Upon seeing the health workers, Ani, who is a member of NYSC, a programme established by the Federal Government to involve Nigerian graduates in nation-building and the development of Nigeria, became afraid.
“I did not take [the vaccine] because I was confused,” the 23-year-old said.
“I never had anyone explain to me what the vaccine was all about and if there were any side effects after receiving it,” she said, stressing that some of the COVID-19 vaccine misinformation she received on social media discouraged her. “I saw some conspiracy theories on WhatsApp status, Facebook and Instagram about the vaccine.”
COVID-19 is caused by acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which was first identified in the city of Wuhan, China, and reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) in December 2019.
Nigeria confirmed its first case on February 27, 2020. The virus was later declared a pandemic by the WHO on March 11, 2020, as the number of cases and deaths continued to increase globally.
Scientists began to team up with pharmaceutical companies to develop vaccines that would reduce the spread of the virus. Vaccines have been identified as the best method of preventing and controlling viral diseases. According to the WHO, there are vaccines developed to protect people from at least 20 diseases.
There was, however, a breakthrough in the development of vaccines, which were distributed to countries, including Nigeria, to vaccinate their population.
But Nigerians, especially those in rural communities, are not willing to take the COVID-19 vaccine due to misinformation, leaving them susceptible to the virus.
More than 170 million people have been infected with the virus globally as at June 4, according to the WHO, of which three million people have been confirmed dead as at June 2.
In Nigeria, about 166, 000 people have been infected with the virus and 2, 000 people have died, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
In March 2021, Nigeria received 3.94 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and aimed at vaccinating 20 per cent of the population.
The Nigerian government said it planned to vaccinate 40 per cent of its total population in 2021, with an additional 30 per cent in 2022 and aimed to vaccinate at least 70 per cent of the country’s population.
The vaccines were immediately distributed to various states with the NPHCDA assigned the responsibility to vaccinate Nigerians, starting with frontline healthcare workers.
“I will not be willing to receive the vaccine because I don’t really have factual reasons [I should],” Ani said. “A lot of people perceive the vaccine to be substandard. People do not know if the vaccine is the right one.”
How COVID-19 misinformation spreads
Misinformation has been spreading across social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Whatsapp about how harmful the vaccine is when taken.
There was misinformation that the Messenger RNA vaccines developed for COVID-19 changes the DNA.
Many people said they were afraid to take the vaccine because they did not believe in the existence of COVID-19 in Nigeria.
“I won’t take [the vaccine] because I do not believe in the virus,” said Judith Ohakwe. “I do not believe we have it here [in Nigeria].”
Ohakwe said she received several messages on Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp, making her not to believe that the virus was present in the country.
“The messages were mostly voice notes shared to me privately and on WhatsApp groups I belonged to. I saw several Facebook posts,” Ohakwe said, stressing she no longer had access to the messages.
She received several conspiracy theories that influenced her decision to not believe the existence of the COVID-19.
“You might not necessarily believe in it [conspiracy theory], but it has a way of creating fear in you,” she said.
“Since I will still be alive, even though I will not take the vaccine, there is no point. Let me live my normal life. If death comes, I will die.”
The lack of trust in the Nigerian government has been referenced as a significant factor discouraging Nigerians from taking the vaccine.
“I do not believe that the Nigerian government will be so compassionate to give us the vaccine [for free], considering what is happening presently in the country. Nigeria does not love its citizens to give us vaccines,” Ohakwe continued.
“I know that President Buhari does not like us, I do not believe anything that comes from the administration. Had it been we had a good president that we believe in, if he says anything, we will believe him. Because we have someone like Buhari, I do not believe in vaccines.”
This is not the first time Nigerians have refused vaccines to reduce the spread of disease. The Kick Polio out of Africa Campaign led to the rejection of polio vaccination in northern Nigeria following misinformation by northern leaders that the vaccine was contaminated with antifertility agents (estradiol hormone), HIV, and cancerous agents.
This brought the immunisation campaign to a halt as leaders called on parents not to allow their children to be immunised. It took years for the government to debunk the misinformation.
In 2017, misinformation about the Nigerian Army injecting children with vaccines that inflicted monkeypox spread in South-East Nigeria, disrupting the immunisation programme of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
Implications of COVID-19 misinformation
An epidemiologist and technical assistant to the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 Onyebuchi Onovo said the spread of misinformation, which had influenced the people to reject the vaccines, would prolong the fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria.
“Vaccine is a lifesaver and it has been proven to be so over time,” he said. “The low uptake of the vaccine means that the vaccine will continue to linger or continue to be within the population.”
He said one of the best strategies of addressing COVID-19 misinformation was giving out credible information at the right time and through the right sources, which included the government, religious leaders, and traditional rulers.
“These are people at the local levels who have presence and influence. If a traditional ruler comes out to say that these vaccines are safe and I encourage you to receive them, of course, the majority of the followers will receive them. The same with a religious leader.”
Ani said unless she was well enlightened and sensitised, she would not take the vaccine, adding that there was a lack of awareness on the part of the government and health workers.
“The mistake they [health workers] made was to send the vaccine to people without enlightening them and telling those more about the vaccine,” she said. “I feel there should be proper awareness about getting people convinced before bringing the vaccine to rural areas.”


There are still many people who do not understand vaccines. I think the government should increase its propaganda efforts. Let more people understand the role of vaccines. Only in this way can the vaccine be popularized.

Seven people were killed following a petrol tanker explosion in Nigeria’s southwestern state of Ogun on Wednesday, local authorities said.
Two others sustained varying degrees of injuries in the incident at Ajilete, a town in the southwestern state on Wednesday morning, said Akinwunmi Olaluwoye, head of the Federal Road Safety Corps in Ogun.
Olaluwoye told reporters at the scene of the accident that a bus suspected of overspeeding rammed into the tanker laden with petroleum products while it was ascending the sloppy road.
“The tanker exploded immediately and caused the disaster,” he said, adding local police are already carrying out a post-incident assessment.
Deadly road accidents are frequently reported in Nigeria, often caused by overloading, bad condition of roads, and reckless driving.

