ARTICLE WRITTEN BY ONYIA EMEKA HEATH TITLED: “THE CRIES OF PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV AIDS”.

It is quite unfortunate that even as permanent cure for the people living with HIV AIDS had been discovered by a professor at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, Abia state in Nigeria; the regulatory agencies responsible for drug approval after series of test and hypothesis discovered the findings to be true and effective on the tested patience; yet mandated a sanction to administration of the drugs to the victims of the virus who are now dying in millions everyday as a result of ineffective of Antiretroviral drug which can only slow down the rate the virus kills the immune system but not to eradicate the virus completely.

Based on this facts, we have come to understand that even with the Antiretroviral drug that patients living with HIV AIDS could not exceed minimum of 15-20 years plus and he/she will encounter HIV DRUG RESISTANCE EFFECT which is common in the under developed world like Nigeria. Based on these experience also; it is high time the federal ministry of health and other health regulatory Agencies look critically into this issue bordering both the rich and the poor masses. Should we take because of misappropriation steps to discovery abandon the solution to a puzzling health problem facing the Nation Nigeria and the entire world at large? Which claims lives in millions today as a result contaminated victims of yesterday? The present drug named antiretroviral drug which is limited to ineffective cure of HIV is useless as long as Nigeria as a nation is concern.

Now we have a new discovery by Michael Okpara University Professor in Vet nary officer at Abia state in Nigeria PROFESSOR MADUIKE EZEIBE which had been tested and proved worthy of permanent cure but because He did not go through normal regulatory bodies responsible for drug discovery He was caught up by the politics of these bodies and as a result the drug was sanctioned for administration to HIV Victims.

Now, based on this breakthrough, I am pleading and appealing on federal ministry of Health (FMH) in Nigeria, World Health Organization (WHO) and other regulatory Agencies to pardon His errors and mistakes; and join him to take this hypothesis to the next level which will help to save the lives of our relations and friends who had mistakenly became the victims of this wicked incurable STD that spreads like wild fire and remains the route to untimely mortality rate in the society today.

Also, people are tired of lying when a relation dies; some will say that it is High Blood Pressure (BP), others will claim it is poison still others will call it cancer of the blood because nobody will like to be identified and associated suffering from HIV. But that is ignorant because now it is common malaria everywhere but our prayer is that permanent cure for the victims in the society will surface which we have gotten the fundamental keys to eliminate it through Prof. Ezeibe.

Again, if Americans had withheld Ebola Vaccine; by now I and you might have contacted Ebola without cure and that is more deadly because it spreads by contact. And if United State can release the vaccines to Ebola victim in Nigeria even at the point when it is not yet 100% guaranteed and it healed a fortunate patient why won’t Nigerian government assist the University professor to bring the drug to lighten the nation?

Finally, I am pleading on the Senate to look critically into this issue and help the health sector resolve the matter especially NAFDAC and others as they consider the “Medicinal Synthetic Aluminum Magnesium Silicate” discovered  by Professor Maduike Ezeibe of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture; Umudike in Nigeria.

WRITTEN BY

ONYIA EMEKA HEATH

CONTACT: +2348186388641

ELECTRICITY CONSUMERS URGE POWER DISTRIBUTION COMPANY TO BOOST ITS EFFICIENCY IN OPERATION IN YENEGOA, BAYELSA STATE IN NIGERIA

Electricity Consumers in Bayelsa state in Nigeria has called for a review of Power Distribution Company to achieve its efficient supply in the country. At the consumers’ forum in Yenegoa, Bayelsa state, resident expressed frustration over the poor electricity supply in the area. The news correspondent reports that the consumers urged the federal government to take a critical look at the privatization of the power sector with the view to repositioning it for optimum performance:

According to the correspondent who reports that at the forum which brought together top officials in PORT HARCOURT ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION COMPANY and some consumers in the state; residence wasted no time in voicing their dissatisfaction over ineffective supply of power supply in the area and other part of the Bayelsa state.  One of the complainant who reside at the AGUDAMA  AXIS of the state capital was categorically that Power Distribution Company was not meeting up to their responsibilities. According to the complainant what said that last month they ran short of Power supply and as a result the PHCD does not consider the shortage of electricity compare to the high bill that they will come up as demand at the end of the month which is alarming. And he expressed his annoyance over the issue of PHCD electricity monthly bill which he said that they are paying for darkness that they enjoy and not light from PHCD.

Another consumer who works in FAMILORA and reside in the KPASHA area of the state stressed that the fault that was reported in the transmitting line took many months to get it fixed; according to the consumer who said that those of them who live between INEC road and Otaka that it had taken almost four months that they have not experienced light,; and they usually experience light two weeks towards the time for PHCD to collect their monthly bills.

