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DNA presence in water enhances monitoring of fish migration

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DNA presence in water enhances monitoring of fish migration

For the first time, scientists have recorded a spring fish migration simply by conducting DNA tests on water samples.

Fish migration
Fish migration

“Environmental DNA” (eDNA), strained from one-litre (quart) samples drawn weekly from New York’s East and Hudson Rivers over six months last year, revealed the presence or absence of several key fish species passing through the water on each test day.

The convenient weekly data snapshots created a moving picture that largely reinforced and correlated with knowledge hard won from migration studies conducted over many years with fishnet trawls.

The Rockefeller University study, published on Wednesday, April 12, 2017 in PLOS ONE, pioneers a way to monitor fish migrations that involves a fraction of the effort and cost of trawling, all without harming the fish.

It demonstrates as well another in the growing list of eDNA uses, which experts expect to upend soon the way fish assessments are conducted worldwide.

Indeed, eDNA science is quickly granting humanity a very old wish: an easy way to estimate the abundance and distribution of diverse fish species and other forms of marine life in the dark waters of rivers, lakes, and seas.

Led by Senior Research Associate Mark Stoeckle and co-authored by student researcher Lyubov Soboleva and Rockefeller University scientist Zachary Charlop-Powers, the project originated in the university’s Programme for the Human Environment under Director Jesse Ausubel, co-founder of the Census of Marine Life, a decade-long international collaboration that ended in 2010.

As they swim, fish leave traces of their DNA in the water, sloughed off their slimy, gelatinous outer coating or in excretions, for example.

Says Dr. Stoeckle: “Researchers in Europe first demonstrated that relatively small volumes of freshwater and seawater environments have enough invisible bits of DNA floating in them to detect dozens of fish species.”

 

Introducing the time element: an important and innovative twist

“By conducting a series of tests over time, collecting surface water from the same point on both the Hudson and East Rivers once a week for six months, we’ve successfully demonstrated a novel way to record fish migration.”

“Our work also offers clear new insight into the durability of DNA in the water, which persists despite currents and tides with a goldilocks quality just right for research.  If the DNA disappeared too quickly, we couldn’t obtain an informative sample; if it persisted for too long, there would be too much DNA in the water to yield useful, timely insights.”

In all, Dr. Stoeckle and colleagues obtained the DNA of 42 fish species, including most (81%) of the species known to be locally abundant or common, and relatively few (23%) of the uncommon ones.

“We didn’t find anything shocking about the fish migration – the seasonal movements and the species we found are known already,” says Dr. Stoeckle. “That’s actually good news, adding to evidence that eDNA is a good proxy. It amazes me that we can get the same information from a small cup of water and a large net full of fish.”

Some species, he adds, couldn’t yet be distinguished, notably some in the herring family, which have identical sequences in the region of DNA used for testing.  As well, some of the DNA obtained couldn’t be identified because the DNA reference library, while steadily growing, is incomplete.

“We knew that we had DNA from a fish, but couldn’t pinpoint the species,” says Dr. Stoeckle.

US climate policy: Doctors must respond to protect human health

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US climate policy: Doctors must respond to protect human health

In an article published recently in the British Medical Journal, family medicine physician, health policy expert, and Director of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, Dr. Mona Sarfaty, comments on the health implications of the recent White House Executive Order rescinding, revising and reviewing regulatory decisions and authorities of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – specifically those that were directed at the oil and gas industries and intended to tackle climate change

Dr-Mona-Sarfaty
Dr. Mona Sarfaty

The current federal political climate in the United States bodes ill for the future of the world’s climate, and by extension for the health of people around the world. Clinicians have a special capacity to respond because of our positions at the nexus of the science of research and the art of patient care.

The executive order on environmental policy issued by the White House on 28 March 2017 starts a process of rescinding, revising, and reviewing regulatory decisions and authorities of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – specifically those that were directed at the oil and gas industries and intended to tackle climate change.

