The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Mobile Court on Wednesday tried and convicted two Lebanese, others for contravening the Covid-19 protocols.
The court equally ordered for the seal up of New Yorker Nightclub and Lounge, located in Maitama District of Abuja, for allegedly operating within prohibited and curfew hours, in contravention of the COVID-19 regulation.
The court sitting at the Eagles Square presided over by Magistrate Idayat Akanni, also ordered for seal up of Agape Nightclub and lounge, Wuse II, for the period of one week.
The defualters include: Wassim Soofau and Fawaz Ali, who are Lebanese and operators of New Yorker NightClub; and Adeniran Matthew and Julius Inanemoh, staff of Agape Nightclub respectively .
The two Lebanese, however feigned ignorance of the prohibition on operations of social activities outside working hours while those of the Agape nightclub pleaded not guilty to the allegations against them.
However, the Magistrate, found them guilty and sentenced them to payment of fine in the tune N10,000 each, for conducting business and engaging in social gathering within the premises of the nightclubs, during prohibited period.
According to the judge, both the sentences and seal up orders are to serve as deterrent to others in the society.
Our reporter gathered that the defaulters found guilty, were apprehended by the FCT COVID-19 enforcement team for opening up their business and engaging in social activities within the curfew hours, which is from 10pm to 6am within the FCT.
Similarly , the Chairman of FCT Ministerial Taskforce on COVID -19, Comrade Ikharo Attah, who led his team to enforce the seal up order, said the arrests were made on Tuesday night, during a routine monitoring in the areas.
He disclosed that security personnel stormed the hotel, and discovered that activities there were in contravention of COVID-19 guidelines, thereby leading to arrests of four persons including two Lebanese.
He added that, “when my team visited, we met many people drinking in very large numbers, no face masks, no social distancing. Opening bear parlour alone is contravention. So this morning, we approached the mobile Court and the Judge ruled that the place should be sealed foe one week”
Attah, however, warned nightclubs and bear parlour operators to adhered strictly to Covid-19 protocols and that they are not allowed to open for now because of the alarming increase of new Covid-19 cases, saying, we can’t find our hands and pretend that we are not seeing anything.
For allegedly operating without compliance with established safety protocol for the easing of COVID-19 lockdown, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has threatened to seal up some Guarantee Trust Banks in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
The FCTA on Tuesday issued a twenty-four hour ultimatum to the three affected branches of the bank in Area 3, 11 and Central Business District respectively, so as to enable them put the necessary COVID 19 safety measures in place for their customers.
Chairman , FCT Enforcement Team on COVID-19, Comrade Ikharo Attah issued the warning to the management of the bank in area 3 Abuja during a monitoring exercise.
He , however, lamented that the lives of customers were being endangered at the bank premises without the observance of physical distancing, canopies and chairs for their customers, called for the setting up of hand washing facilities at entry points.
Attah further stated that , ” This particular bank (GTB) is not observing Covid-19 safety protocol at all. There is only one thermometer for this large crowd.
” I have been to this particular branch for more than four times and this bank enjoys large crowd and we are happy for them.
“Not organizing for its customers to sit and wait. There was no social distancing and most of them are not even wearing facial masks. The bank should provide canopy, chairs, and hand washing points.
He continued; “We are giving them 24 hours to get all all these things in place or risk been sealed. It will not cost up to N100,000.
“Because, they should take the lives of their customers very seriously. Their customers should be treated with utmost dignity. I give them 24 hours”.
It was also observed that some customers who were seen visibly angry over what they described as poor management practices by the bank, alleged that some of the bank staff were favouring some individuals that were not on queue.
Others who decried that they have spent more than 4 hours without getting their cash, also called on the GT bank to open up their branches to avoid large crowds.
The Federal Government has earmarked the sum of N600 billion out of N2.3 trillion to be released to Federal Ministries as intervention funds to cushion the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy.
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc. Olamilenka Adegbite hinted that out of the N600 billion, the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development is to get 6 billion Naira.
Speaking at an session with selected media houses in media in Abuja, Adegbite revealed that his ministry will get “just N6 billion, but our sector is also opportune to take money from the natural resources intervention funds made for the sector, which is also accessible to the water resources sector because what we requested for was more than that.”
