Health
Cancer may afflict 30m people globally by 2030- NGO
An NGO, the Dove-Haven Foundation (DHF), quoting Global Cancer Statistics (GLOBOCAN) has said that about 30 million people will be living with cancer globally by the year 2030 if nothing was done.
DHF is a not-for-profit, non-political, Non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Isanlu, Yagba East Local Government Area (LGA), Kogi State, Nigeria, with a focus on rural community cancer awareness.
The DHF’s Executive Director, Dr Ekundayo Samuel, made the disclosure at a sensitisation program on Monday, in Isanlu, tagged: ”The role of transportation workers in cancer control”,
Samuel stated that the event was organised to enlighten transportation workers and other relevant stakeholders on their role in cancer control and how they can join the fight against cancer.
The continuous rise in the incidence of cancer in Nigeria, Africa, and globally was of great concern, he said while emphasising projections by GLOBOCAN that by the year 2030, about 30 million people will be living with cancer.
He added that the projection also showed that one in two persons would have one form of cancer or another by 2030 if nothing was done.
Represented by Mrs Eunice Olure, a Community Health and extension worker of DHF, Samuel stressed that Nigeria had an estimated 100,000 new cases of cancer in 2020, as reported by GLOBOCAN.
He reiterated that the event was organised in pursuit of the organisation’s aim of reducing the threats posed by cancer in the spirit of giving back to society.
”We believe in inclusion because that is the best and quickest way to overcome the plague called cancer. Everybody needs to be involved”, he said.
He noted that the organisation’s vision was to see a world free of cancer threats, saying that activities were lined up for the day to allow the participants to play their part in cancer control.
A guest speaker, Dr Nasir Abdullah, Medical Officer-in-Charge, General Hospital, Isanlu, who spoke on “Cancer and its causes”, said that cancer always resulted from the inappropriate, abnormal, and excessive procreation of cells.
According to Abdullah, cancer can affect any part of the body, but mostly affects five body parts, including the breast, lungs, prostate, cervix, and intestines; and does not discriminate based on age, status, race, or colour.
He emphasised the need for early presentation for screening and stern evaluation of one’s lifestyle.
On her part, Mrs Emily Baba, the Family Planning Lead, Yagba East LGA, spoke on “Cancer control and the role of the transport workers in preventing the spread of cancer”.
She said that exhausts from mechanical machines like motorcycles, tricycles, and cars were the major triggers of cancer formation urging people to be conscious and more sensitive to changes in their body, and regularly consult medical personnel for advice and screening, if necessary.
She advised people to eat a healthy diet and engage in adequate physical exercise for at least 30 minutes daily.
In their separate comments, the Chairmen of Branch 1 and 2, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Yagba East, Sunday Abiodun and Femi Job, respectively, thanked DHF for including them in the fight against cancer.
Health
Nigerians Cry Out Over Quackery In Health Sector
………. It’s A Major Cause Of Disabilities, PWDs Lament
Federal and state governments and regulatory agencies have been tasked to adopt more stringent measures to curb medical quackery bedevilling Nigeria’s health sector.
The President of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), Dr. Casimir Ifeanyi, led the call for the Federal Ministry of Health and their counterparts in the 36 states of the federation to intensify the fight against quacks during the anti-corruption radio programme, PUBLIC CONSCIENCE, produced by PRIMORG, on Wednesday in Abuja.
Dr. Ifeanyi, who was reacting to an investigative report by Daily Trust exposing several cases of Nigerians suffering different kinds of deformities as a result of widespread quackery in the health sector, noted that “medical quackery is a major health menace in developing countries and a big illicit business in Nigeria’s health industry.”
He blamed the quackery in Nigeria on the government’s failure to protect citizens, lack of political will to follow through with the legal framework, and failure of regulatory bodies to play their roles effectively. Adding that “the problem of quackery in the health sector is not the lack of punishment. Rather arresting quacks is a bigger challenge”.
On what government and regulatory agencies must do to stem the tide of quackery, He said,” a whole lot needs to be done by the regulatory agencies and by the Federal Ministry of Health and the State Ministries of Health.
“We need to educate people on signs that an individual is a quack and how to credential the facility or individual so that I can have the confidence to receive service. All that is not being done and what makes us professional is because, inherently, we can decide to regulate. Anytime the systemic regulation is compromised, quacks will have a field day.
“Regulation needs to be more effective and more periodic, and there has got to be public health education.”
The medical practitioner picked holes in the law guiding the operation of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), saying, “There’s some lacuna in the powers of MDCN If so far the council cannot walk into a hospital, particularly a private hospital to check the documents of the practicing doctors, then something is wrong because right now they can only do that through the state ministry of health. That is a major lacuna”.
“Our problem is that we have legal frameworks and institutional frameworks for unfortunately, there is the scarcity of political will to give effect to the provisions in our laws, to the policies of the government that we have. The problem we have here is that these regulatory agencies are not doing enough. They are not living up to the mandate that set them up,” Dr Ifeanyi stressed.
On his part, a disability inclusion expert, Chris Obiora, while urging for a stiffer penalty against quackery in the health sector, disclosed that the ugly act has contributed to the number of millions of persons with disabilities in the country, adding that people are getting deformed due to quackery and negligence by health practitioners.
On the reforms needed to address medical quackery, Obiora said, “The Ministry of Health and some of these associations like the Medical Laboratory Association of Nigeria should take it more seriously.
“The government should take the arrest of quacks more seriously because, as far as I’m concerned, they have done more harm than good, so they should have more penalties for such actions, and by that, I mean penalties that will be more serious than what we have already.
Obiora called for awareness of the dangers of quackery in the health profession, stressing that awareness must be created for people to be able to understand and know how to identify quacks, especially in rural areas.
Speaking earlier during the radio programme, Daily Trust reporter Usman Bello Balarabe blamed regulatory failures for the booming quackery business in the health sector. He stated that unlike what is obtainable in other countries, the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) portal does not show licensed medical practitioners, which can aid in identifying certified doctors
“When compared to their counterparts in other countries like Kenya who have published the lists of every licensed medical practitioner in the country and have a mechanism where confirmation of a medical practitioner’s license is possible and easy, Nigeria Medical Association’s portal doesn’t have the list of licensed medical practitioners, and this encourages quackery, Balarabe stated.
Public Conscience is a syndicated weekly anti-corruption radio program PRIMORG uses to draw government and citizens’ attention to corruption and integrity issues in Nigeria.
The program has the support of the MacArthur Foundation.
-
Featured5 years ago
Lampard Names New Chelsea Manager
-
Featured4 years ago
FG To Extends Lockdown In FCT, Lagos Ogun states For 7days
-
Featured5 years ago
NYSC Dismisses Report Of DG’s Plan To Islamize Benue Orientation Camp
-
Featured4 years ago
Children Custody: Court Adjourns Mike Ezuruonye, Wife’s Case To April 7
-
Featured2 years ago
Transfer Saga: How Mikel Obi Refused to compensate me After I Linked Him Worth $4m Deal In Kuwait SC – Okafor
-
Sports1 year ago
TINUBU LAMBAST DELE MOMODU
-
News7 months ago
Jubilation In Kaduna As Tribunal Upholds Ekene Adam Winner Of Reps Election
-
Featured4 years ago
Board urges FG to establish one-stop rehabilitation centres in 6 geopolitical zones