The most important policy changes initiate reviews of the Clean Power Plan and the regulations on methane and other volatile organic compounds, both introduced by the Obama administration. The Clean Power Plan requires electricity generating plants in the US to reduce carbon dioxide output by 32% by 2030, while the methane regulation established limits on emissions of methane and other gases from some natural gas drilling operations. These “reviews” are designed to lead to elimination of both policies.

If elimination succeeds, it is likely to hamper US capacity to meet its emissions commitments under the 2015 Paris treaty. However, the intended effect of the executive order may diverge substantially from the actual effect since current policies cannot be altered with the stroke of a pen. Unless administrative procedures are followed carefully, legal challenges will bog them down in the court system. Due process allows time to reverse or ameliorate the potential consequences of the order, which flies against prevailing economic trends and scientific consensus.

In 2007, the US Supreme Court held that greenhouse gases are pollutants under the Clean Air Act. This led to the EPA’s 2009 endangerment finding that the current and projected concentrations of six greenhouse gases in the atmosphere threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations. This finding still stands, so in reality the president is legally obligated to protect the American people from the health harms of climate change.

The increasing shift away from the polluting fossil fuels is another factor. Energy output from renewables in the US has doubled in the past decade and now accounts for about 150,000 US jobs, compared with about 75,000 jobs in the coal industry. By 2015, carbon dioxide output in the US was 12% lower than in 2005, largely because of decreased use of coal and increased use of natural gas.

What are the implications of the proposed changes in environmental policy for global health? Many adverse health effects of climate change are already under way, such as heat deaths in India, mortality from stronger cyclones in the Pacific, the spread of vector-borne diseases, and drought and increased salinity of soils undermining food production. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated that annual deaths attributable to climate change will grow by 250,000 a year by 2050. People living with underdeveloped health infrastructures in developing countries will be most affected. Annual mortality from air pollution around the globe already totals 4.5-6.5 million people and is intensified by heat.

The time available to protect the composition of the atmosphere and oceans so that they continue to support healthy human life is more limited than we would like to think, and now is the time for clinicians to speak out. Most are well aware of the adverse health effects of human related climate change and agree they ought to inform the public as well as their patients.

Clinicians are right to assume this responsibility. National polls suggest they are trusted, unlike politicians and lobbyists. They are scientifically trained and accustomed to translating science based information for public consumption. The Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health comprised of 12 US medical societies with 450,000 members (over half the physicians in the US) launched recently with a mission to inform the public and policy makers about the harmful health effects of climate change, and about the immediate and long term health benefits associated with reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other preventive and protective measures.

Doing this requires engaging colleagues and becoming adept at presenting the reality of the health crisis associated with climate change while giving positive motivational messages about the most important solution-clean renewable energy to mitigate further climate change-and the need to prepare and protect vital infrastructures and vulnerable people. At a time when the US is confronting an unprecedented challenge to science based information, the need for clinicians everywhere to exercise their influence with the public and policy makers is more important than ever.

Sri Lanka rubbish dump landslide death toll rises to 20

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Sri Lanka rubbish dump landslide death toll rises to 20

A rubbish dump landslide in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo has killed at least 20 and injured more than a dozen, military spokesman and hospital officials said, as emergency workers dug into the mountain of trash in search of survivors.

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Members of the Sri Lankan military work have joined the rescue effort after the landslide. Photo credit: Reuters / Dinuka Liyanawatte

The estimated 91-metre dump collapsed after flames engulfed it late on Friday, April 14 2017, the country’s traditional New Year’s Day, and witnesses said around 100 houses could have been buried.

At least four teenagers were among the dead, a nurse at the main Colombo hospital said.

“We heard a massive sound. It was like thunder. Tiles in our house got cracked. Black water started coming in,” said Kularathna, who lives near the dump.

Another resident, Mohamed, said three of his neighbours were missing and estimated that more than 100 people could have been buried.

