Health
DISEASE OUTBREAK: Emergency Response Initiative, Launched by FG & WHO
A three-pillar approach that would prepare for, detect and respond to emergencies during outbreak of diseases has been launched by the Federal Government of Nigeria in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO).
Flagging off the programme in Damaturu, Yobe State, the Chief Consultant, Epidemiology at the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Godwin Ntadom, revealed the initiative tagged ‘Strengthening and Utilising Response Groups for Emergencies (Surge)’ is aimed at improving readiness and coordination at all levels.
Recall that Yobe state is recovering from Boko Haram insurgency, and faced with both human and natural disasters.
According to reports, in 2022 alone, 74 persons were killed and 30,000 hectares of farmlands submerged by flood, while 35,000 households displaced from their ancestral homes across the state despite the warnings by the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET).
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Health in Yobe State, Lawan Gana, welcomed the initiative, explaining that despite the efforts put in place, the state is still facing inadequate skilled human resources and limited logistics.
The initiative, launched across the six geopolitical zones of the country, is expected to develop the capacity of public health workers to respond swiftly and timely to all emergencies.
Health
Cross River reports case of COVID-19
The first reported case of the outbreak involved a Chinese national, who worked with Lafarge and flew into the country on March 17 before taking ill.
The government of Cross River has reported an occurrence of COVID-19 in the state, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
Dr Henry Ayuk, the state’s commissioner for health, made the announcement at a news conference on Tuesday in Calabar.
According to him, the first reported case of the outbreak involved a Chinese national, who worked with Lafarge and flew into the country on March 17 before taking ill.
The commissioner stated that the Chinese case became worse at the medical facility of his office and had to be taken to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH).
He explained that at the UCTH, his samples were taken and all protocols followed; it was subsequently confirmed that he had symptoms of COVID-19.
“We are, however, happy to report that he is doing well,” the commissioner said.
Ayuk asserted that the ministry of health had, however, been repositioned by the current administration to handle and manage any situation – diseases or epidemic outbreaks.
(Vanguard)
Health
UK GMC confirms more than 4,600 Nigerian doctors migrate to UK in three years
The exodus of doctors comes as Nigeria’s doctor-to-population ratio hovers around 3.9 per 10,000 people, far below the minimum threshold recommended by the World Health Organisation.
More than 4,691 Nigerian doctors have relocated to the United Kingdom since between May 29, 2023 to date, according to UK General Medical Council (GMC).
The UK GMC is a public official register detailing the number of practising doctors in the UK alongside other details such as their areas of speciality, country of training, among others.
As of May 28, 2025, official records showed that the number of Nigerian-trained doctors in the UK was a little over 11,000. The figure has grown significantly since then.
The figure put the total number of Nigeria-trained doctors currently practising in the UK to about 15,692, making Nigeria one of the largest sources of foreign-trained doctors in Britain, second only to India
The exodus of doctors comes as Nigeria’s doctor-to-population ratio hovers around 3.9 per 10,000 people, far below the minimum threshold recommended by the World Health Organisation.
Health
NCDC : Rainy Season To Increase Cholera Outbreaks in Ten States
They are Adamawa, Enugu, Kaduna, Kogi, Niger, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Taraba, and Kwara.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says that raining and flooding will increase cholera outbreak in ten prone states.
They are Adamawa, Enugu, Kaduna, Kogi, Niger, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Taraba, and Kwara.
NCDC, in a statement, yesterday, said the alarm followed flood predictions issued by the Federal Ministry of Environment and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency indicating that the aforementioned states would experience heavy rainfall and flooding between 13th and 17th April 2026.
NCDC noted that, already, cases of cholera are on the rise across the cholera-prone states, and that could simply be attributed to the rainy season, and flood that might have contaminated people’s sources of food and water.
It said: “Recent national surveillance data show increasing cholera activity across multiple states.
Flooding during this period can rapidly increase the risk of disease outbreaks due to contamination of drinking water sources, disruption of sanitation systems, and increased exposure of communities to unsafe environmental conditions.
Importantly, these risks are preventable with early action.”
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