WHO

Nigeria’s total trade hits N11.722bn in Q4 2022

Nigeria’s total trade hits N11.722bn in Q4 2022

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Nigeria’s total merchandise trade stood at N11,722.44 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022. This is according to the NBS Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics Report for Q4 2022 released in Abuja on Friday. The NBS said total exports stood at N6,359.61 billion and total imports stood at N5,362.83 billion. The report said on an annual basis, total trade was N52,387.30 billion, total imports amounted to N25,590.55 billion, and total exports were recorded at N26,796.75 billion. It said total exports increased in Q4 2022 by 7.17 per cent and 10.28 per cent when…
Read More
FACTSHEET: What you should know about the diphtheria outbreak in Nigeria

FACTSHEET: What you should know about the diphtheria outbreak in Nigeria

An outbreak of diphtheria, a serious disease that is especially harmful to children, has been confirmed in Nigeria. But what is diphtheria, and what leads to its spread? The agency that tackles public health emergencies in Nigeria has raised the alarm over an outbreak of diphtheria, a serious bacterial infection. In an advisory on 20 January 2023, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said it was monitoring cases in four states, where all 123 cases so far have been confirmed. As of 22 January these states were Kano (with an outbreak of 100 cases), Yobe (17), Lagos (5) and…
Read More
Report:  34 States fail to meet the 15% adequate health funding benchmark between 2020 and 2022

Report: 34 States fail to meet the 15% adequate health funding benchmark between 2020 and 2022

Nigeria's health budget as a percentage of the total budget is declining Public health allocations by state governments per person have fallen from $10.8 per person in 2020 to $8.5 per person in 2022 By Daniel Adaji Federal and several state governments in Nigeria continue to fall short of the 15 percent continental health funding benchmark for African countries, despite the threats of the COVID pandemic, healthcare challenges, and poor health outcomes in the country. A new health report released today by The ONE Campaign revealed this. Nigeria continue to fall short of the 15 percent continental health funding benchmark…
Read More
Oversight: Zulum shows up 10pm at Bama hospital

Oversight: Zulum shows up 10pm at Bama hospital

… Demands to know hospital’s problems … To spend days in Bama for humanitarian activities By Daniel Adaji Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, on Monday night showed up unannounced at the General Hospital in Bama for on-the-spot monitoring of healthcare services’ delivery to the public. Professor Zulum visited the hospital at 10pm, not long after arriving Bama town by road from Maiduguri. The governor has since formed the habit of paying surprise visits at night to general hospitals and primary healthcare centres while he goes to schools early mornings and at other times to observe quality of public…
Read More
‘Buhari welcomes cooperation on vaccine production’

‘Buhari welcomes cooperation on vaccine production’

By Daniel Adaji President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday in Abuja welcomed the exploratory interactions, between Nigerian biomedical scientists, officials of the Federal Ministry of Health and BioNTech company, to support the production of messenger RNA vaccines in Nigeria. The President met wit Mr. Holm Kellerh , the Executive Chairman of KENUP Foundation and representative of the CEO of BioNTech, the mRNA vaccine patent holder, in Africa. The President expressed confidence that the interactions between the parties would be productive, leading to collaborations at many levels, from clinical trials to research and development of new vaccines and eventually support vaccine manufacturing facilities…
Read More
Media aides mark Zulum’s 53rd birthday with “3rd Verdict”

Media aides mark Zulum’s 53rd birthday with “3rd Verdict”

By Daniel Adaji Media aides, alongside social media associates, on Thursday unveiled a compendium, the 3rd Verdict, to celebrate the 53rd birthday of Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum. The compendium’s Editor-in-Chief, who is also the Governor’s Adviser on Public Relations and Strategy, Malam Isa Gusau, announced the unveiling via a statement. Gusau explained that the 3rd Verdict is a compendium of published news reports and analysis, features, columns, commentaries, discourses, editorials, selected speeches and updated scorecard in the third year of Governor Zulum’s administration, from May 29, 2021 to May 29, 2022. The 3rd Verdict came after two…
Read More
Nigeria will Save N2 trillion from Malaria Elimination – Buhari

Nigeria will Save N2 trillion from Malaria Elimination – Buhari

By Daniel Adaji President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday in Abuja inaugurated Nigeria End Malaria Council (NEMC), projecting that the successful implementation of the Council’s agenda and savings from the estimated economic burden of the disease would save Nigeria about N687 billion in 2022 and N2 trillion by 2030. The President told the 16-member Council headed by the founder and president of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, that beyond improving the quality of life, health and well-being of Nigerians, the concerted strategy to tackle malaria had both public health as well as socio-economic benefits for Nigeria. ‘‘Our inauguration today will therefore ensure…
Read More
Africa’s women, children and adolescents are being completely left behind  And the pandemic is making this even worse

Africa’s women, children and adolescents are being completely left behind And the pandemic is making this even worse

We must do so much more to support Africa’s most vulnerable women, children and adolescents, write Helen Clark, Board Chair of PMNCH and former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Githinji Gitahi, Group CEO of Amref Health Africa and Co-Chair of PMNCH Strategic Advocacy Committee. At Kyangwali refugee settlement in Uganda, Furaha is surrounded by her six children and relieved to be alive. While giving birth prematurely to her youngest, she feared she would die, leaving her children as orphans. “It was a real problem, the way I delivered Salama, because I almost lost my life…
Read More
In Nigeria, African researchers blaze a trail in virus fight

In Nigeria, African researchers blaze a trail in virus fight

"Strong people don't put others down -- they lift them up." So says the discreet sign at the entrance to one of the most remarkable research facilities in Africa. Run by a Cameroon-raised, Harvard-trained molecular biologist, the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID) has been at the forefront in the fight of killer diseases such as Ebola, Lassa fever -- and now COVID-19. The force behind the lab is Professor Christian Happi, who has a steely belief in catapulting young African scientists to the top of scientific research. "As long as Africa fails to make intellectual…
Read More
My Covid-19 experience, by a journalist

My Covid-19 experience, by a journalist

A journalist, Kabir Anwar, is the index case of Covid-19 in Yola, Adamawa State, where he works. In this short interview, Anwar tells his story from how he was infected to when he tested negative.   What ailment were you treating before you tested positive to Covid-19? Cough, fever, body weakness, I also had shortness of breath before then which I did not treat.    Did you move close to VIPs in Kano before you took ill? What kinds of VIP? No I did not have contact with VIPs when in Kano.   How did you manage the ailment for…
Read More
10 Takeaway from Buhari’s second speech on Covid-19

10 Takeaway from Buhari’s second speech on Covid-19

 92% of all identified contacts with Covid-19 positive persons has been identified. Testing capacity doubled – 1,500 tests could be conducted daily 7,000 health care workers trained in ‘infection prevention and control’ Health care workers across all the treatment centers have been provided with the personal protective equipment NCDC team deployed in 19 out of 36 states. Special focus will be on Abuja and Lagos Isolation facilities are being provided at airports, Abuja, Lagos, and some states. Quarantine Order will be signed into law soon Policy on Economy under Covid-19 to be worked out by ministers. Governors will now be…
Read More