In Nigeria, boosting viral hepatitis awareness and treatment

Abuja – Four months before her wedding and on the eve of starting a new job, Dada Titilope went in for a routine medical check. It was then that the 36-year-old resident of Ile-Ife Osun State in Southwestern Nigeria discovered that she had hepatitis B.

The 12th Joint Operations Review on humanitarian support to North-east begins in Bor...

Borno, 6 February 2023 - The 12th Joint Operations Review (JOR) on humanitarian support to the northeast commenced on 6 February 2023, in Maiduguri, Borno State. 

The 3-day meeting (6-8 February) is the 12th in a series of its kind, since the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2016, declared the humanitarian situation in the northeast at grade 3, owing to its gravity and impact on public health that put intense pressure on healthcare services in the affected communities. 

Breast cancer survivor preaches routine screening 

Abuja, 6 February, 2023 - Gloria Orji was 35 years old when she was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer in June 2010.

As an unmarried young woman in her prime, she was devastated because she thought she had her life planned out but finding out she had breast cancer was certainly not a part of her plans. 

“I felt shattered and asked the doctor how long I had to live, and he answered who said you will die?” she says, recalling the day she received her result. 

“People living with Elephantiatis are often stigmatized” – patient 

Abuja, 31 January, 2023 - Betty Livingstone, (not her real name), 22 years old native of Benue State, has been living with swollen lower limbs since 2012. 

“I remember waking up one morning and noticing my feet were swollen. The swelling started in my feet and gradually progressed to my legs. Having swollen legs is very embarrassing as people look at me weirdly,” she says.  

Cervical cancer - Early detection saves lives 

Ondo, 27 January, 2023 - It's 10 am on a Wednesday, and Ilemobayo Wuraola, a health worker, is holding a cervical cancer awareness talk for women attending the Family Planning (FP) clinic at Arakale health centre in Akure, Ondo State. 

“Cervical cancer screening is importanct for early detection of the disease, and it is advisable for women of child bearing age or sexually active females to get tested,” she says. 

Nigerian laboratory receives WHO full accreditation for fight against measles and ru...

Abuja, 19 January, 2023 - A Nigerian laboratory, the Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL), Lagos, recently attained a World Health Organization (WHO) full laboratory accreditation status in respect of its contribution to the fight against measles and rubella in the country. 

The CPHL is one of the laboratories under the Nigeria Centre For Disease Control (NCDC) Measles and Rubella laboratory network.

The WHO full accreditated status is the highest accreditation level that can be achieved by any laboratory.

Cholera-WHO supports Ebonyi State to curb the outbreak 

It was noon at a health facility in Amaozanu Community, located at Ishielu Local Government Area (LGA), Ebonyi state. 

Lying on a bed at the cholera treatment unit (CTU) with a drip (intravenous fluid or IV) on his hand is Mr Onwe Godwin, a 56-year-old from Amuhu Village in Ishielu LGA, 

He had been admitted to the hospital for three days, but cannot recall or trace how he contracted the disease. 

Narrating his experience, he says “I was passing watery stool for about 24 hours but did not know how I got to the hospital. 

In Borno, 4-month  cholera outbreak is over.

Maiduguri, 12 January, 2023 - Residents of Borno State can finally heave a sigh of relief as the state government recently declared the cholera outbreak over. The state recorded 12,496 confirmed cases with 394 deaths (confirmed 288, suspected 106) from (17 September 2022 to 23 December 2022) in 17 out of 27 Local Government Areas (LGAs). 

Enjoy the festive food without putting your health at risk 

Abuja - 23 December 2022 - The festive season is a time for celebration. However, enjoying the holiday’s food does not mean neglecting healthy diet, being inactive and putting your health at risk. 

Elizabeth Agbonkhese, a chef and event planner residing in Abuja, says despite the celebration in the air, she will ensure her family eats healthy meals during the yuletide season. 

How mental health support is restoring hope in war-torn Nigeria

Maiduguri, 20 December, 2022 – "At some point, I lost it,” says Hafsat Naya,* 59, who lives in Jere, a Local Government Area in Borno State, Nigeria. “I was separated from the people I knew. Everyone had been displaced. There were a lot of killings and we could not go to the farm or market because of fear.”

In Borno State, over two million women, children, and men have been forced to flee their homes to stay alive. More than a decade of conflict in north-east Nigeria has resulted in an ongoing humanitarian crisis, with a dramatic mental health cost.