Director General, National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr. Rufus Ebegba, has said that the agency will not regulate the biosafety industry and the technology therein on sentiments’ grounds. Therefore, he adds, the organisation will not be deterred by campaigns unfavourable to its operations.
Dr Rufus Ebegba, Director-General and CEO of the the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA). Photo credit: climatereporters.com
Ebegba made the submission on Friday, June 9, 2017 in Abuja while receiving executive members of the Northern Youth Council of Nigeria who came to pledge their support to the efforts of the NBMA to ensure the safety of food and the environment.
“We are prepared to regulate the technology based on science and not sentiments. We will not be detracted by any sponsored campaign seeking to misinform Nigerians. The Agency will continue to carry out its mandate as stipulated in the NBMA Act and shall be guided by evidence-based science,” Ebegba said.
He said the issue of Biosafety is purely scientific and that the NBMA was prepared in terms of manpower and facilities to regulate modern technology. He added that those calling for the scrapping of the Agency or the law setting up the Agency want to turn the country into a dumping ground for unwanted genetically modified organisms.
The NBMA boss further called on the media to be objective and avoid sensationalism in the reportage of national issues.
According to him, a group of Nigerians have constituted themselves to feed the media with unfounded information with the intent of causing panic and instilling fear in Nigerians about genetically modified organisms.
“Of late, a group parading themselves as representatives of civil societies and farmers have been going around leading protest for the repeal of the NBMA Act. There is no iota of truth in what they are saying. I call on the media to probe them and cross check the information they are reeling out.
“These same people were part and parcel of the processes that produced the Act passed by the National Assembly. So for them to turn around today and say the Act is weak and defective or we should scrap the Agency is unpatriotic,” the Director General added.
President of the NYCN, Comrade Isah Abubakar, called on Nigerians to support the Agency in its bid to protect and safeguard our health and environment.
Ebegba, who was later decorated with the council’s medal, was also presented an award of excellence for his doggedness in the discharge of his duties.
Activists have once again called on the authorities to review the National Biosafety Management Act 2015 as, according to them, it cannot in its present form protect the interest of Nigerians.
Participants at the workshop
The call formed one of the numerous resolutions reached at the close of Stakeholders Workshop on Food Sovereignty and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) held in Abuja on Tuesday, June 6, 2017.
Organised by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), the daylong forum had “The Right to know: Food Sovereignty & Dangers of GMOs” as its theme. It was graced by farmers, scientists, academics, professionals, traders and representatives from the media and non-governmental organisations.
Essentially, the workshop explored issues related to food sovereignty and the rights of the public to have adequate information with regard to safety of the foods they eat.
“The Act leaves loopholes that can be easily manipulated to allow GMOs into the country. An example is the composition of its board which has promoters of modern agricultural biotechnology, including the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), as board members of NBMA,” the participants emphasised, adding:
“The fact that NABDA teamed up with commercial interests, quickly applied and obtained permist illustarates how this arrangement can breed conflict of interest and defeat the role of the agency as an umbiased regulator.”
The workshop also clamoured investment in independent research, calling on government to invest in research institutes and empower scientists especially those that are not tied to the biotech corporations.
“This will enable them to investigate both short term and future impact of GMOs on the Nigerian environment, her culture and the health of individuals.”
Other resolutions include:
Public Consultation
The needs of the people must be taken into consideration in policy and decision making especially in matters of food which affects everybody. Top down decisions may end up being counter productive. Majority of our farmers are family or smallholder farmers and they are in the best position to say the challenges they are faced with and are capable of sharing knowledge on how those can be overcome without compromising the health of the people.
Loans and grants should be made available to grassroots farmers
Loans, grants and extension services should be made available to farmers, especially those in the rural areas to boost agricultural activities. Increased access to land and tools are essential for improving productivity.
Support for Organic Agriculture
Stakeholders at this meeting agreed that Organic farming is a more sustainable solution for provision of safe and healthy food as it allows farmers to control and save their seeds, enriches the soil and preserves biodiversity. The organic sector of the Ministry of Agriculture should be empowered to provide extension service to farmner.
Seed banks
Organic seed banks should be created in our different ecological zones to safeguard our indigenous seeds and secure our biodiversity.
Provision of storage facilities and access to markets
Focus should be on reducing post-harvest losses by providing proper storage facilities and creating bridges between the farms and the markets. The problem is more of food wastage than of food shortages.