WASHINGTON - The United States is making a push to inoculate more younger adults, amid concerns that demand for jabs is slowing as the spread of the Covid-19 Delta variant picks up speed.
Younger adults remain undervaccinated compared with older adults.
The highly contagious and more dangerous strain now makes up 20.6 per cent of new infections in America, more than double the 9.6 per cent level in early June, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday (June 22).
Although US vaccines have proven effective against the variant, public health officials worry that its rapid spread could threaten efforts to overcome the pandemic.
"Similar to the situation in the UK, the Delta variant is currently the greatest threat in the US to our attempt to eliminate Covid-19," top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said at a press briefing.
He noted that variant cases were doubling every two weeks.
"Good news: Our vaccines are effective against the Delta variant," he added. "We have the tools, so let's use them and crush the outbreak."
The White House acknowledged on Tuesday that the US will narrowly miss President Joe Biden's goal of getting 70 per cent of adults in America at least partially vaccinated by July 4, Independence Day. It is currently at 65.5 per cent, according to CDC data.
However, Americans aged 30 and older have already achieved that 70 per cent threshold, and those 27 and older are on track to reach that target by July 4, said White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeff Zients.
The nation needs "a few extra weeks" to get Americans between 18 and 26 similarly vaccinated, he added during the press briefing.
But reaching that threshold "is not the goal line, nor is it the endgame", said Dr Fauci, adding: "The goal line is to completely crush this outbreak."
America's vaccination programme has gained momentum since Mr Biden took office in January, and the pace of deaths and infections has slowed.
The US recorded an average of 11,000 new cases daily on Monday for the first time since cases started climbing in March last year.
But the inoculation drive has slowed, particularly in the South and Mid-west, with incentives like state lotteries, college scholarships and other freebies no longer having the pull they used to.
America's youngest adults have been particularly hard to persuade. The CDC said on Monday that they have the lowest vaccination coverage, with just 38.3 per cent of those aged 18 to 29 compared to 80 per cent of those older than 65.
"If the current rate of vaccination continues through August, coverage among young adults will remain substantially lower than among older adults," the CDC report said.
While the weekly rates of people older than 65 getting their first shot peaked at 8.2 per cent, this level was never reached by younger adults and has been decreasing, it added.
"Where the country has more work to do is particularly with 18- to 26-year-olds," said Mr Zients. "Many younger Americans have felt like Covid-19 is not something that impacts them and they've been less eager to get the shot," he added.
The White House is taking to social media to reach this age group. It has organised Instagram Live sessions and a YouTube townhall with influencers, and even taken out advertisements on video gaming platforms urging people to get vaccinated.
Wrote Mr Biden on Twitter: "When we took office, 3,000 Americans were dying every day. Now, hospitalisations have dropped by more than 90 per cent. I'm urging young people to carry us across the finish line by getting vaccinated today."

In 2017, Nigeria detected its first monkeypox case in 39 years. What most people don't know is that that the first sign of the disease was picked up on Twitter. The data was collected by Nigeria Centre for Disease Control's event-based surveillance system which monitors "chatter" on social media. This type of disease detection is far from rare in Nigeria, where major disease outbreaks are common, and Twitter has become a vital tool in responding to disease risks and forestalling uncontrolled epidemics. Yet, on the 4th of June, the Government of Nigeria announced an indefinite ban of Twitter, restricting access for millions of Nigerian users.
COVID-19 is no exception. When Nigeria's first COVID-19 case was announced, NCDC had around 100,000 Twitter followers. Within three months, this number reached over one million, one of the highest for any government institution. The agency was obviously meeting a need by providing Nigerians with reliable, real-time information on the pandemic.
Recognising the value of communicating through social media, NCDC implemented a COVID-19 communications campaign tagged #TakeResponsibility, which reached as many as two million Twitter users in a single week in 2020. Nigeria's National Primary Health Care Development Agency which leads the Federal Government's immunisation programmes also uses Twitter to inform the public about health issues and to address vaccine hesitancy.
One of the major challenges faced by countries across the world as we respond to the COVID-19 pandemic is the spread of misinformation. In recognition of the critical importance of social media, Twitter partnered with the World Health Organization (WHO) and public health institutes such as NCDC to flag misinformation and direct users to official sites for accurate information. Future research will quantify the value of this strategy, but it has probably saved many lives.
In many other areas, the Twitter ban could be a matter of life and death for a significant number of Nigerians. Outside natural causes, the leading causes of death in the country are infectious, maternal and neonatal diseases. The most common of these are diarrheal diseases, malaria, neonatal disorders, lower respiratory infection and HIV/AIDS. But now they also include COVID-19 which has been made even worse by ongoing outbreaks of cholera and Lassa fever. Communications tools like Twitter provide a highly cost-effective mechanism for information sharing, especially in a sector that is severely underfunded and has little or no budget for more traditional paid-for advertising in newspapers or on television.
Beyond the urgency of infectious disease outbreaks, Twitter has numerous other uses that contribute to the country's health. For example, there are medical doctors who use the app to share health tips and advice and to debate important issues across the sector. Respected health advocates such as Nigeria Health Watch use Twitter to share informed commentary. Sharing information and connecting with others through Twitter can be beneficial to mental health, as I have found as a Nigerian expatriate, living a long way from family and friends.
There is no doubt that there are risks associated with the app, such as the faster dissemination of misinformation, anxiety driven by "information overload", digital harassment and cyber bullying. While Twitter can do more to address these issues, it has begun to respond and the public health uses of the app, in my view, significantly outweigh any downsides.
I am therefore urging the Government of Nigeria to think of the public health benefits that Twitter provides to the over 40 million Nigerians that use the app and to explore ways of working with Twitter, in order to lift the ban immediately and avert future occurrences. I also hope that other health leaders including the heads of WHO and Africa CDC will remind the Nigerian government of the role that Twitter and other social media platforms play in promoting good health, detecting outbreaks of dangerous diseases and fighting misinformation. In short, Nigeria needs Twitter to save lives. #KeepItOn.

Information circulation is very important in the current society. Especially in the recent state of repeated epidemics. Twitter is a common information exchange platform in our lives. Not being able to use Twitter will cause us to miss a lot of information.

As Nigeria’s headline inflation retreated for the second time in May, dropping from 18.12 per cent reported in April to 17.93 per cent, the realities in the markets in terms of food prices and consumer goods, continue to pose challenges to many Nigerians whose disposable incomes have weakened.
From a month on month perspective, inflation accelerated across all parameters, underscoring the fact that inflation remains a major challenge to investors and citizens. The new figure is contained in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures changes in price levels over time, as released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) yesterday.
Inflationary pressures have not abated since government announced a shutdown of Nigeria’s porous land borders in October 2019 in a move to spur mass production of food as well as curb smuggling. However, attacks on farms, forex scarcity and naira devaluation have contributed to seeing local food demand outweigh production, causing food prices to steadily rise.
According to members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS), inflation is perhaps the biggest poverty accelerator because of its weakening of purchasing power. “It weakens real income, erodes purchasing power, puts pressure on operating costs, aggravates production costs, reduces sales and negatively impacts profit margins across sectors,” the Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr. Muda Yusuf, said.
The position of LCCI was re-echoed by the World Bank in its Nigeria Development Update (NDU), noting that surging inflation is undermining the recovery of Nigeria’s economy, pushing at least seven million Nigerians into poverty and encouraging criminality as rising prices deplete already meager incomes.
Maintaining price stability is conducive to sustained social stability. We must take effective measures to maintain price stability and reduce inflation.

