United States Resumes Drop Box Application In Nigeria

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February 1, 2022

The United States embassy in Nigeria has lifted the restriction on drop box service or interview waiver for those renewing visas in the country.

The interview waiver was suspended for Nigerian applicants in May 2019.

US Mission Country Consular Coordinator, Susan Tuller announced this during a press conference at the U.S. Embassy, Lagos. She said the new application procedure will begin in February at the U.S. Consulate in Lagos and will be extended shortly thereafter to the U.S. Embassy in Abuja.

The number of qualified applicants who can apply using the new procedure will be limited initially, she said.

Those eligible for a Visa renewal without an interview include applicants for B1/B2, F, M, J (academic only), H, L, or CI/D (combined only) Visa.

Applicants must meet the following criteria: your previous Visa was issued in Nigeria, your previous Visa is in the same classification as your current application, your previous Visa was a full validity, multiple entry Visa, your previous Visa expired within the last 24 months or will expire in the next three months from the date of application, among other criteria.

The embassy added that only applicants with scheduled appointments can drop off documents at the US Consulate.

Oil Spill In Ecuador Affects Nation’s Amazon Forest

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Angel Gimalo

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February 1, 2022

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Ecuador’s environment ministry says an oil spill in eastern ecuador has reached a protected area of the nation’s amazon rainforest and contaminated a river that supplies water to indigenous communities.

Nearly two hectares of a protected area of the cayambe-coca national park have been contaminated, as well as the coca river – one of the biggest in the ecuadorian amazon.

The park of some 400,000 hectares is home to a wide variety of animals, including red brocket deer and various amphibians, and holds important water reserves.

Neither the government nor ocp ecuador has quantified the extent of the spill, but the environmental authority has described it as a “major” pollution event.

S’korea Says It Has Reached $1.6 Billion Arms Deal With Egypt

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Zoe Maven

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February 1, 2022

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South Korea on Tuesday said it reached a $1.6 billion arms deal with Egypt a week after President Joe Biden’s administration approved another massive arms sale to the Middle Eastern nation.

The office of President Moon Jae-in in Seoul said the deal to provide K9 self-propelled howitzers to Egypt is the country’s biggest export contract for the weapon. It is manufactured by Hanwha Defense.

Moon’s office did not provide further details on the deal, including how many of the howitzers Egypt will acquire. There was no immediate comment from Egypt.

Tuesday’s announcement comes two weeks after Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah el-Sissi met with Moon in Cairo. It was the first visit by a South Korean president to Egypt in 16 years, according to the state-run al-Ahram daily.

Last week, the Department of State announced a $2.5 billion arms sale to Egypt. That deal included 12 Super Hercules C-130 transport aircraft and related equipment worth $2.2 billion and air defense radar systems worth an estimated $355 million.

Egypt, one of the world’s leading arms importers, has in recent years upgraded its military, striking massive arms deals with Western nations and Russia. It has built new military bases and expanded its naval and air power to help secure the country’s vast desert and sea borders, especially after the discovery of significant gas deposits in its Mediterranean waters.

Such deals have drawn criticism from rights activist who accuse the Egyptian government of carrying out a wide-scale crackdown on dissent.

The Biden administration said last week it canceled $130 million in military aid to Egypt over human rights concerns.

NHIS resolves tariff dispute between healthcare providers, HMOs

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Cleopatra Okohai

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February 1, 2022

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The National Health Insurance Scheme has resolved the dispute between the Health Care Providers Association of Nigeria, and Health Maintenance Organisations.

The NHIS Deputy General Manager, Mr. Emmanuel Ononokpono, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja, on Tuesday.

According to reports, hospitals under the aegis of HCPAN and other associate bodies, had announced plans to drop HMOs and impose a new tariff structure for private health insurance.

Ononokpono said that the action was to commence from February 1, a development that created anxiety within the health insurance ecosystem.

The Executive Secretary, NHIS, Prof. Mohammed Sambo, in a meeting with the parties, reached an interim but mutual understanding, aimed at ensuring that a potential crisis was averted.

Similarly, it was to ensure that persons operating health insurance on a private basis were not stranded, Sambo had explained.

“Private health insurance is a practice where HMOs buy health care for interested persons under pre-determined arrangements. Usually, it is outside the NHIS system,” he said.

He said that NHIS was the only legally recognised body that had the authority to come up with services tariffs for health insurance in the country.

Sambo added that the primary objectives of social health insurance was to limit the rising cost of health care services and protect people from the financial hardships of huge medical bills.

He, however, indicated reservations that the system had tolerated HMOs to run “private health insurance”, which brought distortion to social health insurance implementation.

Sambo expressed optimism that the expected passage of the NHIS bill making health insurance mandatory would permanently resolve all such distortions.

“Social health insurance is the only vehicle by which every Nigerian can access quality and affordable health care.

“Therefore, any element that will threaten the smooth operations of the social health insurance scheme in Nigeria must be eliminated,” he said.