Rescue operations continued for a second day on Saturday (local time) with soldiers using heavy equipment to remove the garbage. The search will continue at first light.

“The main obstacle is we don’t have a clear idea of how many people are buried as nobody is claiming that their relatives are missing, unlike on previous occasions,” said Sudantha Ranasinghe, the military official heading the operation.

Police said they were investigating whether the landslide was natural or man-made. They also said about 145 houses had been damaged.

Residents of the area, mostly living in shanties, have been demanding the removal of the dump saying it was causing health issues.

The Government had planned to remove it soon under an infrastructure plan.

Germany accused of influencing Steiner’s choice as new UNDP boss

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Germany accused of influencing Steiner’s choice as new UNDP boss

Germany has been accused of influencing the emergence of Achim Steiner, former head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), as the new Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Achim-Steiner
Achim Steiner, newly appointed Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Steiner, a German with extensive experience at the world organisation, was last week named by United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, as the new UNDP chief.

Steiner, who previously headed the UN office in Kenya, was selected to succeed Helen Clark, a former New Zealand prime minister, who has steered the UN’s largest agency since 2009.

But one of the candidates passed over for the post, French Environment Minister Segolene Royal, said she was surprised by the appointment because, according to her, Guterres had promised a woman would take the job.

Former British foreign secretary David Milliband, who now heads the International Rescue Committee, was also tipped as a possible successor.

Royal intimated that Germany used its weight as a major UNDP donor to have Steiner chosen.

“I regret it, of course. That doesn’t gel with what was said, but c’est la vie (it’s life),” Royal told French television.

Clark is officially leaving the UNDP top post on Wednesday, April 19, 2017 at the end of her second four-year term.

“It has been an honour and privilege for me to lead UNDP for eight years,” Clark wrote in the email addressed to “dear colleagues.”

Clark, 66, took the helm at UNDP in 2009 and, in April last year, launched a campaign to run as UN secretary general, which she lost to Guterres.

Headquartered in New York City, the UNDP seeks to reduce poverty, improve social development and encourage women’s empowerment.

Six die, 11 injured in Sri Lanka dump landslide

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Six die, 11 injured in Sri Lanka dump landslide

A landslide at a massive waste site on Friday, April 14, 2017 in Sri Lanka‘s capital killed at least six people and injured 11 as emergency workers dug into the mountain of trash to save survivors buried in dozens of houses.

Sri-Lanka
A dumpsite in Sri Lanka

The 91-metre-high rubbish dump at the northeastern edge of Colombo collapsed on Friday when a fire broke out at its top, engulfing the mountain of garbage in flames and triggering a landslide that swamped the homes below.

A 13-year-old boy and two girls aged 14 and 15 were among the dead, said Pushpa Soysa, head nurse at the main Colombo hospital.

Three other people pulled from the wreckage of their homes were already deceased by the time they arrived at the hospital, she said.

Friday’s fire broke out as the country marked its traditional Sinhala and Tamil New Year, and most people were in their houses celebrating.

Sri Lank’as government deployed hundreds of troops and police to dig through mounds of trash for survivors.

Police said in a statement they were unable to say how many people or houses had been buried in the landslide.

“It is too early and still we can’t say how many houses are damaged or destroyed and how many people affected,” said Pradeep Kodippili, Disaster Management Centre spokesman.

Estimates ranged from 40 to 100 homes swamped by the fallen trash.

Roughly 800 tonnes of solid waste is added daily to the 23 million tonnes of garbage rotting at the open dump at Kolonnawa on the northeastern edge of the capital.

Residents in the area have been demanding the removal of the dump, saying it was causing health issues. The government had planned to clear it soon under a new infrastructure plan.

Amid fresh ruling, future remains bleak for Otodo Gbame evictees

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Amid fresh ruling, future remains bleak for Otodo Gbame evictees

Thousands of homeless and now landless evictees from Otodo Gbame community are sleeping in boats and squatting with relatives and friends in at least 16 other waterfront settlements across Lagos.

