World leaders are expected to deliberate on the impact of COVID-19 on work today at the ongoing International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva, Switzerland.
The ILC, which is organised yearly by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), will focus on the response to the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the world of work and the action required to build a better future of work.
Pope Francis, President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa, and US President Joe Biden will all speak at the conference.
The ILO has declared that the adoption of its convention on domestic workers has not had the required impact just as COVID-19 has further exacerbated the condition of domestic workers worldwide.
This is as President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to make a declaration on paths to ending violence against children at an event organised by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs.
The Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Dr Yerima Tafa, who disclosed this yesterday explained that the dialogue is aimed at achieving consensus among national stakeholders on key areas of progress, offering the opportunity for securing immediate commitments and action, and identify gaps and prioritising activities to accelerate the eradication of child labour.
The federal government meanwhile is reviewing the national guideline for diagnosis and treatment of malaria to capture current realities with a major shift from clinical diagnosis to test-before-treatment, considering the fact that malaria symptoms are similar to that of COVID-19.
Head, Case Management at the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), Dr Nnenna Ogbulafor, who disclosed this at the ongoing scientific conference organised by the National Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria yesterday in Abuja observed that the guideline recommended that all suspected malaria cases should undergo parasitological test microscopy to confirm the diagnosis.

U.S. public health leaders sought to reassure Americans that COVID-19 shots are safe and urged them to get vaccinated after reports that a relatively small number of people — mostly young men — had suffered a heart problem after being immunized.
About 1,200 cases of heart inflammation have been reported in people who received COVID-19 vaccines produced by Pfizer and BioNTech or by Moderna, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The figure was reported Wednesday at a meeting of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which is weighing heart risks from the vaccines, particularly in adolescents.
More than 130 million Americans have been fully vaccinated with one of the two vaccines, both of which are made using mRNA technology. Despite their widespread use, there have been few reports of serious adverse effects.
Indeed, top U.S. health officials, regulators and doctors said Wednesday that the risk potentially posed by shots is extremely low, and that COVID-19 itself is more likely to affect people’s heart health.
In May, the Pfizer-BioNTech shot was cleared for emergency use in people as young as 12 after earlier being authorized for those 16 and older. About 20% of adolescents ages 12 to 15 are now fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
But the heightened concern about possible cardiovascular side effects could threaten vaccine uptake among young adults and adolescents. The immunization push in the U.S. has been slowing in recent weeks, and potentially dangerous variants have begun to flourish in some areas where vaccination rates remain low.
Data presented at the ACIP meeting Wednesday show that for those ages 12 to 39, there’s only a 0.00126% risk of developing the heart condition within 21 days of getting their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
Other conditions related to COVID-19, like multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, pose an even greater threat, the agency’s advisers said at the meeting.
In a joint statement, the CDC, leaders of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Assn., the American Heart Assn. and a host of other medical and public health groups strongly endorsed continued use of the COVID-19 vaccines despite the reports of myocarditis.
“The facts are clear: This is an extremely rare side effect, and only an exceedingly small number of people will experience it after vaccination. Importantly, for the young people who do, most cases are mild, and individuals recover often on their own or with minimal treatment,” the statement said.
“In addition, we know that myocarditis and pericarditis are much more common if you get COVID-19, and the risks to the heart from COVID-19 infection can be more severe.”
The White House said Tuesday that it will not hit its target of administering at least one dose of the vaccine to 70% of Americans by the Fourth of July. The Biden administration’s virus czar, Jeff Zients, attributed the missed goal to young adults.
Less than half of those ages 18 to 24 have gotten their first shot, according to the CDC. Meanwhile only 42% of those ages 16 and 17 have gotten a shot. And among the adolescents most recently cleared for the shot, just 29% have received their first dose.
In the spring, the CDC observed a spike in reports of myocarditis along with pericarditis, an inflammation of the membrane around the heart. A total of 1,226 cases have been reported through June 11, according to the CDC, most of which were among young men and adolescents.
“We’re observing this in younger age groups, mainly teens and early 20s,” Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, deputy director of the CDC’s Immunization Safety Office, said at the ACIP meeting. “This largely disappears when you get to older age groups.”
Still, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday that mRNA vaccines have been successful in preventing severe illness and death among young people.
Speaking at the Milken Institute Future of Health Summit, Walensky added that the data presented at the advisory committee meeting will “overwhelmingly demonstrate that the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risks.”

Coalition for Dialogue on Africa (CoDA) will today host medical experts, researchers and policymakers from the Africa continent to unveil its Independent Task Team (ITT) on equitable and universal access to vaccines and vaccination on the continent.
Members of the CoDA team are former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, Chairman of the CoDA Board of Directors and Deputy Chairperson, African Union Commission, Monique Nsanzabaganwa, Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki and Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire.
Others are former Governor of Edo State, Lucky Igbinedion and Deputy Chancellor and Deputy Chairman, Board of Regents, Igbinedion University Okada, Chief Medical Director of Igbinedion University Teaching Hospital (IUTH), Prof. Godwin Bazuaye and Chairman, Pan African Manufacturers Association and Executive Director, Dangote Group, Mansur Ahmed.
The meeting is expected to end the long wait for health solutions across Africa with regards to vaccine development, production and distribution.
Speaking with journalists in Benin City, Executive Director of CoDA), Ms. Souad Aden Osman said the initiative was aimed at generating demand for vaccine development, production and distribution in Africa.
“The purpose of the team is to support efforts of researchers, the private sector and civil society in policymaking to generate demand for vaccine development, production and distribution on the continent,” she added.
Earlier, Ahmed stressed the need for Africa to become a leading continent in the production and distribution of essential vaccines, adding: “With regards to sustainability, we are not saying produce vaccines for today’s corona virus.
We are saying, let us begin to build capacity so that we can produce vaccines.”
BESIDES, Obaseki has commended the sacrifice and resilience of fathers in providing support, sustenance of their families and in wading through the vagaries of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Obaseki, who made the assertion on the sidelines of Fathers’ Day commemoration yesterday, celebrated fathers for their role in holding the family unit together, despite the disruptions caused by the pandemic and the dislocations to global economies.
 
“Fathers were resilient and made immense sacrifices to keep the family united, even with the effects of the lockdown and they deserve to be celebrated.
 
“The state government is working to ensure that it provides a conducive environment that will guarantee the survival and growth of businesses,” he said.

