Lexy Blog

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

Global foreign direct investment (FDI) flows rose by 36 per cent in 2015, reaching their highest levels since the financial crisis, according to a report out today from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which pegged the increase to a wave of cross-border mergers and acquisitions. The UN agency's latest Global Investment Trends Monitor shows that foreign investment totalled some $1.7 trillion and the that increased FDI - investment made by a company or entity based in one country, into a company or entity based in another country - in developed countries was the main factor behind the unexpected spike, with industrialized nations accounting for 55 per cent of global FDI inflows last year. Strong growth in flows was reported in the European Union (EU) as well as in the United States where FDI quadrupled, although from a historically low level in 2014. According to the report, developing economies saw their FDI reaching a new hig

With more than 320 million active users, Twitter truly is a great marketing Tool if used correctly. It gives a marketer a platform to connect with the potential target audience. But a marketer needs to keep in mind a few important factors while working with twitter, otherwise it may lead to loss of brand image, followers and potential Customers. A few key points one needs to always remember while marketing on twitter. #1) Not having a twitter marketing strategy: “Oh! It’s just twitter, I need to just formulate 140 character marketing Messages for my Brand and schedule my posts.” This is probably one of the biggest mistake a twitter marketer can make. Twitter is about constant engagement and engagement can only happen if one listens to and understands what the audience wants. One tweet going viral doesn’t mean that all your tweets will go viral. It’s important to constantly record the metrics. One must always have a long term and a short term communication strategy for twi

Africa’s first data-driven investigative journalism initiative launches $500,000 in grants and technical support for reportage that changes lives. The new impactAFRICA initiative will seek to support pioneering data journalism that tackles development issues, such as public healthcare, in six initial African countries: Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia. “We will help newsrooms use data and digital tools to produce the type of hard-hitting reportage and compelling storytelling that shapes public discourse and gets the attention of policymakers,” says impactAFRICA manager Haji Mohamed Dawjee.  “This isn’t just journalism for the sake of journalism: we’re looking to change lives.” Dawjee was director of social media accounts at Ogilvy Africa before joining Code for Africa (CfAfrica) in December to run impactAFRICA. She also has previously served as deputy digital news editor at the Mail & Guardian in South Africa. The first of four impactA

Alphabet Inc.’s Google is experimenting with letting some smartphone users download apps directly from its search app,an attempt to make using Google on mobile quicker and easier. Google is testing the new app downloading shortcut, bypassing its Google Play app, on a small subset of people running its Android operating system, a typical approach when Google is working on new products. It is limited to the search app, and is not available on search results found at Google.com using a web browser. “We’re always experimenting with ways to provide the best search results and making finding the content you need as easy as possible,” a Google spokeswoman said. The company declined to say how many Android users were involved in the testing, or whether or not this would become a permanent feature for the Google Search app. Google’s experimentation comes as an increasing number of smartphone users aren’t turning to the web as the starting point for their digital lives, as man