… Calls For Urgent Appointment Of Health Minister
Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), on Monday called for the declaration of a national emergency in the health sector by putting all machinery in place towards the eradication of measles from Nigeria.
It said the time has come for Nigeria to be saved the embarrassment by adopting a country plan as guided by the World Health Organization (WHO) measles elimination plan.
The NMA also said it anxiously awaiting the appointment and assumption of office of a Minister of Health saying that a lot has suffered in the absence of a sitting minister in the health sector.
President of the NMA, Dr. Kayode Obembe, who stated these in Abuja at the Nigerian Medical Association 2015 Annual Physicians Week, said that preventable child hood diseases like measles ought not to be in existence in Nigeria again.
Obembe said that it is on record that measles is one of the leading causes of death among young children as 145,700 measles death was recorded globally in 2013 which is about 400 death daily and 16 deaths every hour, adding that between 2000 and 2013, measles vaccination resulted in a 75 percent drop in measles death worldwide and between 2000 and 2013, measles vaccination prevented an estimated 15.6 million deaths making measles vaccine one of the best in public health.
He stressed the need for Nigeria to start the implementation road map towards achieving universal health coverage, adding that unless Nigeria embarks on community health insurance scheme, the dreams of expanding the coverage and achieving the targets set for the National Health Insurance Scheme ( NHIS) will still be a mirage.
According to him; “The Physicians Week offers doctors and dentists in Nigeria a special opportunity to have a critical appraisal of the medical profession and practice, the health care system and other important contemporary national and global issues, as well as the opportunity to interact with their patients and with the general public and also offer humanitarian services to Nigerians as part of their Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSRs).
“The theme of this year’s celebration :Routine Immunization in the Change Era: Targeting Measles and other Vaccine Preventable Diseases and sub theme: The National Health Act 2014 and Immunizations, reflects on the near success story of the nation in the heart of their determination and struggles to eradicate polio, measles and other preventable illnesses” he said.
In her remarks, the Chairman of FCT chapter of NMA, Dr. Fatima Zara Mairami lamented that many Nigerian parents neither appreciate nor realize the importance of vaccinating their children, saying that vaccine preventable diseases account for approximately 22 percent of child deaths in the country; amounting to 200,000 deaths.
She noted that apart from breastfeeding and access to clean water, immunization remains the most highly effective intervention for protecting babies from infectious diseases, adding that efforts must also be concerted to promote effective immunization against measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases to afford Nigerians longer, quality and healthier lives.
While applauding the recent delisting of Nigeria as one of the Polio endemic countries, she called on the Federal Government to sustain the new found status, adding that to achieve sustenance ,the country must ensure that every child of immunization age gets the vaccine as at when due.
By Gift Olivia Samuel
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… Calls For Urgent Appointment Of Health Minister
Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), on Monday called for the declaration of a national emergency in the health sector by putting all machinery in place towards the eradication of measles from Nigeria.
It said the time has come for Nigeria to be saved the embarrassment by adopting a country plan as guided by the World Health Organization (WHO) measles elimination plan.
The NMA also said it anxiously awaiting the appointment and assumption of office of a Minister of Health saying that a lot has suffered in the absence of a sitting minister in the health sector.
President of the NMA, Dr. Kayode Obembe, who stated these in Abuja at the Nigerian Medical Association 2015 Annual Physicians Week, said that preventable child hood diseases like measles ought not to be in existence in Nigeria again.
Obembe said that it is on record that measles is one of the leading causes of death among young children as 145,700 measles death was recorded globally in 2013 which is about 400 death daily and 16 deaths every hour, adding that between 2000 and 2013, measles vaccination resulted in a 75 percent drop in measles death worldwide and between 2000 and 2013, measles vaccination prevented an estimated 15.6 million deaths making measles vaccine one of the best in public health.
He stressed the need for Nigeria to start the implementation road map towards achieving universal health coverage, adding that unless Nigeria embarks on community health insurance scheme, the dreams of expanding the coverage and achieving the targets set for the National Health Insurance Scheme ( NHIS) will still be a mirage.
According to him; “The Physicians Week offers doctors and dentists in Nigeria a special opportunity to have a critical appraisal of the medical profession and practice, the health care system and other important contemporary national and global issues, as well as the opportunity to interact with their patients and with the general public and also offer humanitarian services to Nigerians as part of their Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSRs).
“The theme of this year’s celebration :Routine Immunization in the Change Era: Targeting Measles and other Vaccine Preventable Diseases and sub theme: The National Health Act 2014 and Immunizations, reflects on the near success story of the nation in the heart of their determination and struggles to eradicate polio, measles and other preventable illnesses” he said.
In her remarks, the Chairman of FCT chapter of NMA, Dr. Fatima Zara Mairami lamented that many Nigerian parents neither appreciate nor realize the importance of vaccinating their children, saying that vaccine preventable diseases account for approximately 22 percent of child deaths in the country; amounting to 200,000 deaths.
She noted that apart from breastfeeding and access to clean water, immunization remains the most highly effective intervention for protecting babies from infectious diseases, adding that efforts must also be concerted to promote effective immunization against measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases to afford Nigerians longer, quality and healthier lives.
While applauding the recent delisting of Nigeria as one of the Polio endemic countries, she called on the Federal Government to sustain the new found status, adding that to achieve sustenance ,the country must ensure that every child of immunization age gets the vaccine as at when due.
By Gift Olivia Samuel
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