Lexy Blog

Donors have pledged an additional US$15.3 million to support quick action by the World Health Organization to tackle disease outbreaks and humanitarian health crises through its emergency response fund in 2018, the Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE). Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, the Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland announced contributions ranging from US$20,000 to US$5.6 million at a conference hosted at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday (March 26) – increasing CFE funding levels to US$23 million. This will enable the rapid financing of health response operations in the coming months – filling that critical gap between the moment the need for an emergency response is identified and the point at which funds from other sources can be released. WHO will seek to secure further donor commitments to achieve its US$100 million funding target for the 2018/2019

After nearly 400 confirmed infections and 100 deaths, the spread of Lassa fever in Nigeria is beginning to slow but the epidemic is far from contained, the World Health Organization and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) have warned. NCDC’s latest data shows that the number of new confirmed and probable cases has been falling for five consecutive weeks, indicating that public health measures are proving effective, but more infections are expected until the end of the dry season, as the viral haemorrhagic fever is endemic to the area. Between 1 January and 25 March 2018, the NCDC reported 394 laboratory confirmed cases. There were 18 new confirmed cases in the last reporting week (19-25 March 2018), compared to 54 confirmed cases a month earlier (19-25 February 2018). “We should interpret the recent declining trend in new cases with caution. The Lassa fever season is not yet over. We need to maintain vigilance and response operations, and ensure continued e

Food security and nutrition, land, water, food, work and a life free of violence and without poverty highlighted as main issues to tackle  The UN’s largest annual gathering on gender equality and women’s rights concluded today in New York with the strong commitment by UN Member States to achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls. Coming on the heels of unprecedented global activism and public outcry to end gender injustice and discrimination worldwide, the 62nd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) reached a robust agreement highlighting the urgency of empowering and supporting those who need it most and have, for too long, been left behind. Today, 1.6 billion people still live in poverty, and nearly 80 per cent of the extreme poor live in rural areas. Many of them are rural women. They continue to be economically and socially disadvantaged – for instance, they have less access to economic resources and opportunities, qu

“Your Excellency Muhamadu Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Senator Bukola Saraki, Senate President; Honorable Yakubu Dogara, Speaker of the House; Your Excellencies, executive governors of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Royal fathers; Distinguished ladies and gentlemen; and as you say in Nigeria, all other protocols observed. Thank you for welcoming me to Nigeria. I’ve been coming here regularly since 2006, and I’ve always felt welcome. Nigerians usually greet me warmly. The first time I met the Sultan of Sokoto, I was honored that he greeted me with the gift of a white horse. At some point during every visit, though, some brave person eventually asks me—very politely —“Why are you actually here?” It’s an understandable question. Most American technology guys don’t wander around Nigeria learning about its health system. But I think I have a good answer. When we started Microso

Policies to control tobacco use, including tobacco tax and price increases, can generate significant government revenues for health and development work, according to a new landmark global report from WHO and the National Cancer Institute of the United States of America. Such measures can also greatly reduce tobacco use and protect people’s health from the world’s leading killers, such as cancers and heart disease. But left unchecked, the tobacco industry and the deadly impact of its products cost the world’s economies more than US$ 1 trillion annually in healthcare expenditures and lost productivity, according to findings published in The economics of tobacco and tobacco control. Currently, around 6 million people die annually as a result of tobacco use, with most living in developing countries. The almost 700-page monograph examines existing evidence on two broad areas: The economics of tobacco control, including tobacco use and growing, manufacturing and trade, taxe

The National Service Delivery Innovation Challenge (NSDIC) showcase, which is a competitive process to identify, showcase and spur innovations in service delivery is set to improve the quality and coverage of RMNCAH and nutrition interventions across the country – particularly in North-East Nigeria and undeserved populations. Until now, the North East has been affected by insurgency for over three years which negatively impacted the access to quality of care, routine maternal and neonatal child health care of childhood diseases such as polio, measles, etc. This development has led to the reappearance of the Wild Polio Virus (WPV) in 20116 which has been described as a setback in the wake of the country’s polio eradication and certification as a Polio-free nation by the World Health Organisation (WHO) His Excellency, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will be the Special Guest of Honour at the NSDIC showcase of shortlisted innovations

  Lagos State has recorded twenty (20) suspected cases of Lassa Feveras at January 26, 2016, since the outbreak of the disease in the Country in November, 2015. Fourteen (14) suspected cases tested negative, four (4) suspected cases were confirmed positive of Lasssa Fever, while the results of two (2) suspected cases are pending. One (1) case was confirmed on the 15 th January 2016, two (2) cases were confirmed on 18 th January 2016 and one (1) case was confirmed on 26 th January, 2016.   In a statement sent to us by Dr. jide Idris, Commissioner for Health, Lagos State, t he Ministry has line-listed 537 contacts of the confirmed cases and 534 (99%) of the contacts are currently being monitored. "The last confirmed case was a 27 years old Lady, who travelled to Edo State on December 24 2015 and returned to Lagos on January 2, 2016. She became ill on January 14, 2016 and received care in one private hospital and three churches before she was referred on Januar