LAGOS STATE REVIEWS INFECTIOUS DISEASE STRATEGIC RESPONSE PLANS   …Hosts Sixth African Conference on Biosecurity, One Health

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23/11/20

Publisher: DANIELS G.O

PRESS RELEASE

In a bid to ensure that Africa countries brace up to the challenges posed by the increase in emerging infectious diseases and biosecurity threats especially against the backdrop of the raging COVID19 pandemic, the Lagos State Government through the Ministry of Health in partnership with a non-governmental organization, Global Emerging Pathogens Treatment Consortium (GET), is set to hold the Sixth Annual African Conference on One Health and Biosecurity.

The Conference themed: “Strengthening Africa’s Resilience in Tackling Emerging Biosecurity Threats: Lessons from COVID19 Pandemic” is scheduled to hold at the Civic Centre, Lagos between Wednesday 25th and Friday 27th November, 2020.

Speaking on the rationale for the Conference, State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi explained that the need to continually emphasize the key importance of the African response in combating Emerging Infectious Diseases, advocating various treatment strategies and preparedness against future biosecurity threats informed the need for the Conference.

He added that responsive and responsible governments are expected to key into intellectual gatherings and conferences that will set agenda and discourse for solutions to myriads of health challenges confronting the human race.

“In Lagos State, we recognize the importance of strategic conferences like this to guide our health policies, plans and programme in order to protect our citizens and improve their health status. This was the reason why Lagos State hosted the second African Conference on One Health and Biosecurity in 2016 after the Ebola saga and the same reason we are hosting the sixth edition now even as we combat the COVID19 Pandemic”, the Commissioner said.

He noted that the leading role played by Lagos in the containment of Ebola Virus Disease in Nigeria coupled with proactive steps taken by the State against the raging COVID19 infectious disease makes it top choice for hosting the conference which is one of the biggest biosecurity conferences in Africa.

Abayomi noted that arrangements and modalities for the conference are being perfected in line with the theme, for a successful three day event that will attract over 400 global experts in various fields from Africa Continent and other countries of the World.

“This conference is being organized in partnership with GET Consortium to consolidate the gains of the first to fifth editions, review the status of implementation of the resolutions, chart the way forward for prevention and control of Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases and bring the issue of Bio-security to the front burner”

“It is also intended to help develop the Africa continent’s own strategic intervention and response mechanisms to increasing outbreak of Emerging Infectious Disease (EID) and biological terrorism threats and help develop home-grown responses that will align with the evolving Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) and the “One Health” paradigms envisioned by World Health Organization (WHO), International Animal Health (OIE) and Food and Agriculture organization (FAO), Abayomi stated.

He opined that resolutions at the Conference will help chart a positive course for strategic response against Biosecurity threats in Africa and by extension the world adding that the conference will afford Lagos the opportunity to review its strategic response against emerging infectious diseases.

Speaking in the same vein, the Chief Operating Officer of GET Consortium, Dr. Ayodotun Bobadoye explained that participants at the conference which will hold both virtually and physically will include policy makers, scientists, researchers, health care professionals, experts in infectious disease management, professionals from one health fields, development partners, community and opinion leaders amongst others.

He added that thematic areas of the conference will cover issues such as; Emerging Infectious Diseases as an accelerating phenomenon; Biosecurity and Bio-threat Reduction in Africa; Bio-banking Infrastructure; the need for Vaccine Strategy for Emerging Infectious Diseases in Africa; Climate Change and Biosecurity threat as well as the Cultural Anthropological, Social and Economic impact of Emerging Infectious Diseases (CASE).

Bobadoye noted that sub thematic topics such as; Post COVID19 recovery strategies; Infectious Disease Burden and trends across Africa; International Biosecurity Conventions; Role of African Government and Indigenous Vaccine Manufacturers in Vaccine Research and Development; Community Engagement in the fight against Emerging Infectious Diseases and Harnessing the Digital Revolution and Platforms to advance Biosecurity in Africa will also be deliberated on.

