The COVID positivity rate in New York City’s public schools has dropped to 0.03 percent, prompting Mayor de Blasio to declare on Friday that the virus is now “almost nonexistent” in the city school system.
“This is a testament to the vaccination effort and to the work of our educators and school staff and parents,” he said. “That’s a good sign for the fall.”
As of Friday, the city has conducted 1.5 million coronavirus tests in city schools, according to the mayor.
De Blasio was speaking during his weekly appearance on WNYC with Brian Lehrer, who, while lauding the schools for their efforts as well, pointed Hizzoner toward a more disturbing trend — the spread of the COVID Delta variant that’s sweeping through other parts of the U.S.
“I’m curious if you have any contingency plans if low-vaccinated areas in New York City experience resurgences because of Delta?” asked Lehrer.
De Blasio responded that he and top city health officials have looked “very, very carefully” at the variant and its impact. He said that, right now, he doesn’t intend to switch gears in terms of his approach to tamping down the virus.
“What we still see consistently is vaccination works. The more vaccinated people, the better,” he said. “The best answer to the variant is just kept deepening the vaccination effort.”
De Blasio stressed that about half of the city’s population is now fully vaccinated — 4.1 million people — and that an additional half-million have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
“If anything occurs where we have to make adjustments, we will make them quickly,” he said. “We don’t see any evidence at this point of the variants having a major impact here. … If there’s a trendline that happens over weeks or even months, there’s plenty of time to make adjustments. But we do not see that right now.”
Asked about the possibility of re-implementing COVID-based restrictions in areas hardest hit by the virus if the Delta variant takes hold, de Blasio was noncommittal.
“I can’t say that now, absolutely cannot say that now,” he said.

More than 300 cases of heart inflammation after Covid-19 vaccinations have been reported in young people, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Thursday.
"The case are rare," she said. "Over 20 million adolescents and young adults [have been] vaccinated in the United States."
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Still, the cases of either myocarditis or pericarditis, which involve inflammation of the heart or the surrounding tissue, are higher than what would be expected for this age group.
The CDC's independent advisory group, called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, will meet next week to review the cases. The meeting was originally scheduled for Friday, but was rescheduled late Thursday after President Joe Biden signed a bill into law declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday. Because June 19 falls on a Saturday this year, it will be observed on Friday, June 18.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has expressed concerns that the attack on schools and abduction of students by bandits have impacted negatively on the development of education in Nigeria.

Mrs Ngozi Amanze, National Programme Officer, Education, UNESCO, Abuja Regional Office, spoke, on Monday, at a two-day training programme on reviewed Curricula on Family Life and Emerging Health Issues organised by the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) in collaboration with UNESCO and other partners held at Auta Ba Laifi, Nasarawa State.

The workshop was organised to strengthen the capacity of 300 pre-service and in-service teacher educators on the delivery of New Curricula covering Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW), Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), Harmful Practices (HP) and Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR).



Amanze condemned the kidnapping of school children for ransom, saying this was an attack on the educational system and the future of Nigeria.

She said: “Some schools are being shut down, especially boarding schools, children are traumatized, even when you think you are in the city centre, nobody is safe.

“The situation is impacting negatively on education. It has put fears into parents, children and school authorities. This is an attack on the education system and attack on the future of the country,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of NCCE, Professor Paulinus Okwelle, who declared the workshop open, vowed to deal with the challenge of poor teacher quality in the country.


He noted that so many factors were responsible for the acclaimed poor quality of teachers in the country and that the Commission as the regulatory agency is doing all it could to improve the quality of teacher education in Nigeria as well as ensuring that teachers produced from the system are globally competitive.

He also expressed the commitment of the Federal Government to strengthen basic education delivery in the country, saying the workshop was to train educators on the new curriculum for them to be able to teach the children for the good of society.

Okwelle said: “Curriculum is a thing you keep changing based on trends globally and teachers have to be trained to be able to teach it,” he said.

UberX Hourly is now available in Nigeria, giving riders an option of requesting a driver by the hour as they complete essential errands or deliveries during this period. Uber Hourly is an alternative to on-demand, point-to-point trips that allows riders to book a driver-partner and car by the hour to help get all their essential travel done in one go. Hourly will also provide riders with added convenience with no need to re-book their ride. From a trip to the office to the pharmacy, or supermarket, this new option is designed to give riders peace of mind.
Through the Uber app, not only are riders able to access safe trips, but new income opportunities are also unlocked for drivers by providing more avenues for meaningful economic opportunities, while representing innovation in the transport sector.
Uber’s Country Manager for Nigeria Tope Akinwumi said: “At our Global Go Get global consumer virtual event, we announced that this product would be available in Nigeria in the coming months, and we are proud to have kept our promise. We are excited to bring innovations designed to help people get anywhere and get anything as cities start to move again, while we continue to ensure that riders and businesses no longer have to navigate to multiple locations. Uber is continuously looking for ways to improve the experience for their communities and this is just the start! ’’
Uber, he said, will continue to leverage its technology to quickly adapt and meet the changing needs of businesses and customers, wherever they are.
“Uber’s responsibility doesn’t end at merely providing this service and have kept safety in mind by providing relevant health information with drivers to ensure they are well-trained in COVID-19 related safety protocols and have been provided with hand sanitisers for use during trips,” Akinwumi said.

The volume of trade between Nigeria and South Africa hit $2.9 billion last year with expectation of it rising further with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.
Nigeria’s Consul General, Malik Abdul, in a statement noted that Nigeria accounts for 64 per cent of South Africa’s trade in West Africa and is one of his country’s top three sources of crude oil.
He further added that in 2020, South Africa imported R35 billion ($2.48 billion) worth of goods, predominantly crude oil from Nigeria and exported R6 billion ($425milion) to Nigeria.
He stated: “South Africa is currently among the top 10 per cent of investors in Nigeria, globally and Nigeria is South Africa’s 10th biggest export market in Africa and thirty-second globally. Nigeria accounts for 64 per cent of South Africa’s trade with West Africa and is one of South Africa’s top three sources of crude oil.
“Also, Nigeria in 2020 was South Africa’s top import market in Africa and sixth globally, after China, Germany, USA, India and Saudi Arabia. Over the past year, South Africa imported $2.48 billion worth of goods predominantly crude oil from Nigeria and exported $425 million worth to Nigeria.”
Also, the consulate said his embassy issued a total of 10,341 passports to Nigerian citizens in South Africa between March 2020 and May 2021.
The consul general further said the Mission had 404 unclaimed passports, and advised all those whose passports were processed and pending from August 2020 to come for collection.
Abdul added that the consulate was working to clear all COVID-19 lockdown backlog of applications, urging members of the public to exercise patience while the mission was resolving the backlogs.
On the re-introduction of administrative fees and charges for lost passports, Abdul said that the step was taken to harmonise and standardise consular services following approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja.
The Mission had increased the fees for lost passports from R1,500 to R2,000, and admin charges of R120 for data capturing.
“On this issue, the Mission could not unilaterally impose any charges without headquarters’ approval or consent.
“The admin fees of R120 pertains to all services rendered by the two Missions,” he said.
According to the Nigerian envoy, the decision was taken to remove disparities in all consular services, noting that visa fees have also been harmonised.
On penalty for lost passports, Abdul disclosed that 484 Nigerian passports were reported missing at the mission between August 2020 and May 2021 with request for re-issue.
Abdul said it was discovered that there were criminal undertones and immigration rules infractions associated with the ‘so-called’ lost passport declarations.
“In line with practice in other Missions, there was a need to impose fines to deter people from engaging in such infractions.
“At such an astronomical rate of loss declarations, the option will be to refer such losses to Nigeria for processing.
“This will save the booklet for genuine requests of re-issue and thereby reducing the backlog and pressure on the Mission,” the envoy said.
Abdul disclosed that the consulate had received a directive to embargo processing of lost passports pending further instructions from the headquarters.
The consul general then accused some Nigerian groups in South Africa of, “peddling lies and outright falsehoods” against the Mission and his person.
“These disgruntled elements have gone ahead to incite fellow Nigerians with intent to sabotage the Mission.
“Moreover, a lie and falsehoods often repeated amounts to a propaganda which can be misinterpreted by the gullible and undiscerning as truth,” he said.