The Minister added that , the Federal Government would not spend any money on Ajoakuta anymore, saying, that the project was making a business case
He further hinted that; “President Muhammadu Buhari has stated that the government will not spend any money on Ajoakuta again, so Ajoakuta is making a business case which has been accepted, and once it is resuscitated and producing, it can pay back its loan. So the whole essence is that they will build and operate it for a while upon agreed terms, and at the end of the term when the loan is paid with interest, the plant will be reverted back to Nigeria, and at that time, a decision will be taken on who will manage it.”
Adegbite , however, stressed that, essentially, the project on the collaboration with Ajoakuta is to build, use, operate and transfer with the Russian Government, noting: “President Buhari and President Vladimir Putin sat together at a bilateral meeting and agreed on a government-to-government cooperation to resuscitate Ajoakuta because the Russians built Ajoakuta when they were the Soviet Union in collaboration with the Ukrainians, and that is why we have gone back to them. The whole essence is for them to come here, access the plant and the job to be done, which is what we call a technical audit. The Russian Government will nominate a contractor who will do the job.”
The minister further stated that, “The funding is coming from two sources, the Russian Export Centre, which is a Russian sort of Nexim Bank. They are providing $450million for the project, while the Afrexim bank will provide $1billion. So we have a total of $1.45billion but the whole essence is that the Russian technical experts will come and do the audit which will lead to them giving us an exact figure of how much it will cost to resuscitate Ajoakuta and the National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO)-the two are tied together-and once this is done, of course there will be negotiations, a sum will be agreed and a contract will be formed and that is the basis on which we will proceed.”
Says, Public , Private Hospitals Nationwide To Become Collection Sites.
TOYIN ADEBAYO, ABUJA
Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire has warned health workers against unprofessional disposal of used Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs) in common waste dumps, where scavengers have been seen to pick them up for risky reuse.
He said this is dangerous and a sure pathway to promoting community transmission. Adding that all COVID-19 waste is to be Incinerated.
Ehanire gave this warning on Monday at the Presidential Task Force press briefing on Covid-19, in Abuja.
While adding that, the Ministry of Health planned to boost overall COVID-19 sample collection, by preparing all eligible public and private hospitals nationwide to become collection sites.
According to him, “This will require working with State governments and NPHCDA to identify the facilities and the space within them, to conduct training for the personnel selected and supply both PPEs and sample collection kits, as well as the logistics to go around to recover test samples, and so better utilize available laboratory assets in the country, which even now are capable of handling far more cases than they presently do. If logistics around sample collection and delivery to test sites are better organized, a lot more will be achieved. However, the more we test, the more confirmed cases we shall find, of which the vulnerable will have to be prioritized for admission to treatment centers, even if they are not yet showing symptoms. States will be encouraged to use all opportunities to isolate other asymptomatic cases who may not qualify for supervised self Isolation, for the period they are deemed to be infectious or are at risk of infecting the vulnerable. It will also mean scaling up treatment and Isolation centers in states and the logistics for managing them.
“As of today 6th of July 2020, Nigeria has recorded a total of 28,711 confirmed COVID-19 cases, out of 152,952 tests conducted, of which 11,665 have been treated successfully and discharged. We have regrettably recorded 645 fatalities.
“Taking the statistics of the month of June alone, a total of 15,532 cases were confirmed from 74,580 tests, with 303 deaths on record. This means that just under half of the total fatalities so far recorded, occurred in the single month of June; while we more than doubled the tests done and the number of cases detected. The reduction in case fatality rate is down to about 2.2%, in line with our plan, going forward. But it also draws our attention to the speed with which COVID-19 is growing, the time it took to double itself, and the reminder that we need to improve on our responses, to continue to strive for the best and prepare for worse”, he said.
Speaking on the petitions and reports available to him, Ehanire appealed to citizens, especially those Covid-19 positive who feel no symptoms at all, not to take invitation to treatment centers as persecution, but to cooperate with health officials and understand that measures taken are protective and in the interest of all of us.
He further stated that, a strong 17 man team of the Federal Ministry of Health, led by the Executive Director of National Primary Health Development Agency, left Abuja for Calabar this morning to engage with the Cross River State government in setting up their covid19 response and aligning it with the national response. Agencies and many departments of the Ministry of Health, like NCDC, Hospital Services, Family Health, are represented in the delegation, to ensure the appropriate technical handshake between Federal and State service delivery pillars and also ensure that the disruption of routine medical services, which has been observed in many States, is minimized or eliminated in CRS. We have also called on the CRS NMA to suspend their strike action and receive the Ministry’s delegation. At the request of His Excellency the Governor of CRS, a senior Immigration officer is on Board to study the border challenges with Cameroon, as well as a Port Health officer to assess risks posed by sea travelers arriving CRS ports particularly from neighboring Central African countries of Congo, Gabon, Cameroon Angola etc. CRS is known to be a producer of various PPEs, including masks, for which the Governor wants SON endorsement, to have access to patronage.
