Two  major tobacco control groups, the Nigeria Tobacco Control Research Group (NTCRG) and Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), have commended the Senate for passing a resolution seeking total ban of the sale of tobacco products around schools.

The groups, in a statement issued by ERA/FoEN’s Head of Campaigns, Philip Jakpor, also hailed Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who sponsored the Resolution, saying she has “demonstrated uncommon courage at this point that tobacco addiction is becoming an endemic problem among the youth.”

The Resolution, which was adopted at the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, February 6, 2018 urged  the Federal Ministries of Health, Education and Information to harmonise efforts at banning the advertisement and sales of tobacco within 100 metres of all schools in Nigeria.

It also requested the Federal Ministry of Health and other relevant enforcement agencies to ensure the “comprehensive prohibition of Tobacco Advertising Promotion and Sponsorship; work with other agencies to ban advertisement and location of Point of Sales (POS) of tobacco products within 100m of all schools; create a framework for the monitoring of the implementation of the ban on single sticks and cigarette packs with less than 20 sticks as detailed in the National Tobacco Control Act, 2015.”

The Coordinator NTCRG, Dr Akindele Adebiyi, said: “We particularly applaud the the bold effort of the Senate, Senator Tinubu and other co-sponsors of this resolution. It is a giant step towards protecting our children from the deliberate marketing tactics of the tobacco companies aimed at luring our children to smoking. We want to plead with relevant agencies to put in place necessary mechanisms to ensure that this Resolution is given immediate attention and enforcement.”

The Deputy Executive Director, ERA/FoEN, Mr. Akinbode Oluwafemi, said: “This is a call to action by Senator Remi Tinubu and we expect local governments, state governments and all relevant government agencies to wake up from their slumber and begin full enforcement of the National Tobacco Act and this Resolution.”

The co-sponsors of the motion along with Senator Tinubu are: Senator Magnus Abe (Rivers South-East), Senator Shehu Sani (Kaduna Central), Senator Olanrewaju Tejuoso (Ogun Central), Senator Binta Masi Garba (Adamawa North), and Sentor Aliyu M Wamakko (Sokoto North).

While presenting the resolution, Senator Tinubu expressed worries that there is deliberate ploy by tobacco companies to position tobacco products, tobacco adverts and signs within 100m perimetre of schools to stimulate the interest of children and youth in the use of tobacco products.

She cited a recent survey carried out by NTCRG and ERA/FoEN across four geo-political zones. The survey, titled: “Big Tobacco, Tiny Targets: Tobacco Companies Targeting of School Children in Nigeria” and supported by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK), was published in October 2017. It documented how tobacco products are sold at very close proximity to schools.

The Senator, in her motion, noted that tobacco consumption is associated with lung cancer, myocardial infraction, chronic bronchitis, and cardiovascular diseases, among others. She reminded the Nigeria Senate that marketing tobacco around schools is a clear violation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), and also a violation of the National Tobacco Control Act,  2015.

The Nigeria Country Director of World Health Organisaton (WHO), Dr Wondi Alemu, has commended the Federal Government over improved response to outbreak of diseases in the country.

The country director made the commendation during the Emergency National Council of Health Meeting organised by Federal Ministry of Health on Monday, February 5, 2018 in Abuja.

Alemu said he observed a lot of changes in the last 14 months when he assumed office as country representative of WHO.

According to him, the changes are in terms of quick response and sharing of information with international communities and development partners within the country.

He said: “This is another laudable gesture by Federal Ministry of Health.

“I will also communicate to my colleagues that Nigeria is responding much better to disease outbreaks than it used to be in the past.”

He said that Lassa fever was not new but it was more tragic recently, adding that what made it more tragic was the passing away of health workers while attending to patients.

He noted that “this is something that should not happen, hence the need to increase awareness on the diseases, particularly on protecting health workers while delivering services.

“As health workers, you may be obliged not to observe the basic protective measures but that is risking our lives.

“Ultimately, it is about having basic equipment available at all times at the facility level. It should be part and parcel of the operations in healthcare delivery.

“We believe that next time this could be avoided particularly sacrificing our health workers due to the lack of basic equipment and protective kits.”

Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, said the meeting was summoned to discuss the state of public health challenges in Nigeria with focus on some challenges facing the nation in the past few weeks.

Adewole added that Lassa fever had been a current outbreak in the country, stressing that Nigeria had battled with series of outbreaks in the past few months.

He also urged state governments and other key stakeholders to work with Nigeria Centre of Disease Control to address outbreak of diseases.