ABUJA, June 15 (Reuters) - MTN's (MTNN.LG) service in Nigeria could be disrupted as a result of rising insecurity in different parts of the country, the local unit of South Africa's telecoms group (MTNJ.J) said on Tuesday.
MTN Nigeria (MTNN.LG) is the first company to acknowledge a possible disruption to its services due to insecurity in Africa's most populous nation.
Nigeria faces increased insecurity across the country -- ranging from mass abductions at schools, kidnappings for ransom, armed conflict between herdsmen and farmers, armed robberies and various insurgencies -- a drag on growth and job creation.
"Sadly, we must inform you that with the rising insecurity in different parts of Nigeria, service delivery to your organization may be impacted in the coming days," MTN wrote in a message to customers seen by Reuters.
"This means that in some cases, our technical support team may not be able to get to your site and achieve optimum turnaround time in fault management as quickly as possible."
Nigeria is MTN's most lucrative market out of the 22 countries the company operates in across Africa, Asia and the Middle East but it is also one of the most problematic.
MTN runs Nigeria's largest mobile phone network which generates around a third of the company's revenue.
Growth in Nigeria resumed in the fourth quarter after a COVID-19 induced recession but it lags the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, with food inflation, heightened insecurity and stalled reforms slowing the economy and increasing poverty, the World Bank said. read more

However, in recent years, violence between herders and farmers has alarmingly grown, spreading from the north to the central and southern states.
Violence between the two groups has claimed more lives than the Boko Haram jihadist insurgency in the north-east, disrupting rural communities and threatening Nigeria’s stability and food security.
The combination of environmental degradation and violence (attributable to climate change, high population growth, Boko Haram insurgency and armed criminal activity such as cattle rustling) has pushed herders from the north of the country southward in search of pasture and water, resulting in almost daily clashes with farming communities. The intensity of the violence varies from region to region, but so far, Nigeria’s north-west and north-central zones have been hit hardest.
Nigerian authorities responded by deploying security forces to the affected areas but later realised that a military response was insufficient to deal with the main cause of herder-farmer conflict: competition over land and water.
In 2019, following a surge in violent incidents the previous year, they adopted an ambitious, 10-year National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) that aims to alter these deadly patterns.
In a nutshell, the plan encourages pastoralists to switch to ranching and other sedentary livestock production systems. By the end of 2028, authorities expect to have at least 119 ranches operating across several states, with the hope that more mechanised forms of livestock production will bolster the sector’s productivity.
Abuja projects that the planned establishment of ranches, alongside the resuscitation of long-neglected public grazing reserves, will create over two million jobs, mostly in the meat, dairy processing and marketing chains.
The federal government has committed to funding 80% of proposals submitted by participating states, while state governments and private investors are to provide the remaining 20%. Donors are also prepared to help.
The new plan was not Nigeria’s first attempt at developing a strategy to reduce competition for resources among herders and farmers, but it is the country’s most comprehensive livestock reform bid to date. Many state governments, especially in the north, welcome the move with enthusiasm, and some have already demarcated grazing reserves or applied for funding from the federal government to set up ranches.

Nigerians should always adhere to guidelines set by relevant bodies, especially the Ministry of Health and associated agencies."
On pharmacy subsector of the economy and how it performed during the COVID-19 inspired lockdown, he noted that the pharmacies are seeing higher patronage as most patients tried to avoid crowded environments like hospitals to reduce the risks of nosocomial infections.
"The industry is doing great especially considering the rising use of supplements in the populace as a means to boost immunity and equip the body to be able to fight viral and bacterial infections."
Accordingly, patients are more receptive to information relating to supplements and even compliance with their routine medications.
Mopheth pharmacy has always embraced and promoted preventive healthcare as a route to overcoming the burden of disease even before the pandemic began.

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, yesterday called on International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in Nigeria to be more accountable to Nigerians and not just to their shareholders and companies.
Kyari said at the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) in Abuja that although oil companies plying their trade in the country were responsible to their home companies, they must also strive to incorporate the interest of the government and its people.
He added that shareholders expect companies to deliver value, which is reflected in the dividends that they are able to deliver and beyond that, they expect that chief executives should act responsibly.
According to him, acting responsibly means recognising that there are citizens of that country that have different expectations.
He stated that as CEOs, balancing between financial accounts, rendering dividends at the end of the year, and also meeting the other obligations, sometimes could be in conflict.
He added that there is a delicate balance that national oil companies play which affects their relationship with their partners.
He said: "For instance, my partners here, we will expect that they operate responsibly, that they are transparent to all of us, not just to the shareholders of the external nature, but also to us and even to Nigerians.
"And as you do this, they will expect you to produce at the least of costs that is possible, because what that means is that there'll be more tax revenues and also probably better margins for the national oil company.
"So, these complications affect relationships between executives of national oil companies and international oil companies or even local companies that have to do business with them."
According to him, as the oil transition approaches, new opportunities must be seized, including in Nigeria where it revolves around gas.
He pledged to carry the NNPC's partners in the oil and gas business and strive to align the interest of all parties, doing what is reasonable for all stakeholders.
Managing Director of the Nigerian LNG, Mr. Tony Attah, said energy demand would grow by more than 30 per cent, while the world's population would rise by two billion by 2050.
He added that the world is now talking about decarbonisation, which is about sustainability, and that the environment must be preserved for generations unborn.
According to him, the company has been a receptacle for gas to be aggregated upstream and has done a lot beyond the monetisation of the product, with massive reduction in operational gas flaring by more than 65 per cent, way down to 12 per cent. He stated that Nigeria has been largely heavy on the export business that people have criticised the operations of the NLNG, stressing that today, NLNG is a leader in terms of LPG.
"Last year we delivered more than 370,000 tonnes, which is an almost 40 per cent of the one billion tonnes that was consumed for the first time in terms of LPG. We then went to the board to say we've met our targets, let's go to 500,000 tonnes.
"Essentially, bringing cleaner energy into the country is a big deal for us, because we have data that more than 100,000 people actually die on an annual basis in Nigeria as a result of indoor inhalation of exhaust waste," he said.
Attah said the company had contributed over $8 billion in taxes and expending over $130 billion in just the purchase of gas.