With regard to Kogi, he hinted that, arrangements are under way to beef up security at FMC Medical Center Lokoja for protection of staff and patients. The Federal government will do all it can to attend to the needs of the citizens, while we seek ways to engage the State authorities.
Ehanire stated that the unfortunate figures on COVID-19 we see in other countries every day are sobering and must instruct us, that it is not the way we want to go. To protect ourselves more, I must advise citizens again that it is not enough to ask “what is government doing”? The question now is also, “what are you doing”? Whether as communities, associations or individuals, we are all in this together. It is not the Federal Government alone. This novel virus is highly contagious and if we do not cooperate and sacrifice, if we refuse to get treatment and decide to infect others, we could be responsible for some cases leading to death.
He added that, the Federal Government through the NCDC has launched an E-Learning platform on Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) for healthcare workers. We urge them to utilize it, but shall also refocus on training states with high health workers infection. Infection rates in our treatment centres have however reduced overall. PPEs have been distributed to health facilities in good numbers and the use is being monitored to reduce wastage. I urge our health workers to ensure appropriate use. I also remind everyone that Covid19 treatment facilities not accredited by the responsible State or FCT accreditation committee are illegal and risky.
The World Health Organisation (WHO), has revealed that COVID-19 infections in Africa today (Wednesday), surpassed 500 000, and there is concern as a growing number of countries are experiencing a sharp rise in cases.
Saying, it said in less than five months, the virus has claimed 11, 959 lives, overtaking the 11 308 lives lost in the world’s worst Ebola outbreak in West Africa between 2014 and 2016.
WHO added that cases have more than doubled in 22 countries in the region over the past month, saying nearly two-thirds of countries are experiencing community transmission.
It said Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa account for about 71% of COVID-19 cases, adding that South Africa alone accounts for 43% of the continent’s total cases.
However, the accelerating growth trend is not uniform across the continent, with some countries recording a steady rise in cases, indicating a protracted pandemic.
“Eritrea, Gambia, Mali, Seychelles and Togo are witnessing long doubling times and low growth rates. Seychelles had not experienced a case in nearly two months, but in the past week had dozens of new imported cases, linked to crew members of an international fishing vessel. There are also some signs of progress as 10 countries have experienced a downward trend over the past month. Although Egypt accounts for 15 percent of cumulative cases, it has seen a decline in the past week”, WHO said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti said, “With more than a third of countries in Africa doubling their cases over the past month, the threat of COVID-19 overwhelming fragile health systems on the continent is escalating.
“So far the continent has avoided disaster and if countries continue to strengthen key public health measures such as testing, tracing contacts and isolating cases, we can slow down the spread of the virus to a manageable level.”
Eighty-eight per cent of COVID-19 infections are among people aged 60 and below, likely due to Africa’s relatively young population. However, the likelihood of dying from COVID-19 rises with increasing age and the existence of co-morbidities, with the risk of death among patients aged 60 years and above being 10 times higher compared with those below 60.
Also, the WHO Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, added that, “Communities across the continent have a crucial role to play in controlling the pandemic, especially as countries begin easing lockdowns and opening up their borders”
“As governments continue to implement public health measures, individuals must remain as cautious and vigilant as ever to protect themselves, their families, and their communities. Hand washing, mask use, physical distancing and other preventative measures are key to controlling transmission, saving lives, and ensuring that already overwhelmed health systems are not stretched to breaking point.”
The organization said as COVID-19 continues to spread, thousands of health workers have also fallen ill, saying equipping and protecting health workers is one of the central pillars of the COVID-19 response.
WHO is working to support countries respond to COVID-19 by providing technical guidance, crucial medical equipment and has remotely trained more than 25 000 health workers.
WHO has also organized more than 420 shipments of key equipment, including more than 3000 oxygen concentrators, 23 000 GeneXpert diagnostic testing machines and almost 4 million pieces of personal protective equipment for health care workers.