United States government employees should not be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before returning to their workplaces or made to disclose their vaccination status, according to guidance set to be released by the administration of US President Joe Biden on Thursday.
Workers may voluntarily disclose this information and federal agencies can base their safety protocols, in part, on whether employees are vaccinated, the guidance said.
In a 20-page memo seen by Reuters news agency, the acting heads of three agencies that oversee the federal workforce also urged agencies to consider more flexible arrangements for some employees, including permanent part-time remote work and working outside of normal business hours.
The guidance comes as many US government employees who have been working remotely during the coronavirus pandemic prepare to return to their offices. It comes on the same day the US Department of Labor issued an emergency rule for protecting workers in healthcare settings.
The federal government employs more than four million people, making it the largest employer in the US. Nearly 60 percent of federal employees worked remotely during the pandemic, up from about 3 percent previously, according to Thursday’s memo.
The guidance requires agencies to submit draft proposals by next week and more detailed final plans, including reopening schedules, by July 19.
The memo is signed by the acting heads of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration.
Jason Miller, deputy director for management at OMB, said in a statement that the guidance underscores that worker safety is a top priority as agencies plan to reopen offices.
“This moment in time provides a unique opportunity to look at the federal government’s role as a model employer, as we strive to implement consistent yet flexible government-wide practices that will foster effective, equitable, and inclusive work environments,” Miller said.
The officials also said that agencies’ “eventual post-pandemic operating state may differ in significant ways from [their] pre-pandemic operating state”.
That could mean untethering some workers from physical offices, which would enable agencies to recruit nationwide and share office space while decreasing the amount of time employees spend commuting, they said.
The officials cautioned that agencies may have to bargain with unions before implementing certain policies, such as changes to work schedules and safety protocols. About 30 percent of federal workers are represented by unions.

The Biden administration announced on Thursday that it plans to distribute the first 25 million of the 80 million vaccines the United States plans to send worldwide.That 25 million, 19 million, or 75% of those doses will be distributed through COVAX. It aims to help the most endangered countries. Dose shared through COVAX is prioritized in Southeast Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. The remaining 6 million doses of vaccine will be directed to areas where the United States has priority, such as Canada and Mexico. Overall, the Biden administration plans to distribute 80 million COVID-19 vaccines worldwide by the end of this month.
According to the White House, the 25 million doses include the Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Modana COVID-19 vaccines, but not AstraZeneca, which is under review by the Food and Drug Administration.
Specifically, of the 19 million doses distributed through COVAX, approximately 6 million doses are from Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador, Paraguay, Bolivia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama and Haiti. , Go to the Dominican Republic. Approximately 7 million doses are planned for India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan and the Pacific Islands. Then, coordinated by the African Union, about 5 million doses will be given to Africa.
6 million doses given directly from the United States go to Mexico, Canada, South Korea, West Bank and Gaza, Ukraine, Kosovo, Haitian, Georgia, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen, and frontline workers of the United Nations. .. The United States has already shared 4 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine with neighboring Canada and Mexico.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan emphasized that the United States does not favorably exchange vaccines. The United States has been requested “from all over the world,” Sullivan said, and the Biden administration on how to distribute vaccines is to achieve global coverage, respond to spikes, and support as many doses as possible. He added that it was woven into the decision.
The United States shares more surplus doses than any other country, but 25 million, or even 80 million, is far short of what the world needs to end a pandemic. India alone can benefit from hundreds of millions of doses as the world’s largest democracy is fighting a serious and deadly surge.
“America’s strong leadership is essential to end this pandemic now, strengthen global health security for tomorrow, and better prevent, detect, and respond to the next threat. In a statement, the United States will become the world’s arsenal of vaccines in our common fight against this virus. “
According to the White House, the process of exporting these 25 million batches is “in progress.”
Vaccines play an increasingly important role in the global fight against the epidemic, and all countries should work together to promote vaccination, especially in developed countries, to provide necessary help to developing countries.

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, has affirmed that all existing vehicle tinted glass permits, duly issued by the Nigeria Police Force, remain valid.
This clarification is coming on the heels of public enquiries following the announcement of the suspension of issuance of new tinted permits by the IGP during the meeting with Senior Police Officers at the Force Headquarters, Abuja on Monday, June 7, 2021.
According to police high command spokesman, Frank Mba, the suspension, which is a temporary measure, will remain in force pending the release of a new protocol that would regulate the issuance of tinted permits for vehicle owners and operators in the country.
“The IGP noted that the move is part of efforts to streamline the process of issuance and usage in line with the provisions of the Motor Vehicles (Prohibition of Tinted Glass) Act which is explicit on conditions for the use of vehicles with tinted glasses in Nigeria. This is in addition to, among other things, effectively address contemporary security challenges associated with the usage of tinted glasses by criminal elements who hide under the cover of tinted vehicles to carry out their nefarious activities,” Mba said.
In a similar vein, the IGP warned that existing SPY number plates must be used by authorized users, for purposes and vehicles specified by law while issuance of new SPY number plates remain on hold pending the release of a new protocol that would guide its issuance and usage in the country.
Meanwhile, the IGP has directed Commissioners of Police (CPs) in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as well as their supervisory Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs), to give full effect to the directives as contained above. The IGP specifically directed the AIGs and CPs to ensure that all SPY number plates currently in use by unauthorized users or affixed to unauthorized vehicles, are retrieved forthwith.
The IGP however warned that while carrying out these assignments, officers must ensure the rights and privileges of citizens are respected in line with the laws of the land and in accordance with international best practices.
Members of the public are enjoined to cooperate with the Police in this regard as the moves are aimed at strengthening our internal security order.
The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba had ordered the suspension of issuance of police permits to owners of vehicles with tinted glass nationwide.
He had also directed that the issuance of spy number plates be put on hold.

The heads of all passenger airlines flying between Britain and the United States called on Monday for both countries to lift trans-Atlantic travel restrictions put in place to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
High vaccination rates in both countries meant travel could restart safely after more than a year of restrictions, said the CEOs of American Airlines (AAL.O), IAG (ICAG.L) unit British Airways, Delta Air Lines (DAL.N), United Airlines (UAL.O) and JetBlue Airways Corp (JBLU.O)in a rare joint virtual press conference. read more
The push came days ahead of this week's meetings between U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the G7 meeting of advanced economies this week in Cornwall, southwest England.
U.S. and UK airline officials told Reuters they do not expect Washington to lift restrictions until around July 4 at the earliest as the administration aims to get more Americans vaccinated.
British Airways chief executive Sean Doyle said lifting restrictions is essential.
"I think there's much more at stake here than a holiday, it's about trade, it's about visiting friends and relatives, and it's about getting back and doing business and re-employing people," Doyle sa
Since March 2020, the United States has barred nearly all non-U.S. citizens who have been in the United Kingdom within the previous 14 days from entering the country. Most U.S. travellers visiting the United Kingdom must quarantine for 10 days upon arrival.
Reopening is more crucial for Britain-based airlines British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, which are not benefiting from a rebounding domestic market like their U.S. peers.
JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes said "the human cost is just I think devastating" for people who have been vaccinated but "haven't seen their kids, grandkids for over a year now."
The vast majority of nations do not face the entry restrictions and were added by the United States on an ad hoc basis. Only the 26 Schengen nations in Europe without border controls, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil face the restrictions.
American Airlines Chief Executive Doug Parker said the list of countries that face those U.S. restrictions "doesn't make much sense anymore ... vaccinated travellers are safe to travel."
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said the airline "could add pretty significant capacity" within four weeks if restrictions were lifted. "We are in the peak travel season for travel between the US and UK, and every single day that goes by is a day lost for the recovery," he said.

The requirement for vaccination with products under emergency use authorisation is new legal territory, finds Jennifer Block
For Joshua Hauser, a junior at the University of California Berkeley, the requirement to get a covid-19 vaccine before fall semester is like getting a plum campus housing assignment. “People are really excited about getting the vaccine on campus,” he says. “It will help us feel safe at school.” And he’s hopeful it will mean a return to normal. “On Zoom, that’s all we talk about—we just wish we were together in person.”
Beginning in late March, some US colleges and universities began issuing requirements for students to be fully vaccinated against covid-19 if they want to return to campus this autumn. Some policies include faculty and staff. What began as a handful of colleges soon turned into dozens by mid April, and to date, some 350 institutions1 have issued such policies—even though all three covid-19 vaccines available in the US remain under emergency use authorisation (EUA) status, and not approved.2
Broad mandates in the civilian population of an unapproved product are unprecedented, and the legality may ultimately be answered in court. So at some institutions, the mandates come with fine print. The University of California System policy, for example, is marked DRAFT in red3 and will go into effect4 only if a vaccine receives full approval.
Other institutions are using the word “approval” more loosely, leaving room for ambiguity. In its 25 March announcement,5 Rutgers, a public university in New Jersey, refers to “three vaccines currently approved in the United States.” The University of Massachusetts Lowell initially stated6 that a mandate would not be legal, then flipped to issue a requirement for students. In an email to The BMJ, the university clarified that “students do not need to get a covid-19 vaccination immediately, they simply need to be fully vaccinated with a US approved covid-19 vaccine before returning to campus in the fall.”
What if approval is granted the day before classes resume? If University of California students wait, they may find themselves excluded: “If the proposed policy is adopted as drafted, students who choose not to be immunised [and don’t qualify for an exemption] ... will be limited in course registration, will not be permitted to attend in-person classes or events, and will not be able to access campus facilities including housing,” UC stated in an email response to The BMJ.
At least one school offers an exemption for students who decline covid-19 vaccination specifically because of EUA status. “Based on legal review we felt that was important due to the ambiguity in the federal statute [law],” says Justin Sloan, vice president for institutional effectiveness at St Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.
Colleges may require immunisation records for measles and meningitis, but requiring a product under emergency use authorisation would, on the face of it, seem contrary to the law. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which authorises the Food and Drug Administration to issue EUA, requires that the recipient has “the option to accept or refuse administration of the product.”
For international students, the requirement to receive the U.S.-approved covid-19 vaccine can exclude some of the effective vaccines and lead to wasteful duplication of vaccines, not to mention the scarcity of vaccines in some countries and regions.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Mexico's foreign minister on Wednesday discussed cooperation on migration and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines ahead of a visit to Mexico by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Mexican government said.
Blinken and Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who met in San Jose, Costa Rica, reiterated their interest in Central American development to achieve "orderly, safe and regular migration," the government statement said.
"The officials discussed the common vision of both governments in relation to addressing the structural causes of migration," the statement said.
The two leaders also discussed progress towards addressing COVID-19 and economic recovery, as well as issues related to regional democracy and governance, and security, according to U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price.
Equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in the region was part of the discussion, Mexico said. Mexico has complained that richer countries have hoarded vaccine supplies, leaving poorer countries to struggle to secure doses.
The leaders also discussed preparations ahead of the Harris visit to Mexico on June 8, the statement said.
Harris, who is tasked by President Joe Biden with efforts to deal with an increase in migration at the U.S. Southern border, is next week scheduled to meet with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in person for the first time.