As the United States emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, nobody really wants to hear (and few media outlets report) that the rapid emergence of immune escape COVID-19 variants pose a clear and present danger of a setback. Over three weeks, the percentage of genomic testing which was comprised of the Indian Double Mutation Variant, or Delta Variant, jumped from 1% to 7% in the U.S. The data was derived from Outbreak.info, a website operated by Scripps Research and funded by the NIC, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Center for Data for Health. (The data are obtained from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) Initiative.) The site contains the most up-to-date information and has state specific data. The site also reports that as of May 27 the Brazilian or Gamma Variant currently comprises 14% of the genomic sequenced specimens in the U.S.
There has been little coverage by the U.S. news media about these emerging variants in the U.S. In the United Kingdom, despite having less than twenty COVID-19 deaths per day, there has been consideration of delaying fully reopening. In regions where the Delta Variant is spreading, advisements have been made to continue to meet outdoors if possible, minimize travel, work from home, abide by social distancing, and for the entire population in the affected region to be tested twice a week. The strategy of frequent and blanket testing of the whole population is in stark contrast to the lackadaisical approach the U.S. has undertaken regarding these variants.
The best defense against immune escape variants is to become fully vaccinated. It requires 2 doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine to provide protection. Remember, the vaccines were based on the wild type of virus and not the immune escape variants, so the plan is to boost your antibodies and immune response to a very high level.
Immunity from a previous infection may not provide protection from reinfection with an immune escape variant. In the city of Manaus, Brazil, a second wave by the Gamma Variant crushed the city after it was felt to have reached herd immunity. Studying blood donations, researchers have recently reported that 1 in 6 infected in Manaus with the Gamma Variant were previously infected with the wild type or original virus.
Thus, even if you have already had COVID-19 you still should be vaccinated. There is ongoing research to determine if a single vaccine dose may suffice, but until this is known for sure, it is recommended that a full vaccination protocol is followed. It has been shown that two doses of a mRNA vaccine will “rapidly induce a much stronger and broader Ab response than SARS-CoV-2 infection”. And initial reports have found that two doses of the mRNA vaccine offers protection against both the South African (Beta) and Delta Variants.
Finally, we are flying blind in the U.S. when it comes to the variants. The samples which the U.S. sequences are often from high-risk patients and not necessarily samples from the community, to track spread. Over the last 60 days, Outbreak.info has reported 5800 viral sequences out of approximately 3 million COVID-19 infections in the U.S. This represents only 0.2% of all cases. We should be sampling at least 5% of all COVID-19 cases to adequately track the spread and emergence of variants.
We also must not set the measure of public health success at survival. Too many patients with COVID-19 are developing long-hauler’s syndrome. This has even been reported to occur in 10% to 30% of patients with mild to moderate disease. And although our current mRNA vaccines can prevent the majority of severe COVID-19 cases and deaths caused by immune escape variants, it is unknown if they will prevent long COVID from developing in those who have mild to moderate infections.
As long as the immune escape variants are on the rise in the U.S. and less than half of our population is fully vaccinated, the best advice is to continue public health strategies. Similar to the U.K., this could be a regional advisement, but unfortunately, we are not sequencing nearly enough infections to accurately track the spread of these variants.
And above all, we need to have everyone become vaccinated. That is the best way to stop the spread of the virus and help mitigate the possibility of a truly vaccine evading mutation from occurring.

The United States said Thursday that India, South Korea and Taiwan will be among the destinations to receive the first batch of the roughly 80 million doses of coronavirus vaccines the administration of President Joe Biden has pledged to share with countries around the world by the end of June.
"We are sharing these doses not to secure favors or extract concessions. We are sharing these vaccines to save lives and to lead the world in bringing an end to the pandemic," Biden said in a statement, noting that the first batch will be 25 million doses.
The president's remarks came as countries such as China are seeking to boost their influence through "vaccine diplomacy."
According to the White House, 75 percent of the 80 million doses are expected to be allocated through the U.N.-backed COVAX global vaccine sharing program, with priority placed on supplying regions including Latin America, South and Southeast Asia, and Africa.
The remaining 25 percent of the doses will be used to support immediate needs and to help battle infection surges around the world, it said.
Based on the strategy, the first 25 million doses to be supplied through COVAX will include 7 million for Asia, destined for places such as Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan and Thailand.
Approximately 6 million doses will be targeted toward regional priorities and partners including Canada, Mexico and South Korea as well as Gaza, where Palestinians have recently suffered heavy Israeli bombing, according to the White House.
The vaccine allocation to Taiwan can be seen as the latest sign of U.S. support for the self-ruled democratic island facing pressure from mainland China. Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province to be reunited with the mainland by force if necessary.
In a video conference hosted by the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Thursday, Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said China's vaccine diplomacy is creating divisions in the international community, adding that the country provides its domestically manufactured vaccines and other pandemic relief aid "to those who are willing to accept political partnership with Beijing."
The 25 million doses will comprise three vaccines approved by U.S. regulators -- one developed by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. and its German partner BioNTech SE, another by U.S. company Moderna Inc. and a third by Johnson & Johnson, according to a White House official.

Medical experts have warned that the absence of a legal instrument in the fight to contain COVID-19 makes Nigeria vulnerable to another pandemic, especially ‘Disease X’ which was predicted by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
According to medical experts, with COVID-19 still ever-present as the world enters the third wave of breakouts, another threat is looming over humanity, which could become the next pandemic.
Scientists at WHO is worried that the so-called ‘Disease X’ could cause another epidemic in the next few years.
Each year, WHO instructs a committee of experts to update its list of the most threatening infectious diseases that lack effective treatment or vaccines.
Medical experts are concerned that although there is hope that with the COVID-19 vaccine being rolled out around the world will see that type of coronavirus disappear, a ‘Disease X’ could be just around the corner, which could weaken the world’s population and economy even more than COVID-19 did.
Indeed, ‘Disease X’ is what the WHO calls the next yet unnamed disease, which could cause a new global pandemic, and after being caught cold regarding COVID-19, scientists do not want history to repeat itself.
The medical experts are, however, unanimous that legislation specifically addressing issues of public health capacity of the state, for improved prevention, easy detection, prompt response to infectious diseases threats and improve outcomes is imperative for strategic positioning of the country to combat the incidences of pandemic diseases.
Unfortunately, the only piece of legislation on infectious disease control in Nigeria is the ‘outdated’ Quarantine Act of 1926.
However, despite several attempts by the two chambers of the National Assembly to repeal the 96-year-old Quarantine Act, they have not made much progress.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Director-General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, told The Guardian that every outbreak and indeed every pandemic presents an opportunity to learn significant lessons so that we are better prepared for future outbreaks.
Ihekweazu, who is also an epidemiologist, said: “We have learned that we need stronger legislation to guide Nigeria’s preparedness and response to pandemics. While the NCDC had the mandate to lead Nigeria’s preparedness and response to infectious disease outbreaks, the response to pandemics as we have seen with COVID-19 is multi-sectoral. Therefore, we need a legal framework that recognises this.”
Do you think that the provisions of the bills are adequate to better prepare the country to prevent and contain future pandemics? Ihekweazu said the distinguished members of the 9th House of Assembly have engaged various groups including technical agencies like NCDC, in developing the Public Health Bill. “We have contributed to its content based on our experience and expertise. The availability of a Bill is a significant step for pandemic preparedness but is not the silver bullet. Without enforcement of the regulations and adequate investment in health security, we will not be prepared for future pandemics,” he noted.
What is the global practice in terms of providing legislation for epidemics and pandemics control? The NCDC said strong laws and institutions are essential for countries to prepare for and respond to outbreaks and pandemics. He said in most countries, these are consistent with the best scientific evidence available, and importantly, respect human rights. “We also need buy-in across various levels of governments, especially in countries like Nigeria,” Ihekweazu.
What are your recommendations in terms of global best practice? Ihekweazu said: “We need a stronger legal framework that enables a coordinated multi-sectoral response to pandemics in Nigeria. In addition, we cannot afford to wait till pandemics happen before we begin to establish laboratories, contact tracing system and other structures needed for pandemic response. Therefore, components of such a framework should enable access to resources for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, given our mandate for outbreak preparedness and response.”

