The flight debut of NASA’s mega moon rocket faces additional delays following a string of failed fueling tests.
Officials said Monday it will be challenging to meet a launch window in early to mid-June. The next opportunity to send an empty capsule to the moon on a test flight would be at the end of June or July.
The 30-story Space Launch System rocket has been on the pad at Kennedy Space Center for the past month.
It will return to the hangar next week for valve and fuel leak repairs.
The problems cropped up earlier this month, preventing NASA from filling the rocket’s fuel tanks for a critical dress rehearsal.
The rocket will likely spend weeks in the hangar before heading back to the pad for a testing redo, said launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson.
Managers are considering various options for getting back on track.
“It’s just a matter of what’s the right time, what’s the right way to do that,” said Tom Whitmeyer, a NASA deputy associate administrator.
A new study has revealed consuming vegetables and other foods rich in Vitamin K can help to reduce the risk of dementia.
The study, carried out by researchers at the AlMaarefa University, Saudi Arabia, was presented at the ‘Experimental Biology’ meeting held in Philadelphia, United States, on April 5, 2022.
The study, which had the researchers giving vitamin K supplements to rats, concluded that it may help to protect against “cognitive deterioration.”
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, dementia is the term given to a group of diseases, the most common of which is Alzheimer’s disease, which affects millions of people.
It noted that dementia, which is mostly common in elderly people, is a term for loss of memory, language, problem-solving and other thinking abilities that are severe enough to interfere with daily life activities.
While there is no cure for dementia, there are some medications and therapies that can help with symptoms, the association stated.
Professor Mohamed El-Sherbiny, senior author of the study and an anatomy professor at AlMaarefa University, said ageing process is associated with deterioration of brain functions and that adding Vitamin K, which is a natural fat-soluble vitamin, can help to protect the brain from the development of Alzheimer’s.
He said, “There is a recommended daily amount ‘Trusted Source’ for vitamin K that varies with age. Consuming adequate amounts of vegetables and fruits is satisfactory to maintain normal vitamin K levels. However, supplements are also available to substitute for natural sources in case of inability to consume them.”
Speaking on the study, a Consultant Nutritionist, Dr. Olusola Malomo, said the Vitamin K has the potential to improve cognitive abilities and recommended consumption of green leafy vegetables and other foods rich in it.
He said, “Green leafy vegetables including collard and turnip greens; kale, spinach, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and lettuce containing Vitamin K. Salad dressings made with soybean or canola oil are also good, and fortified meal replacement shakes.”
Dr. Malomo said in addition to the researchers’ findings, Vitamin K helps in healthy blood clot and reduces nerve cell death by protecting it from harmful substances in the brain
The Sickle Cell Foundation, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to the proper care and control of sickle cell disease in Nigeria, has kicked against the bill seeking for the establishment of a Sickle Cell agency.
The NGO urged the government to rather focus on funding the existing Sickle Cell centres scattered across the country.
The organisation made its stance known during the health public hearing sessions held at the National Assembly, between April 12 to 13, 2022.
The Sickle Cell Foundation, which was represented by one of its programme coordinators, Anthony Babatunde, while sharing major highlights of the sessions on Monday via an Instagram post, said the bill was not in the interest of the Sickle Cell community.
He stated, while it was not a surprise that the said bill had passed 1st and 2nd reading, and was cruising to being made a law, it was crystal clear that it was not in the best interest of the Sickle Cell community and Nigerians as a whole.”
He noted that the public hearing was chaired by Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe and had various members of the senate and sponsors of the various bills under consideration in attendance.
Others at the hearing include representatives of the Federal Ministry of Health, Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria and Coalition of Non-Communicable Diseases, among other health organisations.
Explaining why the creation of an agency is unnecessary, Babatunde noted that there are already six centres addressing the same needs.
“While presenting on the floor of the senate, the Programme Coordinator highlighted, that there is already a National Sickle Cell Centre in Lagos, established by the Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria, that addresses all aspects of sickle cell disease – from prevention to treatment, care and support, and now CURE.
“Also worthy of note is the fact that the Federal Ministry of Health and Lagos University Teaching Hospital are part of the board of the centre.
