Femi Olaleye, Foundations Call Women for Free Cancer Screening

Optimal Cancer Care Foundation (OCCF) in partnership with Sponsors and Donors and two major diagnostic centres in Lagos: Nucleus Diagnostic Centre and Arrive Alive Diagnostic Centre are bringing to you massive 50% discounts on all Breast ultrasound scans, mammograms and FNAC tests and of course, free clinical breast examinations at the Foundation’s screening centre.

OCCF is known and recognised worldwide for its philanthropic fight against the dreaded cancer that has sent many women and girls to early grave. 

Today, however, "October is #breastcancerawarenessmonth - a time where we all join forces to reduce the burden of breast cancer in Nigeria and across the globe," Dr. Olaleye said.

On what to do to get screened, he urged all to drive to the foundation looking #PrettyInPink 💕💕💕 on any of the Fridays in October. The foundation is sited at 118 Bode Thomas Street, Surulere Lagos.

Remember: "Early detection is key". "Have a wonderful day and don't forget to share with all the women you care about."

#GoPinkFriday #EarlyDetectionIsKey!

Healthcare Fund Announces Anchor Investors

Rebecca Ejifoma

Rx Healthcare Fund, an Africa-focused healthcare private equity fund currently under establishment, has announced that GE Healthcare (a leading global provider of transformational medical technologies and services) is set to become an anchor limited partner in Rx.

This is following an earlier commitment to Rx by the African Development Bank, the proposed minority investment by GE is subject to completion of fundraising.

Rx, which is led by former Egyptian Minister of Health Dr. Hatem El Gabaly, is a private equity fund managed by a newly setup fund manager in partnership with EFG Hermes, the leading financial services corporation in the Middle East and North Africa.

Indeed, the Fund aims to address growing demand for high-quality healthcare services across North African and Sub-Saharan jurisdictions, through investments in high growth potential entities in three key sectors: specialized hospitals, medical diagnostics, and pharmaceuticals.

“Access to long term development funding is the cornerstone of sustainable healthcare development in Africa”,  President & CEO of GE Healthcare Africa, Farid Fezoua.

WHO Enlightens Public on How Monkeypox Spreads, Panic in Bayelsa

There is panic in Bayelsa State as 10 persons were confirmed to have contacted the Monkeypox disease.

The 10 persons, including a medical doctor, were being treated at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital.

The state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Ebi Etebu, who confirmed the story, said the state government was working to ensure the disease was contained. He said health workers in the ministry were looking for 49 other people believed to have come in close contact with the identified carriers.

WHO
According to World Health Organisation, Monkeypox is a rare disease that occurs primarily in remote parts of Central and West Africa, near tropical rainforests.

The monkeypox virus can cause a fatal illness in humans and, although it is similar to human smallpox which has been eradicated, it is much milder.

The monkeypox virus is transmitted to people from various wild animals but has limited secondary spread through human-to-human transmission.

Typically, case fatality in monkeypox outbreaks has been between 1% and 10%, with most deaths occurring in younger age groups.

There is no treatment or vaccine available although prior smallpox vaccination was highly effective in preventing monkeypox as well.

Monkeypox is a rare viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms in humans similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although less severe. Smallpox was eradicated in 1980.However, monkeypox still occurs sporadically in some parts of Africa.

Monkeypox is a member of the Orthopoxvirus genus in the family Poxviridae. The virus was first identified in the State Serum Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1958 during an investigation into a pox-like disease among monkeys.

WHO Recommends Large-Scale Deworming to Improve Children’s Health, Nutrition

Rebecca Ejifoma

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that periodic deworming programmes with a single-tablet treatment can drastically reduce the suffering of those infected with parasitic intestinal worms and protect the 1.5 billion people currently estimated to be at risk.

Four main species of intestinal worms, also known as soil-transmitted helminths, affect almost a quarter of the world’s poorest and mostly marginalised people. They are a major public health problem because the worms disrupt people’s ability to absorb nutrients, impeding the growth and physical development of millions of children.

According to WHO, it had long promoted large-scale treatment for intestinal worms, but this is the first guideline approved by its Guidelines Review Committee confirming that deworming improves the health and nutrient uptake of heavily infected children.
“There is now global evidence-based consensus that periodic, large-scale deworming is the best way to reduce the suffering caused by intestinal worms,” says the Director of WHO’s Neglected Tropical Diseases Department, Dr Dirk Engels.

Experts Call for Basic Life Support against Cardiac Arrest, Sudden Death

…thick muscles and chests as one of the causes of sudden death
Rebecca Ejifoma

Chief Executive Officer, Georgia Arrhythmia Consultants and Research Institute, Dr. Felix Sogade and certified Electrophysiologist, Cardiovascular Diseases and Internal Medicine, Dr. Joseph Poku have called on all Nigerians to learn basic life support skills as efforts to reduce the alarming incidence of sudden deaths among blacks including Nigerians.

They said this at the awareness symposium on cardiac arrest held at the Healings Stripes Hospital Foundation, Victoria Island, Lagos.