Sambo noted that taking the issue to the public space in the manner that the stakeholders did; left much to be desired.

According to him, disagreements can be resolved when parties listen to each other’s positions and make efforts to reach a compromise.

Speaking on behalf of Health Care Providers, Dr. Jimmy Arigbabuwo said that HMOs had foisted their tariffs on providers without regard for inflationary realities.

Arigbabuwo said that HMCAN had not acted in good faith even as they provided services to clients.

The spokesman for HMCAN Dr. Leke Oshuniyi said that members of the association were open to negotiations with the view to bringing the dispute to a close.

At the end of the meeting, representatives of the Health and Managed Care Association of Nigeria, HCPAN, Guild of Medical Directors, AGPMPN, and other stakeholders agreed to the propositions presented by Sambo.

The parties agreed that a reconciliation would be conducted by NHIS to ascertain the level of indebtedness by HMOs to providers and media advertorial would precede this activity.

“Rapid assessment of HMOs’ private plans will be conducted to ascertain their level of conformity with the NHIS prescribed arrangements.

“HCPAN will immediately withdraw its announced tariffs, while other stakeholders who had their own tariffs will withdraw same.

“HCPAN and HMCAN are given two weeks to negotiate and agree on a mutually accepted tariff structure,” he added.

Sambo said that a follow-up meeting had been scheduled for February 7, to evaluate progress on the matter.

HIV Elimination Within Australia’s Reach

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faith Jegede

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February 1, 2022

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Australian HIV diagnoses have hit an all-time low, with the country insight of eliminating transmissions. A legacy of Australia’s early, effective response.

Australia’s exceptional HIV/Aids response owes much, experts say, to politicians and other powerful decision-makers offering communities most affected, seats at the table.

It was an extraordinary “leap of faith”, says author Nick Cook.

According to cook, the government could funnel money into trusted community groups who could converse with members of the affected communities and aid them to get help.

As the 40th anniversary of Australia’s first HIV diagnosis approaches, two recent books detail what set apart the country’s lauded public health response.

Cook’s Fighting for Our Lives charts the collaboration mentioned above, while In The Eye Of The Storm, by three Australian academics, tells the under-reported stories of individuals who volunteered in vast numbers to ease suffering.

By the end of the 1980s, Australia was hailed by the World Health Organization as a prevention model for other countries to emulate.

It was one of the few nations that avoided an epidemic among injecting drug users, with rates five to 10 times less than some European countries and parts of the US.

Cook says Australia’s isolated geography provided a “head start” – the virus arrived later.

There was also a recently co-ordinated and emboldened community, ready to step up and this created the conditions for people to volunteer in such high numbers, says Dr Shirleene Robinson.

“The infrastructure existed: publications, connections and organizations that could be directed towards the epidemic,” the co-author of In the Eye of the Storm says.

Volunteers – many gravely ill or experiencing deep grief – provided in-home care for the sick and dying, staffed needle exchanges and telephone helplines, produced educational resources, served on boards of management, and provided friendship and practical support

They helped those with HIV/Aids navigate a hostile medical system that had, in preceding decades, treated gay men as mentally ill and requiring curing.

The Victorian Aids Council ran training sessions on how to care for dying people for those who’d never done so.

Senate Passes New Civil Aviation Bill

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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February 1, 2022

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The Senate, following the adoption of the report of the Senate Committee on Aviation at plenary, has passed the Civil Aviation Bill, 2022, seeking to repeal the Civil Aviation Act, 2006.

Presenting the report, Sen. Smart Adeyemi, Chairman of the Committee, said the aim of the bill was to provide an effective legal and institutional framework for the regulation of civil aviation in Nigeria to confirm with the standards and recommended practices set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

He added that the legislation was aimed at establishing rules of operation and divisions of responsibility within the Nigerian civil aviation system in order to promote aviation safety.

“It will ensure that Nigerian’s obligations under international aviation agreements are implemented and consolidated,” he said.

Adeyemi added that the bill when passed would be applicable to all persons holding licenses that have been issued or validated by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

Libya Parliament To Replace Interim Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah

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Zoe Maven

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February 1, 2022

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Libya’s parliament has announced it would meet next week to pick a replacement for interim Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah, potentially escalating tensions between the country’s eastern and western factions.

The announcement, lays bare once again the extent of divisions between eastern and western factions in the war-torn country.

Spokesman Abdallah Bliheq said the assembly, based in the country’s east, was ready to start examining applications for the role, and that candidates would face hearings in the house on February 7.

The United Nations has been leading efforts to help move the North African country past a decade of chaos following the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

Dbeibah’s government had a mandate to lead the country to December 24 elections — in which he was a candidate despite having committed to not running.

Since the polls were canceled, parliament speaker Aguila Saleh, also a presidential hopeful, has led calls to replace Dbeibah, arguing his mandate is over.

