The World Health Organisation (WHO) has hailed the Federal Government’s efforts at reducing the incidence and deaths from malaria. The global health body noted that between Years 2000 and 2021, malaria incidence and deaths reduced by 26 per cent and 55 per cent in the country.

Federal Government has appointed 11 new Medical Directors for the Federal Government established Medical Facilities in the Country. In a statement assigned by Director Press & Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Health, Patricia Deworitshe made the discourse.

The National Administration of Food and drug Control (NAFDAC) has decried the growing menace of drug hawking which poses serious challenge to the healthcare delivery system in the country and stating that the development underscores the agencies unwavering determination to totally eradicate the illicit trade.  The observation was contained in a keynote address of the Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Moji Christianah Adeyeye delivered at the North-East Zonal NAFDAC media sensitisation workshop on ‘Dangers of Drug hawking and Ripening of Fruits with Calcium Carbide’ held at the Conference Hall of Federal Secretariat, Bauchi on Monday.

UNICEF’s Communication Officer in Nigeria, Safiya Akau, on Thursday, affirmed that diphtheria has claimed the lives of 122 children in Nigeria as at July 2023. Accordingly, UNICEF is amplifying its efforts to counter the growing outbreak of diphtheria that has affected children in 27 States of Nigeria.

The United Nations Children’s Fund says 67 million children globally missed out entirely or partially on routine immunisation from 2019 to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that it will take political will and substantial investment to design and implement appropriate catch-up interventions to close the gap. The organisation made this known on its website in its “State of the World’s Children 2023’ report.

Global life expectancy for both sexes has increased from 46 to 73 years, with the biggest gains in the poorest countries, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says. The WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, made this known during an online media conference, where he said after years of war, the organisation realised that it was better to work with one other than fight with one another.
Ghebreyesus noted that the organisation also realised that a healthier world was a safer world. “Their vision was clear, but bold: the highest possible standard of health, for all people. To achieve that vision, they agreed to set up a new organisation.

The Federal Government has recorded 453 deaths and 11,587 suspected cases of diphtheria in the country with 7,202 confirmed cases from 105 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in 18 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). This comes as the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate reportedly established a national emergency task team. A breakdown of the figure showed that Kano State accounted for 6,185, Yobe (640), Katsina (213), Borno (95), Kaduna (16), Jigawa (14), Bauchi (8), Lagos (8), FCT (5), Gombe (5), Osun (3), Sokoto (3), Niger (2), Cross River (1), Enugu (1), Imo (1), Nasarawa (1) and Zamfara (1).

Ogun state government has raised alarm over the outbreak of cholera in Ijebu North Local Government Area of the state. It was reported that four persons have lost their lives to the disease in the LGA. In a statement on Sunday signed by Tomi Coker, Special adviser to the governor on health, the state government asked residents to report any familiar cases of frequent stooling and vomiting. The government also requested residents to be wary of the types of foods and drinks they consumed.

The Federal Government (FG) through the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, has set-up an emergency taskforce to curb the spread of diphtheria in the country according to a press statement issued on Thursday by Pate’s Special Assistant on Media and External Relations, Tashikalmah Hallah.

A new study involving reports from more than 700,000 U.S. veterans theorised that people who adopt the undermentioned healthy lifestyle habits by middle age can expect to live substantially longer than those with few or none of these habits. These habits include: being physically active, avoiding smoking, properly managing stress, being free from opioid addiction, having a good diet, not regularly binge drinking, having good sleep hygiene, and having positive social relationships. According to the results, men who have all eight habits at age 40 would be predicted to live an average of 24 years longer than men with none of these habits. For women, having all these healthy lifestyle factors in middle age was associated with a predicted 21 additional years of life compared to women with none of these habits.

The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has issued a 21-day ultimatum to the Federal Government over non-universal implementation of CONMESS for all medical and dental doctors irrespective of the agencies of the government they represent.

Nasarawa State government has disclosed its plans to administer a free cervical vaccine to girls between ages nine and 14 years to protect them from Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). This was revealed by the Executive Secretary, of Nasarawa State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NAPHDA), Dr. Mohammed Addis, at a stakeholders meeting, yesterday, in Lafia the state capital. The chairman, who was represented at the occasion by the Programme Manager of, the State Emergency Routine Immunisation Coordination Centre, Ismaila Oko, explained that Nasarawa was among the 16 states in the country selected for the first phase of the vaccination. He noted that the vaccine had been procured already and stored in the state for onward distribution to various centres.

Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State has suspended all unlicensed colleges of health technology around the state. The proscription of the affected colleges, all private, takes immediate effect. The governor after a meeting in Yola on Tuesday, gave the directive for the closure of the “unregistered and unaccredited” private colleges of health.

The Chairman, Northern Traditional Leaders Committee on Primary Health Care, His Royal Highness, Samaila Mera, has stated that, Zamfara State has recorded twenty-one (21) cases of Poliovirus Type-2 (CVDPV2) from January, 2023 to date, due to the security challenges affecting the State; which has made it quite difficult for health personnel to access the State.

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said babies who are not breastfed are 14 times more likely to die before they reach their first birthday than babies who are exclusively breastfed. The assertion was made by Dr Tushar Rane, Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Nigeria Bauchi Field Office in a goodwill message he delivered during the Media Dialogue on World Breastfeeding Week, 2023 held at Jamil Hotel and Suites, Azare on Wednesday.

Researchers has alerted that about 204,000 women who experience intense warmth may die, as more frequent heat waves on a warming planet pose a growing threat to their work, earnings and lives in Nigeria, India and America. According to Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center (Arsht-Rock), a U.S. based nonprofit’s research in a report titled, ‘The Scorching Divide’ held that extreme heat could kill 204,000 women annually across the three countries in hot years.

The Federal Government has revealed plans on stepping up its surveillance and all health protocols at all international airports in the country, in response to the increase in the spread of the novel virus COVID-19. In the quest of curtailing the spread of the virus, a revisit to the relaxed scientific approach will be needed, by creating awareness and involving the public with increasing vaccination, hence travelers will now fill out health forms, in addition to temperature checks. The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire made this known while speaking at the 17th Edition of the PMB Administration Scorecard on 10th January 2023.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that it is collaborating with its partners on renaming the monkeypox virus and its variants. The announcement was made on Tuesday by the Director-General (DG) of WHO, Tedros Ghebreyesus who stated that the new name would be announced as soon as possible. Last week, more than 30 international scientists signed a document that called for the renaming of the monkeypox virus because “a continued reference to, and nomenclature of this virus being African is not only inaccurate but is also discriminatory and stigmatizing”.