The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation — alongside governments, philanthropies, the private sector, NGOs, and global and community leaders — has announced commitments totalling $1.27 billion to improve and save millions of lives.
According to a statement from the organisation, the commitments were announced during the United Nations General Assembly.
It said the funding will address overlapping global crises that have reversed the progress already made toward achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals).
The total sum of $912 million pledge will go to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
This is the foundation’s largest commitment yet to the Global Fund.
According to the statement, since 2002, health programs supported by the Global Fund partnership have saved 50 million lives.
This funding will help accelerate efforts to end HIV, TB, and malaria by 2030 and build resilient health systems needed to protect against future pandemics.
It also will be instrumental in reducing the disproportionate impact of these diseases on women and girls, the foundation added.
Moreso, $100 million is to help alleviate the food crisis disproportionately impacting communities in Africa and South Asia and address its underlying causes.
In addition, the foundation will double its previous commitment to the Child Nutrition Fund — from $10 million to $20 million.
“Our investment will support the fund’s expansion beyond ready-to-use therapeutic food to include preventative nutrition products for both women and children,” the statement disclosed.
Other areas of support include the sum of $200 million to expand global Digital Public Infrastructure and $50 million to the Partners in Health Scholarship Fund to attend the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) in Rwanda.
The foundation’s sixth annual Goalkeepers Report notes that nearly every indicator of the Global Goals is off track at the halfway point for achieving them by 2030.
Despite these challenges, the report highlights opportunities to accelerate progress by investing in long-term solutions and innovative approaches to entrenched issues, including poverty, inequality, and climate change.
“This week has underscored the urgency of the challenges we face, and the promise of sustainable solutions that save and improve lives,” said Mark Suzman, Gates Foundation CEO. “We can get back on track toward the SDGs, but it’s going to take a new level of collaboration and investment from every sector. That’s why our foundation is significantly stepping up our commitment to helping confront crises now and ensure long-term impact across critical determinants of health and development.”
The administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi in Enugu State has signed an agreement with the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) for the federal agency to take over the state-of-the-art Enugu State Medical Diagnostic Centre, Enugu.
The agreement is to pave the way for the NSIA to provide comprehensive medical, diagnostic and oncology (cancer) treatment services to the people of Enugu State and beyond.
Recall that Gov. Ugwuanyi’s administration, sequel to the approval of the State Executive Council (EXCO), recently reached an agreement with the NSIA for the upgrade of the Medical Diagnostic Centre in Enugu, built by the state government.
The agreement to take over the health facility was reached after series of negotiations between the Enugu State Government and the NSIA.
Gov. Ugwuanyi, who was represented by his deputy, Hon. Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo, signed the agreement on behalf of the Enugu State Government while the Managing Director of the NSIA, Mr. Uche Orji, signed on behalf of the agency during the ceremony held at the Kano Hall, Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
The signing of the agreement between the Enugu State Government and the NSIA was witnessed by the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Chief Miletus Eze, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Government House, Enugu, Prof. Malachy Okwueze and the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Emmanuel Ikechukwu Obi.
Consequently, the Enugu State Medical Diagnostic Centre, Enugu will now be known as Medical Diagnostic and Oncology (Cancer) Treatment Centre.
Speaking during the event, the Managing Director of the NSIA, Mr. Orji, disclosed that the agency signed lease and collaboration agreements for the expansion of diagnostic services with three state governments (Enugu, Kwara and Kaduna) and five federal establishments, including oncology (cancer) treatment services with Enugu State.
Mr. Orji stated that the three state governments that participated in the exercise (Enugu, Kwara and Kaduna) had expedited action on negotiations with the NSIA and reached the stage of signing agreements.
He revealed that funds will be deployed to build, equip, maintain and operate modern health facilities across the country, adding that “these investments are expected to build new or upgrade institutions to modern medical diagnostic centres and provide access to advanced healthcare services for the benefit of lower income families with limited access to care and significantly enhance Nigeria’s ability to treat life threatening Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).”
In her remarks, Gov. Ugwuanyi’s representative, Hon. Mrs. Ezeilo, thanked the NSIA for the opportunity given to Enugu State to benefit from the healthcare expansion initiative.
She pointed out that the initiative is in tandem with the state government’s vision and commitment to quality healthcare service delivery for the people of Enugu State and beyond.
