
A coalition of U.S. and European travel, airline, union, business and airport groups called in a letter last week for a full reopening of the U.S.-UK air travel market “as soon as safely possible.”
The United States since March 2020 has barred nearly all non-U.S. citizens who have recently been in the UK from the United States.
“The return of transatlantic flying would not only have a significantly positive impact on our respective economies but will also reunite those who have been separated from their loved ones for over a year,” said the letter, signed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Airlines for America, Virgin Atlantic, Association of UK Airlines, Aerospace Industries Association and others.
Nearly all of Europe still bans most U.S. travelers from visiting, while Britain allows American visits but requires a 10-day quarantine upon arrival and two COVID-19 tests.
On Friday, Britain said it would allow international travel to resume from May 17 after months of banning most trips abroad, but nearly all major destinations were left off its list of countries open for quarantine-free holidays, including the United States.

The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed disclosed that the nation needed to develop more mid-to-long-term interventions to successfully weather the storm of the economic crisis caused by the global pandemic.
The Minister disclosed this at the ‘Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI) General Assembly webinar.
What the Minister said on Nigeria’s fiscal response
“We had to develop more mid-to-long-term interventions to successfully weather the storm of the crisis and put our economy back on the growth trajectory,” she said reacting to the contracted GDP rate.
“We did the following: Procured a $3.4 bn loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and about $2.5 billion in local currency from the domestic capital market to support the 2020 budget implementation), among others,” she added.
Mrs Ahmed also disclosed that the FG also packaged N500 billion for COVID-19 Crisis Intervention Fund in the 2020 revised budget, as part of a N2.3 trillion Economic Sustainability Plan, as control measures, were introduced, through Fiscal and Monetary authorities’ collaboration, with non-critical expenditures deferred. Massive investments were made to strengthen the health sector as well.
In case you missed it
Nairametrics earlier reported that the Minister said the federal government is still committed to acquiring 29.59 million doses of Johnson & Johnson covid-19 vaccines through the Afrixem Bank AVAT initiative.

FORMER Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure in Kano State Muazu Magaji has said that Nigeria’s cabinet appointment or positions are skewed towards incompetent people and not any specific section of the country. 
Muazu shared his thoughts in an interview on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, where he gave his opinion on the insecurity challenge in Nigeria and its solution.
He said that the foundation of the problems that had beset the present Muhammadu Buhari administration was that there were people brought in, but could not manage their space.
Stating that the country needed to be ruled competently and democratically, he called on the young political generation to “find a coordination platform; not to agitate for anti-democratic changes, but to harness their energy towards a very credible democratic change.”
The APC chieftain believed that the generation in power today had been around since 1999 and received everything that Nigeria had to offer them.
He said there was a need for competent people to be brought onboard the administration.
Magaji cited how in 2015, many professional Nigerians in the diaspora tried to come in and contribute to helping Nigeria, but were sidelined for the benefit of those who had special interest with the then newly elected President Buhari.
He stressed that the structure of Nigeria was no longer working and there was a need to find a common ground which was “a functional respected and democratic Nigeria.”
Magaji also shared how in Kano State, “they are doing their best to coordinate young people to create the necessary shift in the paradigm of power and the change they desire to see.”
Speaking about his unconventional views on the need to restructure the democracy of Nigeria to become equitable among the regions and go beyond party affiliations, Magaji noted that those same views had cost him his appointment as a commissioner in Kano State.
Magaji was a member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council for 2019.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, run the risk of a third wave of COVID-19 infections as its vaccine coverage has well fallen behind the annual target, a local health official warned.In the state of Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub and COVID-19 epicenter, about 260,000 people have received the jabs, representing just 1 percent of the state population, said Akin Abayomi, health commissioner of Largos state, on Tuesday.
Nigeria kicked off mass vaccination with its first batch of 3.94 million AstraZeneca shots via COVAX program on March 5. By Tuesday, only about 1.2 million doses have been administered, according to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency.
To achieve herd immunity, Nigeria has aimed to inoculate 40 percent of its population of over 200 million by the end of 2021, and then 70 percent by 2022.
“It is important that we protect our environment and residents against this virus” especially while vaccine coverage is still low, Abayomi said.
Abayomi said that health facilities have been placed on high alert to pick up early trends that may suggest a third COVID-19 wave, given a more contagious variant first identified in India has triggered third or fourth wave in some countries.
Nigeria has confirmed 165,215 cases as of Tuesday, with 155,371 recoveries and 2,063 deaths, showed official data.