“Similarly, there are also six centres of excellence for sickle cell disease in Nigeria – one in each of the 6 geo-political zones of the country, which are domiciled within Federal Medical Centres.
“Establishing the Agency will amount to duplication of efforts and attendant waste of resources, as the existing centres are not funded. Indeed, the major challenge is – no funding and not the non-existence of research or treatment centres.”
He solicited the support of the Senate to look into strengthening and providing support for the existing centres.
He also urged the lawmakers to sponsor bills that would “give bite to existing policies on sickle cell, establishing newborn screening for sickle cell disorder and other blood disorder, prophylactic treatment, bills to put an end to stigmatization and discrimination that people living with Sickle Cell Disorder suffer, access to affordable healthcare/insurance and a complete policy on sickle cell disorder to cover primary, secondary and tertiary prevention,” he said.
Recall that in 2021, the House of Representatives’ Committee on Health Institutions held a public hearing on five bills seeking to establish various facilities across Nigeria, including a National Agency for Sickle Cell Disease.
Sponsor of the bill, Mr. Bamidele Salam, emphasised the need for a legal framework for the prevention, control and treatment of sickle cell disease.
According to the lawmaker, the overall intent of the bill was to improve the lives of people suffering from sickle cell disease, recognise the disease as a serious and debilitating illness, and allocate new resources to monitoring, researching and treating it.
He said, “despite being one of the most common generic and blood diseases, and the fact that we have known about it for several decades, Nigerians with sickle cell disease continue to face a variety of barriers when trying to access care.
“Individuals with sickle cell disease not only suffer from chronic, debilitating pains and are at the risk of other serious complications, but many of them also lack access to their medical needs.
“This bill will provide a means of ensuring that we have the resources to better understand this disease and to maintain access to services for those affected by it.
“Other diseases that impact a similar or even smaller number of people receive more attention, and at times, more resources to help the patients. It is not out of place to therefore allocate necessary resources to monitor, research and treat sickle cell disease.
He further stated that the proposed legislation will mark a significant step forward in our efforts to combat sickle cell on all fronts.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of the Sickle Cell Foundation of Nigeria, Dr. Annette Akinsete, 150,000 children are born with sickle cell disorder in Nigeria every year while about 100,000 of them do not live to the age of five.
Akinsete said “Nigeria has the highest burden of sickle cell in the world; 150,000 babies are born every year with sickle cell disorder.
“When we talk about the burden, we also need to talk about those who have the traits, those who can pass the gene to their children but do not suffer the condition.
“About 50 million Nigerians have sickle cell traits. But that is the pool of persons that are potential persons that can give it to their children.
Akinsete, who spoke during the unveiling of the Muyiwa Talabi Exchange Blood Transfusion unit in Lagos, said there is a need for more awareness on the disorder in the country.
“People say it is a black man’s disease but that is not correct. It is something that we find in areas we call the malaria belt across the world. We find it in Nigeria, West Africa, East Africa, towards the Asian sub-continent and beyond, as long as you have malaria there you will have sickle cell disorder there as well. It is now a global disease.
“We need to increase awareness about the condition and what we are doing about the condition. The government is doing its best, but they are not doing enough. That is why Non-governmental organisations like our Foundation come in to fill that gap.”
The World Health Organisation says SCD is an inherited disorder of haemoglobin and t is the most prevalent genetic disease in the WHO African Region.
“In many countries, 10 per cent–40 per cent of the population carries the sickle-cell gene resulting in an estimated SCD prevalence of at least 2 per cent.
“The situation in the Region indicates that current national policies and plans are inadequate; appropriate facilities and trained personnel are scarce, and adequate diagnostic tools and treatment are insufficient.
“Deaths from SCD complications occur mostly in children under five years, adolescents and pregnant women. Strategies and interventions to reduce SCD-related morbidity and mortality should focus on adequate management of these vulnerable groups,” WHO said.
The global health agency noted that the strategy provides a set of public health interventions to reduce the burden of SCD in the African Region through improved awareness, disease prevention, and early detection.