The parliament, in the eastern city of Tobruk, had already passed a no-confidence motion against Dbeibahs’ government in September, a vote rejected by an upper house based in the capital.

The assembly had published criteria last week for applicants to the role, without setting a deadline for their appointment.

The UN, western powers and even some members of parliament have called for Dbeibah to stay in his role until elections, for which a new date has not yet been set.

Chronic hypertension could be signs of kidney disease, physician warns

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Cleopatra Okohai

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February 1, 2022

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A public health expert, Prof Tanimola Akande, has warned against taking chronic hypertension lightly, noting that it could be a signal of kidney failure.

According to the expert, uncontrolled hypertension can damage the kidney just as chronic kidney disease can also cause hypertension.

Speaking with Newsmen, Tanimola, who is a former National Chairman of the Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria said that chronic kidney disease at the early stage usually does not show any symptoms hence it is necessary to pay attention to the changes in one’s health.

“Hypertension can damage the Kidney. Also, the reverse can be the case as kidney disease can and often lead to hypertension,” he said.

He further explained that the “Kidneys filter the blood to excrete extra fluid and waste through urine. When the kidney is diseased it will not perform these functions properly.

“At the early stages of chronic kidney diseases, the patient may not observe the symptoms. However, in acute kidney disease, the symptoms come up rapidly and may quickly lead to renal failure.”

He listed some of the symptoms of kidney disease as a reduction in urine volume, swollen face or puffy face, bloody urine or brown, pink urine.

While other symptoms include weakness, loss of appetite, feeling of fatigue among others.

Speaking on ways to prevent incidences that may lead to chronic kidney disease, the public health expert said chronic kidney diseases can be reduced by drinking enough water daily, reducing or avoiding drugs that can damage the kidney like bleaching creams.

Other measures, he said, include avoiding excessive use of pain killer drugs and local concoctions.

He also called for good blood pressure control and regular medical examination to enable the early detection of kidney diseases.

“It is also important to urinate when the desire is there and not forming the habit of holding urine,” he said.

Algeria’s Former Energy Minister Faces 20-Year Jail Term

By

Zoe Maven

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February 1, 2022

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The prosecutor’s office has demanded 20 years jail term over a case of corruption against former Algerian energy minister Chakib Khelil, who served for 10 years under President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

According to reports, the prosecutor of the Sidi M’hamed court in Algiers has requested 20 years in prison for Chakib Khelil and 10 years for the former head of the state-owned hydrocarbon giant Sonatrach, Mohamed Meziane, who is on trial in the same case.

The former strongman of the hydrocarbons sector in Algeria is being tried in absentia while Mr Meziane is serving a prison sentence in Algeria in another case.

The prison sentences come with heavy fines and the confiscation of all of Khelil’s assets as well as those of his family.

The prosecutor’s office also asked for the confirmation of the international arrest warrant issued in 2019 against Khelil, who is reported to be on the run abroad.

The two former senior officials are being prosecuted along with other co-defendants for “corruption in the Arzew (Oran, west) gas complex affair”, “granting undue privileges”, “abuse of office” and “concluding contracts in violation of laws and regulations”.

During the trial, several foreign companies active in the energy sector were also being prosecuted.

Khelil, aged 82, left the government in 2010 after being accused of financial malpractice against the CEO and senior executives of the then Sonatrach group, who were eventually convicted.

Ogun Mandates 70% Attendance To Participate in Any form Of Examination

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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February 1, 2022

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The Ogun State Government has recalled two students of Abeokuta Girls’ Grammar Schools, Onikolobo, Abeokuta suspended for smoking in uniform outside the school.

The state Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Abayomi Arigbagbu, disclosed this in a statement jointly signed by information officers of ministry of Education, Omoniyi Damilola and Ayoola Obadimu .

Arigbabu explained that the erring girls were allowed to return to classes after they had undergone a series of counselling.

The government had last year in December suspended the two students for smoking shisha in a video that went viral on the internet.

Arigbagbu noted that the learners were put under manual labour as a form of punishment in the school to serve as deterrent to others.

The commissioner posited that all the measures put in place would help to reduce minimal misdemeanor in schools.

Speaking on the measures to instill discipline, the government said it is planning to prevent any student without 70 per cent attendance from writing any form of examination in public schools.

Arigbabu said the move would help to curb absenteeism in schools.

He said, “Absenteeism of learners in schools is worrisome to us as government, this we believe is also part of the behavior that we frowned at. We have therefore ensured digitalisation of names of all learners, this will make it impossible for anyone that does not record 70 per cent attendance to sit for any examination.”

The Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Abosede Ogunleye, charged the learners to face their studies and shun acts that would undermine or destroy their future.

Ogunleye who said the erring learners have been rehabilitated accordingly, advised others to not stigmatize or abuse them.

Responding, the Principal of the senior school, Tolulope Fasanya, appreciated the government for rehabilitating and re-integrating the girls back to school, promising that such an incident would not happen again in the school.