Hon. Mrs. Ezeilo commended Gov. Ugwuanyi for the landmark achievement as well as his dexterity, foresight and frantic efforts towards providing healthcare facilities for the people of the state, stressing that the governor has done so much in the health sector, likewise in other sectors, in spite of the state’s lean resources and the nation’s economic, security and public health challenges.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has recorded eight additional Lassa fever infections and one death between September 5 and 11.
The NCDC via its official website said the new cases bring the number of confirmed cases and deaths to 917 and 171, respectively.
It disclosed that 25 states had recorded at least one confirmed case across 102 local government areas. According to NCDC, 6,660 suspected cases have been reported in the country.
The public health agency disclosed that of the new confirmed cases, Ondo accounted for 32 per cent, Edo 26 per cent and Bauchi 13 per cent.
“In week 36 (September 5 to 11, 2022); the number of new confirmed cases decreased from 10 in week 35, 2022 to 8 cases. These were reported from Ondo, Edo, Bauchi, and Anambra states. Cumulatively from week 1 to week 36, 2022, 171 deaths have been reported with a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 18.6 people which is lower than the CFR for the same period in 2021 (23.3 per cent). The predominant age group affected is 21-30 years (Range: 0 to 90 years, Median Age: 30 years). The male-to-female ratio for confirmed cases is 1:0.8. The number of suspected cases has increased compared to that reported for the same period in 2021. No new healthcare worker affected in the reporting week 36,” it said.
It said the National Lassa fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Technical Working Group (TWG) has continued to coordinate the response activities at all levels.
“The country’s response activities continue in all areas, particularly in areas of state advocacy, personal protective equipment (IPC) support, and laboratory diagnostics,” it added.
Nigeria has made history, joining other countries of the world like Ghana and Rwanda to easily and timely ferry needed medical commodities, including vaccines and blood across difficult terrains with drones.
This is as instant logistics drone services operator, Zipline, has just commenced commercial deliveries of medical commodities through drones, to health facilities in Kaduna State.
The company announced that initial deliveries have been successfully made to Galadimawa HC, Kauru LGA among other facilities.
The health facilities are among several medical centres in Kaduna earmarked to be rolled onto Zipline’s logistics platform for the speedy dispensing of healthcare.
The distribution centre, located in Pambegua, Kaduna state, is the first hub to be opened in Nigeria to support the government’s effort to send medical logistics to health facilities within the state.
Speaking after the scheduled delivery of vaccines to the facility, Chongfilawos Irimiya, a medical staff at Galadimawa PHC, said: “We thank God for Zipline. We are in the bush and cut off from urban facilities. We used to go very far to the Apex centres to get our vaccine, which is very stressful and uncomfortable, but with Zipline, all that is now in the past.”
General Manager of Zipline Nigeria, Ms. Catherine Odiase, said since Zipline commissioned the distribution hub in June 2022, it has been working with the aviation regulatory authority to finalise the required approvals to operate these autonomous aerial vehicles in Kaduna.
She stated that the successful completion of the approval processes paved the way for the start of commercial flights.
Odiase commended the regulatory authorities for the fruitful engagements leading to the commencement of flight operations, adding that “the company is pleased to have received the necessary regulatory approval to be able to support the health needs of the community.” She added that “our technology has proven to be a great resource in helping government achieve access to universal healthcare.
“By this, we remain committed to ensuring that we support the government of Kaduna in meeting this target by way of efficient delivery of medical commodities and other products as will be agreed, to all parts of the state within 40 minutes or less from our distribution hub”.
She pledged the readiness of Zipline to continue to partner with governments to ensure no one in the country is left behind in access to the basic healthcare delivery services.
The first of three distribution hubs of Zipline to be sited in Kaduna has the capacity of delivering medical supplies to over 500 health facilities within an 80km radius at a speed of 110km/hr rain/shine: day/night.
Zipline also has the capacity to deliver other products including animal health vaccines and e-commerce products.
In February 2021, Zipline announced plans to construct three distribution centres in Kaduna State, Nigeria, supported by the Federal government. The state’s intent is to use Zipline’s services to transport health products, including blood, medication, and routine vaccines.
