Health

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released its first reports highlighting the urgent need for better medicines and testing tools to combat invasive fungal infections. Fungal infections are becoming a major public health concern, but research and development (R&D) in this area remains insufficient. Some common infections, like Candida (which causes thrush), are becoming more resistant to treatment. These infections are especially dangerous for people with weakened immune systems, such as cancer patients, individuals with HIV, and organ transplant recipients. WHO warns that low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) face severe challenges due to a lack of effective treatments and proper diagnostic tools.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Dr Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe as Chairman of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) which was disclosed in a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.

Following the halting of the ‘United States Agency For international Development, USAID support internationally, the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) on behalf of the Nigerian government has confirmed that treatment for HIV in the country shall remains free. The Director-General of NACA, Temitope Ilori, reaffirm the government commitment yesterday in Asaba, Delta State, after inaugurating the Paediatric Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV Accelerated Committee (PPAC).

Dr. Sam Adegboye, a urologist and Assistant Chief Medical Officer at the Federal Teaching Hospital in Ido-Ekiti, has dismissed the claim that frequent breast sucking can prevent breast cancer. In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Dr. Adegboye addressed common myths surrounding breast cancer. He emphasized that there’s no scientific evidence to support the idea that breast sucking reduces cancer risk. Instead, he urged women to focus on proven preventive measures, such as adopting a healthy lifestyle and performing regular breast self-examinations. He recommended watching instructional videos online to learn proper self-examination techniques. Dr. Adegboye also warned that hormonal changes caused by certain contraceptives during adolescence may increase the risk of breast cancer. He explained that hormonal imbalances can lead to abnormal pain or tissue growth in the breasts.

Nigerian health workers under the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) and Assembly of Healthcare Professional Associations (AHPA) have demands full implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (Mol) signed between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Unions on the 29th October, 2024, after a conciliation meeting at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised the alarm over a looming shortage of live-saving anti-retroviral (ARV) HIV drugs in eight countries including Nigeria and Kenya. This follows the US government’s recent decision to pause foreign aid. US President Donald Trump announced the freeze on his first day in office in January as part of a review into government spending. "Disruptions to HIV programmes could undo 20 years of progress," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned. According to Ghebreyesus the development could also lead to over 10 million additional cases of HIV and three million HIV-related deaths, noting this was "more than triple the number of deaths last year".