The Federal Government has put in place plans and strategies to double the population of medical and dental doctors from 5,000 to 10,000 starting from the next academic year by increasing admissions into medical and dental institutions. This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Tunji Alausa, on Wednesday at the induction ceremony of …

More than 75,000 employees at Kaiser Permanente began one of the largest healthcare workers strikes in recent US history on Wednesday after failing to resolve a dispute over staffing levels. The strike of union members at the largest non-profit healthcare organisation in the United States began on Wednesday morning at sites in Virginia and the District of Columbia. It is …

The House of Representatives on Wednesday urged the Federal Government to pay adequate attention to incidences of suicide, other mental health challenges and their attendant effects on the citizens. This is just as the lawmakers want the apex government working in sync with the Ministry of Health and the National Orientation Agency to establish counseling centres nationwide to provide counseling …

As diphtheria spreads further across the country, the federal government has urged the affected 19 states to reintroduce the use of facemasks. The executive director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, gave the advice yesterday at the Diphtheria Outbreak Response press briefing, in Abuja. He said, “Diphtheria is an airborne disease. Like COVID-19, we can …

The Federal Government said there is high hope that Nigeria will get the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) newly-recommended R21/Matrix-M vaccine for the prevention of malaria in children by mid-2024. The Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuaib, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH on Monday. The organisation, on Monday, recommended the R21 malaria vaccine following …

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has said that it recorded 1,068 Lassa fever cases across 112 Local Government Areas in 28 states, according to its situation report on the disease for week 37 (11th to 17th September 2023) released on Monday. Lassa fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic illness caused by the Lassa virus, a member …

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has responded to a media report on the non-establishment of testing laboratory for fortification by the agency, which was said to have been made at the Nigeria Economic Summit Group in collaboration with the Civil Society Legislative Advisory Centre (CSLAC) and eHealth. In a statement on Monday, NAFDAC’s Director …

The World Health Organisation has recommended a new vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, for the prevention of malaria in children. The recommendation follows advice from the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation and the Malaria Policy Advisory Group and was endorsed by the WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, following its regular biannual meeting held on September 25 -29. The global health …

The fight against the diphtheria outbreak in Kano State has received a boost with the donation of some items by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to support the state in its fight against the dreaded disease. The items include consignment which consists of 467 cartons of personal protective equipment (PPEs), apron protection, bag biohazard, examination glove (M, L, XL), surgical glove (6.5, …

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) on Saturday condemned those involved in organ harvesting while pledging to collaborate with law enforcement agencies to curb the menace. The new President of NARD, Dr Dele Olaitan made this known at a news conference organised at the end of the 43rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Scientific Conference in Ilorin. Olaitan described …