Today, World Blood Day, is an opportunity to shed light on an unsolved problem that risks compromising people's health: the shortage of blood supplies. In Nigeria, more than eighty percent of maternal mortality is caused by bleeding complications due to lack of blood. In the country, however, as in many other African nations, the culture of donation is still scarce
In Nigeria, 80 to 90 percent of maternal mortality is the result of bleeding complications due to blood shortage. This data, reported by Sulaiman Akanmu, professor of hematology and transfusion medicine at the College of Medicine of the University of Lagos, highlights the need to strengthen the organization for the collection and distribution of blood in health facilities.
Nigeria, like many other African nations and some other developing countries globally, suffers from a poor blood donation culture , a trend that has worsened during the pandemic .
Due in large part to the consequences of poor policy formulation and implementation, the lack of an enabling legislative framework and funding difficulties, the collection, distribution and use of safe blood poses a major challenge for government agencies and non-state actors. With a population of around 200 million, according to WHO, Nigeria needs an average of 1.8 million liters of blood per year to keep its people safe and sound .
But the country's blood donation agency, Nigeria's National Transfusion Service (NBTS), says it faces a 73.3 percent deficit.
According to NBTS head of planning, research and statistics, Adaeze Oreh, only about 25,000 units of blood exclusively from unpaid voluntary blood donors were selected, collected and distributed in 2019 and 2020.
Oreh said that Recent available data shows that only eight per cent of Nigerians donate blood for free and around 80 of those who do choose to act in specific circumstances - to help relatives in need.
"From the data available to Nbts, it appears that about 80% of donations come from family members," Oreh said in an interview with the Premium Times newspaper.
With a vastly inadequate blood supply to meet clinical needs, many Nigerian hospitals and patients are therefore dependent on people giving up blood for money.
Although Nbts claims that only about 14% of Nigerians donate blood for monetary gain, Oreh said many families negotiate directly with paid donors who are referred to them by friends and family.
In Africa, Nigeria has one of the lowest donation rates by voluntary unpaid blood donors, widely recognized as the safest source of blood and blood products for patients. Oreh cited "various research studies that have established that commercial donors are more likely to live high-risk lifestyles and have a greater burden of transfusion-transmissible infections."
People who give blood for a fee are also often unreliable from the point of view of their health, because the need for money pushes them to neglect the rules of caution and controls.
Experts said Nigeria's uninviting culture of blood donation cannot be dissociated from the country's poor blood transfusion system and lack of a legal framework.
Under the 2006 National Blood Policy, the Nbts service has the task of developing a system of mobilization and motivation of blood donors based on a voluntary and unpaid blood donation and must undertake to standardize its methods of collection, transport, processing, analysis, storage and distribution.
The agency's mandate, based on the provisions of the National Health Act of 2014, is to coordinate, regulate and ensure the supply of safe, quality blood and blood products to "all those who may need them in Nigeria".
However, to ensure that this mandate is achieved, the agency said it faces "a herculean task". The problem is not just having enough blood, but ensuring quality and safety . The agency said it faced severe funding gaps, which also hindered its outreach programs.

Biden administration to buy 500 million Pfizer vaccine doses to donate to the world

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

The Food and Drug Administration has decided at least 60 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine made at the problem-plagued Emergent BioSolutions plant must be discarded, according to an individual familiar with the situation.
The agency, after an extensive safety review, also is releasing 10 million doses for use, according to the individual and to a statement released by the agency on Friday. The statement said “several other batches are not suitable for use, but additional batches are still under review.”

Director-general of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr. Rufus Ebegba, has declared that Nigeria has the capacity to deploy safe biotechnology products for agricultural development and environmental safety.
Ebegba, who gave the assurance at the opening of a two-day retreat on agricultural biotechnology for media practitioners and extension workers yesterday in Kano, explained that Nigeria possessed the institutional capacity and policy framework to ensure the application of modern technology, especially on agricultural production with the potential to accelerate food security and reduce import dependency.
He stressed that the establishment of the NBDA, which necessitated the development of national policy on biotechnology in 2001 and the enactment of the agency, mandated to ensure the safety of modern biotechnology products, has positioned the country with the knowledge to deploy Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) products.
Ebegba stressed that part of the core responsibility of NBDA was to ensure the regulation of biotechnology and the safety of GMO products for human health and the environment.
“With the appropriate laws in place, the agency has developed biosafety guidelines for various government agencies and departments. We have developed regulations in 2017, pursuance to 2015 laws establishing the agency that as the national biosafety policy.
“We also have regulations to meet the emerging technological advancement in the country like gene drive syntactic biology. We have been mandated to ensure that all harmful agents in biotechnology deployment are averted.
“On capacity, we have an NBDA, biotechnology policy adopted since 2001, agricultural research council, institute of agricultural development and universities doing genetic engineering with the commitment of developing safe genetically modified products.
“With these, I can say that Nigeria is competent enough with the institutional and human capacity to deploy biotechnologies and its products safely for the economic growth and development, especially in the area of agriculture and environmental sustainability,” he stated.

He lamented the activities of anti- GMOs agents, which he insisted, know the truth, but decided to embark on an unpatriotic mission due to their selfish interests and expressed concern that the media was being used to promulgate the mission to avert the scientifically proven products.
He said scientists have developed and released GMOs in Nigeria, including cotton and cowpea, noting that the technologies were now safer for human consumption.
Ebegba encouraged farmers to embrace biotechnology products rather than embark on the use of chemical application inimical to human health and expose the planet to further devastation.

National vaccination rates have fallen to record lows in recent weeks, threatening President Joe Biden’s goal of at least one vaccination of 70% of American adults by July 4.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on June 3 that 63% of adults were initially vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine, a slight increase from 62% last week.
In 12 states, including Utah, Oklahoma, Montana, Dakota, and West Virginia, 10,000 inhabitants are vaccinated 15 times a day. Last week, 10,000 residents were vaccinated in only four in Alabama, according to data from The Washington Post.
Anthony S. Fauci, head of government infectious disease experts, said that “people who absolutely want to be vaccinated without saying anything” have already been vaccinated, which slows it down. He said he was connected. According to the post, a home-sponsored phone call with a community leader on Friday.
The White House is already planning to face the recession. Last week, Biden announced a month-long effort to encourage more Americans to roll up their sleeves.

Agitations for a new Nigeria constitution to pave way for total reform of the country’s ailing and comatose systems have hit a rock.

At the public hearing on the review of the constitution in Abuja on Thursday, the Senate declared that although a completely new constitution to replace the current one was desirable, the extant law and does not support it.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Constitution review, and Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, who made this known, noted that section nine of the constitution had already foreclosed a new constitution.
“Now, some of our compatriots have urged that rather than amending the Constitution, we should make a new Constitution all together. We respect this opinion, and we believe it is a most desirable proposition,” Omo-Agege said.
“However, we are conducting this exercise in accordance with the extant legal order, which is the 1999 Constitution.
“Specifically, Section 9 of the Constitution empowers the National Assembly to alter the provisions of the Constitution and prescribes the manner in which it is to be done. Unfortunately, it does not make similar provision or provide mechanism for replacing or re-writing an entirely new Constitution”
According to Omo-Agege, “To embark on any process without prior alteration of Section 9 of the Constitution to provide the mode through which an entirely new Constitution could be made, would amount to gross violation of our oath of allegiance to the Constitution. In other words, it will take a new Constitutional amendment to be able to give Nigerians a most desired new Constitution. It would be unconstitutional to do otherwise.”
Senior lawyers like Aare Afe Babalola (SAN) had sought a totally new constitution for Nigeria.
The founder of Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Babalola, said the current 1999 constitution can not sufficiently address the socio-economic challenges currently pummeling the nation.
Babalola, who described the 1999 constitution as part of the problems of the country, advised President Muhammadu Buhari to consider the drafting of a new constitution that will capture the agitations of many Nigerians.
The legal luminary said there is a need to empower the different regions to effectively address the challenges of insecurity, unemployment, and poverty in their respective zones.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria expressed regret that the present crop of leaders are only interested in pursuing personal wealth at the deterrent of the system and the citizens.
According to him, “there is a very simple solution to the growing insecurity in the country and that is a new constitution.
“We need a new constitution where the different nations that were formed together can develop at their own pace. West was doing well during the old constitution, likewise the East and even the North but the one we are using now whose leaders see politics as the only lucrative business.
“We don’t need transactional leaders anymore, we want transformational leaders as you can see I am transforming this place.
“In the early years in 1960 people were not earning salaries but allowances and they were doing well but now you see people selling their property to contest election because of money they will get in the office, that is not the ideal thing. The solution is a new constitution for the people. We need people who will serve without earning salaries.”
Alao, speakers at the second Never Again Conference (NAC), which was held virtually in January 2021 had declared that only a new constitution, justice, equity, and obedience to the rule of law could guarantee Nigeria’s unity and stability.
The speakers are, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, Ayo Adebanjo, Mbazulike Amaechi, Peter Obi, Tanko Yakassai, Pat Utomi; Hakeem Baba Ahmed; Shehu Sani; Onyeka Onwenu; Godknows Igali; Ahmed Joda, Prof. Ladi Hamalai, Charity Shekari and Ankkio Briggs.

