The World Health Organization (WHO) has appointed Dr Vanessa Kerry as its Director-General’s Special Envoy for Health Resilience. The organisation, which made this known on Wednesday in a statement, said Kerry would promote resilient, integrated and sustainably financed health systems capable of addressing everyday health challenges and emerging threats. “Her mandate will cover climate change, health emergencies and other complex global challenges affecting health systems and communities worldwide. “The appointment builds on Kerry’s previous role as WHO’s first Director-General Special Envoy for Climate Change and Health,” it said. It quoted WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus as saying the appointment represented…
Author: Newsdesk
Australia is set to introduce legislation that would give social media users the option to switch off algorithms that determine the content displayed on their feeds. The move underscores the growing concern over virtually unrestricted social media consumption, with increasing calls for individuals to take control of what they are exposed to on digital platforms. Australia’s Communications Minister Anika Wells said the proposed digital duty of care laws would provide basic safety protections for Australians using social media platforms, according to a BBC report. Wells, who led the government’s world-first social media ban for under-16s introduced last year, said technology…
The former National President of the Islamic Medical Association of Nigeria (IMAN), Prof. Ibrahim Oreagba, has said Islam permits medical interventions for health reasons. He, however, said the religion discourages cosmetic body enhancement procedures performed purely for vanity. In an interview with reporters in Ilorin on Tuesday, Oreagba said Islamic jurisprudence draws a clear line between treatment, reconstruction and unnecessary alteration of Allah’s creation. Oreagba, who teaches in the Department of Pharmacology, Therapeutics and Toxicology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, explained that Islam places a high premium on the preservation of health and dignity of the human body. According…
Following the recent increase in the price of beans, traders and consumers in Lagos State have started seeking alternatives to the staple food and protein source. They expressed concern over the impact of the price hike in separate interviews with reporters on Wednesday in Lagos. NAN reports that the price of a cup of beans, which sold for about N800 in early April, rose to between N1,200 and N1,300 in August. The increase has forced some consumers to reduce their consumption of beans, while traders who depend on the produce for their businesses are also struggling with rising costs. A…
A medical expert, Dr Esther Ekundayo, has advised Nigerians to pay attention to persistent fever, pain and non-healing wounds, warning that they could indicate osteomyelitis, a serious bone infection requiring prompt treatment. Ekundayo, a Senior Medical Officer at Karu General Hospital, Abuja, gave the advice in an interview with reporters on Wednesday, emphasising that the symptoms are often overlooked. She explained that osteomyelitis can initially present with signs commonly mistaken for minor illnesses, delaying diagnosis and treatment and allowing the infection to spread and cause significant damage to the affected bones. According to her, bacteria or fungi from infected wounds…
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted cloudy and thundery weather conditions across the country from Wednesday to Friday. In its weather outlook released in Abuja, NiMet forecast patches of clouds over the northern region on Wednesday, with prospects of morning thunderstorms accompanied by light rains over parts of Taraba and Kebbi. The agency predicted isolated thunderstorms accompanied by moderate rains over parts of Taraba, Borno, Yobe, Bauchi, Sokoto, Katsina, Zamfara, Jigawa, Kano and Kaduna states later in the day. “For the North-Central region, thunderstorms accompanied by light rains are expected over parts of Nasarawa, Niger, Benue and the Federal…
The Kogi State Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE), a World Bank-assisted programme, has commenced training of school principals and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) focal persons across the state. The Programme Focal Officer, Mr James Peter, said the training was part of measures to prevent sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment in schools. In a statement, Peter said the training would be conducted across the three senatorial districts. He said it was designed to strengthen the capacity of participants to prevent, identify and appropriately respond to GBV and Sexual Exploitation and Abuse/Sexual Harassment (SEA/SH). According to him, the training also…
A researcher and food safety expert, Dr Nurah Oseni, on Tuesday urged regulatory bodies to ensure the regulation of all palm oil sold in Nigerian markets. Oseni, also a lecturer at the Food Technology Department, Auchi Polytechnic, Edo, made the call in an interview with reporters in Lagos. Oseni spoke on the sidelines of the Fourth Lagos State Food Safety Conference and Exhibition. The event, with the theme “From Burden to Solutions – Safe Food Everywhere”, was organised by the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency in Ikeja. “If bread and bottled water can be regulated, palm oil can also be…
The Delta Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr Val Arenyeka, says the LIFE-ND agribusiness incubation model is yielding tangible results. Arenyeka stated this on Tuesday in Asaba at the pre-wrap-up meeting of the Sixth Joint Supervision Mission of IFAD and LIFE-ND stakeholders. The mission assessed progress and challenges in implementing the project across nine participating states in the Niger Delta region. He described the annual supervision exercise as a welcome development, adding that it provided an opportunity to assess the project’s achievements and challenges. Arenyeka said LIFE-ND was one of the major interventionist agricultural programmes implemented in the participating…
The Kwara State Fadama-Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus (CARES) Programme has pledged collaboration with the All Farmers’ Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in the area of agricultural inputs and other interventions. The State Project Coordinator, Dr Busari Isiaka, gave the assurance on Tuesday while receiving the new state executive of AFAN in his office in Ilorin. Busari said the meeting was aimed at deepening farmers’ participation in agricultural development and ensuring that project interventions reach the grassroots. He congratulated the new AFAN leadership on its inauguration and urged members to promote unity and work with other agricultural organisations, including…