In May 2021, Zipline announced a similar agreement with Cross River State, followed by the announcement of another agreement with Bayelsa State.
Zipline’s drone delivery system is dedicated to expanding access to goods around the globe.
Over the years, the company has demonstrated ability to work with governments and health systems to transform health supply chains to be accessible and work more effectively.
In total, the company has made more than 370,897 commercial deliveries containing more than five million units of vaccines and other medical products to facilities in Rwanda, Ghana, Japan and the United States, where it is based.
Nigeria is the third African country to use Zipline services, following national-scale operations in Ghana and Rwanda with operations in Kenya and Cote d’Ivoire to be launched later this year.
…Discourse at UIU Tristate 6th Annual BBQ/New Yam Festival, Saturday. August 27, 2022, Queensbridge Park, Queens, NYC
M.O. ENE
PREAMBLE
Igbo kwenu! Umu Igbo Unite, kwenu! Igbo Tri-State, kwenu, Igbo kwezuo nu!
Thank you for inviting me back from across the Hudson River. Last April, I was here in the Big Apple. We met on Wall Street, the financial hub of the world. Shịshị, I did not see! I spoke on Ịgbankwụ, the Igbo traditional marriage. I promised you a book. I delivered. Amazon it! We gather today in Queensbridge Park for the 6th BBQ/Yam Festival of UIU: Umu Igbo Unite. Tulu nu ugo! (Congratulations!) I wish I had written a book on new yam festival. No new promises, please! This speech will be brief, by my standard, a scratch on the surface of sense, symbolism, and significance of Igbo New Yam Festival.
INTRODUCTION
Igbo New Yam Festival is an explicit equivalent of Easter, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and New Year celebrations rolled into one. It marks the end of toiling and the beginning of harvesting—a new era, the promotion of justice, equity, peace, and progress for a more fruitful future, a celebration of our earthly existence—the living and the dead, an appreciation of ancestral supreme sacrifices, a celebration of the benevolence of Anị, the Earth deity, an immense gratitude to Eze Chiukwu Okike Abịaama, Amaamaámachaamacha, for sustenance of life.
Though anchored on harvesting first yams, the festival commemorates the harvesting of other crops from the generosity of a good land God gave to a gifted generation. In giving thanks, the Igbo roast yam tubers—not turkeys, propitiate to ancestors and generous deities, and consume roasted yams with fresh palm oil.
Yams can be boiled and eaten with spiced stew or salted-peppered palm oil. It can be cooked as yam porridge with dry fish and meat or sliced and fried like French fries or English chips. Top of the line is boiled yam pounded into fufu and eaten with delicious soups of assorted vegetables, fish, and meat.
It is also common to eat roasted or boiled yams with oil-bean salad called akpaka or ụgba. The popular Igbo salad is specially prepared with spiced and simmered stockfish, okporoko, in a palm oil-potash sauce (ngụ).
YAMS
Yams are centuries-old plants with underground tubers and twining vines with heart-shaped leaves of predominantly green color and shades of purple. The tubers of different weights have bright-brown colors and mostly white pulp. Some varieties have yellow flesh and darker skin. Yams grow from pieces of tubers that are planted to produce shoots and die to produce much bigger tubers within four-five months.
Yams are reportedly rich in fiber, high in potassium, manganese, copper and contain important nutrients and oxidants that support bone health, growth, metabolism, heart function, regulate blood pressure, control blood sugar, and improve reproductive functions. Humans do not eat raw yams—they are toxic; cooked, they are delicious.
ORIGIN
To the Igbo, yam is divine. A popular myth backs it up. As with the kolanut, this happened when human beings communicated with beings in the spiritual realm, when the space between the living and the departed was not too great. There was a vast famine in the land. A great oracle consulted the gods. It was revealed that a dude and a damsel must be sacrificed. It was done. As directed, the male body was cut into pieces and buried in many mounds of earth; the female body was subjected to the same unpleasant treatment and buried apart. Within four weeks, seven native weeks, yams spouted from the male remains, while cocoyam grew from the female flesh.
Four months later, the land had an abundant harvest of yams and cocoyam. Famine never ravaged the Igbo country again. One version of the myth is interesting: The chief of the community (named Igbo probably for effect) sacrificed his first son (ọkpara), named Jiọkụ or Njiọkụ, and his first daughter (ada), named Ede. The flesh of Jiọkụ reproduced “ji” (yam), while Ada yielded “ede” (cocoyam). For this reason, the festival celebrates the death and resurrection of Jiọkụ and Ada.
