National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has notified Nigerians and healthcare providers of four deadly paediatric cough syrups in circulation in the Gambia with possibility of filtering into Nigeria.

The four paediatric cough syrups are, Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup.

NAFDAC in a statement, on Sunday, disclosed that 66 children have so far died following the use of the four substandard cough syrups as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Agency explained that laboratory analysis of samples of the four products confirmed that they contain unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants.

“Diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol are toxic to humans when consumed and can prove fatal. Toxic effects can include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, inability to pass urine, headache, altered mental state and acute kidney injury which may lead to death.

“Unfortunately, the manufacturer of these products, Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited, Haryana, India, has not provided guarantees to W.H.O on the safety and quality of these products.”

NAFDAC, summarily, declared that Nigerians should consider all batches of these products as unsafe and should not be used. “The substandard products in this alert are unsafe and their use especially in children, may result in serious injury or death.

“It stated that the products are not registered by NAFDAC and therefore should not be in circulation in Nigeria. These four products have been identified in Gambia, but may have been distributed through informal markets to other countries or regions.”

NAFDAC implored importers, distributors, retailers and consumers to exercise caution and vigilance within the supply chain to avoid the importation, distribution, sale and use of the substandard paediatric cough syrups.

“It advised that all medical products must be obtained from authorized/licensed suppliers and the products authenticity and physical condition should be carefully checked. Members of the public in possession of the above listed products are advised to discontinue sale or use and submit stock to the nearest NAFDAC office.

“If you have these substandard products, please do not use them. If you or someone you know have used these products or suffered any adverse reaction/event after use, you are advised to seek immediate medical attention from a qualified healthcare professional.

“Healthcare professionals and consumers are encouraged to report any suspicion of adverse drug reaction and substandard and falsified medicines to NAFDAC.”

A former President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Osahon Enabulele, has been inaugurated as the President of the World Medical Association.

Enabulele, a Consultant in Family Medicine at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Edo State, was sworn in as the President of the WMA for 2022 to 2023 on Friday, at the Annual General Assembly of the association held in Berlin, Germany.

He urged the WMA to be an untiring advocate of global public health interventions to reduce or eliminate the staggering health inequities and inequalities, across the globe.

The outgone WMA President, Dr. Heidi Stensmyren, in her valedictory speech, expressed concerns that thousands of physicians are leaving the profession early due to fear, burnout, and the often overlooked feeling of helplessness, worried that they can no longer make a difference.

A world class Cancer treatment facility called ASI Ukpo Comprehensive Cancer Centre has opened in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, south-south Nigeria.

The facility which is the first of its kind in the south-south and south-east Nigeria was officially unveiled by the deputy governor of Cross River state, Professor Ivara Esu.

Esu, who commended the family of the late Brigadier General Anthony Ukpo for following through with the vision of the sage, noted that, “This is a legacy that must be sustained. This is the kind of investment we need to benefit our people and humanity in general and that is why we have the state’s health insurance scheme to make healthcare affordable for the poor.”

The Pioneer Chief Medical Director of the centre, Dr. Gbenga Kajogbola, described ASI Ukpo Comprehensive Cancer Centre as the first of its kind in the Niger Delta and south-east region of Nigeria.

Kajogbola said, “This represents hope and all what everybody would ever think of when it comes to healthcare because what people go for in India, United States of America, Germany and others, have been brought to your doorstep. I am very happy to be a part of this large project, which I know will definitely bring a lot of hope to families.

“This is the most affordable cancer treatment centre in sub-Saharan Africa. It is shocking to note that a private institution will have this kind of inclination and that is due to the intention of the ownership, Brigadier General Ukpo, who decided to invest in healthcare to ensure people actually get access to quality care”

The Executive Director of the centre, Mr Yegwa Ukpo, the son of the founder, late Brigadier General Anthony Ukpo, former Military Administrator of Rivers State, described the official launch of the centre as a big relief.

Ukpo, who recalled with nostalgia the beginning of the facility as a diagnostic centre and its expansion to include comprehensive cancer care under his late father, expressed delight that his father’s vision was finally alive.

“My dad was a cancer survivor, he had prostate cancer and was able to survive that. Unfortunately, he lost 3 of his siblings to cancer. So having had that personal interaction with cancer as an individual and in his family, he decided to do this.”

Ukpo expressed the hope that the facility would address medical tourism and brain drain, stating the staff excellence. You can see that Nigerians perform amazingly when they go overseas, but to be honest what they lack is just facilities. This facility is state-of-the-art, it is top-notch. What we use for radiotherapy is top of the line model in the world.

“Also people do not have to go overseas anymore. They now have this facility where they can spend naira and get the quality treatment that they need. So medical tourism is one of the things that we want to address. Calabar has always been a tourists’ destination and we are just adding to that facet of tourism. Now people can come in for medical and not just recreation.”

Traditional rulers in northern Nigeria have reinstated their commitment to the immunisation of every child in the region.

They made the commitment at the quarterly Northern Traditional Leaders Committee Meeting on Primary Healthcare Delivery, held in Abuja. The meeting was to assess the level of improvement recorded so far on vaccinations across the Northern region in Nigeria towards achieving good primary health care delivery in Nigerian communities.

The Chairman of the Committee and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, said that the traditional rulers are recording tremendous success now on vaccination especially in the rural areas where cases of polio, yellow fever and cholera is high. He said that the traditional rulers raised the level of engagement and ensured that every Child is vaccinated under their leadership.

While addressing the Northern Traditional Leaders committee on Primary Healthcare delivery, Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire applauded the efforts of the rulers in achieving successful vaccination in the Northern region and urged them to do more enlightenment so that people will know the importance of vaccination especially in the rural areas.

The Executive Director Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Faisal Shuaibu, said that there is the need to further strengthen the community engagement as the risk of polio is still very much in the Northern part of Nigeria.

UNICEF, WHO among other stakeholders assured the traditional lenders of their readiness to continue giving maximum support in primary healthcare services, noting that primary healthcare is central in ensuring the survival.