A deal on an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines at the World Trade Organization (WTO) was no closer to acceptance on Monday despite Washington's backing, due to expected scepticism about a new draft, sources close to the talks told Reuters.
Negotiations reopened at the WTO on Monday, focused on a highly anticipated revised draft submitted by India, South Africa and dozens of other developing countries last week.
A surprise U.S. shift earlier this month to support a patent waiver heaped pressure on remaining opponents like the European Union and Switzerland that are home to numerous drugmakers. But Monday's discussions - the 11th session since the initial waiver proposal in October - failed to achieve a breakthrough.
The waiver's main backers presented their new draft in Monday's private WTO meeting, allowing key players to give their first official feedback on its contents.
The meeting is critical because it will determine if the talks will advance to "text-based negotiations" as sought by director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
A Geneva trade official said the proposal to start text-based discussions "gained traction" on Monday, including from the United States, which said it was open to discussion on any proposal that could boost vaccine production and delivery.
It did not openly support the revised text, but said it was analysing it.
Around 10 countries, including South Korea and Britain, continued to express doubts and asked for more time to study the new South Africa/India proposal.
Three sources close to the talks see problems with the text.
"There is an ocean between this waiver proposal and what was suggested by the U.S.," said a source involved in the talks who declined to be named. "There's definitely no quick resolution for this."
Two aspects of the waiver draft that may harden opposition are its scope and duration.
While U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai had previously said she is only focused on increasing vaccine access, the new draft also includes diagnostics, therapeutics and medical devices, among others.
"When you have a big bomb like the U.S. saying we will support the waiver, people were expecting the revised proposal would narrow the scope," said a Geneva-based trade source.
The draft also sets a time span for awaiver seen as temporary of "at least three years" and allows the WTO's 164 members to determinewhen it ends. Given they would need to do this by consensus, one country could repeatedly prolong it.
"If the proponents insist on it (the duration), there will almost certainly be no consensus agreement on the waiver," said Peter Ungphakorn, a former WTO staff member who now writes blogs on trade.
An EU diplomat told Reuters that the revised text would"likely call the U.S. bluff". The European Union is set to present an alternative plan for boosting production and availability of COVID-19 vaccines to the WTO in early June.

Since the World Health Organisation (WHO) in April 2020 declared the novel COVID-19 a global pandemic, the effect of the ravaging deadly virus has been overwhelming.
From fatalities to harsh economic realities, institutions across the globe and consequentially Africa, has been challenged to fix and update antiquated health systems and existing infrastructures to contain and combat the widespread of COVID-19.
The pandemic did not only engender global lockdown but also a meltdown of global economic activities, which resulted to huge losses in Nigeria's major export of crude.
Consequently, this decline in economic activities led to drastic decline in accruing revenues from oil sale in oil-dependent nations like Nigeria, thereby plunging the country into economic recession.
The outbreak of the pandemic, which disseminated globally, became an eye-opener to the reality of how the world is interconnected beyond race, ethnicity and culture. This made it necessary for nations to take proactive measures to guard against being convulsed by upheavals.
However, in developing countries as Nigeria and others with the challenges of quality health care, constraints in infrastructural development poor health systems posed a far greater threat than the virus itself.
The pandemic exposed the age long vulnerability of Nigeria's healthcare system without remedial steps to address them till date. From lack of basic equipment in hospitals, to lack of essential drugs in the shelves, epileptic power supply and poor remuneration of medical personnel, the deterioration had persisted. While countries have turned to dividends of long hard years of infrastructural development, Nigeria is a far cry from this benefit.
Looking back to 2020 and the effect of the pandemic in Nigeria, a few hospitals who sprang into action to combat the deadly COVID-19 was instrumental to the fight against the virus.
Health institutions like Paelon Memorial Hospital was one of the very few private hospitals accredited by the Lagos State Ministry of Health to provide care to people with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection, both on outpatient and inpatient basis.
Upon the outbreak in Nigeria and in less than two months, the hospital's management led by Dr. Ngozi Onyia repurposed, equipped and converted one of its branches in Ikeja into an approved COVID-19 treatment centre with isolation units, special assistance, apt medical system, tests and treatments, emergency response services, and cultivated appropriate leadership measures, saving hundreds of lives.
According to Onyia, "Paelon's prominent role in the management of Covid was fortuitous, which in turn increased the hospital's visibility in the healthcare space, locally and internationally as they recorded a management of about 3000 patients."
While the bulk of safekeeping and prevention rests in the responsibility of each individual, the management of the facility further extended its contributions to the fight through channels, such as conducting health webinars and infomercials to enable mass sensitisation of the public.
"It's no wonder out of 1,985 previously assessed hospitals across Africa, in 2016, Paelon Memorial Hospital became the first hospital in Safe Care's history to be awarded five stars. In 2020, the hospital was reassessed and re-awarded five stars as the first hospital in Africa and the only hospital in Nigeria to be awarded such recognition", she noted further.
With a patient-centric approach to care and robust clinical governance, Paelon's health care administration process has been implemented to ensure continuous quality improvement and the adherence to international standards for ethics and compliance. It also encourages better communication, prevention and social distancing in the country.
Paelon Memorial hospital has consistently shown initiative and great regard for human life as demonstrated in its reaction and dealing with the outbreak of the pandemic in Nigeria.

Federal Ministry of Health Implements Massive Distribution of Personal Protective Equipment to Primary Healthcare Centres in Nigeria
As part of the continued response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Ministry of Health through its agencies, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is implementing a massive distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) to health workers in primary healthcare centres (PHCs) across Nigeria. This is supported by health sector partners Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and UNICEF.
In Nigeria, PHCs are critical as they often serve as the first point of contact for suspected cases of COVID-19. Health workers in PHCs continue to play an important role in the response by supporting the detection of cases, educating members of the community about the risks of the virus as well as other health and social services.
The Federal Government of Nigeria and its partners recognise the need for ensuring continuity of health services, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. In recognition of the risks health workers face in providing care to patients, these PPE are being provided to ensure that they are properly protected in the line of duty.
As part of Nigeria’s COVID-19 response, the Federal Ministry of Health continues to prioritise infection prevention and control (IPC) of healthcare workers through training, provision of information materials and protective equipment. The PPE provided to health workers in PHCs are to ensure that they have the required resources to protect themselves and their patients from the risk of spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.
The items being distributed include thousands of goggles, masks, gloves, gowns, boots, waste bins, hand sanitizers, chlorine, and other commodities. These will be distributed to selected PHCs across all 774 local government areas in Nigeria.
The Federal Government of Nigeria remains grateful to its partners, especially Gavi the Vaccine Alliance and UNICEF for the collaboration in ensuring the protection of health workers.
The Federal Ministry of Health through its agencies remains committed to ensuring the health and safety of all Nigerians. As the NPHCDA continues to scale up Nigeria’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage, health workers are reminded of the need to practice universal care precautions at all times. Additionally, we urge members of the public to adhere to COVID-19 measures including wearing of face masks properly – covering nose and mouth, regular handwashing, avoiding large crowds, practicing physical distancing of at least two (2) metres and getting vaccinated, if eligible.