Within the framework of the ECOWAS-UNESCO Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the UNESCO Regional Director, Yao Ydo and the ECOWAS Commissioner for Education, Science and Culture, Leopoldo Amado signed a joint statement on 3rd July 2020, for a joint response to COVID-19 in West African countries.
The response, they say is in line with UNESCO’s mission of contributing to the building of a culture of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue, and the mandate of ECOWAS to promote socio-economic integration and development in all its Member States.
Conscious of the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on health, education, socio-cultural and economic activities of all 15 member-states of ECOWAS, the two entities have developed a joint work plan of interventions to mitigate the effects of the pandemic.
The strategic work plan with clear expected results for the immediate and long terms includes programmes in the fields of education, science and culture.
It includes capacity building interventions to ensure continuity of learning during the pandemic and training in pedagogical and administrative reforms for the reopening of schools in post COVID-19; assistance in strengthening Science Technology and Innovation (STI) Systems; and support for the promotion of cultural heritage and artistic expressions.
UNESCO and ECOWAS, have pooled financial and technical resources for the actualization of the joint response. Both institutions welcome this important step in their cooperation and commit to further strengthening it to ensure the achievement of the regional and global developmental goals in ECOWAS Member States.
Violence against women and girls in Nigeria is a pandemic-sized problem.
Millions live in fear of being abused, assaulted or raped.
Frontline heroes like the doctors, lawyers, social workers and counsellors who deal with the daily casualties of this crisis describe the heartbreak of handling cases of women and girls who have been abused or raped.
These protectors of women and children’s rights persevere in their efforts, even though they know most cases will not be reported, receive support and get justice.
And the cases we know about are only the small tip of a colossal iceberg.
So many women and girls suffer in silence and shame because they are worried about their family’s reaction and social stigma. Like a woman in Sokoto, who was assaulted by her husband whilst in purdah and denied access to critical support; or a woman in Lagos who was raped and impregnated by her neighbor and forced to leave her home for fear of stigmatization. Countless women and girls who are either ostracized or in community seclusion and at risk of violence still need to be reached.
But we are finally seeing a slow shift in attitudes.
Across Nigeria, women and girls are standing up, reporting their cases, and demanding local solutions to the problems of violence, including rape and sexual exploitation.
Cases like Blessing, who is 13 years old and lives in Abuja. Last year she was raped by her neighbor but kept quiet because he threatened to kill her. When she finally told her parents, they pressed charges and the rapist was arrested but released on bail. The rapist lives near the family and threatened her mother to drop the case. But her mother refused to settle and is pursuing justice in the courts.
“I want to be a lawyer because I don’t want other girls like me to go through a similar experience,” Blessing told us. “I want to stand up for them, be there for them and fight for them – that’s why I want to be a lawyer.”
Breaking the silence on violence against women and girls has created a momentum and encouraged more families to come forward and report cases of rape and other forms of violence or abuse. This increase in reporting is ringing alarm bells for clear political action. Nigerian communities and leaders are increasingly coming to terms with the scale of the problem and promising support to find solutions.
These are signs of hope. Even within the COVID-19 pandemic, a proactive culture is developing, whereby community leaders, health and social service providers including the police are working together with unprecedented coordination to implement a zero-tolerance policy for violence against women and girls.
Working together means engaging men and boys to address attitudes that perpetuate violence. Global solidarity campaigns such as HeForShe and #WithHer include men and boys as important allies in the gender equality movement, and in Nigeria, there is a surge of male champions actively and publicly pushing for justice for victims and survivors.
Whilst ending the pandemic of violence against women and girls in Nigeria begins with encouraging more reporting, it is only the first step.
It must also include a comprehensive review of the system from the girl’s and woman’s point of view. Resources and training are needed to improve services so survivors of violence can get free medical care, legal support and long-term counselling and support.
The government has a critical role to play in leading the way, providing the necessary systems and removing the obstacles to accessing services. But the government alone cannot solve this problem – it is the small but momentous changes at the family and community levels – the changes we are starting to see now – that will drive the real change and finally make Nigeria a place that is safe for women and girls.
There is a long way to go before we realize the dream of a Nigeria where women and girls do not live in fear of being abused or raped. We must not squander this moment to make a lasting transformation – for Blessing and for millions of other girls and women like her.
This opinion was signed by Pauline Tallen, Minister of Women Affairs; Peter Hawkins, UNICEF Nigeria Representative; and Comfort Lamptey, UN Women Nigeria Representative.