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

KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry detected 25 new Covid-19 clusters in the country over the past 24 hours, with 14 being workplace clusters.This is the highest number of new clusters that the country has recorded in a single day since the pandemic struck the nation last year.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the remaining eleven clusters comprised nine community clusters, one education cluster and one high-risk group cluster.
Among the workplace clusters, the Klebang construction site cluster in Melaka Tengah district logged the highest number of infections at 124.
The Dah Bagan cluster, which involves the Padang Terap and Pendang districts in Kedah, reported the highest number of cases (41 cases) among the community clusters.
The Dah Batu Dua education cluster in Kota Setar, Kedah, recorded 19 positive cases.
Meanwhile, 13 individuals have tested positive under the Persiaran Titiwangsa high-risk group cluster, involving the Titiwangsa and Kepong districts in Kuala Lumpur.
Dr Noor Hisham said the country currently has 655 active clusters. He said so far, 1,533 other clusters have ended.

Just when there seemed to be a perception solution America’s CupThe bad news arrives. CONMEBOL announced that the tournament will not be officially held in Argentina, The option that seemed most viable at this time.
On Sunday, CONMEBOL announced that, in light of the current circumstances, it had decided to suspend the organization of the Copa America in Argentina. This is because The complex moment the country is going through about the pandemic, with more than 20 thousand cases of coronavirus infection reported every day.
Just weeks after the start of the long awaited tournament, she is experiencing its most complex moments. However, details are expected to be finally announced on Monday. About what will happen to matches and whether they can be conducted normally.
What will happen to Cuba America?
The pandemic has undoubtedly hit many entertainment industries. It is among this sport, whose championships have been questioned due to health conditions. However, Few of them were as controversial as the Copa America.
Which is that a week after it ended, there was no longer a place for the tournament to take place. distance Cancel it in ArgentinaAnd the The United States is emerging as a potential candidate for Copa America, following a complex scenario in Latin America.
“Is the United States or has been suspended”, They refer from El Mercurio to the challenging panorama. As expected, on Monday CONMEBOL must hold a meeting to determine what finally happens with the cup and They will announce their decision on the specified date.
Previously, Chile emerged as one of the potential countries to host the Copa America. However, El Mercurio stated that the Afghan National Agency authorities will not be in contact. They didn’t receive any signal. Not a message. Not a call.
It should be noted that the United States is going through an important moment in the epidemic, where the vaccination level has allowed some measures to be lifted. This includes performance Mass events with the public, do not use masks if the vaccination has been completed and even return from the festivals Like Lollapalooza.

THE President of the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) Kalkaba Malboum, on May 25, announced that the African Athletics Championships would be hosted in Lagos, Nigeria.

This event was originally meant to be hosted by Algeria, but it was postponed owing to COVID-19 reasons. The games have been scheduled to hold from June 23 to 27, 2021.

The decision that Lagos will host the sporting event was made on May 24, after a meeting between CAA president and Nigeria’s Minister of Youths and Sports Development Sunday Dare in Cairo, Egypt.

The activities are set to take place at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, “with auxiliary support to be provided at the National stadium, Surulere and Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, both in Lagos,” the announcement read.

According to the CAA president, the African Athletics Championships was a unique opportunity for African athletes to get their ticket for Tokyo 2020.

He said that issues relating to the hosting of the African Athletics Championships in Nigeria had been deliberated on and modalities for a successful hosting, mapped out.

The CAA also promised that further details regarding the successful hosting of the championships in Lagos, Nigeria, would be made public.

The 2020 Summer Olympics, also known as the Tokyo 2020, is scheduled to hold from July 23 to August 8, 2021. The disparity in the dates was a conscious branding decision, after the games were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


To enable African countries meet up with the Olympics qualification deadline, which was set for June 29, 2021, the African Athletic Championships was picked for Nigeria.

This is the second time Lagos is hosting the event, the first being in 1989. It is also the first time the event is hosted back to back by Nigeria, after the 21st edition was held in August 2018 in Asaba, Delta State.

Escalating insecurity and communal violence in Nigeria appears to be strengthening separatist movements across the country.  Among those movements is the Indigenous People of Biafra – a group that advocates an independent state in a part of Nigeria that tried to break away more than 50 years ago.  More from Timothy Obiezu in Abuja.