The US State Department has announced it is launching the Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) programme, which will provide "capacity-building support to partner countries". As an initial investment, the department has committed USD5.3 million to support FIRST projects.
The programme was unveiled during the Leaders Summit on Climate that the Biden-Harris Administration hosted last week.
"FIRST is a capacity-building programme designed to deepen strategic ties, support energy innovation, and advance technical collaboration with partner nations on secure and safe nuclear energy infrastructure," the State Department said. "Such cooperation includes supporting the deployment of advanced nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors (SMRs), in a manner consistent with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Milestones Approach for implementing a responsible nuclear power programme."
The benefits of SMRs it highlighted include: "lower costs, scalability, flexibility, and the ability to partner with other clean energy sources, such as wind and solar power"; water desalination; replacing coal to power energy-intensive industrial processes; and, producing hydrogen to help decarbonise transportation and other sectors.
FIRST strengthens the USA's relationships with international partners, including through government, industry, national laboratory, and academic institution engagements, the State Department said.

A keynote speaker at the 3rd International Conference organized by Nnamdi Azikiwe University Business School, Dr. Okey Anueyiagu has said that unbridled electoral fraud in Nigeria is undermining the country’s democracy, arguing that the only way to solve the problem is to guarantee the freedom of the electoral umpire.
Anueyiagu warned that if the fraudulent system leads to the failure of Nigeria’s democracy, it would have a ripple effect on the African continent, with the attendant repercussion on the people.
He said: “Electoral fraud all over Nigeria has facilitated the overthrow and stifling of democracy. All over the country, there are very severe problems of governance and very deep pockets of disaffection.
“The major problem with Nigeria’s democracy is the failure of the state since 1999 to consolidate the gains of the momentum generated when Obasanjo became president. Emerging democracies must demonstrate that they can solve their governance problems and meet their citizens’ expectations for freedom, justice, a better life, and a fairer society.
“If democracies do not move effectively to contain crime and corruption, generate economic growth, relieve economic inequality, and secure freedom and the rule of law, people will eventually lose faith and turn to authoritarian alternatives. And this is the inevitable way that Nigeria is going today.
“There is absolutely no doubt that democracy is the best form of government, but struggling democracies, such as Nigeria’s, must be consolidated so that all levels of society become enduringly committed to the ethos of democracy as enshrined in the country’s constitutional norms and constraints.
“Considering the strategic importance of Nigeria in the world economic and political arena, many are worried about this trend, and asking how to reverse this democratic recession. Before and from the day Obasanjo allegedly attempted to elongate his mandatory tenure, otherwise known as the “third term”, all manners of the expansion of executive power, the intimidation of the opposition, and the rigging of the electoral process have extinguished even the most basic form of electoral democracy.
“Nigeria as in many other developing democracies is plagued by a superficial type of democracy, that is blighted by multiple forms of bad governance: abusive police and security forces, domineering local oligarchies, incompetent state bureaucracies, corrupt and inaccessible judiciaries, and venal ruling elites who are contemptuous of the rule of law and accountable to no one but themselves. In this country, there are elections, but they are contests between corrupt parties.
“There are parliaments, state and local governments, but they do not represent broad constituencies. There are constitutions, but not constitutionalism. Is democracy not over now?
The level of voter disillusionment and disenfranchisement has reached a very high pitch, resulting in massive cases of democratic distress.
“The biggest challenge for the survival of democracy in Nigeria lay partly on the willingness of the ruling party to; listen to their citizens’ voices, engage their participation, tolerate their protests, protect their freedoms, and respond to their needs. We must confront the monstrous electoral authoritarianism as practiced by Prof. Mahmood Yakubu’s INEC.
Elections are only democratic if they are truly free and fair. This requires the freedom to advocate, associate, contest, and campaign. It also requires a fair and neutral electoral administration, a widely credible system of dispute resolution, balanced access to mass media, and independent vote monitoring.

The Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) Resource center has revealed that Nigeria have been losing about $15 to $18 billion annually as a result of illicit financial flow (IFF).
HEDA also quoted that Nigeria’s loss has been accounted for about 30 percent of Africa’s loss to IFF which was at $50 billion in the last 10 years, saying it is unfortunate the number may rise as the corrupt practice escalates.
“The Thabo Mbeki report of 2018 put Africa’s losses at between $50 and $60 billion per year, with Nigeria accounting for 30 percent of the amount. Therefore, Nigeria may be losing between $15 and $18 billion every year to illicit financial flows.
“Some opinion poll have argued that Nigeria alone may have lost up to $50 billion annually, while other source estimates that African States collectively linked to IFF to the tune of approximately $60 to $100n billion each year,” stated HEDA.
These among other revelations was contained in a HEDA’s message during a media roundtable discourse held recently at Sheraton Hotels and Towers, Lagos, as the organisation presented to the public, the 4thedition of their publication, “A compendium of 100 high profile corruption cases in Nigeria.”
In his earlier remark, Chairman, HEDA Resource Center, Olanrewaju Suraju noted that corruption has eaten deep into the fabric of Nigeria society, that most of these cases as it connotes, ‘high profile’ in the compendium involved influential people and even serving government officials including politicians in the country.
Suraju noted that according to some reputable researchers, Africa is estimated to have lost much in excess of $1 trillion in illicit financial flows, with loses fast outstripping foreign direct investments and dev elopement assistance.
According to him, the reports stated that there are significant shortcomings in Nigeria’s constitutional provisions, domestic laws and treaty obligations that contributed to the country’s susceptibility to the problems of illicit financial flows.
HEDA records that most troubling damage done to Nigeria by illicit financial flow has been the damage caused to its administration of the justice sector.
It maintained that institutions within the administration of justice sector have suffered from underperformance, saying that State institutions have been severely weakened in their ability to combat corruption and IFF.
Suraju maintained that the massive drain of Africa’s financial resources into foreign land especially UK and UAE in focus could have been used to solve some of the continent’s ailing infrastructural deficits if it was curtailed.
The compendium covers some of verified cases with the most recent updates featuring reportage of a total number of 100 high profile case of corruption most of which are current.  It also reveals the complicity of key Nigerian stakeholders in the PSID failed contract and the emergence of young Nigerian internet fraudsters like Ramon Abbas Igbalode, Alias Hushpuppi and Ismaila Mustapha alias Mompha that have further put Nigeria to international ridicule in terms of corruption perception. These are in addition to the several existing and new high profile corruption cases involving politically exposed persons.
With the cases of Daziene Madueke, Dan Etete, Ceceilia Ibru, Dasuki, Olisa Metu, Adoke  among others, HEDA stated that the absence of effective implementation and enforcement of national laws allows these crime to thrive.
“With the widespread practice of acquisition of both offshore accounts and foreign luxury properties by prominent public officers, the ruling elite lacks political will to combat corruption and abuse of official power and functions,” HEDA Resource center.
Some of new cases of financial corruption were recorded while old cases and closed closes were equally recorded.
Guest speaker, Dr. Gbenga Oduntan, a UK based financial crime research expert, in his lecture, spoke on a topic:  “Fixing Nigeria’s Illicit Financial Flows (IFF): A Critical Review of UK and UAE Policies, Laws and Practices in Financial and Professional Institutions.”

Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said Sunday that fellow GOP Sen. Ron Johnson's recent downplaying of the need for all adults to get a Covid-19 vaccine "hurt" efforts to achieve widespread inoculation.
"Well, I definitely think that comments like that hurt," Capito, R-W.Va., told CNN's "State of the Union." "I believe that we should all have confidence, that we should — to not just protect ourselves, but our communities and our neighbors. We should get vaccinated."
Speaking with a conservative radio host Friday, Johnson, R-Wis., expressed concern that the vaccines did not go through the years-long government review process, though health experts say shortcuts were not made and that the vaccines are safe. He also said only "really vulnerable" Americans should get the shots.
"So if you have a vaccine, quite honestly, what do you care if your neighbor has one or not?" Johnson, who contracted the virus last year, told host Vicki McKenna. "I mean, what is it to you? You've got a vaccine and, you know, science is telling you it's very, very effective. So why is this big push to make sure everybody gets the vaccine?"
Johnson's comments come as public health officials domestically and internationally are urging vaccination to help stop the spread of the virus. Both Democrats and Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, have urged Americans to get vaccinated.
Johnson's remarks come as conservatives and Trump supporters remain some of the most vaccine-hesitant populations. A CBS News/YouGov poll released Sunday found that 51 percent of Republicans have either already been vaccinated or say they will get inoculated. Meanwhile, 19 percent say they might get vaccinated while 30 percent say they will not.
"I wouldn't say that only Republicans have hesitancy," Capito said. "I think that there are some folks that are unsure. And when we saw what happened over the last week with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, that really sort of chills people that were maybe waiting."
On Friday, the U.S. announced it will resume the use of Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine after an 11-day pause to investigate extremely rare but severe blood clots, with a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory group voting to recommend lifting the pause.

Nigeria recorded no deaths from COVID-19 on Friday, making it the eleventh consecutive day that nobody died from the disease in the West African country.
Also, in continuation of a steady run of low infection figures, the country recorded 45 new cases on Friday, according to data released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
The new figure, lower than the 100 recorded a day earlier, raised the total number of infections in the country to 164,633.
With no deaths recorded on Friday, the death toll from the virus in Nigeria remains 2,061.
A breakdown of the data shows that 65 persons were discharged on Friday after testing negative to the COVID-19 virus following treatment. This brings the total number of discharged persons to 154,643.
Latest data
According to the NCDC, the 45 new cases were reported from eight states: Lagos-26, Rivers-10, Delta-3, Kano-2, Akwa Ibom-1, FCT-1, Kaduna-1 and Nasarawa-1.
Lagos had the highest figure with 26 new cases on Friday, followed by Rivers and Delta with 10 and three new cases respectively.
Since the pandemic broke out in Nigeria in February 2020, the country has carried out over 1.8 million tests, according to the NCDC.
Although 154,643 people have been discharged, the country still accounts for 9,990 active COVID-19 cases.
Vaccination
Nigeria has vaccinated over a million people barely two months after the country received approximately four million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines through COVAX, a UN-backed effort that promises access to free vaccines for up to 20 per cent of participating countries’ population.
The current phase of vaccination covers health workers and other frontline workers although Nigerians from other groups are also getting vaccinated.
The head of Nigeria’s immunisation agency, Faisal Shuaib, recently said the inoculation of frontline health workers in some states has been completed, and attention has shifted to older adults, aged 65 and above.
“We have been careful to ensure that only those who are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in the current phase are being vaccinated.
“These include health workers and their support staff, other frontline workers, strategic leaders and in the last few days, we have also included those who meet the age requirements,” he said.
Mr Shuaib has also assured the general public of the efficacy of the vaccines and urge everyone to get vaccinated when they can.