The Federal Government has made an offer to increase hazard allowance for all health workers in government health establishments in the country.
Minister of Labour and Employment Chris Ngige said this while briefing newsmen at the end of a meeting between the Presidential Committee on Salaries(PSC), relevant Federal Government Stakeholders and Health Professional Association and Trade Unions on Wednesday in Abuja.
The meeting was called by the instance of the minister to discuss the issue of hazard allowance and retirement age for health sector workers in the government health establishments.
Ngige said that the resolutions reached at the meeting was fruitful.
”The Federal Government has moved up from the N5,000 monthly hazard allowance paid to all health workers in Nigeria and now offering 350 per cent and 600 per cent increments for junior workers and senior workers respectively.
”The government side led by the Minister of State for Budget and Planning, gave a counter offer to the earlier submissions made by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and affiliate associations and the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU).
“The Government side gave them that offer based on the realities that we have on ground, that the economy is not doing very well and the capital component of the budget is actually being funded on borrowing. The earnings of the government have also drastically gone down.
“So, they are going back to their people with the government offer and they asked for two weeks adjournment to enable them to conclude consultation with their members and report back to us, “he said.
He added that they agreed that the offers should be left as it is until both parties go back for consultations with their members and return in two weeks time for further negotiations.
“But we moved from the N5000 hazard allowance per month, which was long forgotten until COVID-19 struck. During COVID-19, the government spent about N31billion for three months.
”So, I think the government side has offered things that are very reasonable, increasing the former positions of junior and senior health workers. Junior workers had 350 percent rise and senior workers had about 600 percent, ”he said.
Ngige also noted that the Federal Government has agreed in principle to increase the retirement age of doctors and other health workers from 60 to 65 years and 70 years for consultants.

Less than six months after the U.S. began distributing coronavirus vaccines, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday that half of the country's population has received at least one dose.
More than 166.4 million residents, or 50.1% of the U.S. population, have received one shot so far, CDC data showed. There are over 132 million Americans that are fully vaccinated, according to CDC data.
The milestone comes days after the CDC announced that half of all American adults over 18 were fully vaccinated.
The U.S. first authorized the Pfizer vaccine for use in December and later approved vaccines manufactured by Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which use mRNA technology, require two doses, while Johnson & Johnson's vaccine is only one shot.
Vaccines were at first limited to health care workers, first responders and the elderly, but by the middle of April the entire country opened up vaccinations to anyone over 16. The FDA approved the Pfizer vaccine for anyone over 12 in early May.
Children under 12 are not yet eligible for coronavirus vaccines.


Vaccination is the real safe start, only vaccination, is the safest.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. intelligence community on Thursday acknowledged its agencies had two theories on where the coronavirus originated, with two agencies believing it emerged naturally from human contact with infected animals and a third embracing a possible laboratory accident as the source of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The U.S. Intelligence Community does not know exactly where, when, or how the COVID-19 virus was transmitted initially but has coalesced around two likely scenarios,” the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said, adding that the majority believes there is not “sufficient information to assess one to be more likely than the other.”
The ODNI statement did not identify which two of the 17 agencies constituting the U.S. intelligence community believes the virus had originated with infected animals and which agency believes it originated with a laboratory accident.
In both cases, however, ODNI said the agencies that back one theory of origin or the other did so with “low or moderate confidence” - which in spy jargon means they believe the evidence supporting their view is far from conclusive.
A source familiar with intelligence community analyses said neither the CIA nor the Defense Intelligence Agency presently favor either alternative explanation for the virus’ origin, adding they were among the large majority of U.S. agencies who believe information presently is insufficient to determine that one scenario was more likely than the other.
The origin of neocrown pneumonia is unclear, and these two views may predominate. Unfortunately, they will be politically biased in their conclusions.

Nigeria imports over 580 million U.S. dollars worth of cassava by-products annually, an objectionable development that the government aims to stop by boosting food production locally, the governor of Nigeria's central bank said on Friday.
Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in a statement made available to Xinhua, pointed out there was a need to support small-holder farmers to boost food production in that direction.
Such support would help farmers improve their yields and help to provide high-quality cassava flour for households, industries, and bakeries, Emefiele said.
He noted the developmental finance initiatives at the CBN were focused on creating an enabling environment that would drive both public and private sectors' participation in the real sector of the economy.
Such initiatives, he said, would record strategic deliverables around import substitution, price stability, job creation, financial inclusion, and increase foreign reserve.
The CBN remained committed to working with Nigerian state governments in supporting small-holder farmers and processors across various commodities such as cassava, palm oil, and fisheries, the apex bank chief added. Enditem

On May 17, 2021 President Biden announced that by the end of June, the U.S. would donate 80 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine for use internationally. Sixty million of these doses are expected to be U.S.-owned doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine (enough to vaccinate 30 million people), which has yet to be authorized in the U.S. but is authorized in multiple countries. An additional 20 million U.S.-owned doses will be from a mix of Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson vaccines (while the exact combination of doses for each was not announced, this could amount to enough vaccines for an additional 10-20 million people).
Prior to this point, the U.S. had provided 4 million doses of AstraZeneca to Canada and Mexico (via a “loan”), so 80 million doses would represent a significant increase in U.S. vaccine donations and make the U.S. the largest single country donor of in-kind vaccine doses worldwide (see Figure). In addition, the U.S. has also appropriated $4 billion to COVAX, the international partnership for COVID-19 vaccine procurement and distribution overseen by the Gavi Alliance, CEPI, and the World Health Organization, making the U.S. the largest donor to this effort as well.* In addition, vaccine production and manufacturing continue to lag and a key supplier of global vaccines has announced it will not be exporting any additional doses until the end of this year, underscoring the importance of countries donating doses in the near term.
While some have praised the most recent U.S. donation announcement as an important development, others have said the U.S. could do much more, pointing to the large supply of doses the U.S. is building up and the slowing demand for vaccinations in the country.  We sought to put the U.S. pledge of 80 million doses in further context, looking at what it represents relative to the current landscape:
Almost 3 times the number of doses pledged by the next largest country donor, France;**
56% of donated doses from all other governments combined;
115% of the total number of doses already delivered by COVAX through May 20;
Less than 2% of the number of doses needed to vaccinate all people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs);
8-16% of the number of doses sufficient to vaccinate the highest risk groups in LMICs – health care workers and adults over 65;
29% of the total cumulative vaccine doses administered in the U.S. (as of May 18).

Dr Godwin Uyi Ojo is the Executive Director of the Environmental Right Action/ Friends of the Earth Nigeria. In this interview with Francis Ogbuagu in Benin, he posited that Nigeria is not ready for a post-crude oil economy while developed nations are setting 2025-2030 target for the transition from petrol-driven engines to other sources of energy. He warns Nigeria is spending billions to search for oil in the Gongola Basin, and that the country may face energy colonization.