Benin City, 19 May, 2019 - Sitting inside the Church, Pastor Evelyn Omigie of Home for the Needy Foundation (IDP) Uhogua, Benin City, Edo state says, “We are grateful for the recent health intervention rendered by the government and the World Health Organization. The vaccination campaign will go a long way in protecting our children from preventable diseases especially those who had missed some of the routine immunization doses due to displacement of their parents.”
The Pastor’s statement aligned with 2021 theme for Africa Vaccination Week 2021 (24 - 30 April), ‘Vaccines Bring Us Closer.’ The theme’s ambition is to promote the use of vaccines to get the world closer to preventing needless preventable deaths; a world where everyone, everywhere can reach their full potential and closer to a world where quality healthcare is there for everyone, as is our fundamental right.
To push the agenda forward in the context of integrating primary health care (PHC) services, both Edo and Adamawa States, in collaboration with WHO, commemorated the Africa Vaccination Week by expanding sensitization, vaccination activities and providing integrated delivery of free services for minor ailments to the internally displaced persons (IDP) in their camps.
Starting in Edo, the sensitization and intervention team was led by the Executive Secretary, State PHC Development Agency (SPHCDA) Dr Julie Erhabor and supported by Edo state WHO team, who provided technical support in areas such as health education, children vaccination and tracking those who had missed routine vaccinations, distribution of nutritional supplements, deworming tablets as well sensitization on COVID-19 safety measures.
The WHO Edo State Coordinator (SC), Mrs Faith Ireye said, “In Edo State, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted health care service delivery as was the case in many other places around the country. COVID-19 response activities pushed many other health care services to the background due to poor integration and the underserved areas such as IDP camp and nomadic settlements were worst hit.”
Additionally, the SC explained that, “To mitigate the effect, WHO Edo state Office has been engaging with State officials at all levels to strengthen health care services through strategic integration. In February 2021, we facilitated a meeting with all programme managers (including those for Lassa fever, COVID-19 Malaria, National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP), HIV/AIDs, Reproductive Health and Adolescent health, Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), and Basic Health Care Provision Funds among others.” At the meeting, government and partners agreed to administer routine immunizations and all opportunities to integrate health care service delivery.
Edo State data is being collated but preliminary results indicate that 450 children under the age of 5, identified to have missed out from the routine immunization were attended to with BGG, Penta, Vitamin A, measles and yellow fever vaccines
Meanwhile, in Adamawa State, North – East Nigeria, WHO in collaboration with partners such as UNICEF, Red Cross, AFENET, CDC, NURU and Nigeria Primary Health Care Development Agency commemorated the African Vaccination Week 2021 with a joint press conference and vacation campaign to the underserved communities and rural areas in the state.
The highlight of field activities to mark 2021 AVW was the deployment of WHO-supported hard to reach team to under-served communities Yola south, Mubi North and Guyuk LGAs for delivery of medical intervention which included vaccination against vaccine-preventable diseases, deworming, administration of vitamin A, health education and advocacy against Gender based violence.
In Adamawa state a total of 1,595 hard to reach populations received various medical intervention. Out of the total reached, 214 high value children were vaccinated, 360 dewormed and 376 received vitamin A.

In developing economies, many people are excluded in various ways from financial services. Including them is necessary for three main reasons. It allows financially vulnerable people to improve their lives through economic activity. Growth in the banking market can benefit financial service providers. And when citizens are financially enabled, a country’s economy can advance.
This is why financial inclusion continues to gain momentum in Africa’s policy and economic development. And to achieve it, banks need to reach out and engage with prospective customers who have been excluded from the financial system.
In our research, we looked at the ways three commercial banks and two microfinance banks in Nigeria engaged with financially vulnerable customers and potential customers. These may be petty traders in the informal economy, without bank accounts, living outside cities and relying solely on cash payments.
We approached the top managers of five institutions and asked how they create awareness of their products and services among these customers. Our study provides a picture of how financial products are being developed, marketed and delivered to this target market in Nigeria. We found that banks are using both innovative and traditional strategies and technologies to reach a variety of customers. The bank managers said their strategies were working and previously excluded customers could now access various financial products.
Nigerian banks are developing products specifically for financially excluded customers. These include “tier 1” bank accounts, which are entry-level accounts for individuals. A person can open the account with just a passport photograph and a bank verification number. Microfinance banks also provide business loans aimed at small business owners. Women in the informal sector, engaged in economic activities like petty trading, street hawking and food hawking, are also offered loans, credit facilities and grants. Often, these loans have low interest rates, to suit people with a low income and to support growth in economic activities led by women.

Many residents of Lagos yesterday leveraged the extension of the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccination exercise to get inoculated at various designated centres.
Visits to some of the Primary Health care Centres (PHCs) in Ikorodu area, showed a large turnout of health care workers, frontline workers and the elderly waiting to be vaccinated.
Some of the health facilities visited were Ita-Elewa Primary Health care Centre, Ikorodu; Ipakodo Primary Healthcare Centre, Ebute/Ipakodo; and Oke-Eletu Primary Healthcare Centre, Ijede.
The state government had announced the extension of COVID-19 vaccination for two weeks, starting from May 10 to 24, to enable more people to receive the vaccine.
The government said the vaccination would be held at designated PHC centres in 13 local government areas or local council development areas (LCDAs).
There was strict enforcement of facemask use, and residents were orderly at the visited centres.
Some of the residents told reporters that they got to the centres as early as 6:45 a.m. to enable them to receive the vaccine before the end of the first phase of the vaccination.
Dr Abdul-Rahman Adegoke said he initially delayed in taking the vaccine to observe vaccine trends globally.
“With reports of the spike in Indian COVID-19 infection and mortality figures, I feel that delay in taking the vaccine will be dangerous.
“Moreso, we do not know when Nigeria will have access to more vaccines, which will definitely be a drawback to its vaccination programme,” Adegoke said.
Also, a retiree, Mrs Abiola Onamasi, commended the state government for the extension, saying that it would help increase the number of immunised people.
“I couldn’t take the vaccine at the start of the vaccination exercise due to some medication that I was using then.
“Fortunately, the exercise has been extended, and I have the permission of my physician to take the vaccine now,” she said.
Mrs Christiana Nwabueze, a nurse, said the state government should enforce the use of non-pharmaceutical interventions of facemask, physical distancing and hand hygiene in public places.
Nwabueze said beyond advocating vaccine uptake, non-pharmaceutical interventions should be strictly enforced, considering the low number of vaccinated people in the state.
As more and more people have been vaccinated, the remaining people who have not been vaccinated will be at risk. The government should advocate more proactive vaccination. In addition to basic protective measures, vaccination against COVID-19 infection Is the best way.

A new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday is the latest to show real-world evidence of the effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccines that were developed with mRNA technology. 
The study, which is based on health care personnel at 33 sites across 25 states, found that a single dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines was about  82% effective against symptomatic COVID-19 infections among the health care workers studied. Vaccine effectiveness increased to 94% following both doses of either jab. 
"The mRNA vaccines are highly effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 among U.S. HCP. High vaccination coverage among HCP and the general population is critical to prevent COVID-19 in the United States," the researchers said. 
"This study, added to the many studies that preceded it, was pivotal to CDC changing its recommendations for those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said of the findings.