The Niger State Commissioner for Health, Dr Mustapha Jibril, commended the Minister of Health for the timely meeting.

Jibril said the Niger State Government was able to do a lot to curtail disease outbreak ravaging the nation.

The commissioner added: “I am happy that Niger State is not among the states that have this challenge.

“In 2016, we had a challenge from Lassa fever where 16 people died and Niger was among the state’s worst hit by the outbreak then.”

However Niger State Government set up isolation centres, procured Hilux vehicles for the state’s  epidemiological team and emergency operation centres with the entire gadget required to do the job.

According to him, the state has been collaborating with WHO to enhance the funding of disease surveillance and notification.

He, therefore, advised the state government to provide funding to district disease surveillance and notification officers to reduce the outbreak.

The commissioner said Niger had not recorded Lassa fever outbreak in 2017 and the state did not have any outbreak or any epidemic prone disease.

Dr Babatunde Ipaye, the Commissioner for Health in Ogun State, said Nigeria was at the receiving end because response to outbreak required collective efforts.

He said trading the blame was not the best way to go, and that public health response everywhere in Nigeria was important and equal.

He said Ogun did not record any case of Lassa fever in 2018 but that, in 2017, the state had three cases with one death.

According to Ipaye, Ogun State was in 2017 awarded the best state in Nigeria in terms of integrated disease surveillance and response by WHO and Federal Ministry of Health.

By Mustapha Yauri

The Chief Medical Director, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan in Oyo State, Prof. Temitope Alonge, said on Monday, February 5, 2018 that over 70 per cent of cancer cases manifest very late, making early care  impossible.

Alonge told a media briefing to mark 2018 World Cancer Day that people within the age bracket of 40 and 45 years and 50 and 54 years are at risk of developing breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men.

“At least, 70 per cent of cancer cases manifest very late and this has made early care impossible.

“UCH is a tertiary hospital that has a four-way plan of action of handling treatment of cancer in Nigeria.

“These are cancer prevention, identification stage (when it develops), the diagnostic stage and the end of care session (palliative care).

“As part of activities to reduce the burden of the disease, the management has decided to carry out routine immunisation to prevent cancer.

“We have put in place screening measures of diseases that could later develop into cancer,’’ Alonge said.

He noted:“We are beginning with all female staff of UCH will be screened for breast cancer and after this, the services would be extended to the men who would be screened for prostate diseases and cancer by mid-year.

“UCH has spent a lot ultrasonography and screening machine and even though we cannot screen 100 per cent successful cases, we are very sure the burden of cancer will be reduce considerably after the exercise in Nigeria.

“Hepatitis will be treated free for staff to prevent liver sclerosis and in collaboration with the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, we will use the laboratory to detect colon cancer.”

Alonge said virtually all hospitals in the country had no data to work with, adding “UCH collated data on cancer cases between January and December, 2016.’’

According to the don, from the report and statistics collated, breast cancer has the highest prevalence rate in women and prostate cancer has the highest prevalence rate in men.

In his presentation, Dr Adeyinka Ademola, said causes of cancer differ in human beings.

Ademola said “precision medicine” has come in handy an important tool for the treatment of cancer in patients.

“The implication of using precision medicine is that we can know the genomes responsible/driving the activities of the particular cancer a patient has.’’

Prof. Niyi Olanipekun, the Head Radiation Oncology Unit and Chairman, World Cancer Awareness Day Committee, said poverty was the primary reason the prevalence rate of breast cancer was high in Nigeria.

Olanipekun also listed ignorance, `out-of-pocket payment policy’ as part of the challenges that had led to the increase in the burden of cancer in Nigeria.

“Influence of quacks, who have become our major competitors as medical practitioners have not helped the situations too.

“Because  these patients cannot access normal medical treatment and these quacks (one medicine treats all) – (in Yoruba meaning Gbogbo nise) tend to be cheaper, patients prefer to visit them for anticipated treatment.’’

Olanipekun said the week-long awareness programme include engaging in public awareness enlightenment programmes, seminar on various cancer cases and palliative medical care.

“We will round off the week with a cancer awareness walk by all staff of the hospital on Saturday,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the theme for 2018 is: “We can, I can”. Under the theme, people are expected to individually and collectively understand and work towards lessening the impact and the harmful effects of cancer globally.

On Sunday Feb. 4, individuals and communities across the world came together to raise awareness about cancer.

By Olabisi Akinbode