Otodo-Gbame
The situation looks grim for this evictee

With support from some Lagosians, officials of the Nigerian Slum/Informal Settlement Federation (Federation) and Justice & Empowerment Initiatives – Nigeria (JEI) are reportedly leading efforts to provide relief materials to evictees who appear to have lost everything.

In partnership with sister communities in the Federation, JEI, a not-for-profit organisation, is organising camps to provide temporary shelter for evictees pending the outcome of either meetings with the Lagos State Government – where evictees will demand return to their land in line with the court order – or the final judgment to be delivered by Justice Onigbanjo on Tuesday, April 25, 2017.

Three days after the latest and what is considered the most violent forced eviction of Otodo Gbame on Wednesday, April 12 2017, Justice S. A. Onigbanjo of the Lagos State High Court delivered his ruling on the contempt proceeding. His Lordship found that the uncontroverted affidavit evidence pointed to the responsibility of the Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, for ordering the demolitions in an apparent disregard of the orders of the court, actions that he found undermine the principles of constitutional democracy and rule of law.

But for the fact that the governor enjoys immunity from prosecution under the 1999 Constitution, Justice Onigbanjo said that justice would require such a contemnor be remanded in prison.

During the same hearing, Justice Onigbanjo made clear that he would not review his previous orders restraining the respondents from demolishing and preserving the status quo, meaning that Otodo Gbame residents should lawfully still be in their homes and on their land undisturbed.

However, the evictees would in reality be risking their lives if they were to attempt to enjoy the status quo protected by the court order by returning to their land. Indeed, residents report that armed thugs patrol the land with guns and machetes and a bulldozer is now leveling the land.

A week before the Sunday, April 9, 2017 forced eviction, persons who said they were working for government came to survey parts of the land at Otodo Gbame and lay pipes for sandfilling. It is reported that land in the Otodo Gbame area of Lekki is now on the market for N150 million per plot.

Accordingly, immediately after court, hundreds of Otodo Gbame evictees and members of the Nigerian Slum/Informal Settlement Federation standing in solidarity with their evicted brothers and sisters proceeded to the office of the Lagos State Governor on a peaceful protest. Their demands were for the government to respect the rule of law and the court order and allow them to return to the land from which they have been chased. The protesters stood through a major rainstorm and as evening fell, insisting that they had nowhere else to go until a delegation of three members of the Governor’s Executive Council came out twice to beg the evictees to return for a meeting to discuss a solution on Tuesday, April 18, 2017.

Megan S. Chapman, Co-Founder and Co-Director of JEI, said in a statement: “We condemn – and call on others to join us in condemning – the violence, impunity, and brazen disregard for the rule of law being demonstrated by the Lagos State Government, which is incongruous with a democratic society and the aspiration to be a global leader among megacities.

JEI and the Federation condemn the violent forced eviction of Otodo Gbame community on 9 April 2017 by the Lagos State Government, carried out in continued brazen disregard for a subsisting order of court restraining the eviction of Otodo Gbame and other Lagos waterfronts.”

According to her, before 6am on Sunday, April 9 2017, residents of Otodo Gbame woke up to policemen shining torches into their homes and telling them to get out. As residents scrambled to rescue children and belongings, policemen allegedly began shooting teargas and live bullets to chase residents out of their homes and into wooden boats on the Lagos Lagoon. Soon, policemen began setting homes on fire using kerosene, she alleged.

She adds: “When JEI reached the community around 8:30am, staff witnessed at least 60 policemen and three Black Maria mobile detention units marked Lagos State Task Force. The commanding officers said the operation was led by the Lagos State Task Force on orders from Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. Uniformed Task Force officials were seen carrying jerry cans of kerosene, splashing it on houses, and lighting them on fire. A commanding officer was heard shouting, ‘The whole place must burn down!’ Policemen indiscriminately shot teargas and live bullets toward the Lagos Lagoon where residents huddled in wooden canoes watching their homes burn down.