NOMENCLATURE
The kolanut and yam are two common Igbo words; there are no dialectical variants—just different varieties. Interestingly, as with ascribing ‘ịwa ọjị’ and ‘ịgọ ọjị’ to kolanut communion, ‘iwa ji’ or ‘iri ji’ is not a correct designation for the yam ceremony. In using “iri ji” (literally ‘eating of yam’), one wonders why no one uses ‘ịta ọjị’ (‘eating of kolanut’)! The answer is simple: No one is compelled to eat kolanut or yam. Easting (iri) and ịwa (cutting) are phases of the ritual, a small aspect of the ceremony. ‘Ahịajiọku’ does not mean market for roasted yams! ‘Ahịa’ is also hustling. ‘Ji’ means ‘yam’ as a noun; ‘hold’ or ‘beget’ as a verb. ‘Ọkụ’ means ‘hot’ with a high tone, and ‘possession’ with a low tone. So, ‘Ahịa ji ọkụ’ also means ‘Commerce and industry beget bumper harvests.’
Many communities use different terms. One common core is that new yam festivals are predominantly celebrated mid to end of August or early September—the so-called “August break,” when rainy season takes a breather.
Popular terms include: Ajụ (in parts of Enugu and Ebonyi States); Ahịajiọkụ (popularized by the Ahiajoku Lecture Series instituted in 1979); Ahịanjọkụ (an obvious dialectal version that injecxts the legend of Njiọkụ and Ada); Ikeji (popular among the Aro of Imo and Abia States); Ifejiọkụ (obvious influence of Onitsha dialect); Iri ji (Ọhụrụ), popular jazzy rendition of ‘eating of (new) yams’; and Ọnwa Asatọ (‘Eighth Month’) in Nri sphere.
Others are Oru Owere, also commemorating the founding of Owerri by Ekwem Arụugo (alias ‘Owere’) and his followers who fled their ancestral home in Uratta and arrived their present place of habitation after a treacherous exodus. Otute Inyi in Oji River, Enugu State, Afịaọlụ in Nnewi, Orureshi among the northern-neighboring Idoma, Eje among the Yoruba, Em’orho in Edo are just a few names across Nigeria.
SIGNIFICANCE
Yam is a mark of accomplishment: Diji bụ ọgaranya. No other crop is so valued and ritualized. There is no ‘ezeakpụ’ (‘king of cassava’) or ‘ezeede’ (‘king of cocoyam’). The festival signifies survival; without a steady source of sustenance, many communities might as well fold and relocate.
Yam is so significant in Igbo life it features in popular philosophical expressions of earthly existential essences. Setting priorities: Á gbara aka na-azọ ala, onye nwe ji ana-akonyue ji n’ala. Whoever regulates resources determines distribution: Oji ji, jide ede: onye ọ wanyere, o rie. Sex segregation: Á naghị enyiwe ewu n’ọba ji. The essences of diligence, humility, patience, and persistence: “Gbanụ-gbanụ kwujie ji, o tukwuru ala gwupụta ọdụ ya.” Hierarchical order: Ji anaghị esi n’ọdụ epu ome. Measure of wealth: Ụba anaghị agha ji.
SYMBOLISM
The new yam festival is about supreme sacrifices and about renaissance and restoration. It celebrates the living and the dead. The appearance of masquerades refers: Mmaọnwụ–the beauty of death—represents the departed. Of course, the living is mmandụ—the beauty of life. Yams are so sacred it is a sacrilege to step over them. Yams symbolize hard work and honesty. One can steal a chicken and survive the shame; stealing yams is an abomination—no matter the level of one’s pot poverty. The culprit becomes an instant outcast in days of yore, since spilling human blood is a desecration of Earth Deity.
Yam is a symbol of sacredness used to represent faith in the supernatural. Yam embodies fertility: Just a slice of its old self is all it takes—not a seed, not a shoot, no pollination; just the body sacrificed for communities to live and thrive. Thus, yam symbolizes supreme sacrifice. This explains the presence of yams at bridewealth ceremonies before or during ịgbankwụ (weddings). Yam and cocoyam project the great sacrifice that a woman makes in leaving her home for a man’s kindred, where she will multiply herself and beget a new nation of great men and women who look different—like Jiọkụ and Ada.
