Tag: WHO

WHO ranks Nigeria 4th best in Covid-19 response

Aminu Imam

The World Health Organisation, (WHO), has ranked Nigeria’s Covid-19 response as the fourth-best in the world. WHO’s Country Representative, Dr. Walter Mulombo, disclosed this during an event marking the arrival of the first consignment of 177,600 doses of the Johnson and Johnson (J&J) Covid-19 vaccine yesterday in Abuja. It said at least 1,173,132 doses of the vaccine, part of the 29.8 million doses procured by the Federal Government through the African Export-Import Bank, will arrive this month. According to Mulombo, “We are witnessing the symbolic arrival of 177,600 Johnson &…

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Exclusive Breastfeeding: FCT rural communities list challenges

Abdul-Azeez Ahmed Kadir

Some residents in the rural communities of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have identified economic challenge as one of the factors affecting their compliance to exclusive breastfeeding. In separate interviews on Friday in Abuja, they stated their different experiences and views on exclusive breastfeeding, as the 2021 World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) runs from Aug. 1 to Aug. 7 with the theme “Protect Breastfeeding: A Shared Responsibility.” Mrs Sandra Danjuma, a trader in Galadimawa, who blamed her noncompliance to exclusive breastfeeding to economic challenges, said they could not afford proper meal…

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COVID-19 infections rise for 4 consecutive weeks globally- WHO

Abdul-Azeez Ahmed Kadir

COVID-19 infections have continued to rise globally for more than a month now, with over four million cases reported in the past week alone, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said. The UN health agency, in its latest update, attributed the uptick to “substantial” caseload increases of 33 per cent in the Western Pacific and 37 per cent in the Eastern Mediterranean – where coronavirus fatalities also rose 48 and 31 per cent, respectively. The number of deaths in the four remaining WHO regions of Africa, Americas, Europe and South-East…

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Covid-19 deaths in Africa surge more than 40% over previous week – WHO

Aminu Imam

Covid-19 mortality has increased by 43% week on week in Africa, as hospital admissions climb rapidly and governments face oxygen and intensive care bed shortages. The number of deaths increased to 6273 in the week ending July 11, up from 4384 the week before. Africa is now only a fraction of a percent below the weekly high of 6294 deaths set in January. Namibia, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zambia accounted for 83% of all new deaths in the previous week. The continent’s case fatality rate, which is the percentage…

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Unsafe drinking water puts children in Nigeria, Chad, others at risk – WHO D-G

Aminu Imam

Nigeria, as well as other countries in the sub-Saharan Africa, have continued to suffer from poor access to safe drinking water, sanitation facilities. The development, according to the World Health Organisation, (WHO), has led to the spread of diseases in the region. According to its latest report, only 54 percent of people in the region have access to safe drinking water. The report said if the current trends persist, billions of children and families will be left vulnerable by 2030. The report lamented the inequalities in the region, adding that…

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‘Nigeria has highest allocation of COVID-19 vaccine in Africa’ – WHO

Aminu Imam

Nigeria is set to receive the largest allocation of 16million doses out of the 88million AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine doses allocated to African countries in the first phase by the end of February instead of the initial 100,000 Pfizer doses earlier expected, the World Health Organisation (WHO) hinted yesterday. WHO country representative in Nigeria, Dr. Walter Kazadi Mulomboo, disclosed this at an emergency press briefing in Abuja, while debunking a report that Nigeria had been disqualified from accessing Covid-19 vaccines. He said the demand for the initial allocation of 1.2 million Pfizer…

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130 countries, with 2.5 billion people, are yet to be vaccinated – WHO

Aminu Imam

It is estimated globally that about 130 countries, with a total of 2.5 billion people, are yet to be administered with a single dose of Covid -19 vaccine. This disclosure was made by the WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus at a regular press briefing on COVID-19, in Geneva: “Around 130 countries, with 2.5 billion people, are yet to administer a single dose.” According to Dr Tedros, “On Wednesday, COVAX published its forecast for the distribution of vaccines to participating countries. Countries are ready to go, but the vaccines aren’t there.…

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Nigeria not disqualified from accessing Covid-19 vaccines — WHO

Aminu Imam

Contrary to reports, Nigeria has not been disqualified from accessing Covid-19 vaccines from the COVAX facility. Clarifying the position in Abuja on Saturday at an emergency press briefing called by the National Primary Healthcare Development, Agency, NPHCDA, the World Health Organisation, WHO, country representative in Nigeria said the agency has not disqualified any country from accessing vaccines from the facility. The WHO said, on the contrary, it was assisting Nigeria and other African countries to start accessing the Astrazeneca vaccine as from February, as soon as it received clearance for…

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Africa’s Covid-19 cases surpass 3.3m – WHO

Aminu Imam

The World Health Organisation,(WHO), Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo, has said that there are over 3.3 million confirmed Covid-19 cases on the African continent. The UN health agency gave the update on its regional official Twitter handle, yesterday. It stated on its dashboard that there were over 3.3 million confirmed COVID-19 cases on the African continent, with more than 2.8 million recoveries and 82,000 deaths cumulatively. Meanwhile, in a statement posted on its website, the UN health agency said Africa needed timely access to safe and effective Covid-19…

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Nigeria may spend N540bn on Covid-19 vaccines – Report

Aminu Imam

It has been revealed that Nigeria may spend close to N540 billion to get the Covid-19 vaccines. According to reports, Nigeria may spend the huge sum to procure and distribute 218,400,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines. The figure is based on estimates of the World Health Organisation, (WHO), as regards the total amount of funds that Africa would need to pursue a vaccination drive. According to the WHO, Africa will need at least $9bn (N3.4trillion) to procure and distribute 1.4 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines. This development comes as Lagos State…

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