“The interventions include improvements in health-care provision; effective clinical, laboratory, diagnostic and imaging facilities adapted to different levels of the health system; screening of newborns; training of health workers and development of protocols; genetic counselling and testing; accessibility to health care; establishment of patient support groups; advocacy; and research.
“Success in implementing identified interventions will depend on the commitment of member states to integrate SCD prevention and control in national health plans and provide an environment conducive for various stakeholders to contribute to the reduction of SCD prevalence, morbidity and mortality,” WHO stated.
A Paediatric Endocrinologist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Dr. Elizabeth Oyenusi, has advised parents that have children living with Type 1 diabetes to ensure they take their insulin regularly.
She warned that if they fail to take the insulin medication as recommended, they could come down with complications such as blindness and kidney problem.
Dr. Oyenusi, who is also a consultant paediatrician said insulin, is a hormone that helps to regulate the amount of sugar, or glucose, in the blood, noted that lack of effective insulin plays a key role in the development of diabetes.
According to Mayo Clinic, an online health portal, Insulin therapy is often an important part of diabetes treatment.
It emphasised that those with Type 1 diabetes need to “Understand the key role insulin plays in managing your blood sugar and preventing diabetes complications”, it added.
Speaking in an interview with newsmen, the endocrinologist said parents should worry when their children are consuming excessive food and also losing weight, revealing that those are the symptoms of diabetes in children.
According to her, Type 1 diabetes is not hereditary, but that Type 2 diabetes is inherited.
Dr. Oyenusi explained, “Type 1 diabetes happens because of something that went wrong in the person’s gene.
“It is not inherited, it’s just that it is in the gene and somehow the body starts attacking its own cells. That is what we call autoimmune. In children that have Type 1 diabetes, the body attacks the pancreas— the organ that produces the insulin because insulin is what helps us take glucose into the cells.”
The endocrinologist says it is risky for diabetic children not to take their insulin as recommended, warning that they could come down with complications that could lead to death.
“If they don’t take their insulin, they could come down with complications. They will be breathing fast and could fall into a coma. They will be urinating too much. They could have blindness and kidney problem”, she said.
The paediatrician noted that excessive urination, drinking too much of water, excessive food consumption and weight loss are some of the symptoms of diabetes in children.
On the issue of food and drink consumption, Dr. Oyenusi pointed out that parents tend to treat their children with Type 1 diabetes as if they have Type 2 diabetes, urging them to stop being too restrictive.
“But it is all about portion control. If they are managed well, they can be fine”, she added.
The endocrinologist urged the government to make the treatment of Type 1 diabetes for children free, stressing that in many other countries, it is free.
She counselled family members with diabetic children to show empathy and support and not to stigmatise them.
According to another online health news portal, Medical News Today, although it is not possible to prevent type 1 diabetes, there are available measures to help lower the risk.
“Breastfeeding infants until the age of six months minimises exposure to infections during childhood by receiving recommended vaccinations on time and practicing good hygiene, such as handwashing”, the site added.
It pointed out that anyone with a family history of any type of diabetes should be aware of the symptoms of high blood sugar, which include exhaustion and excessive thirst and urination and to get medical attention.
According to the World Health Organisation, Type 1 diabetes (previously known as insulin-dependent, juvenile or childhood-onset) is characterised by deficient insulin production and requires daily administration of insulin.
“In 2017 there were nine million people with type 1 diabetes; the majority of them live in high-income countries. Neither its cause nor the means to prevent it are known.
“Symptoms include excessive excretion of urine (polyuria), thirst (polydipsia), constant hunger, weight loss, vision changes, and fatigue. These symptoms may occur suddenly”, the WHO stated.
A Non-governmental Organisation, the USAID/Nigeria Safe Surgery in Family Planning and Obstetrics activity, a part of the global USAID MOMENTUM project has called on journalists to ensure increased public awareness on Fistula, unsafe surgeries and other poor reproductive health habits.
The project was aimed at reducing fistula cases, shun cultural norms in maternal health and promote safe reproductive health services and others.
Dr Kabir Atta, the Country Representative and Project Manager made call in his address during a two day engagement meeting with members of Sokoto state Correspondents’ Chapel, Directors from Sokoto state ministry of Information, Local Government Information Officers, and Hospital Public Relations Officers in Sokoto.
Mr Atta underscored the importance of media on sensitizing people noting cases of fistula, unsafe surgeries, Female Gentile Mutilation (FGM), harmful practices and other poor reproduce health practices needed increases attention in Nigeria.
According to him, maternal and child mortality rates need collective concern from stakeholders as well as changing the poor peoples attitude and perceptions toward accessing right healthcare services along with availability of standard health facilities in Nigerian communities.
He explained that the project was launched in June 2021 hoping to end by Sept. 2025 with budgetary support of 10 million US Dollars.
He added that the project focus on surgical obstetrics care, safe and appropriate cesarean delivery and peripartum hysterectomy along with FGM prevention and management.
He noted that the activities is in partnership with federal government and States ministries of health in focus areas that comprised Ebonyi, Bauchi, FCT, Kebbi and Sokoto States.
Mr Atta said the project geared to ensure adequate knowledge on health services, harmful social and gender norms, lack of trust in health system, financial and geographic obstacles and poor linkages to facilities.
” It was also to enlighten people on the existing gabs, insufficient staff, lack of skills ad support provider bias, fear of blame, disincentives for appropriate care, infrastructure, equipment and supply gaps, lack of process for respective quality care ” Atta said.
He also urged Journalists to facilitate adequate provision of resources, provision of evidence based guidance, adequate data provision and highlight absence of compensations.
The Country Representative added that the project would also strive toward facilitating referrals system, need to support and scale best practices, lack of private sector engagement and need for increased collaboration with civil society.
He further explained that it was build up on the five year National Surgical, Obstetrics, Anaesthetic and Nursing Plan (NSOANP), a strategic priority for surgical care intended to provide a realistic assessment and situation analysis of the states surgical care in Nigeria.
He stressed that the plan help on proving clear road map of implementation and evaluation mechanism toward harnessing emergency access to surgical care by people.
According to him, the vision was to have national healthcare system that is responsive to all surgical needs for all citizen at all times.
” Overall efforts is to integrate surgical, obstetrics, anaesthetic and nursing care into national healthcare system so that appropriate surgical care is provided to all adults and children at all levels ” The Country Director added.
The Kaduna State Contributory Health Management Authority (KADCHMA) says it is providing free basic healthcare services to 124,858 poor and vulnerable groups in the state.
This was made known by the Director-General of the agency, Mr Abubabkar Hassan, when members of the Open Government Partnership and Technical Working Group on Social Protection paid him a familiarisation visit in Kaduna on Thursday.
Hassan said that of the figure, 79,329 were accessing the basic minimum package of health services as defined by the National Health Insurance Scheme, while 45,529 were enrolled under the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund.
He explained that for those enrolled under the BHCPF, the state government provides 25 per cent counterpart fund, while NHIS provides 75 per cent from the BHCPF based on the defined benefit package.
The director-general said that the authority had so far enrolled a total of 514, 265 into the state health insurance scheme.
He noted that 382,593 were enrolled under the formal sector, 3,713 under the informal sector, 986 under the Tertiary Students Health Insurance Programme and 2,115 under the pensioner’s scheme.
Mr. Hassan explained that the scheme was designed to provide access to quality, affordable, equitable healthcare services to all residents of the state without financial risk.
According to him, the goal is to achieve Universal Health Coverage, improve the poor health indices in the state and reduce out-of-pocket expenditure for health services.
He thanked the body for the visit, stressing that working with citizens groups would create the needed awareness and understanding of the scheme and in the long run, increase enrolment, particularly in the informal sector.
He said, “We will work with you to create the needed awareness on the various health insurance packages being provided by KADCHMA.
“We will also look forward to getting feedback from you on some of the concerns and perceptions of the beneficiaries of our insurance scheme.”
Earlier, Mr. Philip Yatai, Citizens’ Co-Chair of the TWG, explained that the objective of the visit was to create familiarity between the agency and civil society organisations working on the social protection space.