RECOMMENDATION
As with ịgbankwụ, diaspora Igbo can force a common Igbo term for new yam festival. Ahịajiọkụ should be adopted as the generic name: a great gathering for a celebration of abundant harvests. Ahịa is not just a place for buying and selling, it is a ground of great gathering for hustles, a socializing scene, and center of cultural contacts. Thus, great masquerade festivities take place at market squares which double as town squares. You have turned Quakerbridge Park into ahịa today. Bravo!
Secondly, we should reserve the last Saturday in August for Ahịajiọkụ festivities and the following Monday as a public holiday in predominantly Igbo societies. In America, the day will coincide with the Labor Day weekend in 2025. Whenever it does, Ahịajiọkụ should be planned as a four-day festival with lectures, picnics, ballroom dances, cultural displays, and community work.
CONCLUSION
Ahịajiọkụ, the New Yam Festival, must be preserved. We can now plant yams in America and not depend on imports that are expensive and often damaged on transit. Summer is getting hotter, and yams do well in bags of rich soil when watered and tended like flowers. We must do this in remembrance of the sacrifices of our ancestors and for the wellbeing of future generations.
The festival is not just about harvesting, entertainment, and feasting, it is also about hard work, honesty humanity, and humility. Work is a cure for poverty: Ọrụ bụ ọgwụ ụkpa. During this festival, youths are taught about two things that create wealth: products and services—not prayers to sundry spirits and empty events that consume the little we have.
Dignity of labor is the sustaining spirit of a stable society, the mantra of the moment: Produce more, consume to nourish the body, celebrate to uplift the soul, and trade to make money in a popular marketplace of goods and ideas: ahịa. Hence, the principles of Ahịajiọkụ include sustenance of life, economic growth, cultural immersion and human development.
Again, I thank you for inviting me and for listening.
2021 Independence Edition’s Personality of the Time- Mr. Ernest Ikechukwu Ugwu
Mr. Ernest Ikechukwu Ugwu is the Enugu State Chairman of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS).
Ernest Ikechukwu Ugwu
He is an educationist, geologist, businessman and a techie.
He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Geology from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State.
Mr. Ugwu is the Proprietor of Swiss Kids Academy, Enugu. He is also the CEO of Afriwice Global Limited and Instant Deposit Nigeria Limited, all in Enugu. He wasn’t born with a silver spoon. In his words “I had my primary school in a very remote village, followed by my secondary education and after that I went into the transportation business. I got an old truck, repaired it and was using the proceeds to train myself in college-two of my elder brothers gained admission and were able to go to school from the proceeds of the business.
“I later got some buses, registered them under Peace Mass Transit as at then; I was schooling and doing all these things. In school, I went for the competition of a National Scholarship by Elf Petroleum and I won. Elf Petroleum trained me from second year to final year.
“Graduating, my flair for business was still quite high so I ventured into ICT. In 2007 I officially took up an ICT company, Afriwise Global Ltd, which I incorporated. It grew to the point that I ventured into financial businesses, integrating IT with financial payments-Payment Service Bank and we went ahead to get a license.”
As the Enugu State Chairman of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, which is a body uniting all private schools, Ugwu has injected breaths of fresh air into the system. Recently, he purchased a Hummer Bus for the Association valued at about ten million naira, despite inheriting a lean purse of about twenty four thousand naira from the previous administration. When he assumed office, one of the challenges bedeviling private schools in Enugu state was that of multiple taxation.
“I decided to tackle harassment of the private schools, especially tax wise, which was on the high. What the private schools usually did was just to demonstrate and write all sorts of stories against the government, but I took the matter to the government, sat them down and discussed with them. At the end of the negotiations, the 37 levies the government collected were reduced to just 7”, said Ernest Ugwu.