Nigeria is trapped in severe insecurity. The country is the third most terrorised country in the world, after Afghanistan and Iran, according to the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. War-torn Somalia and Syria have better ranking than Nigeria on the index. The country is also grappling with an acute economic challenge. To highlight the dire situation, about 40% of Nigerians are extremely poor, according to data by the National Bureau of Statistics. Inflation is in double digit. And the naira has continued to devalue.
How did Nigeria’s economy and society collapse so quickly? What tragedy dragged us quickly down?
The catastrophe is, in actual fact, not a sudden plunge; it is the result of a continuous slip, like in most of the countries in the Sahel and the West African region. These countries have been unable to successfully address the political crises originating in the incomplete resolution of their nationality, state, and religion challenges. Like Nigeria, Guinea, Mali, and Chad boil partly due to the burden of history. The ugly historical legacy is now worsened by transactional leadership that focuses on consolidating power rather than entrenching democratic accountability and empowering the citizens. Nigeria epitomises this disastrous model of governance.
Since 2015, there has been a steady decline in the country’s political and economic stability. Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Nigerian economy had started a rapid decline. In 2016, Nigeria entered into recession and could not fully stabilise before the economic headwinds of COVID-19 caused another horrendous recession in 2020. In response, the government came up with the Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan, which relies heavily on significant upgrade of infrastructure and its trickle-down effects on poverty and aggregate consumption.
The NESP presumes a stable political environment. But with the state of the polity, the fundamentals of the plan are no longer realistic. Boko Haram’s increased insurgency in the North-East and the spread of banditry and kidnapping across the major states of the North-West and the North-Central Nigeria have imperilled agriculture and food supply. Targeted attacks against law enforcement institutions and facilities in the South-East have given a dangerous twist to insecurity in the country.
In 2020, Nigeria ranked 98 out of 107 countries on the Global Nutrition Index. Given the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and rising inflation resulting from drought and insecurity in the north, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations estimates severe starvation is looming in Nigeria.
As Nigeria moves closer to a definitive general election in 2023 with the hope of replacing the highly disappointing regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), the lack of political will to undertake radical changes to the country’s political economy means the security and economic crises would worsen, potentially leading to a disastrous political fallout.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s administrative state is very weak, which means that the instruments of regulating economic and social transactions are underdeveloped. To compound the issue, the politics of economic rent and extraction has weakened the middle class and made elite consensus difficult to forge. Therefore, kickstarting economic growth as well as ensuring equity and justice will continue to challenge the current regime.
If the elite cannot agree on basic structures of their society, especially those that relate to social justice and fairness, then the political stability needed for economic progress will be jeopardised. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who chaired the committee that produced the NESP, has hinted at the danger of vanishing elite consensus and the need to rebuild trust in government in order to raise social capital amongst Nigerians. However, the incompetent and biased policies of the government constitute an obstacle to his recommendations.
The Chandler Institute of Governance rating has newly highlighted the fact that Nigeria is in a governance quandary. The country is rated the third worst governed country in the world, just ahead of Zimbabwe and Venezuela. The 2021 report says Nigeria is poor in governance, leadership, and foresight, and that the country’s leadership lacks the ability to innovate and develop long-term vision. Under the government that came into office on the promise to decisively fight corruption, the country is also found wanting in strict enforcement of anti-graft measures.
The foregoing indicates that the most formidable challenge to achieving the economic sustainability plan is not the continuing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather, Nigeria’s failing governance is the major threat to its economic sustainability.
The prognosis is dire under the current governance scenario. If more and more Nigerians continue to become poorer and poorer, banditry and insurgence will increase. This will further fray national cohesion and drive a highly contentious political manoeuvring, which would further erode political stability, economic productivity, and poverty alleviation.
The way out of this gloomy scenario is simple: Nigeria’s best economic revival plan is actually effective and radical political reform.

Falmata's story tells the deadly legacy of attacks on health care services in Nigeria and the importance of protecting key civilian infrastructure in armed conflict.
Before Falmata and her family fled their home because of an outbreak of violence, the town of Dikwa had a medical clinic and hospital where people could seek assistance.
"After we went back, both were gone. The hospital had been looted and vandalized, the clinic burned down. All the staff had fled. For a while there was no care anymore," Falmata said.
The assault on Dikwa that Falmata referred to had its origins in 2009, when an armed insurgency erupted in neighbouring Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state. During subsequent fighting, hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed or displaced across north-eastern Nigeria.
In March 2015, fighters overran several townships in Borno state, including Dikwa, whose entire population fled to Maiduguri. Government forces supported by the Chadian army subsequently retook Dikwa and have since maintained a security perimeter on the outskirts of the town.
Today, more than 100,000 people are packed into Dikwa's urban centre and several overcrowded camps set up along the periphery, with displaced farmers and livestock herders making up three out of every four inhabitants. Unable to access their lands and deprived of their livelihoods, they are almost entirely dependent on humanitarian aid for survival.
Resources are scarce, including access to safe water and sanitary facilities. Food prices have soared, and malnutrition is on the rise. People are selling the soap they have received from humanitarian organizations because they have no other means to earn money. Cholera is a permanent threat.
Falmata was among the stream of people who fled Dikwa in 2014 and 2015. She managed to get her children to safety but lost her husband, who was killed during the violence. The lack of medical care after the two facilities were destroyed weighed heavily on the community.
"Later, aid organizations began to provide medical services again. Today, there are again trained doctors and nurses to take care of patients. But if someone is very sick and the local clinic can't help, there is no solution in Dikwa presently. Patients need to be transferred to Maiduguri, but to go there you need a military escort. Otherwise it's not safe."
Over recent years, international and local aid organizations have set up a network of clinics delivering primary health care to camp dwellers and the greater community, but there is little in terms of specialized care and no surgical services.
Falmata works as a traditional birth attendant in Dikwa and wants her community to respect COVID-19 preventive measures, but given the situation they face, doing so is a daily struggle.
"Some people respect the rules, others don't. Some people deny that the virus poses a threat and say that we have more pressing problems: insecurity, no access to our farms, high prices, not enough food. The virus is not the only thing we have to worry about," Falmata said.
She looked at the other women sitting in a semicircle beside her. They nodded in agreement.
People can be told to wash their hands often, but they need water and soap to do so. I remember we once had piped water here in Dikwa, and the government ran a big generator so we all could get clean water in our neighbourhoods. But then the attacks happened, and much of this infrastructure was destroyed.

Despite the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria’s AIDS management agency, NACA, said about 350,000 Persons Living with HIV (PLWHIV) were identified within the last 18 months.
The Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Gambo Aliyu, made this known on Tuesday during a national dialogue on Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV(PMTCT).
The dialogue was organised by the National AIDS/STIs Control Programme of the federal ministry of health.
“Last 18 months, 350,000 people were identified and brought to treatment despite COVID-19. This number is a break from the previous 50,000 to 60,000 a year,” he said.
He said the agency accessed some rural communities to be able to identify the cases.
“From a few numbers of one-stop shops have amounted to over 60 one-stop shops all over the country and all these accounted for the 350,000 we were able to identify, instead of the traditional 50,000 to 60,000,” he said.
About 1.9 million people under the age of 64 are living with HIV in Nigeria, result from the Nigeria HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) conducted in 2018 shows.
Mr Aliyu said there is a need to tweak the existing strategy for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in the country.
He noted that the number of women on HIV treatment has greatly improved between 2006 and 2019.
“It is not the PMTCT that is not working but the strategy that we have to tweak.
“If you look at the numbers we had as far back as 2006, we had about 13,000 women on treatment.
“Today, as we are talking, as of 2019, about 421,000 women are on treatment; this is over 200 per cent increment,” he said.
He lamented that six million out of eight million pregnant women are not attending antenatal care.
“So we are battling with 2 million that are attending antenatal care in implementing these services but for those that we have access to, the services are delivered well,” he said.
Mr Aliyu said the only way to eliminate MTCT is to take these services to communities.
“If we can do that, I guarantee all of us that in the next 18 months, we will see this huge rebound that we have noticed with ART surge,” he said.
Despite efforts and progress made in reducing the scourge of HIV/AIDS, Nigeria is still holding the unenviable position of the country with the most HIV-infected babies in the world.
While rates of Mother To Child Transmission (MTCT) of HIV are dropping, even in far poorer countries, Nigeria still accounted for 37,000 of the world’s 160,000 new cases of babies born with HIV in 2016 – the highest in the continent.In his remarks, health minister Osagie Ehanire said despite significant achievements in the HIV programme overall, there is an enduring challenge of persisting poor outcomes in PMTCT.
Mr Ehanire said the dialogue is prompted by the urgency to scale up sustainable programmes for PMTCT of HIV in an effort to eliminate new HIV infections among children.
“Nigeria, being one of the 21 priority countries in sub-Saharan Africa for the elimination of vertical transmission of HIV, committed to and endorsed The Global Plan.
“We agreed to be held accountable for achieving the set targets by 2015. Since then, we have implemented several pillars cutting across leadership, policy, and coordination,” he said.
He, however, said data still points to overall underachievement in key result areas including PMTCT
“For example, PMTCT coverage is only 37 per cent and 21,000 new paediatric HIV infections were recorded in children aged 0-4 years in 2019,” he said.
He explained that major bottlenecks impacting PMTCT negatively include the variable coverage of antenatal care (ANC) services, unmet need for family planning, poor testing coverage for pregnant women, and poor tracking and retention in care for HIV exposed infants, among others.
“Overall, we estimate that 88 per cent of pregnant women who test positive are on anti-retrovirals (ARVs).”
He said political leadership and commitment at the highest level are crucial to PMTCT.