“Around 10am, a 20-year-old man named Daniel Aya was shot in the neck as he attempted to rescue his family’s belongings. He was carried into a wooden canoe as he bled profusely and taken to a motorboat so he could be taken through the lagoon to medical treatment; he died a few minutes after departing the community. A 16-year-old boy named Monday Idowu was also shot in the chest, but thankfully was taken through the Lagoon to Lagos Island General Hospital on time to receive treatment. Three other men were also shot and suffered serious injuries.

“By early evening, when nearly the whole remaining community had been systematically burned or demolished using a “swamp buggy” that arrived later in the day, police now entered boats and began chasing evictees – including women, babies, children, and the elderly – deeper into the Lagoon shooting teargas and live bullets while evictees paddled for dear life.

“It will be recalled that the threat to the Lagos waterfronts began when Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode announced to the media on 9 October 2016 the Government’s intention to 2start demolishing all shanties on waterfronts across the state within seven days.’ Based on mapping and profiling done by the Federation in informal settlements across Lagos, we believe at least 40 communities and over 300,000 residents fell under this threat of imminent eviction.

“After attempts to engage the state government were rebuffed and one community, Ilubirin, was demolished on October 15, 2016, residents of 14 waterfront communities felt they had no choice but to approach the Lagos State High Court to protect their fundamental rights. They commenced suit against the Lagos State Governor, the Attorney General, the Commissioner of Physical Planning and Urban Development, and the Commissioner of Police.

“On 7 November 2016, Honourable Justice S. A. Onigbanjo of the Lagos State High Court granted an injunction restraining the Lagos State Government and the Nigerian Police Force from proceeding with any demolition of the waterfronts. Despite this order, on 9-10 November 2016, Otodo Gbame community was demolished and over 30,000 residents forcibly evicted by arson attack and an excavator that began working in the dead of night while residents were sleeping.

“On 26 January 2017, Honourable Justice Onigbanjo delivered a landmark ruling in the case brought by waterfront residents. His Lordship found that demolitions on short notice without provision of alternative shelter constitute cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in violation of the right to dignity enshrined in Section 34 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Article 5 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Rather then entering final judgment, Honourable Justice Onigbanjo then ordered the parties to attempt mediation through the Lagos State Multi-Door Courthouse and ordered them to maintain the status quo – refraining from any evictions – during the pendency of the mediation and the suit.

“Despite the subsisting court order and while court-ordered mediation was ongoing, the Lagos State Government brutally and unlawfully began demolishing remaining homes in Otodo Gbame on 17 and 21 March 2017. When the demolition squad returned on 22 and 26 March to continue the demolition, hundreds of brave Otodo Gbame women led peaceful protests that led to the ‘swamp buggy’ turning back, although dozens were beaten and eight arrested on 26 March.

“On 21 March 2017, JEI commenced contempt of court proceedings against the respondents in Suit LD/4232MFHR/16 for brazen disobedience of the court order retraining demolition. After the respondents unilaterally pulled out of court-ordered mediation on 29 March 2017, the applicant communities rushed back to the court seeking urgent audience. Justice Onigbanjo ordered the respondents to appear on 6 April to show cause why they should not be committed to prison for disobedience of a court order. The respondents failed to appear that day or put up any defense.”

Propertymart lauds Fashola, proffers solution to housing challenges

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Propertymart lauds Fashola, proffers solution to housing challenges

Nigeria, by all indices and despite its challenges, represents a huge market for real estate development. The ongoing Federal Housing Scheme is being implemented to address the housing needs of Nigerians plug the housing deficit, which is put at about 17 million units.

Babatunde-Fashola
Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Power, Works and Housing

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has said that the scheme is aimed at delivering affordable houses to workers based on the National Housing Policy.