Doctors offered reassurance Tuesday following several dozen reports of mostly mild heart problems after Covid-19 vaccinations, but suggested recipients and their families pay close attention to possible symptoms, such as chest pain and shortness of breath.
It remains unclear whether the vaccine is the cause of the heart problem, called myocarditis. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine safety group said it was looking into "relatively few reports" of the condition in vaccinated individuals — primarily teenagers and young adults.
The CDC did not respond to questions about the exact number of reports. However, NBC News identified at least 55 suspected cases nationwide.
That number includes 14 cases under investigation by the Department of Defense among members of the military, but it may be an underestimate. And some, but not all, state departments of health are tracking such cases.
The Connecticut Department of Public Health said 18 cases in teenagers or young adults have been reported in that state. As of Tuesday, all but one had been released from the hospital and are "doing fine," Dr. Deidre Gifford, acting commissioner for the Connecticut DPH, said during a news conference earlier this week.
Seven cases have been reported to the New York State Department of Health, three cases are under investigation in Idaho, and six have been reported in Oregon. The Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment has received four reports.
"In recent weeks, there have been rare reports of myocarditis and pericarditis occurring after Covid-19 vaccination in the United States and Europe," the CDC said in a statement. "Reported cases appear to be mild and often go away without requiring treatment."
Myocarditis and pericarditis are conditions that involve inflammation in and around the heart.
Cases have been reported more often in males than in females, according to the CDC. The onset occurs more often following the second dose, typically within four days of receiving that shot.
The agency is coordinating its investigation with the Food and Drug Administration, which authorized the vaccines for emergency use.

Nigeria’s Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 has on Monday imposed sanctions on 90 travellers arriving in Nigeria from Brazil, India and Turkey for evading the mandatory 7 day quarantine.
PSC announced that the said travellers would have their travel passports disabled for a period of not less than one year.
As well as the cancellation of visas/permits of foreigners who have abused Nigeria’s hospitality, and prosecution under the 2021 Health Protection Regulations.
The travellers, both Nigerians and foreigners, arrived in the country between May 8 and May 15, through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
PSC provided the names, passport numbers, nationalities and date of arrival of the travellers, notifying members of the public that “these persons of interest constitute an immediate health hazard to the society.
They must therefore transport themselves safely, to the nearest state public health departments within 48 hours.” Read the statement by Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the federation Chairman, PSC on COVID-19.
An additional list of ‘Batch II defaulters’ shall be published in a subsequent announcement by the PSC.
PSC on May 1 issued a travel advisory for passengers arriving in Nigeria from Brazil, India and Turkey, as a precautionary measure to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Passengers arriving from or that have visited any of the said countries within 14 days prior to their visit to Nigeria, are required to follow mandatory quarantine and testing protocols.

Twenty years ago, African heads of states and governments gathered in Abuja to address infectious diseases in Africa. The declarations by the heads of States, popularly known as 'Abuja Declarations', was the meeting's highlight. One of the most popularly referenced portions of these declarations is the pledge by the heads of states to allocate at least 15% of their national budgets to the health sector. This was a lofty goal for all the countries and remains so for many African countries twenty years after.
Since this declaration, some countries have made progress in health financing. Rwanda has achieved Universal Health Coverage; by allocating more than 15% of its annual budget to health and implementing Community-Based Health Insurance in its population. Gabon and Ghana have adopted innovative financing mechanisms for their health systems, earmarking special resources for health; Gabon raises funds to subsidize care for the poor through 10% levy on mobile phone companies' turnover, excluding tax, with an additional 1.5% levy on money transfers outside the country. Ghana earmarks 2.5% on 17.5% VAT for the health sector, paid to her National Health Insurance Fund.
However, many countries have not met the ambitious target of 15%. A World Health Organization review of countries compliance to the 15% benchmark show that only five countries (Botswana, Rwanda, Zambia, Togo and Madagascar) had attained this target, 20 allocated between 10-15%, the remaining countries allocated less than 10% of the budget. Unfortunately, Nigeria is one of the countries that have allocated less than 10% of its national budget to health.
The country's allocation to health has averaged below 5% over the past five years. The country's out of pocket expenditure as a percentage of total health expenditure stands at 76.6%, far above the Sub Saharan Africa average of 33.3%. The non-compliance to the Abuja declaration is a missed opportunity to invest millions of naira in the country's health sector and loss of economic fortunes that would have otherwise accrued to the country due to her investment in health.
The COVID-19 pandemic that has ravaged the world in the past year has shown how vital health is - it is important for sound economies and the stability of nations. We propose three ways to improve health financing in Nigeria beyon just allocating 15% of the country's national budget.
First, improve health Insurance coverage in Nigeria. Health insurance based on the principle of risk pooling and cost-sharing offers a way out for the prevalent out-of-pocket expenditure in Nigeria, which has affected the demand for health services by Nigerians. Though the National Health Insurance Scheme has not performed up to expectation, the decentralization of health insurance through the creation of state health insurance schemes is a step in the right direction.
Respective state governments should strengthen these schemes by ensuring the full implementation of the equity funds – committing 1% of Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) to pay insurance premiums for the poor and vulnerable. Innovative sources should be considered for the payment of premiums for members of the informal sector that prove difficult to capture and sustain on the scheme.
Second, focus on getting value for current budgetary allocation. More does not necessarily translate to better For increased budgetary allocations to translate to commensurate health outcomes, efficiency must be prioritized. Efficiency in health budgets can be achieved through public financial management and cost-efficiency. The 2012 high-level dialogue between health and finance ministers in Africa towards and beyond the MDGs recommended concrete measures in all African countries to enhance value for money, sustainability, and accountability in the health sector to reach universal health coverage.
These measures can be summed up in implementing public finance management in utilizing public funds through the budget cycle from formulation to implementation. This will help maximize resources available for health in the continent. It includes measures to eliminate corrupt practices. Furthermore, it is also important that the poorest and most vulnerable in Nigeria are prioritized to ensure that no one is left behind.
Third, let health equity reign in healthcare financing at national and sub-national levels. The crux of the message of the Abuja declaration is for leaders to prioritize the health sector in national budgets. Not much of this has been seen in Nigeria, especially at sub-national levels.
Indeed, the Nigerian government must commit more resources to health to get the best economic returns. It is crucial for politicians and health planners to allocate resources across all levels of governments. States and local councils in Nigeria must take responsibility for financing healthcare within their domains.
The 15% allocation to health remains a laudable goal. However, that is not enough to fund a health system for 200 million Nigerians. An efficient, publicly funded and equitable health insurance system would ensure that every Nigerian has access to healthcare. This would reduce catastrophic health expenditures and unlock the country's economic potential.
Dr. Ifeanyi M. Nsofor is the CEO of EpiAFRIC and Director of Policy and Advocacy at Nigeria health Watch. He is a senior Atlantic Fellow for Health Equity at George Washington University and a senior New Voices Fellow at the Aspen Institute. You can follow Ifeanyi @ekemma on Twitter.

Twenty years ago, African heads of states and governments gathered in Abuja to address infectious diseases in Africa. The declarations by the heads of States, popularly known as 'Abuja Declarations', was the meeting's highlight. One of the most popularly referenced portions of these declarations is the pledge by the heads of states to allocate at least 15% of their national budgets to the health sector. This was a lofty goal for all the countries and remains so for many African countries twenty years after.
Since this declaration, some countries have made progress in health financing. Rwanda has achieved Universal Health Coverage; by allocating more than 15% of its annual budget to health and implementing Community-Based Health Insurance in its population. Gabon and Ghana have adopted innovative financing mechanisms for their health systems, earmarking special resources for health; Gabon raises funds to subsidize care for the poor through 10% levy on mobile phone companies' turnover, excluding tax, with an additional 1.5% levy on money transfers outside the country. Ghana earmarks 2.5% on 17.5% VAT for the health sector, paid to her National Health Insurance Fund.
However, many countries have not met the ambitious target of 15%. A World Health Organization review of countries compliance to the 15% benchmark show that only five countries (Botswana, Rwanda, Zambia, Togo and Madagascar) had attained this target, 20 allocated between 10-15%, the remaining countries allocated less than 10% of the budget. Unfortunately, Nigeria is one of the countries that have allocated less than 10% of its national budget to health.
The country's allocation to health has averaged below 5% over the past five years. The country's out of pocket expenditure as a percentage of total health expenditure stands at 76.6%, far above the Sub Saharan Africa average of 33.3%. The non-compliance to the Abuja declaration is a missed opportunity to invest millions of naira in the country's health sector and loss of economic fortunes that would have otherwise accrued to the country due to her investment in health.
The COVID-19 pandemic that has ravaged the world in the past year has shown how vital health is - it is important for sound economies and the stability of nations. We propose three ways to improve health financing in Nigeria beyon just allocating 15% of the country's national budget.
First, improve health Insurance coverage in Nigeria. Health insurance based on the principle of risk pooling and cost-sharing offers a way out for the prevalent out-of-pocket expenditure in Nigeria, which has affected the demand for health services by Nigerians. Though the National Health Insurance Scheme has not performed up to expectation, the decentralization of health insurance through the creation of state health insurance schemes is a step in the right direction.
Respective state governments should strengthen these schemes by ensuring the full implementation of the equity funds – committing 1% of Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) to pay insurance premiums for the poor and vulnerable. Innovative sources should be considered for the payment of premiums for members of the informal sector that prove difficult to capture and sustain on the scheme.
Second, focus on getting value for current budgetary allocation. More does not necessarily translate to better For increased budgetary allocations to translate to commensurate health outcomes, efficiency must be prioritized. Efficiency in health budgets can be achieved through public financial management and cost-efficiency.  The 2012 high-level dialogue between health and finance ministers in Africa towards and beyond the MDGs recommended concrete measures in all African countries to enhance value for money, sustainability, and accountability in the health sector to reach universal health coverage.
These measures can be summed up in implementing public finance management in utilizing public funds through the budget cycle from formulation to implementation. This will help maximize resources available for health in the continent. It includes measures to eliminate corrupt practices. Furthermore, it is also important that the poorest and most vulnerable in Nigeria are prioritized to ensure that no one is left behind.
Third, let health equity reign in healthcare financing at national and sub-national levels. The crux of the message of the Abuja declaration is for leaders to prioritize the health sector in national budgets. Not much of this has been seen in Nigeria,  especially at sub-national levels.
Indeed, the Nigerian government must commit more resources to health to get the best economic returns. It is crucial for politicians and health planners to allocate resources across all levels of governments. States and local councils in Nigeria must take responsibility for financing healthcare within their domains.
The 15% allocation to health remains a laudable goal. However, that is not enough to fund a health system for 200 million Nigerians. An efficient, publicly funded and equitable health insurance system would ensure that every Nigerian has access to healthcare. This would reduce catastrophic health expenditures and unlock the country's economic potential.

Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) governors rose from a meeting on Monday in Ibadan, Oyo State, and insisted that ranching be adopted as a permanent solution to the herders-farmers clashes in the country.
The meeting presided over by the chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and Sokoto state governor, Aminu Tambuwal, and attended by 10 of his colleagues as well as the Zamfara state deputy governor, Mahdi Gusau, equally charged the National Assembly to immediately amend the constitution to give effect to devolution of powers and state police.
In a communique read by Tambuwal, it was pointed out that “the meeting supports the earlier position taken by the Nigeria Governors Forum, Northern Governors Forum and recently by the Southern Governors Forum to adopt ranching as the most viable solution to the herders/farmers clashes in Nigeria.”
The PDP governors also called for the restructuring of the Nigerian federation to devolve more powers and functions to states, “and reform of various civil institutions to achieve efficiency and equity for all sections of Nigeria.”
On devolution of powers and state police, “the meeting called on the President as the Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria and Commander in Chief of Nigerian Armed Forces to immediately send an Executive Bill to the National Assembly to amend the Nigerian Constitution to devolve more powers to the States with respect to security arrangements culminating in some form of State Policing and the general security architecture.”
It further stated that “In the interim, Mr President should summon an immediate meeting of the Nigerian Police Council, which comprises Mr President and all State Governors and other critical stakeholders to evolve and implement strategies to combat the present threats to our union, especially with respect to policing.”
According to the governors, “the Police Force still remains the appropriate institution to secure our democracy and should not be subjected to personal attacks. The welfare, training, equipment, funding of all security agencies should be given priority.”
The meeting enjoined all Nigerians to work together to achieve peace and harmony with one another, devoid of discrimination based on ethnicity, religion and other cleavages.
It called on the APC Government “to take bold and deliberate steps to de-escalate and lower tensions in our country, and concentrate on projects and policies that will enhance and promote national unity and cohesion.”
The meeting re-iterated the earlier call by the PDP governors “for the National Assembly to expedite action on the passage of the Electoral Act that will ensure a free and fair election, including provisions for electronic accreditation and electronic transmission of votes.”
Governors at the meeting are Sokoto state governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Governor of Bayelsa, Senator Douye Diri, Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, Governor of Adamawa, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, Enugu state Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, Akwa Ibom, Udoh Emmanuel, Rivers State Governor, Nyesome Wike, Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki and Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State.
Zamfara State was represented by the deputy governor, Mahdi Gusau. States not represented are Abia, Cross River and Taraba.
Announcing the objective of the meeting earlier, Tambuwal said the situation in the country called for everyone who is committed to the Nigerian state to put hands on deck, not only in prayers but also in action by working together to rescue this country.
Tambuwal said: “The meeting of the PDP-GF holding in Ibadan tomorrow is already holding a promise…We must not lose hope that Nigeria and Nigerians will triumph against the evil forces working against us.
“That is the promise the PDP is holding for Nigeria, by the grace of God, come 2023. We are on a salvation mission; and it is part of the reasons why we institutionalize this meeting, moving from one state to the other, going forward. We were in Benue, now in Ibadan. From here, tomorrow, we shall know where we’re going next.
“The situation in the country calls for everyone who is committed to the Nigerian state to put hands on deck, not only in prayers but also in action by working together to rescue this country,” Tambuwal said at the dinner.
According to him, it was part of the scheming of APC, which felt that it had no governor in the South-East to scheme the ex-governor of Imo state, Emeka Ihedioha, out of office. In his place, Hope Uzodinma was brought in. But God intervened and gave Edo to Gov. Godwin Obaseki, thus making the South-South solidly a PDP turf and rendering “APC a party without national outlook,” Tambuwal noted.
“With their scheming and shenanigans around the party (PDP),” they tried to manipulate the Edo election, the governor stressed. “It was God’s doing and a message both to the APC and Nigerians- that the APC is not a national party and it does not have national spread,” he added.
“It is, therefore, a Clarion call for our leaders and people of our country that we must work together to rescue the country,” the Forum’s Chairman further added.
Host governor, Oluseyi Makinde described the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as a party without the requisite national spread.
“This is the difference between our party, PDP and the APC. If they try to have such a meeting they will not have a representative from the South-South.”

Medical doctors and other health practitioners have tasked the government on the inclusion of art into medical health care delivery in Nigeria.
According to the health practitioners, under the auspices of Arts in Medicine (AIM) Projects, art, like medical science, holds a huge therapeutic potential that can help improve health care delivery.
They made the call at a briefing in Lagos announcing the maiden edition of the National Arts in Health Conference (NAHCON). “The value of art in medical care cannot be overstated. Art can make a difference in medical health delivery. It is not only therapeutic, but can bring about healing faster than drugs, in some cases. In order to strengthen institutional ties and bridge the gap between the arts and health in Nigeria, we are hosting an inaugural National Arts in Health Conference (NAHCON),” Dr. Kunle Adewale, founder, Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria (SCFN).
The conference is scheduled to hold from May 24 to 30. It is estimated that about 500 participants would grace the event, which hopes to attract a gathering of students, professionals, cultural organisations, healthcare institutions, community members and stakeholders in health and community wellbeing.
While urging government to make it a policy decision to inculcate art in the medical care, especially of children, the Chief Executive Officer of SCFN was of the view that art has helped in the medical care of children over the years, especially with those living with sickle cell anemia.
The briefing was attended by doctors, health practitioners, artists and advocates, including Director, Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA), Oyindamola Fakeye; Dr. Doyin Ogunyemi of LUTH and Vice Chairperson of Society of Nigerian Artists, Ayoola Omovo, among others.
The forthcoming conference, which is scheduled to feature 21 events, is in partnership with health, art and faith-based organisations such as Lagos State Ministry of Health, SCFN, Centre for Contemporary Art Lagos, United States Mission in Nigeria, Suicide Research and Prevention Initiative (SURPIN), Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria and others.

SIR: In the build-up to the now-historic 2015 general elections, President Muhammadu Buhari, who was running against the then-incumbent president, promised to end medical tourism for government officials. Contrary to that promise, Buhari has gone to the United Kingdom on a sixth trip since assuming power.The sixth trip coincided with a general strike by a doctors’ union in the country. The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) downed tools to protest poor remuneration and unfavourable conditions of service. The Nigerian healthcare system has been in a state of disrepair for decades, leading to the late General Sani Abacha, a former head of state, quipping in 1984 that Nigeria’s hospitals are mere consulting clinics.
Health care facilities across the country are neglected, and the poor bear the brunt by having no choice but to patronise the decrepit, ill-equipped and underfunded healthcare centres. What is not recognised is that the government’s negligence violates a fundamental right to accessible health care.
In a half-hearted bid to make healthcare available to all and sundry, former president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan in 2014, enacted Nigeria’s National Health Act (NHAct) which prescribes a legal structure for the regulation, development, and management of Nigeria’s health system. With inclusive Universal Health Coverage, everybody can get quality health services whenever they need them, without suffering costing an arm. Sadly, the laudable act has been abandoned.
The Basic Health Care Fund (BHCPF), an offshoot of NHAct, is meant to substantially increase revenue allocated to improving Primary Health Care, with a sustainable mechanism of removing financial barriers to accessing primary healthcare. BHCPF comes from not less than one per cent Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) and contributions from donor grants.
If put in place, the BHCPF will increase access to healthcare for the poor. Sadly, the 2018 Health access quality index rated Nigeria in the lowest rung of health indicators. Nigeria is ranked 187 out of 195 countries, despite the government earmarking N55 billion for BHCPF in 2018.
In 2021, only 4.526 per cent (N592.166 billion) of the proposed N13.082 trillion of the budget has been allocated to the health sector, the bulk of which goes into recurrent expenditure. This proposal means that most of the money would go into the system’s administration and not improve it. Especially when Nigeria battles Covid-19 pandemic, this is a far cry from the 15% of annual budget set by African Union countries.
Besides, Section 3(4) of the NHAct, appears ambiguous. It states that: “… all Nigerians shall be entitled to a guaranteed minimum package of services.” The federal government should spell out the minimum package in clear terms. If the NHAct is fully implemented and operationalised, it promises to protect Nigerians’ right to health.

