The Kaduna State Government has confirmed five deaths following Lassa Fever outbreak in the state. The confirmation is in a report on the outbreak of the disease made available by the state’s Commissioner for Health, Hajiya Umma Ahmed, on Tuesday in Kaduna. She stated that an initial six samples were collected to confirm the outbreak, followed by another six samples from contacts, which were sent to Bayero University Kano for analysis, “with a 24-28 hours turnaround time for the result.” She indicated that the index case was a 26-year-old youth corps member who took ill on Feb. 9, presented at…
Author: Editor
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called upon the Federal Government to urgently confront the prevalent issues of hunger and economic hardship gripping the nation. The President of the NLC, Mr. Joe Ajaero, said this while speaking to workers during a peaceful protest that commenced from the organization’s headquarters and culminated at the National Assembly on Tuesday in Abuja. The protesting workers carried placards with inscriptions such as: “End hunger and poverty’, “Reject IMF/World Bank policies,” End Naira devaluation, support local production”. “Stop the profligacy in government, subsidise the poor’, “Fix local refineries, end subsidy’,” Remove tax on drugs, our…
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Tuesday increased the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by 400 basis points to 22.75 per cent from 18.75 per cent. The CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, who chairs the MPC, announced the committee’s decisions on Tuesday after the meeting. Cardoso said that the asymmetric corridor around the MPR was adjusted to +100 – 700 basis points from + 100 -300 basis points. ALSO READ: NNPC official charged by FBI over $2.1m bribes “The Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) was increased from 32.5 percent to 45 percent, while the Liquidity Ratio…
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday said the decision to remove petroleum subsidy was a challenging one, but a necessary step to secure long term energy security and foster economic growth for the country. The president said this while officially opening the 7th edition of the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES 2024) at the State Banquet Hall, Aso Villa, Abuja. The summit has as its theme, “Navigating the New Energy World Order: Security, Transition, and Finance.” Tinubu said to mitigate short-term effects of petroleum subsidy removal on the vulnerable population, his administration was committed to implementing social intervention programmes. Tinubu, represented…
In a recent report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in Abuja on Tuesday, it has been revealed that various essential food items experienced a notable surge in prices during January 2024. The report highlighted significant increases in the prices of beef, rice, beans, onions, tomatoes, and other food commodities compared to the same period last year. According to the NBS’s Selected Food Prices Watch report for January 2024, the average price of boneless beef skyrocketed by 37.08 percent, reaching N3,315.78 per kilogram, compared to N2,418.91 recorded in January 2023. On a month-on-month basis, the price of boneless…
An environmental health expert, Mrs Veronica Augustine, has called on Nigerians to adopt safely managed sanitation practices to reduce health risks associated with poor hygiene. ASHENEWS reports that environmental hygiene refers to maintaining and promoting cleanliness and health in the surroundings where people live and work. It involves various measures and actions to prevent the spread of diseases, minimize health risks, and create a safe and healthy environment. Augustine said in Abuja on Tuesday that poor hygiene practices posed health risks affecting both individuals and communities. She highlighted the crucial components of safely managed hygiene, including ending open defecation, improved sanitation…
The Kaduna State Government on Monday tasked pregnant women in the state to always demand for free Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS), during their antenatal care sessions. The MMS is an approach to improve the quality of nutrition care for mothers and prevent low birth weight. The Nutrition Focal Person of Kaduna North Local Government Area, Furera Aliyu, made the call at a town hall meeting on the reduction of anaemia using MMS. The meeting was organised by an NGO, Civil Society-Scaling up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN). Aliyu stated that it was important that women take the supplement as prescribed for…
The Federal Government has announced plans to implement a nationwide derivatization framework aimed at combating the persistent recurrence of Lassa fever in states affected by annual outbreaks. Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Monday, the Minister of State for Environment, Iziaq Salako, revealed the government’s strategy to address the outbreak of Acute Viral Hemorrhagic Fever (VHF), suspected to be Lassa Fever, at the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital in Kaduna. The briefing is tagged “Health Pillar Towards Mitigation, Prevention, and Control of Lassa Fever in Nigeria”. Sadako said the ministry in response to the outbreak, had constituted a…
Tabitha Cumi Foundation (TCF) says 2,100 girls and boys between ages 15 and 25 from Lagos, Ebonyi, and Benue States are engaged in Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) prevention, response, and referral pathway. Its Executive Director of the Foundation, Mrs Tayo Erinle, stated this on Monday at the close out of the first phase of the one-year Scale ENGAGE-Her Project in Abuja. Erinle said the project was implemented under the Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE) Nigeria funded by USAID and implemented by Palladium and the Tabitha Cumi Foundation. “We have worked with 2,100 beneficiaries not just girls but…
The Federal Government has described Sugar- Sweetened Beverages (SSBs) tax as most effective way of reducing excessive consumption of SSBs and incidences of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) The Director, Public Heath Department, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Chukuma Anyaike, said this in Abuja on Monday at the Public Presentation of the Simulation Study of the Potential Fiscal and Public Health Effects of SSB tax in Nigeria Anyaike defines Sugar-Sweetened Beverages as drinks that contain natural or added sweeteners which include various forms of sugars such as brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, glucose, high fructose corn…