“There is a National Housing Policy in place aimed at providing affordable housing but there has been no programme in place to deliver the houses. That is what this programme is all about,” said the minister.

Going by his antecedents while in office as the former governor of Lagos State, Mr. Fashola, as the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, seems to be the right candidate to push through such progressive policies.

Mr. Fashola has shown that he understands the business of government in providing an enabling atmosphere for investors, going by strategies being adopted in the implementation of the Federal Housing Scheme, which he has described as also a part of government’s multi-facet approach to economic development.

“The programme is part of government efforts to create value chain economic activities, aimed at empowering Nigerians all over the country. Workers will be happy on site getting paid from contractors to take care of their families and patronising food and others,” he had said, adding that the minister also said the ministry was training artisans like carpenters and bricklayers to be relevant technically.

Propertymart Real Estate Investment Limited shares in the housing provision dream of the minister for Nigeria, which needs almost one million housing units annually.

“Nigeria offers a high return on investment in prime real estate, and hosts one of the world’s fastest growing populations – a huge attraction for investors,” says Mr Fasunwon Deji, Deputy Managing Director of Propertymart.

To encourage investors, Mr Fasunwon believes that Nigeria’s policy makers need to ensure that access to long-term finance is guaranteed to enable investors attract consumers from the upper end of the market that play in the prime real estate sector.

According to him, the gaps in government-run infrastructure would also need to be plugged to guarantee efficient urban development, adding that roads, electricity, security, etc. are significant areas that the government would need to invest in to ensure that developers and clients enjoy best practice residential and commercial property standards.
“The government would also need to promote favourable macroeconomic policies which will in turn encourage private sector investors to partner with her in providing low-cost mass housing. These policies must result in low interest rates, stable exchange rates and low inflation to encourage investors move into mass housing projects and low-income earners move from rented (substandard in most cases) housing to their own affordable mortgage-enabled homes. These policies, in conjunction with a broader economic growth stimulation that results in lifting more Nigerians above the poverty line, will make low-cost housing actually affordable for the low-income earner,” he stated.
Additionally, he wants processes for land acquisition, construction permits and property registration must also be simplified and automated in line with global best practice.

“We cannot continue with a culture that frustrates estate developers and discourages prospective home owners. In extreme cases, prospective property owners have had to wait years to secure required approvals and documentation. Controversial legislation such as the 1978 Land Use Act and the 2012 National Housing Policy must be revisited to tackle areas of their implementation that stifle the growth of the real estate sector,” Mr Fasunwon stressed.

Meningitis: 33 dead in Niger, Sokoto to immunise 2m, WHO provides vaccine

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Meningitis: 33 dead in Niger, Sokoto to immunise 2m, WHO provides vaccine

Thirty-three people have died from the Cerebrol Spinal Meningitis in Niger State out of the 116 suspected cases recorded, an official disclosed to the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday, April 14, 2017.

Dr.-Wondimagegnehu-Alemu
Dr. Wondimagegnehu Alemu, the WHO Country Representative to Nigeria

Executive Director of the state Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Yahaya Na’uzo, said nine persons died from the type C meningitis, while the remaining 24 died of the types A and B since the outbreak of the disease.

Na’uzo said the disease is being contained in Magama, Agwara, Rijau, Kontagora Local Government Areas (LGAs).

According to him, the suspected cases in Suleja and Paiko were persons on transit from Sokoto State.

He explained that after the first fatality, the state embarked on sensitisation and awareness campaign to educate the people on preventive measures.

Na’uzo said: “We now have fewer cases reported per day because communities have been sensitised to report to the nearest hospital as soon as they suspect any case of meningitis.

“People have been educated to quickly report to the nearest hospital once they experience symptoms such as fever, vomiting and stiffness of the neck.

“With this, more people have been coming and the situation has stabilised as no more high report of confirmed cases.”
Na’uzo said vaccination would commence immediately the state receives the Type C meningitis vaccines from international communities.