Restrict GMOs to Laboratories
GMOs should be restricted to laboratories. The recall of GMOs after they have contaminated the environment will be very slim. Restriction to research laboratories will protect Nigerians from the health and environmental impacts.
Security agencies to monitor and investigate the uprooting of immature crops
Investigation is required into the uprooting of young plants by unidentified agents in many regions and also the conflicts between famers and pastoralists should be urgently resolved.
GMOs violate human rights.
The issue of GMOs in Nigeria is beyond food. It represents an approach which neglects the rights of individuals to choose and control what they eat. The workshop resolved to demand respect for the rights of the public to safe food. It was also noted that the peculiarities of our context including our informal marketing systems do not allow for standard labelling of products as may work elsewhere and this exposes us to unque risks that cannot be ignored.
Land preparation
Farm produce are as good as the soil and the soil on the other hand is as good as the organic contents in it. To experience good yield and increase productivity, the soil must be carefully managed and protected from chemicals which destroy its natural composition. GMOs and their accompanying agrochemicals negatively impact on the quality of soils.
More agencies to regulate food and biosafety issues
It was also agreed that one agency cannot adequately address the issues of Biosafety in Nigeria. There is need for a strong collective effort to protect our interests, culture, environment and health.
Increased Awareness
The masses are largely unaware of the state of biosafety in the country. A majority do not know about what GMOs are about and how it affects them. One of the strong points made at this event was that of increasing awareness among the people of the dangers of GMOs. We agreed that this information should be spread especially in the rural areas and in languages that the people can easily understand.
Nulification of Permits and other deployments
The workshop resolved that the permits issued by NBMA for GMO varieties (Maize and Cotton) should be withdrawn. The failure of similar GM cotton variety in Burkina Faso and its being banned in that country two weeks before their approval in Nigeria was noted as a cogent reason for concern. The deployment of genetically modified cassava and beans in Nigeria was denounced and participants called for a halt on all fronts.
The Government of Italy is providing a soft loan to the Government of Kenya to improve solid waste management in Ngong town, a satellite urban centre of the capital city, Nairobi.
L-R: Mauro Massoni, Ambassador of Italy to Kenya; The Government of Kenya representatives Alice Manyala and Geoffrey Sigia; and UN-Habitat Representative, Andrew Cox, during the signing of a contribution agreement towards improving solid waste in Ngong town. Photo credit: Julius Mwelu/UN-Habitat
The project will allow the introduction of sanitary landfill technology and resource recovery facilities at a new site in Ngong town that will replace the illegal dumpsite that is currently in use.
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), based on its expertise and competencies related to its mandate, will over the coming months carry out a feasibility study including environmental and social impact assessments to inform the final design of the new waste management facility. UN-Habitat will also carry out environmental and social impact assessment studies for the decommissioning of the old dumpsite which was closed down by the Government of Kenya in 2016 for its failure to meet the recommended environmental standards.
The activities that will take place include:
A diagnostic baseline survey to summarise the current status of solid waste management in Kajiado County where Ngong is located;
An environmental and social impact assessment of the closure of the illegal dumpsite as well as a study of the technical feasibility, the applicable technology and financial feasibility of the closure;
An environmental and social impact assessment for the new dumpsite as well as a study of the technical feasibility, the applicable technology for resource recovery and financial feasibility;
Consultative workshops with stakeholders and public awareness campaigns on proper waste management; and
Development of a full size project document for the integrated solid waste management project in Ngong town with recycling plan to recover resources from waste.
The current illegal dumping site of Ngong Town receives over 40 tons of waste daily, 60% of which is organic waste that could be transformed into biogas energy. Some 130 families are working and earning a living from the dumpsite. The environmental damages from the illegal dumpsite are adverse, according to the UN-Habitat.
Vincent Kitio, the Chief of the Urban Energy Unit which will be responsible for the carrying out the feasibility study, said: “This joint project will bring about positive environmental change. The resource recovery facilities and sanitary landfill site will improve the current improper handling of waste and benefit local communities by turning recyclables into value. UN-Habitat will use this pilot project as a demonstration model and replicate the same to other towns and countries. We will capture lessons and good practices from this project and share them with other towns and countries”.