More than 100 colleges across the United States have said they will require students to receive coronavirus vaccines in order to attend in-person classes in the fall, according to a New York Times survey.
Those requirements come as coronavirus cases have continued to climb steadily this spring at U.S. colleges and universities. More than 660,000 cases have been linked to the institutions since the start of the pandemic, with one-third of those since Jan. 1.
Major outbreaks continue on some campuses, even as students have become eligible for vaccines. Salve Regina University in Rhode Island canceled all in-person events for at least a week after more than 30 students tested positive in seven days. Wayne State University in Detroit, a city that has been one of the worst U.S. coronavirus hot spots, suspended in-person classes and on-campus activities in early April.

Schools including DePaul University, Emory University and Wesleyan University are requiring all students to be vaccinated. Others have said they are requiring athletes or those who live on campus to get a shot. Most are allowing medical, religious and other exemptions.
Although private colleges make up the bulk of the schools with vaccine mandates, some public universities have also moved to require the shots.
Students and employees of the University System of Maryland will be required to get vaccinated before returning to campus in the fall, said the chancellor, Jay A. Perman. He said he was particularly concerned about the B.1.1.7 variant, which he described in his announcement last week as more contagious.
“That’s what we’re preparing for,” he said, “more infectious, more harmful variants that we think could be circulating on our campuses come fall.”
At least two dozen colleges have said that they will not require shots while the vaccines have only emergency authorization. California’s public university systems announced that they would require shots after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration grants full approval for the vaccines.

Ecobank Nigeria Limited has concluded plans to host a digital conference as part of its commemoration of this year’s Workers’ Day. According to Head, Consumer Banking, Korede Demola-Adeniyi, the webinar which is scheduled for April 29th, titled: “Inflation and Your Money – Our role As Your Bank,” is targeted at educating members of the public on how to manage limited resources at their disposal, stressing that it would also provide tips on savings, borrowing, investments and how Ecobank can be useful to the participants and general public amidst the rising inflation.
According to Demola-Adeniyi, though Nigeria recorded early exit from the recession in the fourth quarter of last year, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have continued to impact negatively on the revenues of many corporate entities, businesses and income of individuals; noting that this development has been further compounded by inflation.
“Inflation rate has continued its upward trend to settle at about 18.7 per cent in March with prices of goods rising significantly in the last six months. This, in turn has significantly reduced the disposable income and cash available to consumers,” she added.
Consequently, as a bank set up to contribute to economic development, we thought it important to facilitate a discussion during this period of Worker’s Day, that will provide some guidance to our customers and the general public on how they can manage their cash and resources through rising inflation.”
She disclosed that the webinar which will be hosted on the Microsoft Teams’ platform will converge important stakeholders who will discuss the realities of the economy of the country and also proffer solutions on how to stay afloat financially and better manage resources.

As India continues to set a new global record for a rise in daily coronavirus cases for a fifth straight day, while deaths from COVID-19 also jumped by an all-time high over the last 24 hours, the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 (PSC) has warned Nigerians to brace up for a third COVID-19 wave.
On Sunday, India reported 346,786 new cases of COVID-19 for the previous 24 hours, with 2,624 deaths – the world’s highest daily toll since the pandemic began last year. Overall, nearly 190,000 people have died from COVID in the country, while more than 16.6 million have been infected.
The PSC warning came as the Rapid-Response initiative group of the Academy of Medicine Specialties (AMS) stated that to avoid a third wave of COVID-19 in the country, the Federal Government should close international airports to all flights for at least two weeks.
PSC said the cases in India and Turkey are of particular concern to the country due to the demographic similarities with Nigeria and the fact that they currently experience serious third waves, adding that over 2,500 Indians died on Sunday alone, more than they suffered on any day in the first and second waves, and more than the total Nigeria has ever lost on record.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) director-general voiced alarm yesterday at India’s record-breaking wave of coronavirus cases and deaths, describing the situation as “beyond heartbreaking. WHO is doing everything we can, providing critical equipment and supplies, including thousands of oxygen concentrators, prefabricated mobile field hospitals and laboratory supplies,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva during a media briefing.
India’s unfolding coronavirus crisis is at its most visceral in the overwhelmed graveyards and crematoriums, as bright, glowing funeral pyres light up the night sky in its worst-hit cities. Outside crematoriums in cities like the capital New Delhi, which currently has the highest number of daily cases, ambulance after ambulance wait in line to cremate the dead. Delhi has been cremating so many bodies that authorities are getting requests to start cutting down trees in city parks for firewood as a record surge of COVID-19 collapses India’s tattered healthcare system.
MEANWHILE, the Federal Government has said that Nigeria will not accept vaccines from private and unverified sources due to warnings by international police organisations of the high rate of fake COVID-19 vaccines said to be in circulation, and reports of risks of adverse effects reported after vaccination.
Consequently, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) is pursuing initiatives to test and authorise more vaccines for use in Nigeria. Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, who gave the warning at the briefing of the committee yesterday in Abuja, said government has observed that not only vaccine hesitancy is responsible for the rising COVID-19 cases in India, but insufficient compliance with public health advisories, such as social distancing and wearing of face masks.
Ehanire stated that Nigeria is still expecting more AstraZeneca vaccines and is looking forward to acquiring J&J vaccines, a single shot vaccine that has been re-certified as fit for use by United States regulatory organs.
The minister explained that the Covax facility is to provide vaccines for at least 20 per cent of the population, “while the African Union vaccine purchase pooling facility AVATT, backed by Afrexim Bank, are our designated sources of vaccine acquisition.”
The minister observed that many more COVID-19 positive persons now present themselves voluntarily for treatment, adding that in the past two weeks only one patient in isolation centres had needed oxygen treatment.