The top management of the PHCD PROFESSOR GODWIN OWOLOWO who represented the chief executive officer said the company was doing its best to ensure adequate power supply but was being hampered by poor payment of bills, according to PROFESSOR GODWIN OWOLOWO who said that they bring in about an average of 15 million units of energy every month which worth about Four Hundred and Fifty million Naira (N450,000.00),and what they get from this amount is about Eighty six million Naira (N86,000.00)in the last three months which is about 17% (percent); he addes that there are people who produces electricity, the gas is not free, the  generation company invested heavily in the acquiring and maintaining the machine, and the transmission company invested heavily in their transmission line. The more the money comes, the more the cost of production of the electricity. And he said finally that if everybody should pay their bills; everybody in the valley chain will go unharmed.

He Understate that with the install capacity of seven hundred and eighty Mega watts (784 mgw), systematically schedule were only realistic option. Stressing that PHCD will hold about ninety nine billion naira (N99, 000,000,000.00) by customers in the fore South –South state, thus, boosting ability to effectively distribute power in its area of operation.

NEWS REPORTER: ONYIA EMEKA HARFORD

CONTACT: +2348186388641

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RECENT EFFORT TO CHECK THE COST INFLATION AND RECESSION OF FOOD COMMODITY IN THE MARKET TO ASCERTAIN THE CURRENT ECONOMIC MEASURES TO USE SUPPORT FARMING IN NIGERIA

Recently the federal government put in place measures to check the rising cost of food items in the country; one of it was the strengthening of Naira. One of the correspondents visited some market in the federal capital territory to check if these measures have positively affected the prices of commodities.

According to the correspondent on this event said that with the recession change in increased foreign exchange and inflation; the cost of food items at that time skyrocketed to about twice its usual price in respond to the groaning of the people, the federal government set up a food task force to explore and recommend means of resolving some of the challenges contributing to the increase in the food prices across the country; after which the task force identified to the high cost of transportation and recommended that food items be transported using rail wagons rather than trucks.

Another measure adopted by the federal government was for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) relaxes its policy on Forex to check the exchange rate with a dollar going for over N500 at the parallel market in the February. In a statement, the acting Director Corporate Communications Department (CCD) ISAAC OKOROAFOR said it is inter sustaining the tempo of liquidity in the interbank market for the sake of different categories of NGOS, he said within the last three weeks it had injected about two billion dollars into the economy.

In the light of this the News media visited some market within the federal capital territory to ascertain whether the prices of food stuff are reverted following the measures put in place. Two traders in Garuchi international market said prices are still on the high side; according to one the traders who said that they used to buy bag of food stuff at the rate of N3000.00 or  N4000.00 but now it is being purchased at the rate of N8000.00 to N10,000.00. The correspondent said that the situation was different at the Wuse market as  the market trader said that there is really decrease in the price some of food stuff. A trader from Wuse market said that Red oil gallon was N 45,000.00 but now it is N 7,500. Other traders from both market also said that the price of Garri was so increasing, one of them said he usually buy a bag of Garri N 11,000.00 but the one he bought two days ago was N 16,500.00. According another trader who said that the price of Garri as of last two months was better than now.

On how to ensure sustainable agriculture production in the country, a professor of Soul Science University of Benin, Edo State, PROFESSOR ROBERT ORE said explained there was a need to proper implementation of agreed policies to ensure a genuine farmers gets what is given them rather than focusing on foreign partnership. PROFESSOR ROBERT to reduce prices of food stuff, everyone should be involved in agriculture. According to PROFESSOR ORE who said there is need to assist and support farmers, and he said that if at the time of producing rice and you visit Kebbi, Sokoto,  Edo and Delta State, rice is being filled the whole arm of the every nuke and cranny of the state.

Also a consultant MR. SHINA AGBERO explained that for reduction of cost of food stuff to be sustainable, a holistic approach that focuses not only on food prices but the overall cost of production had to be adopted. According the consultant who said that we need to look into the production; the professional stressed the need to put in place adequate measures to ensure food processes and storage for year round distribution.

NEWS REPORTER: ONYIA EMEKA HARFORD

CONTACT: +2348186388641

THE ISSUES OF MENINJGITIS IN KADUNA STATE IN NIGERIA

Now, in Kaduna state Nigeria excess intense heat give rise to outbreaks of epidemics such as spinal meningitis, according to the news correspondent who said that over the past decades, some critics reveals that there had been an increasing change in high humidity heat waves globally. These waves increased as a result of human induced climate change such as environmental pollution, rise in heat chopping gases in the atmosphere, Deforestation as well as global warming. These had led to deaths of hundreds of people in the country especially in the tropics.

