Unhealthy commodities (including ultra-processed foods, soft drinks, tobacco and alcohol) are important risk factors for many chronic noncommunicable diseases. 60 to 65% of all deaths globally are caused by noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and diabetes. This amounts to 34.5 million of 52.8 million total deaths (in 2010). The World Health Organization indicates that 80% of heart disease, strokes, and type 2 diabetes could be prevented by eliminating the major risk factors including tobacco, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and excessive alcohol use. Death is not the only consequence of using unhealthy commodities. Noncommunicable diseases…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
Residents of Agoro Community in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa state, Nigeria on Monday berated the poor and slow response to an oil spill from shell’s oilfield in the area. They appealed to the Federal and Bayelsa state governments to come to their aid over the spill as well as compel Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to respond to their plight. The community alleged that several weeks after the spill that destroyed and polluted their farmlands and waterways early in May 2018, Shell had yet to commence clean-up in the impacted areas. The Secretary of Agoro Community Development Committee, Justin…
Nigerian Government says it would commence artificial insemination of cattle at its different research institutes and centres to aid multiplication of cows and increase milk production in the country. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh said while speaking with youths at a ‘Leadership Clinic’ organised by the Guardians of the Nation International (GOTNI) in Abuja that the move would kick-start a programme known as ‘Milk River Project’ which the government was planning to launch soon. He said the insemination would require the importation of semen from countries like Europe and Brazil to inject into local cows to…
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN)says there has been a drop in the electricity generated into the national grid by a total of 1,087.6Mega Watts of Power. According to a statement by Mrs Ndidi Mbah TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs in Abuja on Sunday, the drop in electricity generated into the national grid was resulting in load shedding nationwide. TCN said the load shedding was necessary to maintain stability of the grid. According toTCN, the sharp drop of power generated was occasioned by gas pipeline rupture on June 15, and technical issues at the Shell gas wells on June 16.…
Chinese researchers have identified a gene that may cause neurological disorders. Primary familial brain calcification (PFBC) is a neurological disease, with high incidence among the elderly, while symptoms include difficulty in walking and speaking. The study was done by researchers from the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, the Institute of Neuroscience and State Key Neuroscience Laboratory, the latter two with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. They identified a new causal gene, MYORG, which encodes a protein composed of 714 amino acids. After experiments on mice, the gene was found to be recessive, while other known PFBC genes are…
Children in UK have consumed more than a year’s worth of sugar in less than six months, public health figures showed. While four-to-ten-year-olds should not have more than the equivalent of five to six sugar cubes per day, they are consuming 13 on average, according to data from the latest National Diet and Nutrition Survey. This means children will have around 4,760 cubes of sugar by the end of the year — more than double the maximum recommendation. Too much sugar is blamed for high obesity rates in children and dental decay. The British Department for Health agency is urging…
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Sunday called on the Federal Government to establish a national institute for the promotion of herbal medicine in Nigeria. The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof Moji Adeyeye made the call in an interview with a correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. He explained that traditional medicine was too important to be ignored in the healing process and promotion of healthy living. She said that several meetings had been held with stakeholders on how to promote herbal medicine in the country. “Government should support the idea…
A cardiologist with the College of Medicine, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Prof. Janet Ajuluchukwu says men have more heart problems than women with death rates doubling after age 40. Ajuluchukwu made this assertion while speaking in an interview on Saturday in Lagos. The professor said researches carried out proved that many men do not go to the hospital until too late and with late diagnosis, they were more prone to heart problems. The cardiologist stressed the need for men to go for regular checkups because conditions such as hypertension do not come with obvious signs. “Right now, my…
An outbreak of measles in Romania has killed dozens of infants and children, with 200 new cases reported each week. Doctors say the surge in the disease is fueled by the country’s low rate of vaccination. Some Romanian celebrities have waged media campaigns warning about the perils of immunization, and local superstitions such as keeping the vaccine-preventable disease at bay with cabbage juice or not cleaning one’s house have also exasperated doctors. Some doctors also complain they don’t have sufficient stocks of vaccines. Some 13,700 people in Romania have contracted measles since the epidemic began in 2016, and 55 have…
Kenya is one step away from commercializing Bt cotton following the commencement of National Performance Trials (NPTs) to identify suitable varieties for different agro-ecological zones. This comes after the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) granted an Environmental Impact Assessment license to Kenya Agricultural Livestock and Fisheries Organization (KALRO) to undertake the trials.The planting began on June 11, 2018 in Kisumu, western Kenya, with KALRO’s Bt cotton Principal Investigator, Dr. Charles Waturu, presiding over the event. The NPTs will be carried out in seven sites spread across six counties. GM cotton planting is a significant move in the revitalization of textiles…