He has since introduced the training of private school teachers and private school proprietors. He was hugely instrumental in the deployment of the Enugu State students’ portal by the Enugu State Ministry of Education, a portal that has helped to effectively determine students’ promotions and arrest the proliferation of special centers. His antecedents were responsible for his appointment as member into the Enugu State Education Sector Reform Committee by the Executive Governor of Enugu State, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Dr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. He is also a member of the Enugu State Education Stakeholders Forum
Mr. Ernest Ikechukwu Ugwu has been a crusader of Youth emancipation through business empowerment and mentorship. He has sponsored the technical training of youths of Nsukka extraction on Programming, CCTV installation, Business Management, etc. His human products have been mentored on how to understand business problems and solve them through writing. At the last count, he had mentored and settled twenty-eight youths financially and otherwise. He is the Convener of the prestigious Nsukka Youth Entrepreneurship Summit, where he hosts all Nsukka Youths and invites technocrats in different areas of life to mentor them on how they can succeed.
Ugwu is married to a beautiful and lovely wife and has three children. He is a commanding force on everything he touches. He does everything with diligence, love, determination and an overall care for humanity. He stays true to his oath as an educationist, with dedication and defiance.
Encomiums pour in as former Enugu PDP guber aspirant and business mogul, Odengene, celebrates birthday
Chetanne Chinelo, Enugu
Goodwill messages, encomiums, appreciations and felicitations have continued to pour in following the birthday celebration of Capt. Evarest Nnaji, Odengene, a former aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the Enugu governorship race.
Odengene, who enjoyed massive goodwill and followership in the build up to the primaries, especially after he single-handedly constructed a 5.4km asphalt road in Amagunze, for use by his people and 4 other connecting autonomous communities, is the Chief Executive Officer of Odengene Airshuttle Services (OAS).
Testifying about his philanthropy, a social media user, Arthur Edeh, said “Happy Birthday to an uncommon personality, a rare gem, an entrepreneur, a business Mogul, and a gentleman par excellence.
“Sir, you’ve by your benevolence, and sacrifices touched many lives with your wealth. And I pray, as I wish you God’s leading, guidance, protection, good health, increased measure of grace, and longevity; that God grants your earnest request in Jesus Christ’s name, Amen”
Another user, Onah Ebuka said, “From the depths of my heart, I know you are the best leader in the world, a great mentor, and a dear boss.
“This is a special day for me because it is also special for you. I want you to know that you are a great blessing to me.
“Thank you for having an open door and listening ears. You are simply the best. I wish you a long and fulfilling life”.
Chidi Wilfred said “Hurray to a rare leader on a special day like this. In marking this auspicious circle of your birthday, I am happy and greatly elated to felicitate with you on this special day of yours.
“Enugu state has in you a son that has continuously given ndi Enugu a reason to echo ‘Glory to God’ for giving you to us. A father figure to the fatherless, humanitarian figure to the needy and succour to the less privileged.
“Chief Capt. Evarest Nnaji (Odengene) sir, as you celebrate, I am audaciously saying hurray and praise to God who has made you who you are today”.
Captain Evarest Edeh Nnaji (Odengene) was born on 16th August, 1962 into the family of Chief Silas Edeh Nnaji and Chief Mrs Janet Wowo-Ogo Nnaji, of the Odengene larger family clan, Isienu Amagunze, Nkanu-East Local Government Area, Enugu State.
An Air Pilot of repute, he obtained Nigeria Air Law (NCAA), Licensed to fly in the United States of America and Nigeria. He is specially trained as a Vertical Reference and Long Line Helicopter Pilot.
Captain Evarest Nnaji is the Managing Director/CEO of many companies such as Odengene Air Shuttle Services Limited (OAS Helicopters) Nigeria, Odengene Air Shuttle, Inc. (USA), Odengene Group of Companies Ltd, Electrostatic Laser World and OAS Offshore Logistics Ltd
Captain Evarest is an accomplished Businessman, Aviator and Politician.
He is the founder of Odengene Foundation, which has over the years granted and maintained scholarships for innumerable indigent students, up to the University level. The Foundation also undertakes legal services for Awaiting Trials inmates in prisons for minor offenses.
Worried by the mass exodus of Nigerian medical doctors abroad in search of greener pastures, President Muhamamdu Buhari has directed the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, to look into ways of ending the ugly trend.
In the last six years, Nigeria have lost an estimated 10,000 doctors and professionals in the health sector to the US, UK, Canada and some European and Asian countries, especially in the aftermath of the outbreak of COVOD-19.