Nigeria which also falls in the tropical region of the world is highly susceptible to the heat waves as such the Nigerian Metrological Agency has warned Nigerian to prepare for more hot days and Nights. A medical practitioner DR. HUSSEINI GARUBA, who spoke on the effect of the heat waves; according to DR. HUSSEINI GARUBA   who said that especially in the children, there is meningitis and even the adult has meningitis outbreak as well Cholera outbreak, but people may not think that it is because of the heat.

A deputy Director with the Kaduna State Health Care Agency, MALLAM HANSAN IBRAHIM spoke on government effort towards this issue, according to MALLAM HANSAN IBRAHIM   who said that the Kaduna state primary health development is working out salvation for the people of the state on how to go about this hot weather condition starting with the health workers in the state by inducting them about the dangers of the issues.

It is imperative for Nigerians to adjust the demands of the weather and also take precautionary measures as preventions is said is better than cure.

Now forwarding to the discussion on Issues of Meningitis in Nigeria and featuring on this discussion issue is DR. CHIKE IHEKWEAZU and the NEWS CORRESPONDENT who is posing questions to him:

THE CORRESPONDENT:  now ask Dr. Chike Ihekweazu; over three hundred deaths are counting, how did it get to the area?

DR. CHIKE IHEKWEAZU: Thank you the correspondent, you know these three hundred deaths are from the beginning of the year, from December 2016 till date. So it is an accumulating figure for all over the country; so we do have outbreak of bacterial meningitis at this time of the year. It is to an extent related to the weather and to the dusty condition and there is a belt in West Africa that called the Meningitis belt which includes Northern Nigeria. So it is not completely surprises that we have these cases, now what had change is that we have a new strange Meningitis circulating in Nigeria and it is not completely new because the one that is used to circulate in Nigeria as about two to three years ago was get rid of by a big vaccination campaign; what had happened is that new strange meninigitis just emerge which was present in other part of the world but this is first couple of years we are experiencing such significant number of meningitis deaths in Nigeria. And there is no commercially available vaccine for this particular one.

THE CORRESPONDENT:  Yes, we heard that last week and why is it so?

DR. CHIKE IHEKWEAZU: now, there is this vaccine produced but of a very limited stock; so the World Health Organization (WHO) manages this stock and releases this vaccine only when there is a confirmed outbreak; so as soon as this things started happening there is epidemic centre outbreak in Zamfara State in Nigeria. We started applying and that application went two to three weeks ago and now had been approved; and the vaccine went last week and we will start an intensive vaccination campaign in Zamfara state on Friday this week.

THE CORRESPONDENT:  Just Zamfara alone?

DR. CHIKE IHEKWEAZU: we will start with Zamfara and we will be working with Sokoto and Kastina State, and the potential state that will receive the vaccine.

THE CORRESPONDENT:  What is it exactly that has made this strange meningitis cause such large number of deaths? Is it that people is not drinking enough water or is it that the house is not well ventilated? What were the causes?

DR. CHIKE IHEKWEAZU: that is a very good question because bacterial meningitis is actually treatable illness but let’s start with preventing: water won’t prevent it, but increasing ventilation at homes will prevent it. But I don’t want to say avoid rekiodine because sometimes it is not possible in the conditions we live in Nigeria, it is even in an overcrowded situation. Please keep your windows open as much as possible to prevent meningitis; practice personal high hygiene especially hand washing as frequent as you can and keep yourself and kids clean as possible.

Then secondly, once you have two critical symptoms of meningitis like firstly facing neck stiffness and secondly an extreme sensitivity to sunlight. So, if you go out and your children cannot look into the sun and pulling their heads back in addition to fever and weakness, though I did not want to mention this because it could still mean other symptoms; but once there is neck stiffness, please go to a health care provider; As there are treatment available like antibiotics which is available in all public health facility especially in the state affected. These are being provided free of charge in the state affected in Nigeria. We make sure they have sufficient supply with the critical things as they are coming to health care facility as early as possible. The era of self medication is really over in Nigeria

THE CORRESPONDENT:  Now, there is a temptation and what is it? I opened my window and there is no air, then what do ? I lock up and switch on air condition and my fan, now what exactly should I do when I do not find air around me?

DR. CHIKE IHEKWEAZU: Some people that can afford Air condition really, meningitis is less likely would happen within that population.  Though most of the cases of this meningitis really come from part of the country where people are overcrowded and poor ventilation access. They don’t have access to this air condition as you said, and they are living in an overcrowded environment with poor ventilation. Therefore, there are a lot of circulations, just as we know that a back yard manager is always a backyard manager because most of the pollution you breathe always get into the blood stream and cause you disease but as I said we must do our best in preventing it, though sometimes it is very difficult to prevent. We may not get it exactly but if we do these simple preventive measures, high hygiene by keeping our homes ventilated and goes to hospital when we get ill, at least these will reduce the burden.