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has partner with the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the FCT Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 to draw up strategies for the implementation of new sensitization and awareness campaigns in the fight against COVID-19 in the nation’s capital.
The FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello said that the FCT was faced with an even bigger challenge taking into consideration the fact that many residents were in denial about the dangers of the virus and therefore not taking the necessary preventive measures against its spread, hence the need to re-orientate the residents of nation’s capital.
While briefing newsmen in Abuja after the meeting ,the minister said the action becomes imperative to deploy new communication strategies to spread the message in order to contain the dreaded Covid-19 pandemic ravaging the country.
Bella hinted that the earlier partnership with the organized private sector coordinated by the Ministerial Expert Advisory Committee saw the FCT waging a largely successful campaign against COVID-19 with the provision and deployment of adequate bed spaces, palliatives, medical supplies and equipment and personnel.
The Minister, however, this partnership is aimed at re-invigorating the FCTA’s community communication strategies in the bid to save lives and livelihoods.
It was therefore agreed at the meeting that an ad-hoc committee be established to work out new communication strategies to be deployed in this next phase of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
This Committee will be Co-chaired by the DG NOA and Chairman of the Ministerial Expert Advisory Committee and consist of members drawn from the FCTA, the NOA and the Advisory Committee.
The meeting was chaired by the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello with the Director General of the National Orientation Agency, Dr Garba Abari and the Chairman, FCT Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19, Dr Aliyu Modibbo Umar.
Earlier , the Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) Dr. Garba Abari, said that the meeting further brought to the fore the robust partnership between the FCTA and the private sector in the fight against the coronavirus.
He said the new sensitisation strategy to be tentatively known as the COVID-19 New Normal FCT Response intends to go beyond just creating awareness but to begin the process of behavior modification and change of the citizenry. This new strategy he continued is intended to ensure that citizens take personal responsibility for their health.
Abari added, had the experience and expertise to take the new message to the streets, neighborhood, places of worship and traditional institutions and also create an awareness on the nexus that exists between the containment of the disease and personal responsibility. He also said that the NOA possessed the necessary expertise and experience to spread the new message.
In his Comments, the FCT Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19, Dr Aliyu Modibbo Umar said that it was necessary to come up with a coherent communication strategy to reach the people as many of them were not obeying the basic guidelines and protocols put in place by the relevant authorities to prevent the spread of COVI’19. Attachments area
The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire has hinted that , cervical cancer in women is the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide.
He added that, in Nigeria, cancer mortality rate is about 33/100,000 and an estimated 14,089 are diagnosed every year.
This, according to him, implies that, eight out of every ten of them presenting at an advance stage result in a mortality rate of about 25%”.
Adding that a total population of about 200 million people, Nigeria has about 40 million women aged 15 years and older are at risk of developing cervical cancer.
Ehanire gave the hint at a Stakeholders’ Forum on the Elimination of Cervical Cancer in Nigeria, the technical sessions will be very robust and will yield the desired outcomes. I wish you very fruitful deliberations and I thank you for your attention.
He, however, said that the Federal Ministry of Health under my watch is determined to spare no effort in ensuring that the global call for the eradication of cervical cancer by the year 2030 is achieved in Nigeria.
According to him, “Available data indicates that the incidence of cervical cancer in Nigeria is about 33/100,000 and an estimated 14,089 are diagnosed every year, with eight out of every ten of them presenting at an advance stage resulting in a mortality rate of about 25%”.
He further stated that, in order to reverse this trend, we have made efforts to increase our national capacity for prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of precancerous and cancerous lesions of the cervix in Nigeria.
This stakeholders’ forum is timely since it is holding barely one year to the expiration of the National Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Control of Cancer of the Cervix (2017-2021). It is imperative to state that its implementation essentially started after the launch in 2019. The main objective of this meeting is therefore for relevant stakeholders to review the implementation of the strategic plan, identify gaps and recommend ways forward. According to him, the National Strategic Plan for Prevention of Cancer of the Cervix provides a strategic direction for a national response to nib the scourge of cervical cancer in Nigeria in the bud includes; “Guidance on how to increase awareness on cancer of the cervix, screening and prevention, training of health care providers, vaccination against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), treatment of pre-cancerous lesions as well as monitoring and evaluation. It also defines roles and responsibilities of stakeholders and advocates integration of prevention of cancer of the cervix into reproductive health services at the primary health care level”.
