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UNFPA challenges implementing partners on Nigeria’s growth

UNFPA
By Muhammad Suleiman Tola
Abuja, Jan. 23, 2019 (NAN) The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) on Wednesday challenged its Implementing Partners (IPs)
to make meaningful contributions toward the growth of Nigeria.

The fund’s acting Country Representative, Dr Eugene Kongnyuy, gave the task at the 2018 Review and 2019 Planning
Meeting in Abuja.

Kongynyu said that the three-day meeting would review the activities of the IPs against the backdrop of their successes,
challenges and how to address them.

According to him, the meeting will also consider the IPs work plans for 2019 under the fund’s eighth Country
Programme (CP8) to avoid the pitfalls of the preceding year.

He added that “we (UNFPA) expect increased understanding of the CP8 priority areas, the transformative results and
the commitment, cooperation and partnership required for successful implementation.

“We also expect improved team spirit from participating IPs, as well as staff of UNFPA.”

Kongnyuy said that the meeting would develop result-oriented work plans with key indicators and milestones to track
progress in 2019.

The IPs attending the meeting include Federal Ministries of Budget and National Planning, Health, Youths and Sports,
Women Affairs, FCT and Education.

Others are the National Population Commission, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) and research institutes.

Similarly, some NGOs like the Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria (PPFN), Well Being Foundation Africa,
Fistula Foundation, Marie Stopes, Youth Hub Africa, C4C and EVA are also attending.

The meeting, which will end on Friday, is expected to produce actionable next steps for the development of Nigeria. (NAN)
MST/HA
Edited by Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu

Health

NAFDAC to hold urgent forum on Mobile Authentication Service

NAFDAC to hold urgent forum on Mobile Authentication Service
By Mustapha Sumaila
Authentication
Abuja, July 6, 2018 (NAN) The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says it will hold an urgent stakeholders forum to present the Mobile Authentication Service (MAS) Guidelines to the public in line with a directive from the House of Representatives.

The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, made this known in a statement she personally signed in Abuja on Friday.

Adeyeye disclosed that the forum will be held this month in conjunction with Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI).

“I am pleased to note the Honourable Speaker of the House of Representatives’ concern about Substandard and Falsified medicines (SF), and the urge to use Mobile Authentication Scheme (MAS) to detect counterfeit medicines.

“The MAS was deployed by NAFDAC in 2010 as an anti-counterfeiting tool to curb the menace of substandard and falsified medical products.

“The medicines identified for implementation and enforcement in the first stage of the MAS scheme are antimalarials and antibacterials,” she said.

The NAFDAC boss stated that these classes of medicines were selected as a result of high incidence of counterfeiting and the adverse impact on public health.

She added that the scheme was not fully implemented by all relevant stakeholders despite several enforcement deadlines issued by NAFDAC for compliance.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the House of Representatives directed the NAFDAC to enforce the MAS on all drugs in the country.

The House also mandated its Committee on Health Care Services to liaise with the agency to ensure public enlightenment and total compliance to the service.

MAS allows customers to identify the genuineness of products, especially drugs, by scratching a thin coating of a unique 12-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN), which is then sent via SMS to 38353 code for a quick feedback within seconds.

The resolution followed a motion on the rising cases of fake drugs in the country by Babajimi Benson (APC-Lagos).

Benson, in a lead debate, decried the growing incidences of drug adulteration and counterfeiting, which he said had taken an alarming dimension due to non-compliance to MAS.

“The World Health Organisation said 17 per cent of all drugs in Nigeria are fake, which undermine all aspects of medical treatment and healthcare delivery which were major causes of suffering and deaths,” Benson said. (NAN)
MS/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