Similarly, the Sokoto State Government says plans have reached an advanced stage to immunise two million people against Cerebro Spinal Meningitis across the 23 LGAs of the state.

Commissioner for Health, Dr. Balarabe Kakale, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Sokoto on Friday.

Kakale said the exercise would cover mostly persons between the ages of one to 30.

Kakale said: “We have already received 20,000 doses of the type C strain of CSM from the Federal Government, out of the initial request of 800,000 doses we made.

“We are expecting more consignments of the vaccines and we will soon commence the statewide vaccination.”

Kakale stated the World Health Organisation (WHO) would train the vaccinators to ensure the exercise was error-free.

He said: “WHO provided the vaccines to the Federal Government, while the Federal Government distributed them to the states, including Sokoto State.

“The organisation will therefore train the vaccinators for them to conduct the exercise in line with the risk assessment tools.”

The commissioner, however, noted that the meningitis epidemic had been brought under control across the state.

Kakale further said a referral centre had been established by the state government at the Murtala General Hospital, Sokoto.

According to him, the centre is being manned jointly by medical personnel deployed by the state government and Medicines Sans Frontiers.

In a related development, the WHO has disclosed that Nigeria has received 500,000 doses of meningitis C containing vaccine to combat the epidemic in the country.

The doses were sent by the International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision, an organisation that coordinates the provision of vaccine during outbreak emergencies.

Dr. Wondimagegnehu Alemu, the WHO Country Representative to Nigeria, said this in a statement in Abuja on Friday.

Alemu said the vaccines, funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, have been administered in Zamfara and Katsina states, where the disease was most endemic.

Alemu said an additional 820,000 doses of the meningitis C conjugate vaccine donated by the UK government to WHO was currently being sent to Nigeria.

He said that, in the past week, the ICG also sent 341,000 doses of the meningitis C-containing vaccine to Niger Republic.

He said this was because over 1,300 suspected cases of the disease had been found in the region particularly in districts that border with Nigeria and in the Niamey region of the country.

Alemu said: “A vaccination campaign is underway in Nigeria to contain an outbreak of meningitis C, a strain of meningitis which first emerged in the country in 2013.

“In 2013, the outbreak was initially limited to a few areas in Kebbi and Sokoto States. However, in 2015, more than 2,500 cases of the disease have been reported across 3 states in the country.

“Since the beginning of this year, the country has reported 4,637 suspected cases and 489 deaths across five states.

“WHO’s Country Office in Nigeria, including a number of field offices, have been supporting the government since the meningitis outbreak began.

“In addition to improving the care of the sick, we are focusing on ensuring accurate information about the spread of the outbreak is available as quickly as possible to help us make the most effective use of vaccines.”

Alemu said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control with support from WHO, the US Centre for Disease Control, UNICEF and other partners were leading the response to the ongoing outbreak.

He said these organisations were also carrying out intensified surveillance, capacity building for case management and risk communication.

Alemu said in addition to the use of vaccinations to prevent the transmission of meningitis, 20,000 vials of antibiotics have been sent by the ICG to treat people who had the disease in Nigeria.

He said most vaccines currently being used for meningitis C outbreaks in Africa were polysaccharide vaccines, adding that they were in short supply as they were being phased out in other parts of the world.

He said: “The more effective and long-lasting conjugate vaccines, however, are not readily accessible for outbreak response in the region. The ICG global emergency stockpile currently has approximately 1.2 million doses of meningitis C-containing vaccines left.

“The very limited supply of vaccines to control outbreaks of meningitis C can affect our ability to control these epidemics.

“In the long term, the accelerated development of affordable and effective conjugate vaccines to cover all epidemic types of meningitis is a high priority for WHO and partners.”

Alemu noted that in the past, Nigeria had suffered large-scale outbreaks of meningitis A stating that in 2009, such an outbreak in the country caused over 55, 000 cases with close to 2,500 deaths.