President Buhari, who received the new executive members of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), in Abuja, yesterday, told officials of the union that he has directed the minister to turn the “brain drain” to “brain gain” by engaging top Nigerian medical experts in the diaspora in knowledge and skills repatriation.
He also announced that the Federal Government has disbursed N100 billion to indigenous pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare investors as loans to expand their capital base, boost local production of medicines and medical consumables.
He said the loan was extended through the Central Bank of Nigeria’s support to the local pharmaceutical sector.
He said the Health Sector Reform Committee chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was exploring models for the revitalisation of the nation’s healthcare system in ways that improve quality of care and benefits to care providers.
He urged the NMA and other stakeholders in the sector to support initiatives by the Federal Government to resuscitate the sector. He also urged them to work with committees set up to fast track the health system to meet the needs of Nigerians in the 21st Century.
Buhari commended the NMA, which is the umbrella body of all medical practitioners in Nigeria, for consistently choosing peaceful resolution of differences on matters pertinent to the national health system.
“I commend our medical professionals for their contribution to Nigeria’s exemplary management of the COVID-19 pandemic, the control of malaria, HIV and tuberculosis, and other feats also achieved by Nigerian doctors in the diaspora. Our response to COVID-19 pandemic has been praised internationally and your members are key parts of this success. I recall that in the last quarter of 2021, the immediate past NMA executives visited me and presented recommendations for the health sector.”
He hailed former president of the body, Dr. Osahon Enabulele and President-elect of the World Medical Association, the first Nigerian to hold the position.
Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, who led the medical practitioners to the audience, affirmed that the doctors had been good partners with his ministry.
Another case of the dreaded Monkey-pox disease has been recorded in Abia State, thus, bringing to four, the total number of cases so far recorded in the state according to Ministry source.
Commissioner for Health, Dr Joe Osuji, who confirmed this in an interview with Vanguard on Tuesday, said the patient had been treated and the rashes clearing rapidly.
The Commissioner said that the latest case was recorded in Amuzukwu Community in Umuahia North Local Government Area.
Three previous cases were recorded in Aba North, Umuahia South and Ikwuano LGAs according to the Commissioner.
He had last Thursday, while responding to the previous cases, told Vanguard that five samples had been taken to the reference laboratory in Abuja for investigation.
According to him, all contact cases had been treated and discharged from the hospital.
Dr Osuji, however, urged residents not to fret but tasked them on environmental cleanliness and personal hygiene.
” If you see any person with any kind of rashes around you, try to isolate yourself from the person. You also ask the person to report to the hospital for investigation and treatment”.
An international, non-partisan, non-profitable, advocacy and campaigning organisation that fights extreme poverty and preventable disease particularly in Africa through public awareness, among others, ONE Campaign, has recognised Enugu as the second highest performing state in Primary Healthcare Service Delivery in Nigeria for 2019-2021.
Presenting the award of recognition to the Executive Secretary, Enugu State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (ENSPHCDA), Dr. George Ugwu, the Country Director of One Campaign in Nigeria, Stanley Achonu, commended the administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for the excellent status of primary healthcare system in the state.
Achonu disclosed that ONE Campaign, which is also a global movement “pressuring political leaders to support policies and programmes that are saving lives and improving futures”, National Advocates for Health, Nigeria Health Watch, Public Private Development Centre, World Bank and other partners, worked together in the ranking of the 36 states in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The Country Director maintained that Enugu State has done extremely well in Primary Healthcare Service Delivery to deserve the award.
He, therefore, commended Gov. Ugwuanyi for making primary healthcare delivery a priority of his administration in the overall interest of residents of the state, especially those residing in the rural areas.
The Executive Secretary of ENSPHCDA, Dr. Ugwu, was equally applauded for the successes the agency has recorded so far, including its great impact in safeguarding the health of the residents of the state especially in the fight against Yellow Fever, Cholera, COVID-19 pandemic, and all childhood related diseases, which earned Enugu State the award.
Briefing newsmen after he unveiled the prestigious award to Gov. Ugwuanyi, at the Government House, Enugu, Dr. Ugwu expressed gratitude to the governor for providing the needed support and enabling environment “which made the attainment of the excellent performance that led to this recognition and award possible”.
