Anambra State Government in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has flagged off free anti-rabies vaccination of dogs and cats across the state.

Performing the ceremony in Awka, the State Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Foster Ihejiofor said the campaign is part of the global commitment to eliminate rabies deaths from dogs and cats.

He added that the state considered it necessary to join in the campaign to mitigate deaths arising from rabies, even as he urged dog owners to take advantage of the exercise to vaccinate their dogs.

While describing rabies as highly infectious, he warned that henceforth any human death from rabies infected dog bite, owners of such dog must face murder case prosecution in court.

In a welcome address, the Director, Veterinary Services of the Ministry, Dr. Basil Ideh said the essence of the event was not only to create awareness of the devastating effect of rabies virus on public health but to educate the public on their roles in the fight to eradicate it.

“This is the reason governments and veterinarians across the globe engage the public annually in campaigns like this to educate them on the importance of anti rabies vaccination of their animals in mitigating the spread of the the virus. The truth is that rabies is virtually 100 percent fatal once clinical symptoms appear”.

He advised owners of dogs and cats as well as dog breeders in the state to bring out their animals for vaccination.

“The exercise will continue statewide in the 21 Local Government Areas at designated vaccination centres in various towns and villages for five working days beginning from 27th September and ending 5th October 2022″.

While urging dog owners to contact Veterinary Officers in local government areas nearest to them, he reminded the public that vaccination remained free

He warned that all stray dogs not vaccinated would be destroyed after the exercise.

The National Health Insurance Authority says it will not hesitate to prosecute any erring hospital or pharmaceutical company that undermines the workings of the health insurance scheme.

Acting Coordinator of NHIA in Ogun, Bode Adeleke, stated this at a one day sensitisation workshop for stakeholders in Abeokuta.

NHIA hitherto referred to as National Health Insurance Scheme, was changed and signed into law by an Act in May, thus repealing the 2004 Act of the NHIS.

According to Adeleke, the new nomenclature – NHIA, gives the agency more power and coverage to sanction and prosecute erring stakeholders. He said that the agency had battled with fake drugs in the recent past hence the resolve to sanction or prosecute any facility found culpable.

He said fake drugs had made enrollee question the efficacy of some drugs presented to them at health facilities. He disclosed that the authority would come out with its own branded drugs to address the issue of generic and branded drugs often encountered at the health facilities.

According to Adeleke, with the new Act, NHIA has more regulatory powers. “We can close down erring hospitals, pharmaceuticals, or stand alone providers like opticians or ophthalmologists. We can regulate them now, close them partially or totally. But before now, we cannot do that because we didn’t have the regulatory power.”

The NHIA coordinator added that the new Act also presented an opportunity to enrol virtually everybody, especially the vulnerable in society.

According to him, health insurance remains the key to universal health coverage as the Federal Government will foot the bills. Some of the stakeholders at the workshop enjoined the government to aggressively sensitise the public on the need for them to key into the scheme under the new authority.

The Director of Health, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Dr. Abiodun Amusan, urged the authority to as a matter of urgency reach out to stakeholders to key into the scheme.

He said that many workers were yet to enrol for the scheme, with the argument that the federal government promised them free healthcare at the point of entry.

“Some of them have refused to enrol in the health insurance scheme. Some hide under their spouses to enjoy the scheme without paying a dime from their salaries. There is a need to do something about it.”

The Coordinator, Police Health Maintenance Limited, Okechukwu Mba, advised the agency to carry out a thorough sensitisation programme for enrollee and the public on the efficacy of the proposed NHIA branded drugs. He said that many people were still skeptical about using generic drugs presented to them at health facilities.

The Instinct Resource Services Limited has trained 200 officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service across the country on mental health awareness.

The Managing Director, IRS, Mr Ayuba Fagbemi, who disclosed this in a statement at the end of the training on Monday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, said the event was part of efforts of the NIS Comptroller General, Mr Idris Jere, to enhance the productivity of officers and men of the service.

Fagbemi said the training was themed, Building Mental Health Awareness, Emotional Intelligence and Effect of Psychoactive Substance for Superlative Productivity. He lamented on the neglect of mental health in the country, despite being an integral part of wellbeing.

Quoting statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO), Fagbemi said, “Worldwide 450 million people suffer a mental disorder and 25 percent of the population would have a mental illness at some time in their lives.”

He said research had also shown that emotional intelligence accounted for nearly 90 percent of what set high performers apart from others and warned against the negative effects of psychoactive drugs

“The Nigerian Immigration Service and its current leadership under the Comptroller General, Idris Isa Jere, is strategically positioned and has invested in equipping its personnel with the right skills and motivating the personnel towards ensuring superlative performance. To this end, we have trained 200 officers across Nigeria.”

He said the training equipped the officers with emotional intelligence skills in the workplace for teamwork building, how to identify symptoms of mental disorder, knowing the harmful effects of psychoactive drugs on the body systems and understanding how to promote mental wellbeing in the workplace.

In his remarks, the State Comptroller of Immigration, AJ. Kwasau, said the training was initiated to enable officers to know how to take care of their mental health and remain productive in discharging their daily activities

Quoting the National Bureau of Statistics, Kwasau said an average of 50 million people suffer mental illnesses and attributed cases of suicide, murder, anger, depression, and drug abuse to such conditions.

“We all as officers and men of the Nigerian Immigration Service, have been entrusted with the responsibility of guarding our great nation at every entry and exit point, communicating and handling people from all parts of the world.

“It is important to note that it takes mentally sound and stable personnel to be able to carry out our statutory duties as the gatekeepers of the country.

“It is for this reason that the service has deemed it necessary to train officers on how to take care of their mental health and remain productive in their daily activities.”

Kwasau said the capacity building programme would aid officers and men of the NIS to improve their interpersonal relationships, level of self awareness, self motivation and emotional disposition.