 It will also mean that Nigeria will be a dumping ground for renewable energy.We should avoid being recolonized again in terms of renewable sources of energy.It will lead to environmental degradation and destruction.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil settled lower on Tuesday, tumbling from a two-month high after media reports said the United States and Iran have made progress on reviving a deal restricting the OPEC country's nuclear weapons development, which would boost crude supply.
Prices plunged on the reports that Russian ambassador to the United Nations Mikhail Ulyanov said significant progress had been made, but losses stopped after he said on Twitter that negotiators need more time to finalize an agreement.
After falling more than $2 a barrel, Brent crude settled down 75 cents, or 1.1%, at $68.71 a barrel by 1:19 p.m. EDT (1719 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled down 78 cents, or 1.2%, to $65.49.
If the United States lifts sanctions on Iran, the country could boost oil shipments, adding to global supply.
"That could put a significant amount of crude oil on the market, which is why we are steadily drifting lower now," said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho.
During the session, global benchmark Brent oil hit $70 a barrel for the first time since March, lifted by expectations of demand recovery.
Britain further eased coronavirus restrictions on Monday and Europe is starting to reopen cities and beaches. New cases in the United States fell further and New York lifted the mask requirement for vaccinated people.
"The crude demand recovery story during the second half of the year still supports much higher oil prices by the end of the year, with this Iran news possibly shaving a couple of dollars off most analysts' end-of-year targets," said Edward Moya, senor market analyst at futures brokerage OANDA.
European and U.S. progress in the battle against the pandemic contrasts with the situation in Asia, which is limiting oil's rally.
Singapore and Taiwan have reinstated lockdown measures and India has experienced a plunge in fuel demand after imposing restrictions to curb infections.
Also weighing on the market, analysts forecast U.S. crude inventories to have risen by 1.6 million barrels last week, according to a Reuters poll ahead of weekly reports from the American Petroleum Institute at 4:30 p.m. ET, and the government on Wednesday morning.

During President Biden's remarks on the Covid-19 response, he announced that an advisory board to the CDC will recommend the use of the Pfizer vaccine for kids ages 12-15. Biden also announced vaccinations could be available to this age group as soon as May 13.