“GET in the past six years has been collaborating with various African organizations and governments to organize the annual conference on One Health and Biosecurity because it is critically important that Africa hosts its own indigenous strategic meetings to address and define response mechanisms to biological threats and increasing incidences of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

“As Africans, we need to discuss our response strategies and preparedness for any disease outbreak learning from the ongoing COVID19 pandemics and the devastating lessons of the recent Ebola outbreak in West and Central Africa”, he said

Bobadoye disclosed that citizens who are interested in participating in the conference should register to participate viahttps://www.getafrica.org/events/conference2020/

Signed

Tunbosun Ogunbanwo

Director, Public Affairs

22nd November, 2020

LAUTECH OWNERSHIP CRISIS RESOLVED

21/11/20

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DANIELS G.O

LAUTECH CRISIS UPDATE

The Federal government has resolved the over twenty years old crisis rocking the Oyo and osun states governments over the ownership of the Ladoke Akintola university of technology, LAUTECH

At a briefing in Abuja, the executive secretary, National universities commission, professor Abubakar Rasheed said the governors of the two states agreed to handover the university structure and management in Ogbomosho to Oyo and the LAUTECH teaching hospital in Osogbo to Osun state.

The Ladoke Akintola university of technology was established in 1990 , by the old Oyo state government with a campus in Ogbomosho and the teaching hospital in Osogbo.

Just one year after the establishment, Osun state was created, precisely in 1991 and that marked the beginning of the ownership crisis which has rocked the university for years.

Several committees and retreats have been set up, but the crisis persisted.

The latest was a four day retreat held last week in Lagos after a tripartite committee submitted its report.

The tripartite committee had undertaken the re-evaluation and updating of the asset and liability, forensic audit of LAUTECH university in Ogbomosho and the University Teaching hospital in Osogbo as well as the delineation of assets and liabilities for sharing by the two owner states of Oyo and osun.

ROAD CRASH AT OJU-ORE OTA,OGUN STATE

17/11/20

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DANIELS G.O

This Vehicle was coming from Sango Ota to Oju ore when the Driver lost control and fell side ways Near UBA on Monday Morning.

Fortunately ,no life was lost,and the vehicle was still there as at 8.am this morning Tuesday the 17th of November 2020.

This incident brings to mind the need for motorists And road Users to exercise caution, especially with the Yuletide season around the corner.

According to reports by the federal Road safety corps, a larger percentage of road crashes are due to Human errors.

The Roads may be bad,and “Blood sucking Spirits may be on rampage looking for Blood to fill their Satanic blood Banks” as often propagated by some people,But we also know that when motorists and Road users are careful, Travellers will arrive alive.

Please take heed, No Over Speeding, No Overloading and Drunk Driving

U.S. DONATES 3.6 MILLION INSECTICIDE-TREATED BED NETS TO CONTROL MALARIA IN BENUE…

13/11/20

[post-marguee]

DANIELS G.O

PRESS RELEASE

U.S. Donates 3.6 Million Insecticide-treated

Bed Nets to Control Malaria in Benue State

Nigeria notified of $48.5 million in new funding through PMI

Markudi… The U.S. government, through the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) has donated 3.6 million bed nets to Nigeria’s Benue State as part of a national campaign to provide enough nets for every Nigerian to be protected from the deadly disease every night.

The donation comes less than a week after USAID notified Nigeria’s Ministry of Budget and Planning of an additional $48.5 million in additional malaria funding to support the Development Objective Agreement (DOAG) between the American and Nigerian governments, bringing the total amount under the seven-year agreement to $1.99 billion.

The PMI program in Nigeria is jointly implemented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (Uhttp://www.daranetworktv.comSAID) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in coordination with the Government of Nigeria. The life-saving nets will go to every local government area in Benue State. The bed net distribution is a critical component of the ongoing effort to end malaria in Nigeria, which results in more than 90,000 deaths per year.

In addition to the nets, PMI also provided funding for logistics, including transportation and community mobilization carried out in partnership with the Benue State government, which led the planning, coordination, and distribution effort. The total value of the U.S. contribution is near $8.4 million (₦ 3.1billion).

“Malaria infection still poses a great threat to the social and economic well being of the population of Benue State,” Governor Samuel Ortom, said at the ceremony. “We must therefore do everything possible to safeguard our people, particularly the vulnerable group of women and children with the help of stakeholders [including] the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative.”

This activity will benefit more than five million residents of Benue, providing, at a minimum, one net for every two people within each household. Sleeping under the nets puts a vital barrier between people and malarial mosquitoes, most importantly from dusk to dawn, and is one of the best ways to prevent malaria, Governor Ortom said.

Since 2011, PMI has procured more than 60 million insecticide-treated nets as part of a $635 million overall contribution to malaria control in Nigeria. PMI also supports advocacy and mobilization to encourage members of the community to sleep under the bed nets every night, and trains health workers to test for malaria before treatment.