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.


Because of COVID-19, food has been damaged in a large area, which has threatened the lives of many people. The state should help.

The last year has been tough. As of April 29, 2021, over 150 million confirmed cases of COVID 19 infection and over 3.15 million deaths due to COVID 19 globally had been reported to the World Health Organization. Thankfully, Nigeria, like a lot of African countries, seems to have been spared the worst of the pandemic. To date, the Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded about 165,000 confirmed cases of COVID 19 infection and just over 2,000 deaths. 1 life lost would have been too many; 2000 deaths is tragic.
Despite it all, it was not all gloom and doom. One of the many incredible feats accomplished largely because of the ingenuity and collaboration that resulted from the fact that the entire world had one common problem to surmount was the development of the several COVID vaccines. Some of these vaccines have now received emergency use authorization (EUA), and are being administered in different countries.
According to the Nigerian Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), the agency in charge of the vaccine roll-out, the country received 3.92 million out of the expected ~ 14 million doses of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine through COVAX on March 2nd 2021. [*The Vaccine arm of the WHO launched a public-private partnership called Access to COVID-19 Tool (ACT) Accelerator]. The NPHCDA also recently announced that it placed a bid for 70 million doses of the one-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccines.
In this article, we review some of the information we know about the vaccines that are likely to be used in Nigeria over the next few months based on the bids reported to have been placed through COVAX. This review is by no means exhaustive. For common questions about the COVID vaccines not answered in this review, you may please refer to the NPHCDA webpage on frequently asked questions – FAQs | NPHCDA. The page includes information about when different groups of people will become eligible to receive the vaccines. It also has a link for electronic self-registration Self-Registration COVID-19 Vaccine Introduction Checklist (vaccination.gov.ng).
To be clear, vaccine efficacies listed in the table below are not for the purpose of comparison as there were elements of each of the trials that make them unique and not directly comparable to one another. Comparing one vaccine to another is somewhat analogous to comparing one child to another–the results depend on what you test, who is testing, when the testing was done, and data continues to be collected throughout their lifetimes which may change outcomes. For instance, the trial for Pfizer reporting the very high efficacy of 95 per cent was before the variants became prevalent. Whereas the trial for Johnson and Johnson was in part from South Africa where almost 95 per cent of the COVID infected patients there had the B135.1 (South African Variant). The countries, racial identities, ages, and medical conditions of the people that participated in the different studies were also different. The table below synthesises some of the key findings for each of the vaccines.
As of April 28, 2021, about 1.08 billion doses of the vaccines had been administered. Nigeria has reported a little over 1 million vaccinations. Most of these have been given to health workers, older people and people with medical comorbidities There were rare but serious events of interest that occurred in the trials and post-trial period.  These include reports of rare but serious cases of blood clots with low platelets likely associated with both the astrazeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines according to the European Medical Agency (EMA) and US center for disease control (CDC) respectively. These rare types of blood clots mostly occurred in women less than 60 years old. A few of these events resulted in death.  Both CDC and EMA continue to advise that the benefits of vaccination outweighs the risk for a vast majority of people. Israel and a study among some US military members also recently reported rare cases of  myocarditis – inflammation of heart muscles in young men <  30 years old after the pfizer and moderna vaccines. It will not be unusual to hear more reports of seemingly bad events happening after the vaccines are administered. These do not always mean that those events were caused by the vaccine. Before having your “ehn hen. I said it” moment, it’s important to wait for the appropriate investigations first. If 200 million Nigerians watch the “Wedding party”movie and 60 develop bad breath, we cannot conclude that watching Wedding Party causes bad breath. They could have stopped at the suya place and had some onion and garlic so would have had bad breath even if they had never watched Wedding party but spent all day watching Papa Adeboye.  When experts urge people not to panic or countries hold distribution like they did for both the Johnson & Johnson and Astrazeneca vaccines, it is not proof of a big conspiracy or evidence that the vaccines are not safe; They are often acting out of an abundance of caution till investigations are concluded.

With effect from yesterday, the federal government has banned from Nigeria passengers who have been to India, Brazil and Turkey in the previous 14 days. Stiff penalties would be placed on the airlines that break the rules. The regulations are subject to periodic reviews.
This is a wise step to take in the light of the surge of coronavirus infections in those countries. The disease caused by the virus, COVID-19, is ravaging those countries more than other parts of the world.
The government is rightly following science on this matter. The Academy of Medicine Specialities in Nigeria advised the government to take proactive steps to prevent transmission of variants of the virus from the epicentre of the pandemic. The Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 also recommended the travel bans.
Remarkably, Lagos State government is also on alert against the third wave of COVID-19 being triggered by the importation of mutants of the virus by inbound passengers. It is important that the state government is determined to enforce the federal government's regulations in this respect. Lagos has a long list of countries which are being monitored for the transmission across borders.
From the particular case of India, where a humanitarian disaster looms, Nigeria should learn some urgent lessons.
The unfortunate situation of India has again shown that a country that had displayed remarkable bravery and capacity in the fight against COVID-19 could easily be overwhelmed by the pandemic.
India is the largest producer of vaccines; but now it does not have enough for its population as unprecedented figures of infections are recorded daily in the country. About 70% vaccines globally are produced in India. The Serum Institute of India (SII) has been producing AstraZeneca vaccine for 64 low-income countries including Nigeria within the framework of the COVAX programme of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
One of the grim implications of the situation in India is that the exports of vaccines to poor countries would be disrupted. The management of the pandemic in those countries would, of course, be negatively affected.
India's overall medical capacity is relatively higher than many third-world countries. Yet medical oxygen has become a luxury in that country. The oxygen cylinders available to patients in critical conditions are not enough. Patients are taken out of the hospitals to join the queue for improvised oxygen cylinders at some production centres.
India has been a destination for medical referrals from Nigeria. In the pre-COVID time, Nigerians who could afford the exorbitant costs sought medical attention in private hospitals and other facilities in India.
In fact, few months ago India was rated as one of the countries managing the COVID crisis fairly well. For instance, only in March Indian participants spoke proudly about the management of the COVID crisis in their country at a webinar organised by the Kaduna-based think tank, the Gusau Institute, and the Monohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) of India. Such an upbeat mood about tackling coronavirus has since vanished given the reality on ground in India.
The situation was not helped by a political leadership that prioritised politics over public health based on false assurance.
In terms of the risk factors, a few parallels could be drawn between Nigeria and India. Although Nigeria's estimated population of 210 million is hardly comparable to India's 1.4 billion, yet the fact remains that Nigeria has the largest population on the African continent.
The recent surge in India was partly fuelled by mass gatherings which have tragically turned out to be super-spreaders. In most cases these events had the imprimatur of government.
More infectious mutants are also found in India. The uptake of vaccines has also been relatively slow despite the fact the country exports vaccines to other countries.
Lockdowns are difficult to enforce in a country in which about 90% of the workforce is self-employed. A majority of those working earn daily incomes. There is hardly any social safety net for the poor majority in India. Until the surge last month, India avoided national lockdowns. Complacency set in and the consequence is the wider spread of the virus. The infections of the variants have proportionally caused more deaths than the first and second waves.
The poor members of the Indian society relying wholly on the underfunded public healthcare system are more vulnerable. India spends a meagre 3.9% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on health.
The private hospitals are better developed, offering quality services. But those who lack health insurance cannot afford the huge costs of private hospitals. When public health is underfunded at normal times, the society becomes more vulnerable during epidemics. Little surprise that the India public healthcare has failed to be resilient because it has not been socially equipped for the purpose.
Experts have also explained that age, air pollution and obesity could also be some of the risk factors in India.
So the moral of the Indian COVID story for Nigeria is that the hope on the medical and pharmaceutical options could be dashed because of some insurmountable factors. What is needed in emergency may be unavailable in practical terms.
The country should, therefore, upscale the efforts at prevention.
For instance, if faced with a surge in hospitalisations, Nigeria does not have enough medical oxygen for the patients in critical conditions who may need it. Some efforts are being made in Lagos to produce medical oxygen. However, there is hardly any indication of national preparedness in case the need for this life-saving substance arises in the course of the pandemic.
Universally, a standard cure for the disease is still awaited. Vaccines are available, but the morality of its distribution is questionable. The rich countries seem to ignore the axiom of the pandemic that "no one is safe until everyone is safe." Incidentally, about 20 world leaders echoed this scientifically loaded fact in a joint statement made on March 31, 2021. Yet the myopia of vaccine nationalism is still prevalent among some rich countries. The rich are, of course, reserving the vaccines for their populations. Hence while the United States has vaccinated over 100 million of its population, Nigeria is yet to vaccinate two million of its population. Given the slow rate of vaccination, the journey to the land of herd immunity may be longer than imagined at present.
The matter is made worse by the social viruses undermining the campaign for vaccination. These are the viruses of misinformation, conspiracy theories and vaccine hesitancy. The sociology of vaccination is such a complex one in which even some scientists join in spreading the misinformation to discourage unsuspecting members of the public.
Therefore to avert more deaths in the event of a third wave, Nigeria cannot rely on the capacity for treatment or vaccination. The country's strength should be in prevention by emphasising stricter adherence to the protocols -avoiding crowds, wearing of masks, social distancing, hygiene etc. In the matter of COVI-19, prevention is not only better than cure, it is also cheaper and more readily available.
The presidential steering committee and state governments should intensify the campaign for all to embrace the culture of observing the precautions.
Complacency is noticeable on the part of the general public. Many people seem to have forgotten about the precautions. Members of the public simply ignore the warnings given by the health authorities about spread of the virus.
With the reported falling rate of infections, it is tempting to behave as if the pandemic is over. A few months ago, the figures of infections and deaths were also dropping in India. Today, India reports the highest figures of infections in the world. So the current statistics should not be an excuse to be careless about the virus.
This is no time to lower the guard in the fight against COVID-19.
For Solutions, Look More Inward
Not a few people must have felt the pains of the parents of the 17 students of the Greenfield University in Kaduna. The bandits holding the students captive had threatened to kill them if their parents failed to pay ransom, after they had killed five of their colleagues. Some of the parents of the Greenfield students and those of the Forestry Institute, also in Kaduna, were at the National Assembly yesterday to cry for help.
While the anguish of those helpless parents continued, there were other reports about insecurity from various parts of the country.
It is urgent that the Nigerian state should demonstrate its presence. The public yearning for that presence is palpable. The people need to feel secure for them to believe that the state is present.
It was, therefore, expected that government should engage the people with greater empathy and a deeper sense of accountability. Steps should be taken to keep the public confidence.
Although President Muhammadu Buhari is yet to speak to the nation as many Nigerians expect, the meeting of the National Security Council which began last week continued yesterday and the senate has scheduled a meeting with the service chiefs tomorrow. The House of Representatives tried to calm down those whose children are in captivity.
The President should be more inward-looking in seeking solutions. He should give leadership by galvanizing the various moral and political forces within the nation to tackle insecurity. In any case, foreign help looks like a mirage in the circumstances.
For instance, the United States would act not to "help" Buhari, but to advance its strategic interests in Nigeria, if any. Those who, for whatever reasons, have refused to sell arms to Nigeria to prosecute the war against terrorism are not likely going to put boots on ground to save the country. This point was made eloquently by Dr. Chidi Amuta in his column on Sunday in this newspaper. Not a few are also displeased with the manner in which the request for external help is being made by the federal government.
However, more than any foreign help the unity of purpose of Nigerians could prove more useful in moral and political terms in the circumstance.
For instance, the President should look at the suggestions from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ethnic organisations, professional bodies, mass organisations, retired military and security officers. The various views should be examined to see which ones could be useful. This should form the basis of engagement. The criminals don't attack on their victims on the basis of political party.
The recent rhetoric from Abuja may not be helpful in the process of finding solutions. The government should avoid the temptation of resorting to authoritarianism. Doing so can only compound the crisis.
Instead, the President should lead the way by engaging all political and civic forces on one point: the resolution of the crisis.
This is necessary to prevent anarchy in the country.
It is the interest of the government and the people to prevent anarchy.

The cruise industry's call to be allowed to sail in U.S. waters again has been answered. The ships bearing thousands of vacationing passengers can resume operations so long as the overwhelming majority of those on board are vaccinated against COVID-19, according to new guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a letter issued to cruise companies on Wednesday and obtained by CBS News and other outlets, the agency stipulates that cruise ships can run in U.S. waters by mid-summer so long as 95% of customers and 98% of crew are vaccinated against COVID-19. 
The new stance gives cruise lines a way out of a prior requirement that first mandated trial voyages before paying customers could board the ships. 
The CDC also loosened some of its previous testing and quarantine requirements —a major victory for a multi-billion-dollar industry that had been clamoring to be allowed to set sail again from U.S. ports. 
The agency's more accommodating stance follows Alaska last week joining Florida in suing to overturn the CDC mandate prohibiting an immediate resumption in cruise operations. Major cruise lines halted excursions from the U.S. in March of last year, when the CDC issued a "no-sail" edict that continues to bar passenger cruise ships from leaving domestic ports. 
The effective halt to operations has major cruise lines bleeding cash to this day, with Royal Caribbean Cruises reporting a net loss of $1.1 billion in the first quarter. On Thursday, Royal Caribbean CEO Richard Fain referenced the CDC letter in an earnings call, saying the company now foresees sailing from the U.S. again during the Alaska cruise season, roughly May to September. 
"We believe that this communication really helps us to see a clear and achievable pathway forward to safe and healthy cruising in the near future," Fain stated. 
Assuming details can be worked out with the CDC, "it could be possible to restart cruising by mid-July," Fain said. A restart would not mean an immediate relaunch into full operations, he added.
Cruise ships are often settings for disease outbreaks because of their closed environment and close contact between travelers from many countries, according to the CDC. Cruise lines have long contended with outbreaks of the norovirus, for instance, one of which sickened more than 300 passengers and crew on a Princess Cruises ship in February 2020.
Then the novel coronavirus emerged. From February 3, 2020, to March 13, 2020, there were roughly 200 cases of COVID-19 confirmed among returned cruise travelers from multiple ocean voyages, including Carnival Cruise Lines' Diamond Princess and Grand Princess, according to the CDC. 
The Diamond Princess and Grand Princess had more than 800 total COVID-19 cases, including 10 deaths, the CDC stated last year.

The Nigerian government has approved a new policy to tackle growing poverty in the country, the presidency has said.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday extensively debated the issue and sought ways to solve the problem, spokesperson said.
The meeting was led by President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa, Abuja.
The president’s spokesperson, Femi Adesina, said the move was in line with the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy policy.
Mr Adesina said Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will chair a committee to provide overall guidance for the implementation of the policy.
He said council also approved the strategy’s incorporation into the medium term National Development Plan 2021-2025 and Agenda 2050.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, is to prepare a bill for submission to National Assembly to provide legal backing for make the policy implementation.

The Nigerian Aviation sector has witnessed the good, the bad and the ugly. From a sector that could boast of about 40 active domestic airlines, to an ailing sector with only 23 active domestic airlines.
A great number of them either folded up due to operational pressure or were taken over by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) due to illiquidity.
Aviation regulator and experts, in separate interviews, told Nairametrics that several airlines could not survive under their owners due to several factors. Some of them are lack of corporate governance, bailout funds, unfriendly business environment, high cost and nature of maintenance among others.
The General Manager, Public Affairs, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Sam Adurogboye, told Nairametrics in an exclusive interview that many of the airlines failed due to lack of corporate governance on the part of their former managers.
According to him, many Founders interfered in the day to day administration of the organisations and in some cases, they would abandon passengers and run errands for elites.
He said, “There are times some of them abandoned passengers to pick newly wedded couples abroad and such cost was on the company. In other instances, the founder would sit as the Chairman but want his wife and children to be directors regardless of whether or not they were qualified for the role.”
Capt. David Olubadewo, Managing Director, Starburst Aviation Limited told Nairametrics that aviation in Nigeria is a very difficult business because the environment is unfriendly.He said, “Although the government has the role to provide an enabling environment for players, it is not something that has to do with the government alone.”
Contrary to the claim that Nigeria does not have qualified personnel to handle maintenance, he argued that the nation has lots of very qualified people. “There are lots of engineers in the United Kingdom and the United States who are Nigerians. We have people that are overqualified, but we lack the skills to execute the right policies to grow the sector.”
“Everyone is in business to make profit – and that has pushed interest rate to the roof.”
Sharing his personal experience, the former youngest pilot said, “I don’t obtain loans from Nigerian banks, because I will end up with -25% loss or more, but that is not happening in the UK where I pay far less interest rate.
If I take such a loan in Nigeria, it means I am -28% (interest rate) in red, and by the time you get to the top, you are owing millions. I cannot approach any of the banks to give me local money to do business in Nigeria.”
In 2017, the government took over the management of Arik Air and Aero Contractors. According to the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, the airlines were going through difficult times that were attributable to their bad corporate governance, erratic operational challenges, inability to pay staff salaries and heavy debt burden among other issues.

Just as other industries are rolling back some consumer-friendly changes made early in the pandemic — think empty middle seats on airplanes — so, too, are health insurers.
Many voluntarily waived all deductibles, copayments and other costs for insured patients who fell ill with covid-19 and needed hospital care, doctor visits, medications or other treatment.
Setting aside those fees was a good move from a public relations standpoint. The industry got credit for helping customers during tough times. And it had political and financial benefits for insurers, too.
But nothing lasts forever.
Starting at the end of last year — and continuing into the spring — a growing number of insurers are quietly ending those fee waivers for Covid-19 treatment on some or all policies.
“When it comes to treatment, more and more consumers will find that the normal course of deductibles, copayments and coinsurance will apply,” said Sabrina Corlette, research professor and co-director of the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University.
Even so, “the good news is that vaccinations and most covid tests should still be free,” added Corlette.
That’s because federal law requires insurers to waive costs for covid testing and vaccination.

Nigeria’s culture minister must play his blame game in the mirror after Twitter makes Ghana its African home
Something Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said recently reminded me of British political journalist Andrew Marr. Journalism, Marr wrote in his book, My Trade, is a chaotic form of earning, ragged at the edges, full of snakes, con artists and even the occasional misunderstood martyr.
Last week, Mohammed, furious at Twitter’s decision to start its first Africa office in Ghana, decided it was time to level the ragged edges and crush the journalistic snakes and con artists in Nigeria by heaping on them the blame for Twitter’s decision. It was hard for him to swallow.
He called out journalists for portraying the country poorly and reminded them that if they had not been such bad boys, making a mountain out of the #ENDSARS molehill, among other professional crimes, Twitter’s Africa office might be sitting in Lagos or Abuja today.
In his former life as spokesperson of the opposition and member of the Action Congress of Nigeria, one of the legacy parties of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), Mohammed had journalists on speed dial. In press statement after press statement, he pointed out the shortcomings of the government of the day and his views received generous airtime.
He knew, for example, where all the dead bodies of President Goodluck Jonathan’s government were buried and was pleased to enlist journalists in exhuming them. Even President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua before Jonathan did not escape Mohammed’s fierce criticisms and constant mockery.
That was, until his party got into government, the government appointed him to office and public office brought its own misery, as it unfailingly does.
The current storm over Twitter’s Africa base is not Mohammed’s first controversy since his appointment. And somehow, Ghana never manages to escape the crosshairs.
Four years ago, when the minister was responding to questions on CNN about who makes tastier jollof rice, he answered Senegal, under the mistaken impression that he was being asked the origin of the African staple. 
Before he could get a grip on things the debate had assumed a sub-regional dimension, with sparks flying from Banjul to Accra and drawing in Nigeria’s Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, and even Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. Last year, also, Mohammed took the battle to Ghana during a flare-up over bilateral and consular issues.
The bugle has sounded again. Of all the transgressions that Mohammed may justifiably accuse journalists of, responsibility for Jack Dorsey’s decision to locate Twitter’s first Africa office in Ghana instead of Nigeria is the unkindest cut: it treats the symptom rather than the disease.
To be sure, journalists have caused quite a few miseries for the country. They were largely responsible for painting Jonathan as an incompetent leader who allowed a few influential members of his cabinet, especially the women, to twist him around their little fingers. They were responsible for giving the APC, then in opposition, a soft pass, equating effective, competent government with a change of party guards. 
Journalists helped, in no small way, to bring President Muhammadu Buhari to power and a number of them have publicly regretted it. What the minister is obviously saying is that journalists, having played a role in helping to install Buhari, are failing to govern for him. It’s the equivalent of the conjugal parable that the one who brings the mat and the partner must finish the job by supplying the libido.
That’s the only logic that justifies blaming journalists’ portrayal of the country for the long list of businesses that have either passed us by or the scores that have simply packed up and relocated.
And it’s a very long list, believe me. Before Twitter happened, Google, which has a regular office in Lagos, Nigeria, chose Accra for its very first artificial intelligence research lab in Africa. The reasons, according to a CNBC report, were “Ghana’s political stability and high educational standards”.
Before that, Facebook set up its first African hub in Johannesburg, South Africa, in July 2015, when Buhari was still looking for Mohammed’s address and those of other people to make his ministerial list. Other companies such as Berec Batteries, Exide Batteries, Tate & Lyle, Michelin, Fan Milk, and Shoprite, to mention a few, have either relocated wholly or substantially from Nigeria at different times and for reasons other than those given by Mohammed.
According to the Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria, 38 major textile companies closed down in Nigeria between 1999 and 2009. In one of the more recent astonishing shutdowns, Procter & Gamble shut down its $300-million plant in South West Ogun State, a year after the plant was opened in 2017, “due to [the] high cost of importing raw materials and unfriendly government regulations”.
Also, between 2009 and 2019, the oil majors – Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, ENI and Total – sold about 45% of their onshore assets valued at about $10-billion, mostly to local interest groups in deals that have left a number of commercial banks dangerously exposed.
Meanwhile, investors who still have appetite for oil and gas are looking at new, promising destinations on the continent, such as Angola, Namibia, Senegal, Mauritania, Mozambique, Algeria and Egypt. South Africa, for its part, is looking at developing its shale gas exploration capabilities.
No serious investor needs Mohammed’s grouse book because a good number of them have been operating in the country for long enough. They know beyond anyone’s portrayal or window-dressing what the problems are, firsthand: insecurity, poor infrastructure and poorly trained labour pool, policy flip-flops and an obese, corrupt bureaucracy.
Mohammed insists, however, that but for the negative portrayal of the press and their #ENDSARS cousins, we might be in a much better place today, even though Dorsey was clear that Twitter chose Ghana because of that country’s firm support for free speech, online freedom and open internet.
The minister can continue to hold on to his fantasy, but the facts show that the country needs to do a whole lot better to compete. Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, is not among the continent’s top-20 preferred destinations in the World Bank’s 2020 report on the “Ease of Doing Business”.
Kenya, which is Number 4 on the list, has one of the most chaotic and unforgiving journalism sectors on the continent. Much the same can be said for South Africa, which is ranked sixth, and Ghana, our nemesis, which is ranked 17th.
It may be hard for Mohammed to swallow, but to aid digestion, I would like to remind him of one of the great press statements he wrote in his collection, Witness to history, titled, “Obama’s planned visit to Ghana wake-up call for Nigeria”.
In one of the most controversial US presidential visits to west Africa, former president Barack Obama had snubbed Nigeria and visited Ghana instead. In a press statement issued on 24 May 2009, Mohammed, then the National Publicity Secretary of the opposition Action Congress, admonished President Yar’Adua’s government to regard Obama’s snub as a “wake-up call”.
“The message should be clear to our leaders,” Mohammed said, “that it is not your population, the size of your territory, your endowment in mineral resources or your claim to being a giant that the world is interested in. It is good governance, purposeful leadership arising from free and fair elections, zero-tolerance for corruption and the continuous strengthening of democracy.”
The point couldn’t be more eloquently made. In deciding to set up in Ghana and not in Nigeria, Twitter culled Mohammed’s own speech from his former life. If he would only patiently read it again, he might just see that the snakes and con artists he so desperately wants to destroy are also occasional martyrs of journalism.
And in case Mohammed was not looking, only on Tuesday, 20 April 2021, Amazon announced plans to set up a R4-billion ($279.8-million) headquarters in Cape Town, South Africa, an investment which, according to BusinessTech, will create 5,239 direct and 19,000 indirect jobs. This is more than Buhari’s government’s microphone chewing has created in years.
The real problem, Mr Minister, is the man in the mirror. DM

Lagos State Governor, Mf Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said that about 125,058 vulnerable persons in the state will benefit from the “LAGOS CARES” Initiative to cushion the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sanwo-Olu, disclosed this yesterday, during the launch of the initiative scheduled to last for #4 months, held at the Lagos House, Ikeja.
The programme is an offshoot of the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (N-CARES) Programme for Results (P4R). According to Sanwo-Olu, the LAGOS CARES would directly support 20,843 households, while 125,058 would, indirectly, benefits from the programme.

The novel COVID-19 pandemic and its containment measures such as lockdown and physical distancing are remarkedly affecting older adults’ economic activities and well-being in ways deserving of urgent attention. To strengthen caregiving and promote targeted care for older adults during and after the pandemic, this paper investigates the impact of the coronavirus on the economic activities and well-being of older adults in Enugu and Anambra states, Nigeria. Hermeneutic phenomenology was adopted and 16 older adults aged between 60 and 81 years, with a majority of them still working as farmers and traders were phone-interviewed. Findings highlighted four key lessons for gerontological social workers including 1) the fear that impact of the containment measures could kill the older adults faster than the virus; 2) the measures generate a feeling of neglect and marginalization of healthcare needs among older adults; 3) altered positive health-seeking behavior among the older adults; 4) and concern about the absence of functional policy and plan to address the welfare of older adults. Therefore, the central focus of the gerontological social workers and Nigerian polity should not be on how to reduce the spread of the disease alone, but on an application of caution in instituting and implementing the measures.