In furtherance of the implementation of the plan, the Federal Ministry of Health has taken steps to commence national immunization programme against human papilloma virus (HPV) which is responsible for over 70% of cervical cancer and to increase screening campaigns hitherto conducted at the tertiary hospitals, through some individuals and non-governmental organizations and partners.
Adding, the Federal Ministry of Health conducted a pilot immunization against HPV in 2011 which was one of the requirements for its integration into the National Programme on Immunization. The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has assured me that HPV immunization will be introduced on a national scale in 2021. As a government, we appreciate those of you who have been very active in the area of secondary prevention. I must therefore specially appreciate all our partners in this forum that working tirelessly to increase screening and treatment of precancerous lesions across the country.
He further stated that the Federal Ministry of Health is collaborating with the Clinton Health Access Intiative (CHAI) to scale up secondary prevention of cervical cancer in three states namely: Lagos, Rivers and Kaduna through a Unitaid- funded Programme. This Programme should have commenced in May this year but for the Covid-19 outbreak. I am aware that various partners are implementing the United States Center for Disease Control (US/CDC) funded HIV integrated cervical Cancer screening. This is also commendable.
Furthermore, majority of our tertiary hospitals currently have the capacity to perform PAP smear, colposcopy, biopsy and histopathology services essential for diagnosis of cervical cancer. Electrosurgical excision procedures such as Loop electrosurgical excision procedure/ Large loop excision of transformation zone (LEEP/LLETZ) and cold coagulation are also available in some of our centres, he added.
Ehanire hinted that the government of Nigeria has continued to upgrade Hospitals through budgetary allocation as well as public private partnership (PPP) arrangement to provide equipment such as, Mammography machines, Colposcopes, MRIs, linear Accelerators and other radiotherapy equipment for the provision of specialized treatment of cancers including cancer of the cervix. The Federal Ministry of Health is in a partnership programme with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) to provide quality cancer chemotherapy at over 50% cost reduction. Some of these drugs are also used for the treatment of cervical cancer.
With late presentation and diagnosis of cancer cases, many of these patients may need palliative care. Palliative care is a holistic care and an approach to care given to persons with life limiting disease that focuses on pain and symptom control for patients and family support throughout the course of illness until death and even in their bereavement. In order to address the palliative care need of these patients, I have approved the development of a National Palliative Care Policy and the process has commenced, the Minister added.
The Federal Ministry of Health is engaging several partners towards successful cancer prevention efforts in Nigeria. This stakeholder forum is a product of such partnership. The John Hopkins International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) is facilitating this forum to enable us review the National Strategic Plan for the prevention of cancer of the cervix in Nigeria.
He emphasized that the expectations this forum are the revision of the level of implementation of the strategic objectives, identification of the gaps therein and charting the way forward towards ensuring a cervical cancer free Nigeria.
An Emergency Meeting of the National Council on Health (NCH) held via Zoom on Tuesday resolved that,the development of the Health Sector COVID-19 Pandemic Response Action Plan and the proposed establishment of Community Support Centres (CSCs), should be in the first instance, in high burden states (Lagos, Kano, and FCT) towards reducing community transmission of COVID-19.
The meeting which was chaired by the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire also noted the progress of work/support by all stakeholders and challenges encountered in the containment of the COVID-19 pandemic across the states of the federation.
In a communique issued at the end of the meeting and a copy made available to newsmen in Abuja stated that, Based on the technical presentations, states’ updates, and deliberations at the meeting, the Council approved the Health Sector COVID-19 Pandemic Response Action Plan Council also made the following resolutions: The Draft Guideline on Basic Health Care Provision Fund, which was earlier scheduled for presentation to Council, should be stepped down for presentation at a later time after further necessary consultations; COVID-19 Community Support Centres (CSCs) should not be established as parallel centres but as additional options to relieve the burden of service delivery on existing facilities; States are to own and lead the implementation of the COVID-19 Community Support Centres (CSCs) where desirable; and FMOH will share a Template on Needs Assessment and Daily Reporting Format on Case Management to facilitate decision making for federal government support to states.
The Communique was adopted upon a motion by the Commissioner for Health (Osun State) seconded by the Commissioner for Health (Yobe State). The meeting commenced at 10:20am. The National Council on Health, as provided for in the National Health Act (2014), is t
