Breast Cancer Patients to Begin Clinical Trial to Reduce Heart Damage – Cardiology Society

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August 30, 2023

The European Society of Cardiology has revealed that women with breast cancer would be enrolled in a clinical trial to reduce heart damage.

This was revealed in a statement by CARDIOCARE Project Coordinator, University of Ioannina, Greece, Professor Dimitrios Fotiadis, on the website of the association.

According to her, the clinical trial would examine the ability of behavioural and psychological interventions to reduce heart damage from anti-cancer therapies.

According to the World Health Organisation, breast cancer is a disease in which abnormal breast cells grow out of control and form tumours.

WHO says that if the tumours are left unchecked, they can spread throughout the body and become fatal.

Fotiadis said cardiovascular disease is a devastating complication of anti-cancer treatment that affects the physical and mental health of patients.

According to him, breast cancer is the most frequently occurring tumour in the EU, accounting for 13.3 per cent of all new cases in 2020.

“It is estimated that one in 11 women in the EU will develop breast cancer by the age of 74.

“CARDIOCARE will provide women over the age of 65 with breast cancer, the tools to improve their physical health and to psychologically adapt to the disease,” he said.

The health expert explained that the CARDIOCARE project was being conducted by a consortium of European partners, including the ESC.

Fotiadi said that the five-year EU-funded project aimed to radically change the management of older women with breast cancer.

“A clinical trial evaluating the impact of behavioural and psychological interventions on quality of life, physical and mental wellbeing, as well as the cardiotoxic effects of breast cancer treatment, will be conducted in 750 breast cancer patients at six clinical centres in Europe.

“All patients in the trial will receive the CARDIOCARE mobile application (app).

“Participants will be randomly allocated to receive the app, incorporating the ePsycHeart and eHealtHeart, or to receive the app with ePsycHeart only.

“ePsycHeart will monitor the quality of life, mobility and mental health using a wearable chest band heart rate sensor, smartwatch and questionnaires.

“eHealtHeart will encourage patients in the intervention group to adopt behaviours including physical activity, healthy diet, games to improve memory and changing the home environment to reduce the risk of falls,” he said.

The project coordinator further said that another goal of the trial was early identification of women with breast cancer at the greatest risk of heart and blood vessel damage from anti-cancer treatments.

According to him, “Cutting-edge technologies such as next-generation sequencing will be used to pinpoint changes in gut microbe species that signal damage of the heart and blood vessels before symptoms occur.

“In addition, artificial intelligence will be used to analyse images of the heart to predict the likelihood of heart damage.”

Fotiadis noted that the project would harness the expertise of cardiologists, oncologists, psychologists, molecular biologists, bioinformaticians, computer scientists and biomedical engineers from seven countries across Europe.

He said the multi-speciality experts would improve the monitoring, treatment and care that the patients would receive.

“CARDIOCARE is on track to improve the physical and mental health of older women with breast cancer by detecting the cardiovascular side effects of anti-cancer treatment early and providing digital tools to help patients improve their mental and physical wellbeing,” he added.

A WHO report shows that half of all breast cancers occur in women with no specific risk factors other than sex and age.

WHO said that breast cancer occurs in every country in the world and caused 685,000 deaths globally in 2020.

Transfer:Wolves Target Kelechi Iheanacho

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Emenike Agu

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August 30, 2023

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Wolves are reportedly interested in signing Leicester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho before the end of the summer transfer window.

Reports say the Nigerian striker is valued at around £20 million by the East Midlands club. Gary O’Neil is in the market for a striker following Raul Jimenez’s move to Fulham earlier in window, but with just two of the summer window remaning, any deal for Iheanacho would have to move fast.

The news comes with Matheus Nunes set to be fined by Wolves after he missed training in an effort to secure a move to Premier League champions Manchester City. Guardiola’s club have had a £47m bid for the 25-year-old Portugal player rejected, but Nunes is trying to force through a move to City before Friday’s deadline.

Team news

Elsewhere, and Wolves are unlikely to risk Hwang Hee Chan in their Carabao Cup clash against Blackpool at Molineux on Tuesday night. Hwang was forced off on Saturday at half-time in Wolves’ 1-0 win over Everton, and it emerged that he had suffered a hamstring problem.

Hwang felt his hamstring in the first half so we were forced into that one,” said O’Neill when questioned about the decision to bring off the South Korean at the weekend. It is his third hamstring issue that he has suffered since his arrival, and it is unsure how long he could be out for.

O’Neil was unable to call upon Matheus Nunes on Saturday because of suspension, and he is unlikely to feature against Blackpool tonight.

No Alcohol Level is Safe For Human Consumption – WHO

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Cleopatra Okohai

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August 30, 2023

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The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that no level of alcohol consumption is safe for human health.