According to Sogade there is low knowledge about the importance of basic life support in the country. He said that the victim of cardiac arrest could be resuscitated and have pulse for 10 minutes before emergency help arrives.

He explained that from the onset of cardiac arrest till the person dies, each minute is very important. “After the sufferer is resuscitated, if assistance does not come within 10 minutes the chance of surviving is zero. So, there is need for people around the victim to act quickly and be able to take step to restore the heart back to regular rhythms.”

Sogade added: “About 40 per cent of people who die suddenly, die at home in their sleep – may be difficult to intervene - and the other 60 per cent may die during physical activities or working hours, may have chance of surviving when aids come at appropriate time.

As an Associate Professor of Medicine, Mercer University School of Medicine and Chairman, Board of Directors for the Association of Black Cardiologists in United State of America, Sogade listed some of the causes of sudden death condition that is common among blacks around the world.

“Some of the causes among other multiple conditions responsible are: when the heart muscle is very thick due to thickness of the heart muscle. When they exercise themselves, there is not enough blood flowing to the heart. It is good for someone to build big muscles and big chest, but in the heart that is very bad because the muscles do not get enough blood supply. When they now focus on physical exercises like table tennis or playing a competitive sport, they further compromise blood flow to that area of the heart and the heart will go into a dangerous abnormal rhythm and they die,” he expressed.

Merck Foundation Supports Training of 20 Future Oncologists in Africa Oncology Fellowship

Rebecca Ejifoma

In partnership with Ministries of Health across Africa, the Merck Africa Oncology Fellowship Programme is giving back to the society through Merck Foundation’s programmes to build cancer care capacity in Africa, provide Africa with 20 New Oncologists through Merck Africa Oncology Fellowship Programme established in India, Kenya and Egypt.

This is in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 to sustainably invest on building healthcare capacity to improve access to equitable healthcare solutions.
The programme provides one-year and two-year oncology fellowship and a three year master degree in medical oncology at Tata Memorial Centre, India, University of Nairobi Kenya and Alexandria University, Egypt, respectively.

CEO of Merck Foundation, Dr. Rasha Kelej, said: “One of the main objectives of Merck Foundation is to build a strong platform of qualified medical, paediatric and surgical oncologists across the continent through the Merck Africa Oncology Fellowship Programme.”

“Twenty candidates from Uganda, Zambia, Ethiopia, Namibia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Tanzania and Kenya have enrolled in the Merck Africa Oncology Fellowship Program in partnership with African ministries of health, the University of Nairobi, Kenya, Tata Memorial Centre, India and Alexandria University, Egypt in 2016 and 2017. We are very proud of our contribution to lead Africa to a better future through changing the landscape of Cancer care in the continent”, Kelej added.

The Foundation started the second stage of their Africa Oncology Fellowship Programme last year with the aim to increase the limited number of oncologists in Africa.

Speaking still, the Chairman of Executive Board and Chairman of Board of Trustees of Merck Foundation, Prof. Frank Stangenberg- Haverkamp, explained: “Improving cancer care needs a substantial improvement in infrastructure and increase in the number of specialised workforce, which does not exist in many, if not most, Sub-Saharan African countries. Enrolling more candidates from more African countries into our Fellowship Programme is an important step forward towards improving access to cancer care across the continent.”

WHO: About 25 Million Unsafe Abortions Occur Yearly Worldwide

Rebecca Ejifoma

A new study by World Health Organisation and the Guttmacher Institute published today in The Lancet, 25 million unsafe abortions (45% of all abortions) occurred every year between 2010 and 2014 worldwide. The majority of unsafe abortions, or 97%, occurred in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

This is in line with World Contraceptive Day 2017 as observed every September 26. The annual campaign centres around a vision where every pregnancy is wanted. Launched in 2007, WCD's mission is to improve awareness of contraception and to enable young people to make informed choices on their sexual and reproductive health
“Increased efforts are needed, especially in developing regions, to ensure access to contraception and safe abortion,” says lead author of the study and scientist in the WHO Department of Reproductive Health and Research, Dr Bela Ganatra.

He said that when women and girls cannot access effective contraception and safe abortion services, there are serious consequences for their own health and that of their families. “This should not happen. But despite recent advances in technology and evidence, too many unsafe abortions still occur, and too many women continue to suffer and die.”

Classifying abortion safety
The new Lancet study provides estimates on safe and unsafe abortions globally. For the first time, it includes sub-classifications within the unsafe abortion category as less safe or least safe. The distinction allows for a more nuanced understanding of the different circumstances of abortions among women who are unable to access safe abortions from a trained provider.

When abortions are performed in accordance with WHO guidelines and standards, the risk of severe complications or death is negligible. Approximately 55% of all abortions from 2010 to 2014 were conducted safely, which means they were performed by a trained health worker using a WHO-recommended method appropriate to the pregnancy duration.

Almost one-third (31%) of abortions were “less safe,” meaning they were either performed by a trained provider using an unsafe or outdated method such as “sharp curettage”, or by an untrained person albeit using a safe method like misoprostol, a drug that can be used for many medical purposes, including to induce an abortion.