The ENSPHCDA Executive Secretary, who explained that Enugu State came behind the FCT which was ranked first in Primary Healthcare Service Delivery in Nigeria, pointed out that Enugu was ranked the best among all the 36 states in the country.
Commending Gov. Ugwuanyi further for the enviable feat, Dr. Ugwu disclosed that the governor “since 2015 has consistently made primary healthcare service delivery a priority in line with his rural development agenda”, expressing delight that the positive results of his administration’s huge investment in the health sector are becoming obvious and being cherished at national and international levels.
According to him, “the unique and outstanding Type-3 Primary Health Centres which are now functional in many parts of the state and the improvement of primary healthcare programmes and services with implementation of the basic healthcare services as well as provision of funds have been remarkably innovative and impactful in Enugu State.”
Dr. Ugwu stressed that the assessment leading to the recognition was conducted by a group of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and their international partners under the guidance of National Primary Healthcare Development Agency.
Nigerian Ambassador to Mexico, his excellency, Rt Honourable Adejare Bello, has ordered the closure of the Nigerian mission in the Mexican city due to fresh outbreak of Covid-19 within the mission. The closure will last seven days beginning from tomorrow, Monday, August 8, 2022 in the first instance.
As at the time of this report, six of the mission staff have been tested positive to Corona virus.
Bello confirmed that the affected staff are currently being given maximum care while assuring Nigerians that the affected staff are in good hands of the appropriate medical personnel who have assured that the situation is under control.
The closure of the missions to forestall further spread of the virus. A total of 6.82 million cases with 328,000 deaths have so far been recorded in Mexico since the outbreak of the virus.
Bello disclosed that appropriate quarters like the ministry of foreign affairs, Abuja and that of Mexico have been duly notified of this development.
The temporary closure, according to the ambassador, will allow the Embassy to be fumigated and all other precautions put in place while the closure lasts.
Bello also disclosed that all home based officers and the local staffof the mission have been directed to work from home pending further directives.
Mexico has administered at least 209 million doses of COVID vaccines so far. Assuming every person needs two doses, that’s enough to have vaccinated about 82.2% of the country’s population.The temporary closure will allow the Embassy to be fumigated among other precautionary measures.
On April 10, 2021, Mexico reported a large number of confirmed new deaths after consolidating data from last year to include deaths that were not confirmed at the time. Two-thirds of the 2,192 deaths reported on date had occurred in 2020 and at the time were not marked down as COVID-19 fatalities.
Eru is a music artiste based in Lagos, but from Rivers State. Eru bares her mind and thoughts about her art and music career in this chat with our correspondent, Muna.
I know you as Eru, a music artiste, but can you tell us a little more about yourself?
I’m like everyone else, particularly Eru (formerly known as BeautyEru) is a lover of art, of any form.
What made you choose music as the thing you are going to do?
Hmm…There’s no particular thing or event I would pin point that made me choose music. I love music, I always will and I’m doing it.
Your music is quite unique. I mean, I love the originality and honesty in them, both in the lyrics and sound, you just made your own voice and niche, like in “Fowl Na Fowl” “Vain Glory” and “Significant Nothing”; what and who inspires your art?
Experience, as one distant from culture….Fowl na Fowl/Paradise is my story/experience. Sometimes these experiences (muse) aren’t mine, sometimes they’re relatively fictional but hardly farfetched.
So, how would you describe your music journey so far, with your EP “Adiaha” out there?
My music journey has been educative, everyday I learn.
Where are the places that people can go to listen or download your songs?
It’s on almost every cyber platform, links are on the site www.beautyeru.com.ng.
How does your music promotion and support go, are you signed on any record label yet?
With almost everything going digital, promotion/marketing is done that way. The support has been impressive. No label, just my manager and I. We’re open to sponsorship.
Tell us some challenges you face in your art so far.
Challenges there would be the constant need to bring your A game, even during the bad days.
What do you think can be done better in the industry to help young artistes like yourself grow and hit the ultimate breakthrough in their career?
More & improved Internet access, cheaper data and a functional music/entertainment system or structure. I don’t know about any in this part of the world.
From your experience so far, what do you say to other artistes like you out there?
Do you, consistency pays.
What is the next thing we should be expecting from you, an album maybe?