According to the UN-Habitat, it has continued to support cities and towns to meet their SDG goals, adding that Ruiru town in Kenya is a beneficiary of UN agency’s work in solid waste management.
“The dumping site in Ruiru was rehabilitated using the Fukuoka method. In Kisii town, 15 youth are working on recycling plastics and earning a living.”
Litter in the seas is a major global environmental problem. In connection with the Ocean Conference in New York, Sweden is joining the Clean Seas Campaign, a global UN Environment initiative to reduce marine litter. Sweden will also provide financial support to UN Environment’s work on the issue.
Plastic bottles on a beach. Photo credit: Bo Eide
“Oceans are the lifeblood of humanity, but they are being turned into rubbish dumps. We have a collective responsibility to act, and to act now. We need to turn the tide on plastic waste, protect biodiversity and keep the oceans rich and clean. It’s an investment in our own survival,” says Minister for the Environment Karolina Skog.
The Clean Seas Campaign was launched in January 2017. It aims to increase global awareness of the need to reduce marine litter. The need for measures differs in different parts of the world. Proper waste management infrastructure is lacking in some areas, while in others the challenge involves the general public’s awareness of the impact litter has on the environment.
“Sweden’s generosity and strong support will help us intensify our work and translate the science into global awareness and concrete action,” said Erik Solheim, Head of UN Environment.
Financial support
Joining the Clean Seas Campaign means that Sweden will provide SEK 9 million in support, which is also support to UN Environment’s global efforts in the area.
Much of marine litter originates on land. It is therefore necessary to not focus solely on litter that has already ended up in the sea, but also on land-based pollution ‘from source to ocean’. Sweden is also investing a further SEK 5 million to support UN Environment in its efforts to tackle pollution from land-based sources.
Sweden’s measures to reduce marine litter
Sweden is already doing a great deal to tackle the problem of marine litter, including a national collection system, waste management technologies and a deposit-refund system for PET bottles. From 31 May, shops will be required to inform customers about the negative environmental impact of plastic carrier bags, and Sweden will soon introduce a ban on microplastics in cosmetic products intended to be rinsed off. The Swedish Government has recently announced new financial support for domestic actions, as well as appointed a state investigation on plastics.
Inger Andersen, Director-General of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in a messeage to observe the World Oceans Day, discloses that a recent IUCN report shows that many species off the coast of western and central Africa are in danger, threatening food security in the region
Overfishing is posing a threat to food security in West and Central Africa
Where did life on Earth begin? The fact is, no one really knows. Charles Darwin imagined a “warm little pond”, while some scientists today speculate about tide pools and hot springs. Increasingly, however, scientists are narrowing in on one hypothesis: that life began around a deep sea hydrothermal vent. So it is likely that the Ocean is our Garden of Eden.
Today, life on Earth continues to depend on the ocean. Covering almost three quarters of the Earth’s surface, the ocean contains 97% of its water and supports every life form that inhabits it. It produces over half of the oxygen in the atmosphere and regulates the Earth’s climate.
We humans, regardless of how far we may live from the coast, are intimately tied to the ocean. It provides billions of people around the world with protein-rich food, protection against disasters, and sources of income. The ocean is crucial to the global economy, supporting key industries such as fisheries, transport, trade and tourism. The ocean drives our creativity and innovation and awes us with its mysteries.
In many ways the ocean has shaped humanity as we know it. Throughout human history, it has been the foundation of our very existence and a driving force of our development.
We, in turn, have been the driving force of its destruction.
Our impact on the ocean is immense. Take fishing. Unsustainable fishing practices are decimating marine resources on our watch. According to a 2013 report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, more than 30% of global fish stocks were classified as overfished.
Just today, IUCN announced the results of its latest IUCN Red List reports assessing marine biodiversity in Oceania and the Caribbean. The conclusions are clear: overfishing and the degradation of coral reefs in these regions are pushing many fish, including important food sources, towards extinction. Another recent IUCN report shows that many species off the coast of western and central Africa are also in danger, threatening food security in the region. More effectively managed protected areas, better regulation and enforcement of marine fisheries and improved monitoring of marine biodiversity must be part of the solution.
The effects of human-induced climate change are also shocking. The ocean has absorbed 30% of the anthropogenic emissions of CO2 and a staggering 93% of the added heat caused by human-driven changes to the atmosphere. As a result, the average temperature of the ocean has gone up, as has its acidity, producing devastating effects.