THREE African countries, namely Kenya, Ghana and Malawi, have administered 1.7 million doses of the malaria vaccine RTS, S on their children, but Nigeria, which bears 25 per cent of the disease globally, has not been part of the exercise.
A statement obtained by The ICIR from the World Health Organization website, Wednesday says more than 650,000 children benefitted from the vaccination in the three nations.
According to WHO, there were an estimated 229 million malaria cases and 400,000 deaths worldwide from malaria in 2019.
WHO adds that over 90 per cent of global malaria deaths occur in Africa, killing more than 265 000 children on the continent.
The agency explains that governments of the three African nations where malaria vaccination has been administered made the exercise possible.
The WHO-backed pilot vaccination, which began two years ago, is the world’s first effort to contain the disease through vaccine administration.  Other interventions such as the use of long-lasting treated mosquito nets, approved medicaments, indoor residual spraying are some of the interventions used globally to fight malaria.
WHO says that when global progress in control of the disease has stalled, the protection provided by the vaccine, when added to currently recommended malaria control interventions, can save tens of thousands of lives per year.
Director of the Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals at WHO, Dr Kate O’Brien,  said Ghana, Kenya and Malawi show that existing childhood vaccination platforms can effectively deliver the malaria vaccine to children, some of whom have not been able to access an insecticide-treated bed net or other malaria prevention measures.
Similarly, Director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme, Dr Pedro Alonso, says in the statement: “Over the last two decades, we have achieved remarkable results with existing malaria control tools, averting more than seven million deaths and 1.5 billion cases of the disease.
“However, progress towards key targets of our global malaria strategy remains off course. To get back on track, new tools are urgently needed – and malaria vaccines must be a critical component of the overall toolkit.”
The agency notes that insights generated by the pilot implementation will inform its recommendation on broader use of the vaccine across sub-Saharan Africa, adding that global advisory bodies for immunization and malaria are expected to convene in October 2021 to review RTS, S data and consider whether to recommend wider use of the vaccine.
RTS, S is the only vaccine that has been shown to reduce malaria in children, including life-threatening severe malaria, related hospital admissions and the need for blood transfusions, which says, adding that the vaccine is currently being piloted in areas of moderate to high malaria transmission where malaria can account for up to 60 per cent of childhood outpatient visits to health facilities.
Kenya had its first rollout of the vaccine on 13 September 2019; Malawi began to give its jabs on April 23, 2019, while Ghana started its rollout on April 30, 2019.
According to the WHO, the disease is a leading killer of children younger than five years in Kenya, claiming life of one child every two minutes.