NARD Strike: Doctors meet to review agreement

NARD Strike: Doctors meet to review agreement
NAN-HG-5
Meeting
By Yashim Katurak
Abuja, Sept. 13, 2017 (NAN) The National Executive Council (NEC) of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) is meeting in Abuja to appraise the implementation of its agreement with the Federal Government.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NEC scheduled to hold the meeting at 8 p.m on Wednesday in the FCT-Abuja to assess government response to the demands made by the association.
A source at the meeting confided in NAN that a position would be adopted at the end of the meeting.
The source appealed to Nigerians to bear the situation as members of the association were pressing government to improve the healthcare delivery system in the country.
NARD embarked on a nationwide indefinite strike to press home a six-point demand.
The association had on Sept. 6 laid out terms of settlement with the federal government after the two parties met to resolve the crisis.
Among other demands, the doctors are protesting the sack of some of their colleagues, non-payment of “skipping’’ entitlement, non-inclusion in the IPPIS platform and non-payment of their salary arrears.
The federal government at the meeting had agreed to terms of settlement with the association, assuring that it will pay the arrears and commence the inclusion of NARD members in the IPPIS platform.
In an earlier interview with NAN, Dr Arikawe Adeolu, a member of the National Executive Council of NARD, said the association was waiting on the federal government to redeem its pledge before the strike could be called off.
Adeolu said that more than half of members of the association were yet to receive their arrears, claiming that government is also yet to meet its other demands in the terms of settlement.
He said that the association would therefore hold a meeting to assess the response of government to its demands.
“We were supposed to hold a meeting on Sept. 8 but it didn’t hold because the essence of the meeting was defeated.
“We thought that government would have paid by then but we got nothing so the meeting has been postponed to September 12; it will be a closed door meeting to carry out an appraisal of events so far,’’ he said.
NAN reports that the meeting which was slated to hold on Sept. 12 was however rescheduled to hold on Sept. 13. (NAN)
KRY/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

NARD Strike: NEC yet to meet

NARD Strike: NEC yet to meet
NAN-HG-2
Strike
By Chinenye Offor
Abuja, Sept. 11, 2017 (NAN) Dr Roland Aigbovo, the General Secretary, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Chapter of National Association of Resident Doctors, said that the National Executive Council (NEC) was yet to meet to decide on the ongoing strike.
Aigbovo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja that only the NEC could a final decision on the industrial action.
He recalled that the president of the association and its delegates met with the Minister of Labour and Productivity on Sept.7, on the resolution of the industrial action.
The scribe that the NEC was expected to meet on Sept. 8 because of the urgency of the situation and review the negotiations with the Federal Government.
He, however, said that the NEC members said they have to follow the association’s constitutional provision of convening an executive meeting by giving 72-hour notice.
“Before you can call for extra ordinary meeting due process of NARD constitution have to be followed, which says that there have to be a 72-hour notice before sitting for a meeting.
“The extra ordinary National Executive council meeting will hold on Sept. 12, and it is after the meeting that they will decide on when the strike will end,’’ Aigbovo said.(NAN)
CSO/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

General news

UN to assemble 36 state’s Attorneys General in Yola

UN to assemble 36 state’s Attorneys General in Yola

NAN-H-25

UN

Yola, July 11, 2017 (NAN) The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) says it will assemble 36 Attorneys General of the federation in Yola.

Mrs Veronica Yohanna, the UNHCR representative in Yola confirmed the development at a two-day midterm review meeting of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) monitoring project organised by the commission in collaboration with National Human Rights Commission held in Yola on Tuesday.

Yohanna said that the meeting was scheduled to hold from July 14 to 15, and that the core objective of the meeting was to bringing together all 36 state’s attorneys general to brainstorm on some legal issues concerning human rights.

“We are bringing the Attorneys General together to tackle the issue of law from the grassroots.

“And during the meeting the Juris are expected to look at ways and issues that will enable common man and IDPs in the country get easy access to justice,” Yohanna said.

She regretted that some laws concerning the cases of rapes and human rights in the country need to be reviewed to tackle the high rates of minor rape cases in the country.

Mrs Oti Ovrawah, the acting Executive Secretary, NHRC, appreciated the continuous support of the UNHCR in the provision of much needed assistance towards the realisation of the rights of IDPs as a result of insurgency.

Ovrawah said that the aimed of the IDPs project midterm review was to enable partners identify potentials for improvement of protection issues related to persons displaced project in the country.

The participants were drawn from Bauchi, Nasarawa, Gombe Adamawa, Taraba and Yobe states. (NAN)
AMA/MST

Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola