Health

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) led by Prof. Mike Ogrima, President, has beckoned on the Federal Government on the need for a compulsory health insurance for all Nigerians as that is a vital element that will ensure universal health coverage in Nigeria.

According to Prof. Ogrima health should occupy top place in government's priority list without which the country's health index may remain stagnant or even deteriorate.

He added that all Nigerians deserve access to quality healthcare irrespective of where they live. He urged the government to give its attention to actualizing that dream.

A study was published in the journal JAMA Neurology on Dec. 11, 2017 has revealed that people with early stage Parkinson's may be able to delay a worsening of the disease through a regimen of intense exercise, new research found.

"If you have Parkinson's disease and you want to delay the progression of your symptoms, you should exercise three times a week with your heart rate between 80 to 85 percent maximum. It is that simple," said study co-lead author Daniel Corcos. He's professor of physical therapy and human movement sciences at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

However, a more "moderate" exercise level -- under the heart rate threshold outlined in the study -- was not effective in slowing the disease, the researchers said.

A new diabetes drug that lowers blood sugar and also helps people lose weight has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Women who consume lots of sugar during pregnancy may increase the risk for asthma in their children, researchers report.

Previous studies have suggested that poor diet and obesity are linked to the current increases in childhood asthma. This new study, in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society, implicates sugary drinks and fructose, or fruit sugar.

The World Health Organization through its Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, said on Friday December 8 that Uganda has successfully contained an outbreak of Marburg virus disease and also prevented its spread just weeks after it was first detected.

The Ugandan Ministry of Health notified WHO of the outbreak on October 17, after laboratory tests established that the demise of a 50-year-old woman was due to infection with the Marburg virus. A Public Health Emergency Operations Centre was immediately activated and a national taskforce led the response.

The Federal Government has earmarked seventy hospitals across the country including 21 Federal Teaching Hospitals, 31 Federal Medical Centres, Four Specialist Hospitals and 14 Fistula and Cleft lip/palate Centres, for a special health intervention project aimed at tackling critical challenges in the health sector.