Anthony Fauci, a leading U.S. immunologist, wants to vaccinate children of all ages against coronavirus by early next year at the latest. "I think by the first quarter of 2022 we will be able to vaccinate children of almost all ages," said U.S. President Joe Biden, who serves as CNN's corona adviser. "Hopefully, before then, but I think that's the closest we'll get."
For children and adolescents 12 and older, he believes vaccinations are available at the start of the upcoming school year. Currently, adolescents in the U.S. over the age of 16 cannot be vaccinated.
Biontech and Pfizer announced a few days ago that they hope to use the corona vaccine in the U.S. in the future for adolescents under the age of twelve. An application for emergency approval to expand the existing vaccine has been submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A similar application will be submitted to other regulatory agencies worldwide in the near future. To date, the vaccine has been approved for use from age 16 only.
According to results published in late March, a clinical study in the 12- to 15-year-old age group showed 100 percent effectiveness. The vaccine was well tolerated. The companies said the side effects would correspond to people between the ages of 16 and 25.
For safety reasons, the health of nearly 2,300 participants in the United States will be monitored for up to two years after receiving the first dose of the vaccine. As part of the study, 18 coronary conditions were identified in adolescents who received the placebo vaccination, but none were identified in the 1,131 individuals who received the Biontech / Pfizer formulation.
The manufacturer has also begun clinical studies in infants as young as six months old and in older children. However, U.S. experts do not expect to approve the vaccine for that age group until early next year.
For the suspension corona vaccine with the active ingredient from Johnson & Johnson USA, the immunologist said he does not want to expect a decision from the CDC and FDA. However, he believes the active ingredient will be used again - possibly with certain warnings and restrictions. He hopes a decision will be made this Friday and that there will be no further delay in making a decision.
On Friday, the CDC advisory committee wants to discuss how to proceed. No decision is expected to be made on the continuation, lifting or partial lifting of the vaccination ban for Johnson & Johnson's active ingredient in the United States until the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) makes a recommendation.
The CDC and FDA recommended suspending vaccinations with the active ingredient last Tuesday after six cases of cerebral vein thrombosis were documented in the United States. Subsequently, the U.S. pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson delayed the market launch of its vaccine in Europe and temporarily suspended all ongoing studies of vaccines containing the active ingredient.
To date, more than 7.2 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in the U.S. The vaccine was approved in the U.S. in late February and requires only one dose. The vast majority of the vaccinations were administered with active ingredients from the U.S. companies Moderna and Pfizer and their German partner Biontech, and these preparations are still in use. As of Sunday, more than 205 million vaccinations had been administered in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Leading food and agro-processing company in West Africa, WACOT Limited, and leading global agritech company Syngenta Crop Protection are partnering for impact to further boost Nigeria’s food security and ensure sustainable development of the agriculture sector.
This would see Syngenta Crop Protection working closely with WACOT over the next five years to help improve the sustainability, quality and safety of Nigeria’s agriculture with world-class science and innovative crop solutions.
Although Nigeria’s agriculture sector is the country’s highest employer of labour, accounting for 70 per cent, it has suffered low output resulting in poor returns for farmers and massive food import.
The partnership agreement with WACOT Limited, which operates in all 36 states in Nigeria and supports production of crops including rice, maize, sorghum, soybean, cotton and vegetables, will therefore help further Nigeria’s drive towards attaining self-sufficiency in food.
Through this partnership with WACOT, Syngenta would collaborate with farmers and others to sustainably improve the most important factor in agriculture – yield. This will take the form of WACOT supporting the Nigerian farmer on cost-effective agronomic practices, advanced crop protection methods through the usage of yield enhancement products and biological compounds to consolidate the growth of the agriculture sector in the country.
Commenting on the partnership, CEO of the Agri division of TGI Group, the parent company of WACOT Limited, Ramesh Moochikal stated that it desired for Nigeria to attain self-sufficiency in crop production and would look to enter into strategic partnerships to achieve this goal.
Moochikal said: “We are most pleased with this partnership that would further help us achieve our dream for Nigeria – food security and self-sufficiency. Nigerian farmers are hardworking, and we know that if we can make them aware of better crop production practices and make results of our research and development efforts available to them, things will improve, and the agri sector as a whole would benefit.”
Also speaking, Syngenta Crop Protection West Africa Head, Franck Tokore said the company was proud of its relationship with WACOT and would continue supporting Nigerian farmers.
He said: “We are delighted to be renewing our partnership with WACOT. Through this partnership, we provide quality solutions to farmers in Nigeria and help support food security and livelihoods in Africa’s most populous country. By supporting farmers in Nigeria to sustainably increase their yields, we are also helping them be more competitive globally, hence reducing the need for imports. Nigeria has huge potential, which we strive to unlock sustainably through this partnership”.
Syngenta is one of the world’s leading agriculture companies, comprising Syngenta Crop Protection and Syngenta Seeds. It aspires to help safely feed the world while taking care of the planet. Its technologies enable millions of farmers around the world to make better use of limited agricultural resources responsibly.
Over the years, WACOT has consistently focused on contributing to food security in Nigeria. It has developed a strong portfolio of Agri inputs to fuel the country’s self-sufficiency in agriculture.

The bilateral trade relations between Nigeria and France which stood at $4.5 billion in 2019, shrank to $2.3 billion in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
French Minister in charge of Foreign Trade and Attractiveness, Franck Riester, made the disclosure  while briefing newsmen at the end of a meeting with members of Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), yesterday.
He said: “France is a major financial partner for Nigeria, being the second bilateral creditor of Nigeria after China, thanks to the involvement of French Development Agency (AFD). AFD engaged more than €2 billion in the last 10 years in over 35 development projects.  France will also dedicate financing and capacity building in the health sector in some Nigerian states,” the minister said. Riester added that France is also one of the major partners of the COVAX initiative, noting that last February, French President, Emmanuel Macron warned that the failure to share vaccines would entrench global inequality.
According to him, the president proposed sending part of the coronavirus vaccine supplies owned by European countries, the United States, China and Russia to developing countries.  The minister explained that there are about 100 French companies presently in Nigeria investing in the health, energy, environment logistics and other secrors, and with over 10,000 employees.



Because of COVID-19, the economy has been shrinking, and all countries should cooperate with each other to tide over the difficulties.