***For More Information contact us http://www.daranetworktv.com or Call. 0802 5681 978

***ABOUT USAID: USAID leads international development and humanitarian efforts to save lives, reduce poverty, strengthen democratic governance and help people progress beyond assistance, supports transparent and accountable governance, promotes a more market-led economy, and enhances Nigeria’s capacity as a responsible regional and trade partner. For more information about USAID and its programs, please visitwww.usaid.gov. Follow us Facebookand Twitter.

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION ON FEVER OUTBREAK IN NIGERIA

13/11/20

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DANIELS G .O

PRESS RELEASE

THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION SAYS IT IS SUPPORTING THE NIGERIAN CENTRE FOR DISEASE CONTROL (NCDC) ALONG WITH THE TWO STATES OF DELTA AND ENUGU IN RESPONSE TO THE OUTBREAK OF YELLOW FEVER FOLLOWING RECENTLY REPORTED DEATHS.

IN A PRESS STATEMENT, W.H.O SAYS IT WAS WORKING IN CONJUNCTION WITH RELEVANT BODIES AND HEALTH PROFESSIONALS IN THE DEPLOYMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH RAPID RESPONSE TEAMS AS THE OUTBREAK INVESTIGATION IS COORDINATED BY THE RESPECTIVE STATE MINISTRIES OF HEALTH. WHILE IN DELTA STATE, THE VACCINATION CAMPAIGN HAS BEGUN IN EARNEST.

THE STATEMENT ADDED THAT IN ENUGU AN OUTBREAK INVESTIGATION HAS BEEN DONE IN THE REPORTED ETTEH-UNO AND UMUOPKU COMMUNITIES IN IGBO-EZE NORTH LGA ACCORDING TO THE COMMISSIONER FOR HEALTH, DR IKECHUKWU OBI WHO PROMISED YELLOW FEVER MASS VACCINATION INTERVENTION.

W.H.O AND ITS PARTNERS ARE IMPLEMENTING THE ELIMINATE YELLOW FEVER EPIDEMICS STRATEGY IN NIGERIA, A 10 YEAR GOAL TO PROTECT POPULATIONS AT RISK WITH PLANS TO VACCINATE AT LEAST EIGHTY PERCENT OF THE TARGET POPULATION IN ALL STATES BY 2026.

CASES OF YELLOW FEVER SUCH AS THOSE REPORTED IN THE TWO STATES WHICH WERE CONFIRMED AFTER TESTING AT THE IRRUA SPECIALIST TEACHING HOSPITAL LABORATORY AND NCDC’S NATIONAL REFERENCE LABORATORY ARE CAUSED BY A VIRUS SPREAD THROUGH THE BITE OF AN INFECTED AEDES AEGYPTI MOSQUITO AND CAN BE EASILY PREVENTED BY A VACCINE THAT PROVIDES IMMMUNITY FOR LIFE.

SPIKE IN COVID -19 CASES AS NIGERIA RECORDS 212 NEW CASES

13/11/20

[post-marguee]

DANIELS G.O

The Nigeria centre for disease control has confirmed 212 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria;

Lagos-71
Imo-26
Plateau-26
FCT-19
Ondo-17
Kaduna-14
Rivers-9
Oyo-9
Katsina-6
Osun-4
Bauchi-2
Ekiti-2-
Nasarawa-2
Ogun-2
Kano-1
Kwara-1
Taraba-1

64,728 confirmed
60,790 discharged
1,162 deaths.

***To Help Halt the spread of COVID-19 please report immediately you notice the following…

(1)Fatigue

(2) Sore throat

(3)Head ache

(4)Body Pain

(5)Shivering

(6)Catarrh

(7)Diarrhea

(8)Difficulty in Breathing

(9)Loss of Appetite, and Smell

#Don’t Be Deceived, COVID-19 is real…Take Caution

###For more information, please Call 08025-68-1978

KARA TANKER FIRE LEAVES TWO DEAD,TEN INJURED AND SEVERAL VEHICLES BURNT…

07/11/20

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DANIELS G.O

KARA TANKER FIRE

Barely few Days after the Ijora badia tank farm Fire,Another tragedy struck again on Saturday at Kara leaving More than twenty vehicles including tricycles, trailers, trucks completely burnt.

The petroleum tanker laden with premium motor spirit (PMS) was said to be coming from Lagos end inward Ibadan,and lost control spilling it content at Kara, Ogun state and destroyed everything along its path.