Yatai added that the visit was also to strengthen the synergy between the Civil Society Organisations and implementing agencies of social protection programmes.
“We are here to also receive updates on the activities of the agency to enable the CSOs to effectively track the implementation of the health insurance scheme at the delivery points.
“The health insurance programme is one of the high impact social protection programmes that enable the poor and vulnerable to access basic healthcare services without financial barriers,” he said.
A non-Governmental Organisation, Chidi Ikediashi Foundation on Friday administered free healthcare services to indigenes of Obulu Okiti, a community in Aniocha South local government area of Delta state.
The foundation is sponsored by Comrade Chidi Ikediashi, the supervising councilor for environment in the local government council who was on the ground at the Obulu Okiti primary healthcare centre where the free healthcare services were carried out said not less than 500 residents, including elderly men and women, youths and children received free testing, blood pressure checks, eye checks, blood sugar checks, and other services
In an interview at the treatment centre, Ikediashi said he picked an interest in the healthcare aspect of the sustainable development goals (SDG) to meet the health needs of his people.
According to him: “It is good to know the right people and use them when the need like this arises.” He said the turn out of the residents was encouraging. Chairman of Aniocha South local government council, Jude Chukwuweike, commended Ikediashi for carrying out the laudable healthcare service to his people.
Ossai Ovie Success, an aide to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, also commended Ikediashi for the venture. He said this venture is what the state has been praying for, that is individuals who will complement and support the programme of the Delta state government.
He said: “What we are seeing here today is an act of kindness. Health is wealth. When we are not strong, we cannot go about our daily pursuits. What he is doing will really reduce the rate of death and ill-health.
“People are happy seeing something like this. I have seen the medical personnel. They are committed to the work. The state government has actually done well in health delivery services. You cannot preach the gospel of stronger Delta or Think Delta First without the people being healthy.”
The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has warned of the implications of the Russian-Ukraine war, citing that tensions have triggered global supply chain disruptions, largely affecting countries including Nigeria exposed to trade with the warring nations.
The NESG disclosed this in a report titled “Implications of Russia-Ukraine War: Risks and Opportunities for Nigeria” on Sunday, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
They also urged FG to take advantage of the benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA) and ensure effective border control to soften the impact of the fallout of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The group stated that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is expected to reduce Nigeria’s trade volume with both Russia and Ukraine, citing that supply chain disruptions caused by the war have negatively affected Nigeria.
The rising pipeline vandalism and oil theft in Nigeria are limiting the volume of gas the Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) can supply to the domestic and international markets, threatening the N187 billion dividend expected by the Federal Government from the company this year, BusinessDay has learnt.
The NLNG, which is jointly owned by the Federal Government and three international oil companies, was established in 1989 to harness Nigeria’s vast natural gas resources and produce Liquefied Natural Gas and natural gas liquids for export but it started operations in 1999. It also supplies Liquefied Petroleum Gas, also known as cooking gas, to the domestic market.
The Nigerian government received a dividend of N208.5 billion from the NLNG in 2021, according to data from the budget office. The country has received over $18.3 billion in dividends in the last two decades.
According to correspondents NLNG’s gas supply has hit a record low on the back of rising pipeline vandalism and theft.
The Pharmaceutical Council Of Nigeria (PCN) has sealed a total number 378 premises comprising of 34 pharmacies and 344 patent medicine stores in Taraba State.
The leader of the enforcement team, Mr. Stephen Esumobi, disclosed this during a news conference on Friday in Jalingo.
According to him, 378 shops were sealed out of 546 facilities visited by the enforcement team of the council across the state.
He revealed that the team visited 481 patent and proprietary medicines vendors and 65 pharmacies during their enforcement exercise.
“During the exercise, 378 premises were sealed, comprising 34 pharmacies and 344 patent medicines stores. 24 compliance directives were issued for various offences such as poor sanitary conditions, poor documentation, non-display of premises and pharmacists’ annual licences.
“Some of the stores sealed also engaged in clinical services and this is a worrisome trend in Jalingo and some local government areas,” he said.
Esumobi urged residents of the state to beware of unlicensed medicine dispensing stores and support the council in ridding the state of quacks.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
