Lexy Blog

…as experts call for more hours of rest to achieve optimal capacity It started in his second year at one of the Eastern universities in the country. To his colleagues, he was regarded as one of the brightest student academically in his set. Many of his course mates looked up to him for guidance in his department. Gideon Amenahum loved his books more than any other thing. However, his reading pattern was a bit different from that of his colleagues.    During the daytime, it was a different ball game entirely as he buried himself in his academics. Every spare time he had during the day, one could easily find Gideon in one of the classes/at the lab reading. What amazed him was that he got tired easily, and was usually irritable and impatient with his friends and colleagues. Even as he eventually graduated to become one of the best in his class, it was years after that he was informed by a physician that he may have been assailed by a bout ...

  …Commissions avian influenza treatment centre in Lagos The Federal Government has expressed its preparedness to combat headlong the issue of avian influenza as well as the treatment of serious cases of respiratory disorders in the Nigeria. Making this known at the commissioning of the Avian Influenza Control Project (AICP) treatment Centre and Diagnostic Laboratory Unit at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Idi-Araba, Onyebuchi Chukwu, minister of Health, disclosed that the commissioning of the centre would strengthen disease surveillance through laboratory services within the south western region of the country.  The event, which was carried out in tandem with the commissioning of the refurbished Accident & Emergency wing of LUTH, is to further enhance the local medical response capability and virological diagnostic capability.   While disclosing that the lab project will not only be useful for the diagnosis of influenza viruses alone, but for...

…As doctors, nurses’ strike bite harder   People intending to seek healthcare in private hospitals in Lagos and environs are not experiencing the best of times at the moment following the industrial action by health workers in the state. This is as they are now paying higher than usual to obtain such services. This development is traceable to the fall-out of the protracted doctors and nurses’ strikes called by the Medical Guild and the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), respectively, which has further worsened the plight of those in need of medical attention in the state. Investigations by BusinessDay recently revealed that owners of many private clinics and hospitals in the state seem to have reviewed their charges upward in an attempt to cash-in on the inability of Lagos State government and the striking unions to come to terms with their respective demands. A visit to some private hospitals at Oshodi, ...

  …as drug resistance remains a major puzzle confronting the globe Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry is one sector that has over the years been confronted with several challenges; from the illicit sale of drugs which the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has fought headlong to across-the-sale of drugs. And the list is endless. However, despite Federal Government’s resolve to attain self-sufficiency in local manufacturing of essential drugs, which is in line with the National Drug Policy to make drugs that are safe, effective, efficacious, affordable and available at all times to the Nigerian populace, one dangerous trend which is fast becoming a norm is the unguarded sale of drugs across the counter. Hence, when people feel ill, without hesitating on the dangers associated with self medication, quickly reach out to any hereby pharmacy to purchase drug(s) of their choice without the prescription of a physician...

 …as two-thirds reduction in infant mortality key in achieving MDG target When The Innocenti Declaration was produced and adopted by participants at the World Health Organisation/United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) policymakers' meeting on “Breastfeeding in the 1990s: A Global Initiative in Italy,” the declaration was aimed at drawing up strategies for protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding as well as encouraging national authorities in planning, implementing, and evaluating breastfeeding policies. Amongst other things were to reduce the number of deaths caused by acute respiratory infection and diarrhoea - two major childhood killers in infants-through improved feeding and reinforce a "breastfeeding culture" in a quest to reduce the "bottle-feeding culture". Sadly, despite efforts by international agencies like UNICEF and other governmental agencies like the National Agency for Food, Drug Adminis...