THE CORRESPONDENT: There is heat wave that had been going on for sometimes now.  And people are predicting that this is going to be the worst in months to come, now, should we be afraid that things like this should occur?

DR. CHIKE IHEKWEAZU: There are broad weather conditions in Nigeria, like we are looking forward to the rains, this is early April now, so the rains will come unless there are major catastrophes but the rain must come and that will cool down the environment as well as provide us with a natural safety guard for these diseases and tend to circulate during the dry season; what we critically do is to make sure we are better prepared for the next season. The next dry and hot season will come just like the rain always come; and once Nigerians enter for the disease control together with our partner agency The National Primary Health Care Agency is already now and  learning from this outbreak as well as preparing for next year.

THE CORRESPONDENT: Thank you very much National Coordinator Centre For Disease Control DR. CHIKE IHEKWEAZU speaking on this to core the right invading Meningitis in the country

DR. CHIKE IHEKWEAZU: Thank you very much also

NEWS REPORTER: ONYIA EMEKA HARFORD

CONTACT: +2348186388641

A NATION WIDE STRIKE BY THE NIGERIAN UNION OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS (NUPENG) WORKERS AND THE CASES OF HOT WEATHER CONDITION IN LAGOS STATE NIGERIA.

The Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers last week announced that the tankers drivers will commence a nationwide strike on Monday the 3^rd of April 2017. A statement by the Union indicates that the issues at stake include their welfare poor remuneration in security and bad road. The NUPENG Chairman MR. IGWE ACHESE said the tanker drivers had preparatory to the strike. And as asked the Abuja residence who are in preparatory to the strike; according to the Abuja resident who said that the sector of the strike if it is actually to commence as planned by NUPENG, it will be basket on the Nigerian economy because every day the average Nigerian is suffering from prices of commodity and everything is high. And to embark on strike now is going to tell more because cost of transportation is going to be something else deal with.

While another Abuja resident reports that the idea of going on strike is not a good thing and does not see why they should embark on such strike. And he was thinking they should discuss these competent issues with the federal government and it will be a burden on their side as tankers drivers coupled with the economic recession and other economic crises. Still another reporter said that the best solution to this issue is to return to the negotiation table and iron out the issues with themselves, set out workable modalities instead of going by options of strike action.

On the other hand, the persistence of heat wave in Lagos state Nigeria and some other part of the country had become a source concern to many people due to life threatening diseases associated with it; another health challenges altogether and let us look at the reports of effect of these hot weather: According to the reporter who said that there had been series of outburst of Meningitis in the North and people are afraid that this will extend to Lagos because the weather is very hot and they said that it is a terrible condition for them in the west while another reporter who said that she observes lots of measures in order to survive the terrible condition like taking showers three or four times a day and drinking cold water.

And across section of Lagosians complaining of the terrible hot weather while still others said that the weather which comes with dryness both at night and day has worsened their health condition of which the viable group of the victims are children below the age of 5years and pregnant women who now sleeps on the bed floor to prevent the heat. Reacting to the harsh weather; a medical doctor FOLASHADE OLUDARA who is the director Nutrition and Children health at the Lagos state ministry of health advised people to drink much water as the hot weather could lead to more stressing illnesses especially Kidney problem in the case of acute dehydration. According to FOLASHADE OLUDARA who said that they are in the capital region which is very hot and it is recommended that everyone should take at least two to three liters of water a day for the kidney to function properly.

Analysis of daily weather forecast in Nigeria indicates that in many cities; especially in the North, temperature upwards exceeding 37^oc which is the normal body temperature. Even Lagos which is known for low temperature region for years is becoming a hot weather region; extremely hot weather had become a recurring decimal in the country for instance by this time last year the weather condition cut nights and days as predicted by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency persistence for months and even led to the death of some people in parts of the country. However this development is not peculiar to Nigeria as hot weather is a global problem usually caused by changing climate. 

An environmentalist PROFESSOR OLU KAYODE OLADIKPO believes that as part of the solution; nations needs to commit resources towards mitigating the part of climate change; according to the Professor who said that they have limited rain fall sometimes and what is responsible is that sometimes high intensity beginning from LAFIA. Also recently, the World Metrological Organization declared that the concentration of Carbon (iv) Oxide (CO₂) which contribute greatly to global warming was now too much in the atmosphere; having attained the symbolic benchmark of 400 part per million in 2015 which led to extreme event in 2016 with severe draught that brought full insecurity to many in Southern, Eastern and Central African.

In the mean time, experts said that People should enhance ventilations in their homes, drinks large volume of water and immediately seek medical care when they experience any strange occurrences.

NEWS REPORTER: ONYIA EMEKA HARFORD

CONTACT: +2348186388641