Coral reefs are among the most visible victims, with bleaching events rising to alarming levels. Additionally, a 2016 IUCN report revealed that marine species and ecosystems are already experiencing potentially irreversible damage. We are seeing changes in species growth, reproduction and distributions, which affect the abundance and diversity of marine life. Ecosystems such as mangroves, salt marshes and seagrasses are being destroyed, and their ability to act as natural carbon sinks and protect our shorelines – lost.
The Paris climate change agreement is our beacon of hope. Backed by almost all nations, it now needs rapid implementation for it to be effective. This is why the news that the US government would be pulled out of the Accord was so disconcerting. Thankfully, the response from other countries, and even regional and local governments, has been overwhelmingly positive. The need to stick to Paris is evident, and we can only hope that the White House follows this leadership and reconsiders its recent decision.
Then there’s plastic.
At least eight million tons of plastic end up in the ocean every year. Plastic has been found on the shorelines of all continents, causing severe injuries and deaths to marine species across the globe.
The calamity of plastic pollution conjures up images of empty water bottles and discarded plastic bags. But the reality is far more complex. Much plastic pollution is not even visible to the naked eye. Recent IUCN research demonstrates that tiny plastic particles from synthetic clothes and tyres are a very significant source of marine plastic pollution. This is hugely problematic because these particles are easily ingested by marine life.
Yet this damage that we inflict on marine life is also an incredible act of self-destruction. It poses a serious threat to our health: chemicals used in the production of plastic materials are known to be carcinogenic and to interfere with the body’s endocrine system, causing developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune disorders. These contaminants enter the digestive systems of marine organisms that ingest them, and accumulate in the food web.
We must come together to find innovative ways to address the devastating problem of marine plastic pollution. Collective action is the only way forward. While each one of us – as a consumer of plastics – has a role to play, this will address only the most visible part of the problem. Governments and businesses must work together to address plastic pollution at every stage of a product’s value chain. Proper waste management and recycling efforts must be planned for at the earliest states of product development. Attacking plastic pollution is everybody’s responsibility and must not be pinned solely on the consumer.
Today, we are waking up to the consequences of the short-sightedness with which we have been treating our oceans. And the extent of our damage is telling us that we must act fast if we want to stand a chance of surviving.
In 2015, the world agreed on an ambitious plan to secure our ability to develop – and our planet’s capacity to sustain us. A healthy ocean is a central element to this plan. It underpins much of our sustainable development efforts, including those to eliminate poverty, hunger and ensure health and well-being for all. The United Nations Ocean Conference to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14, “Life below water”, currently taking place in New York, is a testament to how seriously the world is treating this challenge.
The ocean is very likely where we came from, and where our future begins. We need healthy oceans to help us tackle climate change. We need healthy oceans to feed our populations and fuel our economies. We need healthy oceans for their intrinsic value. And we need to understand that to destroy this ancestral home is to destroy ourselves.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has begun disbursing resources to the first project it approved in Peru’s Amazon, providing dual benefits by safeguarding the “planet’s lungs” and bolstering the resilience of indigenous people.
The GCF facility will help indigenous communities manage their wetland resources in ways that avoid deforestation and the large-scale release of greenhouse gases stored in local peatlands
This $9.1 million climate finance initiative will help indigenous communities in the northern Peruvian province of Datem del Marañón manage their wetland resources in ways that avoid deforestation and the large-scale release of greenhouse gases stored in local peatlands.
GCF has transferred the first $1 million tranche of its approved $6.2 million grant to the Peruvian Trust Fund for National Parks and Protected Areas (PROFONANPE), the direct access Accredited Entity running the five-year project.
Following approval by the GCF Board in November 2015, PROFONANPE conducted an extensive consultation process over more than a year and a half with the indigenous communities participating in the project, as well as with their local, regional and national representatives. This allowed the project to fulfill conditions set by the GCF Board in order to receive its first disbursement.
The planet’s peatlands, most of which are found in South America, are a key piece in the climate conundrum. While they cover only three to five percent of Earth’s surface, they are estimated to hold more than 30 percent of the planet’s carbon stocks, in far denser quantities than aboveground stocks such as forests.
“The dual mitigation and adaptation focus of this Amazon basin project is mirrored in the global and local benefits it will provide,” said Alberto Paniagua, PROFONANPE’s Chief Executive Officer.
