The Kaduna State Ministry of Health has commenced a two-day residential workshop on the HOPE Project and the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII). Speaking at the opening session, the Commissioner for Health, Umma K. Ahmed, said the state had continued to align national health reforms with sub-national priorities, recording notable achievements during the 2024–2025 implementation period. She listed the achievements to include the upgrade and rehabilitation of 15 general hospitals, improved emergency obstetric and newborn care, strengthened referral systems, deployment of ambulances for obstetric emergencies, and improved welfare and motivation of health workers. The commissioner commended the…
Author: Newsdesk
A Nigerian doctor, Dr Omolara Olagunju, has advised Nigerians to adopt healthy daily habits to reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Olagunju, a paediatrician, gave the advice in Abuja at the inauguration of her foundation, the Nuparadigm Health Foundation. She described NCDs as some of the deadliest diseases affecting Nigerians, noting that conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases pose a growing threat to public health. According to her, the increasing burden of NCDs underscores the need for widespread access to accurate and essential health information. She said the foundation was established based on her interactions with…
The Lagos State Government has ordered an investigation into the alleged medical negligence that reportedly led to the death of Nkanu Nnamdi, the 21-month-old son of renowned Nigerian author, Chimamanda Adichie, at a private hospital in Lagos. Ashenews had reported on Thursday that the toddler, one of Adichie’s twin sons, died after a brief illness. Adichie, in a statement on Saturday, alleged that her son’s death resulted from what she described as “criminal negligence,” accusing the anaesthesiologist involved of being “criminally negligent, fatally casual, and careless with the precious life of a child.” According to the author, the child initially showed symptoms…
Iran has warned the US against an attack on its soil, saying US military and Israel will be “legitimate targets” if America strikes the Islamic Republic. Following an urgently-convened Parliament session on Sunday, Iran’s Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, made the remark as lawmakers rushed the dais in the Iranian parliament, shouting: “Death to America!” Threats by US President Donald Trump have been coming in thick and fast of possible strikes on Iran if it kills more protesters even as demonstrations swelled in Tehran and other parts of the country against the theocratic regime, ailing economy, and falling currency. The…
Rwanda has retained its position as Africa’s most business-friendly economy, according to the Business Ready 2025 (B-Ready) report released in late December 2025 by the World Bank. The findings underline the country’s continued reform momentum as African governments face growing pressure to attract investment and create jobs for rapidly expanding populations. B-Ready 2025 is the second edition of the World Bank’s new business environment assessment, introduced after the suspension of the Doing Business index in 2021 following data irregularities uncovered in the 2018 and 2020 reports. The revamped framework is designed to provide a more credible, comprehensive and policy-relevant view of how economies…
Fellows of the National Health Fellowship Programme (NHFP) have said that lasting adolescent changes begin with the empowerment of boys and girls. A fellow representing NHFP Calabar Municipality, Ms Catherine Modey, said this on Saturday, during a courtesy visit to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Cross River Council. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NHFP is an initiative of the Federal Government designed to strengthen Nigeria’s health sector by training young professionals nationwide. Modey said that their interventions aim at sustaining community development, through partnerships with government institutions, communities and the media. She said that ongoing engagements…
A Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Calabar (Unical), Ofem Enang, on Saturday unveiled plan to reform the Nigeria medical profession for better service delivery. Enang unveiled the plan in Calabar, while formally declaring his intention to lead the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) at the national level before doctors in the state. He said that the profession has been battered by poor welfare, insecurity, mass emigration, eroded earnings, and broken agreements by the government. According to him, the Nigerian medical profession has reached a breaking point. It is in view of this, that today I am unveiling an…
The United States Department of Agriculture has ordered the immediate suspension of more than $129.18 million in federal funding to the State of Minnesota and the City of Minneapolis, citing allegations of “widespread and systemic fraud” and failures in safeguarding taxpayer funds. In a letter dated January 9, 2026, addressed to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, USDA Secretary Brooke L. Rollins said the decision followed years of alleged fraud and mismanagement in federal benefit programmes administered in the state. “It is my responsibility as Secretary of Agriculture to ensure sound stewardship of taxpayer dollars by eliminating…
Africa has recorded more than 61,383 mpox cases and 296 deaths across 32 countries since early 2024, as continent-wide efforts to develop effective treatment options gather momentum. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) disclosed this in a statement made available to reporters on Saturday in Abuja. The statement followed the announcement of a collaboration between Emergent BioSolutions and the Pandemic Preparedness Platform for Health and Emerging Infections Response (PANTHER) to provide additional financial support for the Africa CDC-led Mpox Study in Africa (MOSA). The MOSA initiative, launched in 2024, is a double-blind, platform-adaptive clinical trial designed…
The Federal Government has directed the immediate enforcement of the “No Work, No Pay” policy against members of the Joint Health Sector Unions and the Assembly of Health Care Professionals (JOHESU) participating in the ongoing strike. The directive is contained in a circular issued by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMoHSW) on Saturday in Abuja. The circular, addressed to Chief Medical Directors and Medical Directors of federal health institutions, was dated Jan. 8 and signed by the Director of Hospital Services, Dr Disu Adejoke, on behalf of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare. It stated…