The Federal Government has dismissed the World Bank’s recent report that says over 78% of Nigerian electricity consumers access less than 12 hours of supply as inaccurate.
This was disclosed by the Special Adviser to the President on Infrastructure, Mr. Ahmad Zakari via a statement.
As far as the President’s aide is concerned, the global bank’s empirical evidence used to arrive at the figure was unclear.
Though the government revealed last week that 17 out of the 25 generation power plants were down, which led to a drop in supply across the nation, it insisted that power distribution to consumers had been steadily improving.
He stated, “It was inaccurate to make a blanket statement on the country’s power sector. The empirical evidence from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) showed that only 55% of citizens connected to the grid are in tariff bands D and E which is less than 12 hours supply.
It is inaccurate to make a blanket statement that 78% of Nigerians have less than 12 hours daily access. The data from NERC is that 55% of citizens connected to the grid are in tariff bands D and E which are less than 12 hours supply.
Those citizens are being fully subsidised to pre-September 2020 tariffs until Discos are able to improve supply. There is a N120 billion CAPEX fund from CBN for Discos to improve infrastructure for these tariff classes similar to the metering programme that is ongoing.”
Nairametrics had reported on Sunday that the World Bank revealed that about 62% of Nigerian consumers do not believe that the power sector is being managed efficiently.
It said 66% of electricity consumers in Nigeria are willing to pay more for power if supply improves. Also, a total of 74% of power users in the country are dissatisfied with the supply of electricity.
It further disclosed that while 93% of metered power users paid their bills regularly, 78% of electricity consumers in Nigeria received less than 12 hours of supply daily, stressing that the findings were done after a thorough survey conducted by the global financial institution.

About N1.89 trillion will be needed if Nigeria is to achieve malaria prevalence rate of less than 10 per cent and reduce mortality rate to less than 50 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2025, an official has said.
The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, made this known on Friday while speaking during a press conference ahead of the 2021 World Malaria Day.
Mr Ehanire said the country has developed a five-year new generation malaria strategic plan to sustain gains already made and chart a pathway towards achieving a malaria-free Nigeria.
“The implementation of this plan will cost N1.89 trillion Naira and 352 billion is required for the year 2021 programme implementation,” he said.
He explained that about 63.1 per cent of the total amount will be used to support prevention, diagnosis and treatment while 35.9 per cent will be used for vector management.
However, considering the prevailing economic circumstance, the government may not have the required amount, Mr Ehanire said.
He urged the private sector and various corporate organisations to support the federal government in the fight against malaria.
World Malaria Day is marked on April 25 every year to highlight global efforts to control malaria and celebrate the gains that have been made.
The theme for this year’s celebration is “Zero Malaria – Draw the Line Against Malaria” because every malaria case is preventable, and every malaria death is unacceptable, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.

US airlines struck an optimistic note on Thursday, saying the “worst is behind us” with vaccinations and easing coronavirus restrictions boosting demand ahead of the summer holiday season.

“This crisis is far from over . . . but there is no doubt, the pace of recovery is accelerating,” American Airlines chief executive Doug Parker said on the company’s earnings call.

Southwest Airlines chief Gary Kelly sounded similarly upbeat. “While the pandemic is not over, we believe the worst is behind us, in terms of the severity of the negative impact on travel demand,” he said.

More than a year after air travel was all but halted by the pandemic, demand has started to recover, fuelled by vaccinations.

In April so far, the US Transportation Security Administration has screened 1.39m passengers a day on average, the highest since the start of the pandemic but still far below the 2.3m average in the same period in 2019. The US has now administered nearly 216m vaccine doses and has fully vaccinated 87.6m people or roughly 26.4 per cent of the population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

American predicted capacity will be down between 20 to 25 per cent in the latest quarter compared with the second quarter of 2019 — before the pandemic began. It also forecast a revenue decline of 40 per cent compared with the second quarter of 2019.

The carrier also reported early signs of recovery in business travel. President Robert Isom said some of the carrier’s largest corporate customers have indicated “they’ll be travelling in the third quarter and confirming in-person board meetings, conferences and events for this year”.

The company burnt through $4m a day on average in March and first-quarter revenues fell 53 per cent from a year ago to $4bn. The net loss for the period was $1.25bn, or $1.97 a share.

Southwest has experienced steady weekly improvements in domestic leisure bookings, Kelly said, acknowledging the increase in vaccinations and lower hospitalisation rates. The carrier is less exposed to international travel, which has been slower to recover.

“We believe there is significant pent-up demand for leisure travel and are optimistic about summer 2021,” Kelly said.

Southwest expects to stop burning cash by June and forecast cash burn of between $2m to $4m a day in the second quarter, from $13m a day in the first quarter.

It reported first quarter net income of $116m or 19 cents a share, largely thanks to payroll support from the federal government. Revenues fell 52 per cent to $2.05bn.

Shares in American were flat in morning trading, while Southwest shares rose 1.5 per cent.

Gov. Atiku Bagudu says his administration has secured a 70 million dollar World Bank Grant to strengthen Adolescent Girl-Child Education.
Bagudu disclosed this at the 5th Kebbi State Women Ramadan Lecture Series held in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital on Saturday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Theme of the lecture is: “The Fundamental Role of Women in Islam.”
Bagudu said with the grant, women in the state, especially adolescent girls would be taught more skills, coupled with both formal and non-formal education.
The governor also stated that such skills would enable the girls to be more productive and self reliant, even in their matrimonial homes.
Bagudu said: “The good news is that the more we invest in women, the more prosperous our society will be.
“The grant will complement the various programmes and policies aimed at making life better for the girl-child, women and other vulnerable groups in the state.”
Bagudu stressed the need to legislate and appropriate more money for Girl-Child Education and other related welfare schemes.
The governor noted that women must be supported to play their societal roles, just as it has been ordained by the Almighty Allah.
He observed that women play key roles in the routine running of the society, apart from their respective family responsibilities.
“If we religiously heed to the various Islamic injunctions as regards our entire lives and family bonds, we will live in a healthier, safe and peaceful society.
“Our various families, diligently anchored by our wives, mothers and daughters will be able to surmount all the formidable challenges and survive any economic turbulence,” he added.
Bagudu commended the convener of the lectures and First Lady, Dr Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu and the other active collaborators for making the event a huge success.
On her part, Shinkafi-Bagudu said successes of Ramadan period depends on women contribution not just to their homes but to the society at large.
The governor’s wife extolled the efforts of husbands, fathers, sons and brothers for supporting the family.
“We must also appreciate the tireless efforts of our husbands, fathers, sons and brothers, especially during this month where we seek Allah’s blessings and reward.
“As Muslim women, we contribute a lot to not just our homes but to the society at large and a huge part of the successes of Ramadan period depends on us.
“That means, we can do more to ease the month for many who may not be as blessed as some,” she said.
Earlier, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zara’u Wali commended the governor’s wife for organising the lecture.
She also commended Gov. Bagudu for giving favourable and enabling environment for women in Kebbi State to achieve their potentialities.
Speakers who spoke at the event included; Sheikh Abubakar Giro, represented by Dr Attahiru Ahmad-Sifawa, Dr Isma’il Mufti-Menk who joined virtually with Sister Na’ima Robert and Dr Jabir Maihula.
Tooic discussed include Innovative Islamic Ways of Management in COVID-19 Era, Family Obligation of Wives in Times of Economic Hardship and Curbing Gender Based Violence.
The lecture was attended by former Speaker House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole and Speaker, Kebbi State House of Assembly, Samaila AbdulMuminu-Kamba and other top government officials.