A documentary film structured around the incident and management of COVID-19 in Nigeria has further exposed many challenges in the health sector, which became more glaring during the peak of transmission in the country. The documentary also proffered solutions to address the challenges faced by the health sector.
Top on the list of challenges exposed by the documentary is corruption, poor leadership, non-functional health insurance, weak infrastructure, dependence on donor countries for critical items such as vaccines, poor remuneration for medical and health workers, brain drain, and lack of functional equipment.
Experts, who were interviewed in the documentary, recommended among other things: making the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) mandatory, resuscitating primary health care in the country, more public-private partnerships, increased budgetary allocation to health, local production of essential medical tools such as vaccines and protective personal equipment (PPE), and restructuring of the country, especially the health sector.
The documentary titled “UNMASKED: Leadership, Trust and COVID-19 in Nigeria”, which was formally launched on Friday, May 7 at the Civic Centre, Ozumba Mbadiwe Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, is a collaborative work by Daria Media and Zuri24 Media.
The 95 minutes documentary was produced/directed by Femi Odugbemi, and co-produced/presented by Kadaria Ahmed. It features a stellar cast of resource persons drawn from medical, political and other relevant sectors of the society, was released in March.
The conversation was designed as a public-private sector collaboration for the development of a robust and effective public health care system.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in his remarks at the inauguration of the documentary said: “We have to take the lessons from COVID-19 to galvanise tomorrow. What are we doing differently to ensure it will not happen again? The structure of our governance system is among the things we should look into and change. The change has to be about all of us. People have to come out and vote so that they can elect credible leaders. You cannot sit back and not be part of the process to elect your leaders. It is unfortunate that most things only about 20 per cent of registered voters actually come out to cast their votes. We have to be part of that change that we desire. Indeed, COVID-19 has started it for us
“Tough decisions have to come out. Sometimes some of the decisions have to be tough. How are we going to push this narrative forward? We have to get most of us prepared because another pandemic will come tomorrow, next tomorrow.
What is our level of resilience?”
Sanwo-Olu said there is a need to change the structure of governance to ensure development in Nigeria and that the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic would be used to improve the welfare of the people.
“The lessons are certainly not lost on me personally and my government. I know that indeed what COVID brought forward to us, these are things that if indeed we take the positive side of it, we can use to galvanise and create tomorrow,” he said.
“It is really not governance that has failed but people; it is really not religion that failed, it is also the people. So, let us look at ourselves in the face and ask what are the lessons that COVID has indeed passed to our generation.
“What are we doing differently that will ensure that all of our mistakes known and unknown that COVID has caused us — how are we positioning ourselves to ensure that they do not happen again?
“The truth to be told is that the structure of our government system is the kind of thing that we should look into and change. If it is to say that the cost of governance is heavy and big, those are some realities we need to look up and ask ourselves the sincere truth. And we can only make the change when we have the opportunities to make those changes.
“The change has to be about all of us; that change that we desire. COVID has fast-tracked it for us, that is to say that we are living testimonials to the fact that things can still be better in this country, things should get better, and things have to get better.”
The governor also said participation by stakeholders in different sectors of the country is required to prepare the nation for another pandemic.
“So, leaving here today is to ask how we are going to push this narrative forward. People in government, media, academia and entertainment need to learn lessons from this and get all of us better prepared before another pandemic will come.
“It is not about medical pandemic alone; it could be hunger pandemic, security pandemic, governance pandemic. Whatever it is, how prepared are we? What is the level of our resilience?”
Also, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, in his remarks at the occasion, urged stakeholders in the public and private sectors to collaborate to build more healthy and robust healthcare infrastructure in Nigeria.
Emefiele disclosed that it has disbursed N83.9bn loans to pharmaceutical companies and healthcare practitioners to support 26 pharmaceutical and 56 medical projects across the country.
Emefiele said addressing the public health crisis along with the downturn in the economy required strong coordination. He said the measures and interventions put in place by the CBN and private sector to improve the government’s capacity response to the COVID-19 crisis was not enough to build a sustainable healthcare infrastructure.
Emefiele, who was represented by the CBN’s acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mr. Osita Nwanisobi, said: “Let me thank the organisers of this event for their efforts in calling our attention to the need to build a more healthy and robust healthcare infrastructure that can cater to the vast majority of Nigerians.
“This work will require the collaborative efforts of both public and private sector stakeholders.”
Emefiele said the efforts by the private sector-led Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) led to the provision of N25 billion relief materials to affected households.
He said: “In this regard, we disbursed over N83.9 billion in loans to pharmaceutical companies and healthcare practitioners which is supporting 26 pharmaceutical and 56 medical projects across the country.
“We were also able to mobilise key stakeholders in the Nigerian economy through the CACOVID alliance, which led to the provision of over N25 billion in relief materials to affected households, and the set-up of 39 isolation centres across the country.
“These measures helped to expand and strengthen the capacity of our healthcare institutions to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Emefiele said a study by the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed that only four per cent of Nigerians had access to healthcare insurance. He said that besides food, healthcare expenses were a significant component of average Nigeria’s personal expenditure. According to him, out-of-pocket expenses on healthcare amounted to close to 76 per cent of total healthcare expenditure. He said at such a level of health spending, individuals, particularly those in rural communities, might be denied access to healthcare services.
Emefiele said that one key aspect, which would address this, was improving access to healthcare for all Nigerians. He said: “A key factor that has impeded access to healthcare for Nigerians is the prevailing cost of healthcare services.”
The CBN governor also advocated expansion of the insurance net to capture Nigerians not covered by existing health insurance schemes. According to him, this can reduce the high out of pocket expenses on healthcare services by Nigerians. He said that it would help to increase the pool of funds that could be invested in building healthcare infrastructure and improving the existing welfare package of healthcare workers.
Emefiele said that the private sector had a significant role to play in this regard, given the decline in government revenues as occasioned by the drop in commodity prices. The CBN governor also called for support for research and development in healthcare.
“Given the challenges our nation faced as a result of the pandemic, it is indeed vital that all stakeholders work towards building the capacity of our researchers and institutions to address domestic healthcare challenges.
“Strengthening collaboration and partnerships between researchers, public as well as private sector stakeholders across the country is crucial to enabling Nigeria to build a more robust and proactive healthcare infrastructure system,” Emefiele said.
Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, said: “As of now there is a decrease in the number of patients requiring oxygen therapy. This is a result of a decrease in positive cases and decreases in bed occupancy rate in both public and private COVID19 care centres. Bed occupancy rate has reduced drastically to about one per cent.”
Abayomi, who was one of the panellists, said Lagos ResponseTeam has in spite of the decrease in COVID-19 positive cases put stringent measures in place to track Passengers of Interest (POIs) following recent surge in COVID-19 cases in India and some countries.”
Director-General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, said: Documentaries like this one by Femi Odugbemi and Kadaria Ahmed help us reflect, learn and push harder to prevent future outbreaks.”
Ihekweazu, who was one of the panellists, said NCDC is now better prepared for future epidemics and pandemics.
A consultant medical doctor and former Ogun State commissioner for health, Dr. Olaokun Soyinka, said the greatest challenge faced in the Nigeria health sector is to resurrect primary health care. “It is the crux of healthcare delivery. It is the orphan child because it is not owned by anybody. There is three tiers of government contributing to it, that is the Federal, state and Local Government Area (LGA),” he said.
Chairman, Evercare Hospital Lekki Limited, Mr. Tosin Runsewe, said to properly address the myriads of challenges in the health sector and ensure universal health coverage, health insurance has to be mandatory. Runsewe, who was one of the panelists, representing the private sector, said if the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) were made mandatory, it would take care of 50 per cent of the 200 million populations in Nigeria. He said social health insurance programme that will take care of the indigent people and those in informal employment will now take care of the remaining 50 per cent of Nigerians. Runsewe also identified shortage of medical personnel as one of the major challenges faced by the health sector. “We don’t have enough medical personnel. We graduate about 3,000 doctors yearly in Nigeria but we probably need 10,000 people,” he said.
Odugbemi said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the world on its head and hit the world’s most populous black nation, Nigeria, with predictable ferocity.
“And with its soft underbelly of corruption, poor healthcare infrastructure, weak systems, and an ever-increasing number of its population below the poverty line, the portent is dire. Could this also be an opportunity for reset?”
Meanwhile, the international audience from four continents first screened the documentary at the 2021 iREP International Documentary Film Festival to critical acclaim.
The event featured a conversation around the issues thrown up by the extensive research, which led to the production of the documentary.
According to Daria Media, after the Lagos premiere, the screening of the film, and the attendant conversation would also be staged in other major cities of the country, with another set of speakers and discussants.
Co-producer and presenter of the documentary, Kadaria Ahmed, said: “It is the hope of the producers of the documentary that beyond documenting the Nigerian story of COVID-19, Unmasked acts as a catalyst for a conversation on shortcomings in our public health sector that were unmasked by COVID-19.”
Unmasked… features among other resource persons: Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; Governor of Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele; Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwoolu; Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai; National Coordinator of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19, Dr. Sani Aliyu; Director-General of the NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu; Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi; and Kaduna State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Amina Mohammed-Baloni; World Health Organisation (WHO) Consultant Virologist, Prof. Oyewale Tomori; Medical Director, Mainland Hospital Yaba, Lagos, Dr. Abimbola Bowale; founder, editor-in-chief of Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), Fisayo Soyombo; founder The Chair Centre Group, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika; and Chairman/Non-Executive Director of Evercare Hospital Lekki, Lagos, Mr. Tosin Runsewe; and others.
Ahmed said subsequent screening of the documentary would also take place in Kano, Ibadan, Kaduna and Port Harcourt. In those cities, the conversations will revolve around the training and retention of medical personnel in Nigeria and the provisions of basic health care as a prerequisite for the development of robust human resources.

The Nigerian government has said it will delay the local production of the COVID-19 vaccine due to the inability to procure the required technology for that.
In a statement, the Minister of Health Osagie Ehanire said although the fund approved by the National Assembly to support the local production of the vaccine was still intact, the country still had that major hindrance as regards the production.
The government, he said, continues to hold talks with a local vaccine firm to enhance a public-private partnership in producing the vaccine.
“Nigeria is a 49 percent shareholder in a company called Bio-Vaccine Nigeria Limited, and the bio-vaccine is a revival of the former vaccine plants that the federal government used to have, in which the private sector was invited to join and form a special purpose vehicle,” Ehanire said.
According to him, the joint venture was earlier stalled because of the COVID-19 outbreak, when there was a lockdown.
“So, there is a lot of delay by the company in getting themselves on their feet. The aspiration to produce vaccines has not been fulfilled. It is not that it is abandoned,” the minister explained.
He added that the government would continue to work on getting that technology to both produce routine vaccines, and also COVID-19 vaccines.
So far, the Nigerian government has earmarked the sum of 10 billion naira (over 26.3 million U.S. dollars) to support COVID-19 vaccine production in the country.

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

Governor Muhammad Yahaya of Gombe State has described as “agents of doom” those calling for the disintegration of Nigeria. Describing them as unpatriotic, the governor said Nigeria would forever remain as an indivisible nation, no matter the threat and challenges facing it.
This was as the Vice Chancellor of Federal University Kashere (FUK), Prof. Umar Pate, stated that it was a threat on its own for some elements to canvass the disembowelment of the country.
Hosting the Presidential Visitation Panel led by Pate in the state’s Executive Council Chamber, Yahaya said: “What we need in Nigeria is a re-think, so that everybody will have a fair share. I don’t support anybody calling for the break-up of Nigeria. The unity, peace and progress of Nigeria are not negotiable.”
He, however, pointedly stated that regional emancipation groups like Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Oduduwa Republic and ‘Shege Ka-Fasa’ “are not patriotic”.
Fielding questions from newsmen, Pate said nothing would make him queue behind anyone calling for the dismemberment of Nigeria.