The WHO said the risks and harms associated with drinking alcohol have been systematically evaluated over the years and are well-documented.

In a statement published in The Lancet Public Health, WHO said there is no safe amount of alcohol that does not affect health.

It noted that alcohol is a toxic, psychoactive, and dependence-producing substance and has been classified as a Group 1 Carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer decades ago.

“This is the highest risk group, which also includes asbestos, radiation and tobacco. Alcohol causes, at least, seven types of cancer, including the most common cancer types, such as bowel cancer and female breast cancer,” it said.

The WHO noted that ethanol (alcohol) causes cancer through biological mechanisms as the compound breaks down in the body, saying that any beverage containing alcohol, regardless of its price and quality, poses cancer risk.

It added that the risk of developing cancer increases substantially the more alcohol that is consumed.

Meanwhile, available data from WHO, indicate that half of all alcohol-attributable cancers in the European Region are caused by ‘light’ and ‘moderate’ alcohol consumption – less than 1.5 litres of wine or less than 3.5 litres of beer, or less than 450 millilitres of spirits per week.

According to the data, this drinking pattern is responsible for the majority of alcohol-attributable breast cancers in women, with the highest burden observed in countries of the European Union.

It noted that in the EU, cancer is the leading cause of death with a steadily increasing incidence rate, and the majority of all alcohol-attributable deaths are due to different types of cancers.

“We cannot talk about a so-called safe level of alcohol use. It doesn’t matter how much you drink – the risk to the drinker’s health starts from the first drop of any alcoholic beverage.

“The only thing that we can say for sure is that the more you drink, the more harmful it is – or, in other words, the less you drink, the safer it is,” explains Dr. Carina Ferreira-Borges, acting Unit Lead for Non-communicable Disease Management and Regional Advisor for Alcohol and Illicit Drugs in the WHO Regional Office for Europe.

Buttressing this point, in a work titled, ‘What’s next for WHO’s global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol?’ published in the National Library of Medicine by David H Jernigan, and team, the authors stated that alcohol is responsible for about three million deaths per year.

It read, “Alcohol continues as the seventh leading risk factor, responsible for approximately three million deaths per year, and the leading cause of death among persons aged 15 to 49 years. Alcohol is also, notably, the only drug for which there is no international convention.

“Along with alcohol-related harm, the alcohol industry and its marketing activities transcend national borders and call for a transnational response. Both the alcohol and the noncommunicable diseases global strategies have relied on voluntary action by Member States. Neither has shown success in stemming the rise of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms.

“Almost 10 years after the World Health Assembly adopted the Global strategy to reduce harmful use of alcohol, and seven years after the inclusion of alcohol as one of the key risk factors in the WHO’s Global action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases 2013–2030, Member States have made little progress in addressing alcohol use as a risk factor for health.

“We reach this conclusion based on analysis of Member States’ self-reports of actions to reduce the harmful use of alcohol. Results were published in WHO’s 2018 Global status report on alcohol and health, mostly with data from the 2016 survey, but also including some data from the 2015 survey. Both surveys showed that progress on alcohol policies has been slow.

“The alcohol strategy outlined 10 areas, with three identified as the most effective and cost–effective interventions to reduce alcohol-related harm, costing less than 100 United Sates dollars (US$) per disability-adjusted life year averted.

“These interventions include strengthening restrictions on alcohol availability, bans or comprehensive restrictions on alcohol advertising across multiple media platforms and increasing alcohol excise taxes.”

However, a Consultant Gynaecologist at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Teaching Hospital, Awka, Anambra State, Dr. Stanley Egbogu, said alcohol does not serve any good to pregnant women.

“What we advise is that they should abstain from alcohol. That is the baseline,” he added.

Egbogu, who stated that no level of alcohol is good for a foetus, said the attitude of some women who underestimate the impact of alcohol consumption during pregnancy and still indulge in the act, is regrettable.

“Alcohol affects every organ of the baby and might lead to a baby having a small head – microcephaly. It affects the heart, kidney, and liver of the baby,” he said.

According to him, microcephaly is a condition in which a baby’s head is significantly smaller than expected, often due to abnormal brain development.

Egbogu urged pregnant women still taking alcohol to stop while reminding them that there is no known safe amount of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

More so, a fertility expert and Managing Director, Nordica Fertility Centre, Dr. Abayomi Ajayi urged the women who are trying to achieve pregnancy to stay away from alcoholic drinks and others, saying that it may affect the chances of one getting pregnant.

Ajayi, who is also a Consultant Gynecologist and Obstetrician added that though the most likely impact of alcohol on getting pregnant would be from mid-cycle to the time of the expected period, it is safer to steer clear while expecting conception.