He, however, said that preventive mass vaccination campaigns supported by Gavi and partners have provided high and long-term protection against the bacteria.

Abu Dhabi to host 2020 World Urban Forum

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Abu Dhabi to host 2020 World Urban Forum

Abu Dhabi, the capital of United Arab Emirates, will host the Tenth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF10) in 2020. The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), as the convener of WUF, announced the decision recently, concluding the bidding process for WUF10.

Abu-Dhabi
City of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, at dusk. Photo credit: Philip Lange

United Nations Under-Secretary-General and UN-Habitat Executive Director, Dr. Joan Clos, has informed Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar bin Mohammed Gargash, of the decision.

WUF10 will be the first Forum to be held in the Arab region and it will be particularly relevant to the implementation of the New Urban Agenda after its adoption in Quito, Ecuador, in 2016, and the Ninth session of the World Urban Forum to be held in Kuala Lumpur in February 2018.

Dr. Clos has extended his congratulations to Abu Dhabi and the Government of the United Arab Emirates and has highlighted the importance of organising WUF10 in a region that has experienced rapid urbanisation in the past years and that is now focusing on directing urban development in a sustainable way.

Clos said: “WUF9 and WUF10 are key platforms where we will be able to review how we are all managing sustainable urban development, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and implementing the New Urban Agenda”.

 

The World’s Premier Conference on Cities
The World Urban Forum (WUF) is a non-legislative technical forum convened by the UN-Habitat since 2002.

The United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 69/226 recognises the World Urban Forum as the foremost global arena for interaction among policymakers, local government leaders, non-governmental organisations and expert practitioners in the field of sustainable urban development and human settlements.

Global investments towards meeting water, sanitation SDGs targets inadequate – WHO

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Global investments towards meeting water, sanitation SDGs targets inadequate – WHO

Countries are not increasing spending fast enough to meet the water and sanitation targets under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), says a new report published on Thursday, April 13, 2017 by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on behalf of UN-Water – the United Nations inter-agency coordination mechanism for all freshwater-related issues, including sanitation.

MariaNeira
Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director, Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health

“Today, almost two billion people use a source of drinking-water contaminated with faeces, putting them at risk of contracting cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio,” says Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director, Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health.

“Contaminated drinking-water is estimated to cause more than 500 000 diarrhoeal deaths each year and is a major factor in several neglected tropical diseases, including intestinal worms, schistosomiasis, and trachoma,” added Neira.

The report stresses that countries will not meet global aspirations of universal access to safe drinking-water and sanitation unless steps are taken to use financial resources more efficiently and increase efforts to identify new sources of funding.

According to the UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) 2017 report, countries have increased their budgets for water, sanitation and hygiene at an annual average rate of 4.9% over the last three years. Yet, 80% of countries report that water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) financing is still insufficient to meet nationally-defined targets for WASH services.

In many developing countries, current national coverage targets are based on achieving access to basic infrastructure, which may not always provide continuously safe and reliable services. Planned investments have yet to take into account the much more ambitious SDG targets, which aim for universal access to safely managed water and sanitation services by 2030.

In order to meet the SDG global targets, the World Bank estimates investments in infrastructure need to triple to $114 billion per year – a figure which does not include operating and maintenance costs.

While the funding gap is vast, 147 countries have previously demonstrated the ability to mobilise the resources required to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of halving the proportion of people without an improved source of water, and 95 met the corresponding target for sanitation. The much more ambitious SDG targets will require collective, coordinated and innovative efforts to mobilise even higher levels of funding from all sources: taxes, tariffs (payments and labour from households), and transfers from donors.

“This is a challenge we have the ability to solve,” says Guy Ryder, Chair of UN-Water and Director-General of the International Labour Organisation. “Increased investments in water and sanitation can yield substantial benefits for human health and development, generate employment and make sure that we leave no one behind.”

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