3 states have already reached Biden's new vaccination goal, but vaccine hesitancy may make it challenging for others
(CNN)In three states, more than 70% of adults have already received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, federal data showed Wednesday -- meaning they've reached the Biden administration's new vaccination goal months ahead of the July 4 target.
Those three states are New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data showed. Three others are very close, with more than two-thirds of adults vaccinated with at least one dose: Connecticut, Maine and Hawaii.
President Joe Biden announced a plan Tuesday to get at least one dose of vaccine administered to 70% of the nation's adult population by July 4, a target date some officials have set for a full reopening.
However, vaccine hesitancy will make it challenging for some other states to reach 70% of adults with a Covid-19 vaccine, findings from the latest Household Pulse Survey from the US Census Bureau suggest.
In Wyoming, more than a quarter of adults said that they will "definitely not" or "probably not" receive the Covid-19 vaccine, according to the Census Bureau survey.
In four additional states -- Montana, North Dakota, Kentucky and Ohio -- more than 20% of adults said the same.
When those who said they are "unsure" about receiving the Covid-19 vaccine are also included, more than 30% of adults in Wyoming, North Dakota and Montana could be considered to be vaccine hesitant.
Fewer than 45% of adults in Wyoming have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, CDC data shows, along with five other states: Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee and West Virginia.
This comes as vaccination rates have fallen: While the US averaged 3.38 million doses administered per day across a week in mid-April, the current seven-day average is 2.19 million doses per day, according to CDC data. The most recent numbers as of Wednesday show daily vaccinations have dropped by nearly 20% from last week.
The CDC reported that almost 250 million total doses have been administered, which is nearly 78% of the 321,549,335 doses delivered. That's about 1.8 million more doses reported administered since Tuesday, dropping the seven-day average for doses reported administered per day.
To get out of the Covid-19 pandemic, the US will need to shift its vaccine strategy from mass-vaccination sites toward "walk-in capabilities in 40,000 or so pharmacies throughout the country (and) getting mobile units going," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN Tuesday.
If the US doesn't reach 80% population immunity through a combination of vaccination and natural infection, the nation could face another surge in the winter, vaccine expert Dr. Paul Offit said.
As of Wednesday morning, nearly 45% of the US population had at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, about 32% was fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. Among those 18 and older, about 57% have had at least one dose and nearly 41% are fully vaccinated.
For now, cases per day are falling. The US averaged more than 48,170 new cases a day over the last week -- the country's lowest average of 2021, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
That's 32% below this spring's peak of more than 71,200 cases a day reached three weeks ago, and about a fifth of the country's all-time peak average of 251,056 per day set on January 8.

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Most school students will remember Covid-19 as a temporary interruption, but for many girls it will have lasting effects. Nearly 130m were out of school before the pandemic and Malala Fund’s research estimates that an additional 20m who were in secondary school may never return once it subsides. Millions of girls and young women are studying at home without access to the internet. Girls unable to use distance learning or afford tuition are now taking on more household responsibilities or getting married. Others are working in low-paying, insecure jobs to help ease the financial strain on their families. Past health and economic shocks teach us that, for many girls in low-income countries, these disruptions to their education can become permanent. In Sierra Leone, protracted school closures led to a 16 per cent decline in re-enrolment once schools reopened after the 2014 Ebola outbreak. Despite the heightened difficulties, girls continue to fight for their education. After schools closed and learning resources grew scarce, Elvira, Maria Florinda and Yessica, three students in Guatemala, created libraries in their communities to help fellow indigenous students keep up their studies. In Indonesia, activist Nayla Ariwibowo started her own initiative to collect and distribute school supplies to students living in orphanages.
Too often, girls are left to pick up the pieces of broken education systems. While their efforts are innovative and inspiring, they should not have to bear this responsibility. Governments need to allocate funding to ensure that every child can go to school. When education is well-financed, school systems are able to hire and retain qualified teachers and reduce overcrowding. They can also provide students with updated curricula and access to classroom technology. But Covid-19 has left government resources strained. The international development community said the 2020s would mark a “decade of delivery” for education. Instead, we are facing a severe setback. Two-thirds of low and lower middle-income countries have cut education spending. The UN predicts rollbacks in foreign aid are next. If these projections are correct, the global education funding gap will soon rise to $200bn a year. Failing to invest in girls’ potential is a missed opportunity. Girls’ education is key to rebuilding communities and countries and offers us the best protection against future crises. Ensuring every girl can learn for 12 years could unlock up to $30tn in global economic growth. Women with primary education earn up to 19 per cent more than girls with none; those with secondary education earn almost twice as much. Every country would benefit. Malala Fund research shows that educating young women can also help prevent wars, improve public health and even help mitigate the effects of climate change, by giving them the skills to contribute to a low-carbon economy.

YENAGOA, Nigeria (Reuters) – Nigeria’s Rivers state will ban people crossing its borders at night due to heightened insecurity, its governor said on Tuesday, as violence and lawlessness surge across the West African country.
Rivers lies in Nigeria’s oil-producing heartland, the Niger Delta, where past unrest has crippled crude production as militants destroyed and raided facilities, sending Africa’s largest economy into a tailspin.
The ban on people entering or leaving Rivers between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. will take effect from April 28 until further notice, Governor Nyesom Wike said in a statement.
Wike cited the killings of police, customs and civil defence officers on Saturday and of army soldiers on Sunday to justify the curfew.
“The attackers and their sponsors are people who came from outside Rivers state, and as a government we are determined to do everything within our powers to prevent the recurrence of such senseless and murderous acts,” he said.
Insecurity has mounted across Nigeria. In the northwest, gunmen have kidnapped more than 700 school children since December, part of a broader breakdown of law and order that has seen militants looting and pillaging communities in the region.
In the northeast, the armed forces are still struggling in a 12-year war with Boko Haram and Islamic State’s West Africa branch. On Sunday, more than 30 soldiers died in one militant attack, soldiers and a resident said.
Earlier on Wednesday, the United States consulate in Lagos warned of increased crime in the city.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday discussed a range of issues with Nigeria’s president during a virtual meeting where they affirmed a "strong partnership" between their countries.
Blinken met Muhammadu Buhari and Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
The men discussed the global economic recovery, Nigeria’s security challenges and regional security issues, effort against coronavirus, and the effects of climate change in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, said Price.
"The Secretary and the President reaffirmed the strong partnership between the United States and Nigeria, founded upon shared democratic ideals and a spirit of transparency and cooperation," said the statement.
Blinken emphasized the US' renewed commitment to multilateral institutions and noted the constructive leadership role Nigeria plays in global affairs, it added.