“This project will help indigenous communities improve their ability to manage wetland resources in the face of impending climate change, while better securing their livelihoods,” he explained. “At the same time, it will help stem emissions from the degradation of peatlands in this province, estimated to contain 3.78 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2 eq.).”
“The area of the project covers an important part of the world where peatlands remain almost intact,” he said. “We must protect the Amazon, as the life of the planet depends on this ecosystem. While its geographical area is shared mostly by Peru, Brazil and Colombia, in a sense we all own the Amazon as it is the planet’s lungs.”
Mr. Paniagua also pointed out that the best way to prevent deforestation and peatland degradation in the Amazon is to support indigenous people to integrate their way of living into the local economies with neighboring communities, while maintaining their traditions and ancestral rights in their territory.
This includes their harvesting of palm trees that thrive in these wetland areas in ways that keep the trees standing. The sustainable harvesting of fruit from palm trees can bring considerable financial rewards, as the oil is used globally in food ingredients, hair and skin products and other commodities.
“We need to find new ways to support indigenous people, as some are already feeling the brunt of climate change from the loss of land through the changing flow of rivers and continuous threats to deforestation in their territory,” said Mr. Paniagua.
“This project will also encourage indigenous people to stay living in these areas as custodians of the land.”
The Benue State FGN/IFAD-Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) has donated farm equipment to VCDP farmers associations in the state.
Some of the farm equipment
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony which held on Friday, June 9, 2017 at the premises of the Benue State Agricultural Development Agency (BNARDA), Makurdi, State Programme Coordinator FGN/IFAD-VCDP, Mr Emmanuel Igbaukum, stated that it had become imperative to support their farmers with small equipment.
According to him, where tractors can not access, the small farm equipment will, thereby solving the issues of mechanisation faced since the inception of the programme in the State two years ago.
The SPC, who noted that the farmers are paying only 30 percent of the total cost of the equipment applied for, charged the beneficiaries to judiciously use the equipment to get good results and yields.
In his address, Programme Manager, Benue State Agricultural Development Agency (BNARDA), Mr James Ker, encouraged the benefitting farmers associations to continue to key into agriculture as it is a viable business.
Stressing further, Ker charged the beneficiaries of the equipment to not only use it on their farms but hire them and plough for others in order to make more money.
“Be serious with the equipment you are given and make sure you farm with zeal and you will discover that agriculture is an industry that can employ more labour than any other,” he said.
Speaking to EnviroNews, a member of one of the benefitting farm associations, Sumaka Youth Multipurpose Cooperative Society from Guma Local Government Area, Mr Alfred Sumaka, who thanked FGN/IFAD-VCDP for the aid, stated that the programme has afforded them a lot of value from farming.
He enthused that the donated equipment would boost their farm yields and encourages more farmers to be serious with agriculture.
Donated equipment included two threshers, and two tillers among others.
Gatwick Airport in the UK and Lyon-Saint Exupéry in France are the latest airports to go entirely carbon neutral with the help of the United Nations, bringing the total number of such airports in Europe up to 27.
Gatwick Airport
The airport’s carbon neutral status is certified by the independent carbon management programme Airport Carbon Accreditation under Airport Council International (ACI), which supports airports in measuring, reporting and reducing their emissions. ACI is in turn aligned with the Climate Neutral Now initiative of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which encourages voluntary climate action towards climate neutrality.
Niclas Svenningsen, who heads the Climate Neutral Now initiative at the UNFCCC Secretariat in Bonn, Germany, said: “This is certainly a significant moment for Gatwick, as the first carbon neutral London airport and also for Lyon-Saint Exupéry, as the second French airport to become carbon neutral – and we congratulate them on all of the work that they have undertaken to get here. We are also encouraged to see that the European airport industry is already past the half-way mark in its commitment to having 50 carbon neutral airports by 2030 – this is promising progress and we hope that other industries are taking note.”
The movement to make Europe’s airports climate neutral was pioneered by Swedavia’s Stockholm-Arlanda airport, which achieved certification as the first carbon neutral airport in the world in November 2009.
A total of 116 airports in Europe are currently working to reduce their CO2 emissions using various forms of the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme. Around 65% of European air passenger traffic goes through these airports.
New advice on which antibiotics to use for common infections and which to preserve for the most serious circumstances is among the additions to the “WHO Model list of essential medicines” for 2017, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Other additions, it says, include medicines for HIV, hepatitis C, tuberculosis and leukaemia.
Dr Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO Assistant Director-General for Health Systems and Innovation. Photo credit: AP/Keystone,Martial Trezzini
The updated list adds 30 medicines for adults and 25 for children, and specifies new uses for nine already-listed products, bringing the total to 433 drugs deemed essential for addressing the most important public health needs. The WHO Essential Medicines List (EML) is used by many countries to increase access to medicines and guide decisions about which products they ensure are available for their populations.
“Safe and effective medicines are an essential part of any health system,” said Dr Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO Assistant Director-General for Health Systems and Innovation. “Making sure all people can access the medicines they need, when and where they need them, is vital to countries’ progress towards universal health coverage.”
New advice: Three categories of antibiotic
In the biggest revision of the antibiotics section in the EML’s 40-year history, WHO experts have grouped antibiotics into three categories – ACCESS, WATCH and RESERVE – with recommendations on when each category should be used. Initially, the new categories apply only to antibiotics used to treat 21 of the most common general infections. If shown to be useful, it could be broadened in future versions of the EML to apply to drugs to treat other infections.
The change aims to ensure that antibiotics are available when needed, and that the right antibiotics are prescribed for the right infections. It should enhance treatment outcomes, reduce the development of drug-resistant bacteria, and preserve the effectiveness of “last resort” antibiotics that are needed when all others fail. These changes support WHO’s “Global action plan on antimicrobial resistance”, which aims to fight the development of drug resistance by ensuring the best use of antibiotics.
WHO recommends that antibiotics in the ACCESS group be available at all times as treatments for a wide range of common infections. For example, it includes amoxicillin, a widely-used antibiotic to treat infections such as pneumonia.
The WATCH group includes antibiotics that are recommended as first- or second-choice treatments for a small number of infections. For example, the use of ciprofloxacin, used to treat cystitis (a type of urinary tract infection) and upper respiratory tract infections (such as bacterial sinusitis and bacterial bronchitis), should be dramatically reduced to avoid further development of resistance.
The third group, RESERVE, includes antibiotics such as colistin and some cephalosporins that should be considered last-resort options, and used only in the most severe circumstances when all other alternatives have failed, such as for life-threatening infections due to multidrug-resistant bacteria.
WHO experts have added 10 antibiotics to the list for adults and 12 for children.
“The rise in antibiotic resistance stems from how we are using – and misusing – these medicines,” said Dr Suzanne Hill, Director of Essential Medicines and Health Products. “The new WHO list should help health system planners and prescribers ensure people who need antibiotics have access to them, and ensure they get the right one, so that the problem of resistance doesn’t get worse.”
Other additions
The updated EML also includes several new drugs, such as two oral cancer treatments, a new pill for hepatitis C that combines two medicines, a more effective treatment for HIV as well as an older drug that can be taken to prevent HIV infection in people at high risk, new paediatric formulations of medicines for tuberculosis, and pain relievers. These medicines are:
two oral cancer medicines (dasatinib and nilotinib) for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia that has become resistant to standard treatment. In clinical trials, one in two patients taking these medicines achieved a complete and durable remission from the disease;
sofosbuvir + velpatasvir as the first combination therapy to treat all six types of hepatitis C (WHO is currently updating its treatment recommendations for hepatitis C);
dolutegravir for treatment of HIV infection, in response to the most recent evidence showing the medicine’s safety, efficacy, and high barrier to resistance;
pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with tenofovir alone, or in combination with emtricitabine or lamivudine, to prevent HIV infection;
delamanid for the treatment of children and adolescents with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and clofazimine for children and adults with MDR-TB;
child-friendly fixed-dose combination formulations of isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol and pyrazinamide for treating paediatric tuberculosis; and
fentanyl skin patches and methadone for pain relief in cancer patients with the aim of increasing access to medicines for end-of-life care.
The “WHO Model list of essential medicines” was launched in 1977, coinciding with the endorsement by governments at the World Health Assembly of “Health for all” as the guiding principle for WHO and countries’ health policies.
One hundred megawatts of electricity generated from renewable energy sources are to be connected to the National Grid within the next five years.
Director General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), Dr. Eli Jidere Bala, stated this in Calabar, at the opening of a two-day workshop for commencement of the project.
