Category: Health

COVID-19: Dave’s Aides On How They Survived Corona Virus

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Two aides of Gov. David Umahi of Ebonyi have explained how they survived the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, saying that they were miraculously healed by God.

The aides, Prof. Ogbonnaya Chukwu, the state Commissioner for Finance and Chief Clement Nweke, Principal Secretary to the Governor, in separate statements on Monday in Abakaliki, urged the citizens to take issues concerning the disease seriously.

Chukwu, in a statement he personally signed, said that he had been out of circulation for some time, due to the COVID-19 infection.

“It should be mentioned that while I walked through the valley of death’s shadow, I saw no evil because the Lord God was with me.

“A man in white apparel appeared to me on June 1 and squeezed my stomach hard, saying that this sickness would not be unto death.

“I was on life support and my stomach rumbled for a while,” he said.

Chukwu further said that on June 2, the governor took over with words of encouragement, urging him on during the trying moment.

“He momentarily took over my management with the Chief Medical Director of the Alex-Ekwueme Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (AE-FUTHA) and other health professionals.

“The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) ministers, led by Dr Paul Enenche, also stood in the gap and called on the God of heaven and earth.

“God’s mercy prevailed over judgment, and I am going home with a clean bill of health, having been certified COVID-19 negative,” he said.

The commissioner also thanked his family, relations and colleagues, among others for their prayers and support, declaring that COVID-19 was not a death sentence.

On his own, Nweke said that he walked out out the state’s isolation centre to join his family after spending 10 days in the facility.

“I had repeatedly tested negative for COVID-19 after being taken to the isolation centre on May 29.

“I had taken responsibility and requested to be tested for COVID-19, following a confirmed test of acute ‘plus-three’ malaria and pneumonia.

Nweke thanked the governor for his ‘rapid response’ to his case and for his foresight in establishing and equipping the state’s virology centre in Abakaliki.

“One could have imagined the difficulty that infected Ebonyi people would have faced if their samples were to be taken to Irua in Edo for testing or treatment,” he said.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Daniel Umezurike, confirmed the discharge of the two top government functionaries from the isolation centre, noting that they had tested negative twice after being treated for the disease.

“We thank God for their discharge and urge the public to continue observing all precautionary protocols outlined by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) because the disease is real,” he said.

CACOVID Donates N250m Medical Equipment To Oyo

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The Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID), a private sector initiative established to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, has donated N220 million medical equipment to the Oyo State Government.

CACOVID also donated N30 million to the state government.

The CACOVID team lead in-charge of Oyo and Osun states, Dr Timothy Aroowogun, made the donation on behalf of the coalition.

“The objective of donating the equipment is to support the state government in eliminating COVID-19, help the citizens and also help the health workers to contain the pandemic in the state.

“The First Bank Nigeria Limited, as a frontline member of the CACOVID initiative, is partnering with the government to provide the much needed support in the fight against COVID-19 in order to stop the spread of coronavirus in the country,” he said.

Receiving the donation, Governor Seyi Makinde, represented by his deputy, Rauf Olaniyan, appreciated the CACOVID team for the initiative.

He gave an assurance that all the donated medical equipment and supplies would be deployed to the soon to be opened Saki 100-bed isolation and treatment centre.

According to the governor, the opening of an isolation centre in Saki is strategic due to its location as a border town to neighbouring West African countries.

“The Saki Isolation Centre is going to be three-in-one. It will have what you call an observatory and isolation and treatment centre.

“The reason we need to have an observatory is because Saki is a border town and many people come in from different parts of the West African states, especially Burkina Faso and Benin Republic, they come in through that area,” he said.

In his remarks, Prof. Temitope Alonge, a member of the Oyo State COVID-19 Task Force, described all the equipment donated as appropriate for the treatment pattern being followed in the state in the fight against COVID-19.

Alonge said: “What thrilled me is that the CACOVID team took cognisance of the disease pattern that we are managing and decided to provide equipment that are appropriate.

“On many occasions, people have made donations that are good on paper but in terms of usefulness, probably not as good.

“But what they have done is to provide everything from the most mundane to the expensive ventilators, which are all going to be utilised for the management of this disease.

“And to top it all, they brought us about 40 cylinders of oxygen, meaning for the next one year or thereabout, there may not be need for the Saki Centre to run to Ibadan to come and collect oxygen.”

Some of the equipment donated were Lead ECG electrode, heavy duty apron, autoclave, auto syringe pump, biohazard bag, blood warmer, centrifuge (refrigerator), defibrillators (AED) and portable ultrasound imaging.

Others include mobile digital x-ray unit, face shield, protective goggles, hospital gowns, oxygen cylinders, wheelchairs, oxygen concentrator, oxygen regulators, nebuliser, kidney dish, patient multiparameter monitor, stretcher and suction devices.

Corona Virus: Adjust Or Die

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COVID-19 could have been a global health challenge.  That is bad enough, with the pandemic altering life and living, more than any single phenomenon, in living memory.

But its real pestilence would appear economic.  It is getting clear: COVID-19 won’t leave the globe in a hurry.  But even after it does, its economic plague would linger.  That is grim news already making 2020 a year to forget, even when it is barely half-year.