Dr chikwe ihekweazu, the Director-General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), says pre- and post-travel tests and self-isolation are now extremely important to avert any sudden rise in COVID-19 cases.
Ihekweazu said that Nigeria could not afford another large outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in view of the happenings in other parts of the world.
He made the assertions on Monday at the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) briefing on COVID-19 pandemic in Abuja.

It is true that we can no longer afford another outbreak of COVID-19. Now more people need to be vaccinated to reduce the risk of large-scale outbreaks.

India set a new global record of the most number of COVID-19 infections in a day, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged all citizens to be vaccinated and exercise caution, saying the “storm” of infections had shaken the country.
The United States said it was deeply concerned by the massive surge in coronavirus cases in India and was racing to send aid to India.
India’s number of cases surged by 349,691 in the past 24 hours, the fourth straight day of record peaks, and hospitals in Delhi and across the country are turning away patients after running out of medical oxygen and beds.
“We were confident, our spirits were up after successfully tackling the first wave, but this storm has shaken the nation,” Modi said in a radio address.
Modi’s government has faced criticism that it let its guard down, allowed big religious and political gatherings to take place when India’s cases plummeted to below 10,000 a day and did not plan on building up the healthcare systems.
Hospitals and doctors have put out urgent notices that they were unable to cope with the rush of patients.
People were arranging stretchers and oxygen cylinders outside hospitals as they desperately pleaded for authorities to take patients in, Reuters photographers said.
“Every day, it the same situation, we are left with two hours of oxygen, we only get assurances from the authorities,” one doctor said on television.
Outside a Sikh temple in Ghaziabad city on the outskirts of Delhi the street resembled an emergency ward of a hospital, but cramed with cars carrying COVID-19 patients gasping for breath as they were hooked up to hand held oxygen tanks.
Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal extended a lockdown in the capital that was due to end on Monday for a week to try and stem the transmission of the virus which is killing one person every four minutes.
“A lockdown was the last weapon we had to deal with the coronavirus but with cases rising so quickly we had to use this weapon,” he said.

India’s total tally of infections stands at 16.96 million and deaths 192,311 after 2,767 more died overnight, health ministry data showed.
In the last month alone, daily cases have gone up eight times and deaths by 10 times. Health experts say the death count is probably far higher.
The country of 1.3 billion people is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe, Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, warned in an op-ed published Saturday in the Washington Post.
“Our hearts go out to the Indian people in the midst of the horrific COVID-19 outbreak,” U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on twitter.
“We are working closely with our partners in the Indian government, and we will rapidly deploy additional support to the people of India and India’s health care heroes.”
The United States has faced criticism in India for its export controls on raw materials for vaccines put in place via the Defense Production Act and an associated export embargo in February.
The Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s biggest vaccine maker, this month urged U.S. President Joe Biden to lift the embargo on U.S. exports of raw materials that is hurting its production of AstraZeneca shots.
Others such as U.S. Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi urged the Biden administration to release unused vaccines to India.
“When people in India and elsewhere desperately need help, we can’t let vaccines sit in a warehouse, we need to get them where they’ll save lives,” he said.
India’s surge is expected to peak in mid-May with the daily count of infections reaching half a million, the Indian Express said citing an internal government assessment.
V.K. Paul, a COVID-task force leader, made the presentation during a meeting with Modi and state chief ministers and said that the health infrastructure in heavily populated states is not adequate enough to cope, according to the newspaper.
Paul did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

DETROIT — Among the many alarming consequences of Michigan’s recent Covid-19 surge is one that has doctors particularly concerned: a record-breaking spike in child hospitalizations.
Data from the Michigan Health & Hospital Association shows that the number of children hospitalized with severe Covid-19 symptoms hit a high of 70 this week — twice as many as were hospitalized during the worst days of the wave that swept the state in November.
The numbers have public officials across the country watching Michigan, raising questions about why the B.1.1.7, or U.K., coronavirus variant behind the latest wave here is leading to more cases of children who are seriously ill.
“That’s the burning answer in my mind,” said Dr. Rosemary Olivero, an infectious disease pediatrician at the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, which is treating eight children with severe Covid-19 symptoms, including five who are in intensive care units.
“I can’t say that this variant is all of a sudden making children much sicker,” she said, noting that the increase in hospitalizations is more likely the result of more children getting infected “but we are experiencing a really severe surge.”
We still have to be careful. We have to adhere to distancing and wearing masks and avoiding gatherings because that's the best way of preventing Covid, regardless of the strain.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Femi Gbajabiamila’s efforts at ensuring that Nigeria gets a legal framework for climate change has taken off to a great start as members of the Joint House of Representatives, Ministries of Justice and Environment Committees review the climate change bill began deliberations, on Monday.

In his opening remarks at the event which held at Reiz Continental Hotel, Abuja, Nigeria, the coordinator of the joint committee, sponsor of the Bill, and member representing Ikwuano/Umuahia North/South Federal Constituency, Rep. Sam Onuigbo, thanked the speaker for nominating him to coordinate the committee.

According to him, “Nigeria cannot achieve her ambitious commitment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC) without a solid legal base to guide her, neither can the country tackle the myriad issues such as security, health, and loss of livelihood means arising from the impacts of Climate Change.”

Greta Thunberg, the 18-year-old Swedish environmental activist, is now lobbying world leaders to make sure that COVID vaccines are distributed equitably around the globe.
Speaking at a Monday press conference for the World Health Organization, Thunberg called it is "unethical" that young people at low-risk from COVID in rich nations are being vaccinated before health care workers in low-income countries.
"The only morally right thing to do is to prioritize the people who are the most vulnerable, no matter whether they live in a high-income country or a low-income country," she said.
"The international community, governments and vaccine developers must step up their game and address the tragedy that is vaccine inequity."
Thunberg tied the issue of COVID vaccine equity to her hallmark issue of climate change.
"As we are cutting down forests and destroying habitats, we are creating the ideal conditions for diseases to spill over from one animal to another and then to us," she said. "We can no longer separate the health crisis from the ecological crisis. We cannot separate the ecological crisis from the climate crisis. It's all interlinked in many ways."
Thunberg said there is no simple answer to either the pandemic or the climate crisis.
"What these crises come down to is that we only think for ourselves. We don't think about others," she said. "They come down to the way we treat others, the way we treat other human beings, the way we treat other animals and nature itself. So we need to change our mindsets."
She said the world faces a "moral test" over whether COVID vaccines will be shared equitably during this pandemic. And she added that getting this right isn't just about COVID.
"In the future we will most likely experience more frequent and more devastating pandemics," she said. "Unless we drastically changed our ways and the way we treat nature."

At present, the unfair distribution of COVID-19 vaccine is a big problem and should be paid enough attention. Otherwise, this disaster may never end.