According to eye witness account, the incident occured around 1am Saturday .

The incident has left many people counting their losses.

According to the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency

The tanker was said to be carrying 45,000 litres of fuel when the incident occurred.

Post-disaster figures according to LASEMA assessment is as follows

Two fatalities (Driver of tanker and motor Boy)

Ten casualties who received on the spot treatment

Twenty three vehicles affected including
1 tanker containing the 45000 litres of petrol
1 luxurious passenger bus
2 articulated vehicles and 19 cars .

223 NEW COVID-19 CASES CONFIRMED IN NIGERIA

07/11/20

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DANIELS G.O

The Nigeria centre for disease control has confirmed 223 new cases of COVID-19 Cases across 17 States In Nigeria

Lagos-85
FCT-35
Akwa Ibom-24
Enugu-18
Plateau-13
Rivers-10
Abia-7
Ebonyi-6
Anambra-5
Adamawa-4
Bauchi-3
Imo-3
Ogun-3
Oyo-3
Kwara-2
Osun-1
Taraba-1

63,731 confirmed
59,844 discharged
1,154 deaths

***Please Take Precaution to Avoid A second wave of COVID-19 in Nigeria… It is usually more deadly because the virus would have developed more resistance when it comes a second time.

***To Help Halt the spread of COVID-19 please report immediately you notice the following…

(1)Fatigue

(2) Sore throat

(3)Head ache

(4)Body Pain

(5)Shivering

(6)Catarrh

(7)Diarrhea

(8)Difficulty in Breathing

(9)Loss of Appetite, and Smell.

…Courtesy http://www.daranetwork.com

For more information call 08025 6819 78

ANOTHER LOCK DOWN LOOMS AS LAGOS STATE CONFIRMS COVID-19 INFECTION IN A SECONDARY SCHOOL

07/11/20

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DANIELS G.O

PRESS RELEASE

Govt. Reemphasizes Need to Obey Prevention Protocols Following the Record Of Six Covid-19 cases in a secondary School.

Lagos State Government Confirmed 6 positive COVID-19 cases in a secondary boarding school on the mainland.

A member of the school’s staff was confirmed positive for COVID-19 on the 2nd of November. Contact tracing has revealed that a student and four contacts of the staff member are positive for COVID-19.

The staff member fell ill for a few days and received first aid at the school clinic. She subsequently tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday 2nd of November at the Lagos State Biobank.

The Lagos State COVID-19 Incident Command System through the Emergency Operation Center is investigating the incident, and we would like to assure members of the public and stakeholders of the school that the situation is completely under control.

Steps are being taken to contain the spread within the school and reduce exposure to the outside community. All parents are being contacted first through the PTA and a family zoom call is being arranged to further allay their fears.

It is important to note that COVID-19 presents with very mild symptoms in children and teenagers, compared to other age groups. However, there is the risk of infected children transmitting the disease to adults who they interact with daily, and who may be at higher risk of severe disease and death.

The school authorities, supported by Lagos State Ministry of Health (LSMOH), Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Ministry of Education, are following the COVID-19 guidelines as set out by the government. Students who test positive are to be isolated in the school premises and, if unwell, will be admitted in one of the accredited isolation centers in Lagos. Students are discouraged from going home to avoid infecting members of their families.

The Ministry of Health and NCDC are working closely with the Ministry of Education through a joint approach to manage the outbreak in this school. Most of the infected persons are predominantly asymptomatic while some have mild symptoms.

Members of the Emergency Operation Center Lagos, NCDC and our counterparts in the Ministry of Education have been deployed in the school to provide strategic interventions and support. These include psychosocial support, infection prevention control, medical monitoring and risk communication experts to further enlighten affected people.

COVID-19 is still very much with us and we must strive to prioritize the safety of all, including students and teachers, by adhering strictly to prevention protocols and guidelines issued by the government to prevent its spread.

Lagosians should observe and practise highest standards of personal and environmental hygiene. Using face masks in public places, hand washing and hands hygiene practice, and maintaining physical distancing will help prevent the spread of the infection.

This is the second time within two Months that Lagos State is recording Covid-19 cases in a Secondary School.

Citizens have been advised to call the 08000EKOMED or 08000356633 toll free line, if they notice any sign or symptoms of COVID19, which include fever, cough, sore throat, fatigue or loss of taste or smell.

Signed

Prof. Akin Abayomi
Honourable Commissioner for Health
6th November, 2020