The effect of COVID-19, as a rippling, ruthless job tornado, is underscored by the latest stats from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which states 42 per cent of Nigerian workers have lost their jobs, no thanks to the COVID-19 storm.

By that NBS survey, 42 per cent of those polled said they lost the jobs they had, pre-COVID-19.  That’s a breath short of half of the putative working population.  Now, add underemployment — vastly reduced clientele/customer traffic, no thanks COVID-19 lockdown at its highest.

Add temporary job losses, from forced leaves, to be reviewed as the pandemic peters out.  Add even salary cuts, forced by businesses’ lower earnings, as a result of diving sales and vanishing clientele, and you could be talking of a cumulative range of about 55 per cent to 60 per cent.  That is no gravy to savour!

Of course, it goes without saying, the follow-up NBS finding: that 79 per cent of the polled respondents (that’s almost four out of every five) revealed their income had taken a hit, since mid-March, when the COVID-19 emergency started in the country.

Again, it logically follows: lower income translates to lower demand of goods and services. Between 35 per cent and 59 per cent of the respondents said they found it increasingly difficult to buy routine staples — rice, yam and beans — to feed.  Another 26 per cent said they could no longer afford medical treatment.

So, no thanks to COVID-19, the poverty situation is worsened, with a section of the poor no longer able to afford the little food they could hitherto muster.  This segment of the population also progressively gets crowded out of the healthcare market.

Thus, COVID-19 is a double-whammy, among the most vulnerable: increased poverty and decreased wellness!  When slightly more than half of the population (51 per cent resort to reducing food consumption: enduring some form of hunger) and another (26 per cent) cut down on medical needs, and probably resort to self-medication), then you have a grim situation.

O dear!  The medical market gets attacked from two ends.  If less people than hitherto could afford hospital services, it logically follows that each hospital would earn less cash to pay its medics: doctors and nurses, not to talk of the paramedics and other back-up staff.

Then the direct impact: fear of cropping COVID-19!  Many private clinics have closed shop, simply because they can’t muster the additional COVID-19 protective kits.  That is temporary job losses for the clinics involved.  It could also mean a severe business-changing blow, for those clinics would have to summon more capital to procure those gears (yet are faced with lower earnings).  If they hope to be in business, post-COVID-19, they are faced with a completely altered business paradigm!

Surely it’s not the best of times?  That is why it calls for radically new thinking that would trigger the capacity to adjust.

Indeed, adjust or die!  That would be the COVID-19-19 battle cry, even well into the post-COVID-19 globe!  It’s not the best of times!

COVID-19: CBN Earmarks N50m Grant For Herbal Medicine Research

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Researchers into herbal medicines and vaccines for COVID-19 can now access N50 million grant from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The CBN in the guidelines released at the weekend, said research activities will attract ?50 million, while development/manufacturing activities will attract a maximum of N500 million.

According to the guidelines “disbursement under the scheme shall be made to beneficiaries in tranches subject to achieved approved milestones.”

Once the grant is awarded to researchers and/or developers, the CBN said it will “have proprietary right over all financed R&D outcomes or products.”

Also, licensing protocol for the mass manufacturing of developed drugs, phytomedicines and vaccines, the CBN said “shall be defined by the Body of Experts (BoE) in accordance with the World Health Organisation’s current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP).”

The guidelines state that Body of Experts (BoE) shall be responsible for the review and evaluation of submitted research proposals.

AFDB Approves $288.5m For Nigeria’s COVID-19 Response Programme

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The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank on Friday approved a $288.5 million loan to help Nigeria tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

The loan will also help the Nigerian government mitigate the impact of COVID -19 on people and businesses.

According to a statement from the AfDB, “the loan will bolster the government’s plans to improve surveillance and response to COVID-19 emergencies, ease the impact on workers and businesses and strengthen the social protection system.”

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and the continent’s largest oil producer, is facing twin crises – a health epidemic caused by COVID-19, and an economic crunch largely occasioned by a global oil price plunge.

As of June 5, the country reported 11,516 coronavirus cases, 3,535 recoveries and 323 deaths.

The loan is the AfDB’s initial response to help mitigate the slump in oil prices and its impact on the national economy.

About 40.1% of Nigerians live below the poverty line of $1.90 per day, and it is feared that the fall in household income during the pandemic will result in wealth deterioration for both the formal and informal sector workers.

Ebrima Faal, Senior Director of the African Development Bank for Nigeria, said “the proposed programme will ensure that the fiscal position and the economy are sufficiently supported to weather the COVID-19 shocks, thereby limiting its potential adverse impact on livelihoods and the economy more generally.”

AfDB noted that prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, Nigeria’s economy was projected to grow by 2.9% of GDP in 2020 and further expand by 3.3% in 2021.

“But with the advent of the pandemic and the slump in crude prices, the economy is expected to shrink by between 4.4% under a conservative baseline scenario and 7.2% should the pandemic persist to end-2020.

Faal said that “beyond the country’s immediate economic recovery needs, the Bank and other development partners will dialogue with the government on proposals for medium-term structural reforms to diversify and boost domestic revenues away from the oil sector.”

He added that “the Bank has instituted strong fiduciary measures to monitor the use of COVID-19 funds, and will maintain dialogue, particularly with the Office of the Auditor General in Nigeria, to ensure adherence to the transparency and accountability of the funds.