Transfer: Fulham Eager To Sign Nigeria’s Alex Iwobi

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Emenike Agu

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August 30, 2023

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Fulham are in advanced talks with Everton for winger Alex Iwobi and could sign Sevilla striker Lucas Ocampos.

Everton are willing to sell Iwobi, who is into the final year of his contract.

Iwobi’s time at Everton could be coming to an end after Fulham entered talks with Everton over a deal

Alex Iwobi was on a run of 52 consecutive Premier League appearances before he missed Everton’s 1-0 home defeat against Wolves at the weekend due to a hamstring injury

Fulham are in talks with Everton over the signing of Super Eagles midfielder Alex Iwobi ahead of Friday’s transfer deadline.

The 27-year-old has entered the final year of his contract but has not been able to reach agreement wit Everton over an extension.

Fulham manager Marco Silva was in charge of the Merseyside club when Iwobi joined from Arsenal in 2019.

The Cottagers are keen to bolster their attack following the £46m departure of Serbian International Aleksandar Mitrovic to Saudi club Al-Hilal two weeks ago.

They have now opened talks with Everton over the signing of the Nigerian international before the transfer window closes on Friday, September 1st.

Aside from Fulham, two other clubs are also interested in the services of the former Arsenal player. While one is a club from the Premier League the other is outside England.

He started his club’s first two league matches this new season before he got injured in the second game against Aston Villa. The injury has since been confirmed as a hamstring injury which will see him out of action for a few weeks.

Iwobi has been a key player for Everton in the past two seasons and had a run of 52 consecutive league appearances ended last weekend when he was missing in the club’s 1-0 home defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

In the 2022/23 season, he notched 2 goals and 7 assists in 38 appearances as Everton escaped relegation on the final day of the season.

If he eventually joins the West London club, he will become a teammate with Calvin Bassey who signed for Fulham from Ajax earlier in the summer.

NAFDAC Disprove Glucozil Herbal Medicine for Diabetes Treatment

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Cleopatra Okohai

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August 30, 2023

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The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has refuted claims that it granted approval for the use of “Glucozil,” a local herbal medicine, for the treatment and diabetes and Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia.

NAFDAC said Glucozil was said to have been purportedly developed by the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, and that it underwent scientific testing, which certified it safe for both humans and animals.

Reacting to the viral information on Tuesday, the Director-General of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, explained that the product was listed by the agency on November 10, 2020, specifically for managing high blood sugar.

She stated, “The agency listed Glucozil capsule on November 10, 2020, for the “MANAGEMENT OF HIGH BLOOD SUGAR” (as captured on the approved label and Listing Certificate issued to the applicant), which was valid till 9th November 2022. Therefore, the herbal medicine certificate has expired.

“As specified in the Herbal Medicine & Related Products Labelling Regulations 2021, this listing was subject to the inclusion of the mandatory Disclaimer. “These claims have not been evaluated by NAFDAC” on the product label. This is the regular disclaimer that is used and required for other listed herbal products, which have not undergone Clinical Trials that the Agency deemed satisfactory.”

NAFDAC denies approving Glucozil herbal medicine for diabetes treatment

NAFDAC maintained that claims of the herbal medication being capable of treating, curing, or preventing diabetes, BPH, or detoxification, were never approved by NAFDAC and should be disregarded by the public.

“Treatment, Curative and Preventive Claims for Diabetes, Benign prostatic hyperplasia and detoxification were never approved for Glucozil as claimed in the publication and hence should be disregarded by the public,” she added.

The NAFDAC DG further clarified that AAU was not the manufacturer or applicant for the product, thus, rendering the listing invalid.

She emphasised that the university should have verified the status of the herbal medicine certificate and its approved claims.

“From our records, Ambrose Alli University was neither the manufacturer nor the applicant of the said product for which the listing is no longer valid. The University should have verified the status of the herbal medicine certificate and the approved claim.

“Manufacturing, Distribution or Marketing of this product is not allowed until the renewal application has been submitted and approved by the agency.”

She, however, assured Nigerians that NAFDAC is committed to ensuring public health and safety through stringent regulatory oversight remains steadfast.

“It is crucial to exercise caution when interpreting health-related claims therefore we encourage the public to refer to NAFDAC’s official communications channels for accurate updates and information.”

Team Nigeria Returns From World Championships Without Medal For 11th Time!

By

Emenike Agu

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August 30, 2023

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For the 11th time in 19 editions, Team Nigeria is returning home from the World Athletics Championships without a medal after the country’s contingent failed to make it to the podium in Budapest, Hungary.

The team’s medals hopes were pinned to the shoulders of long jumper, Ese Brume and sprint hurdler, Tobi Amusan.

Brume brought Nigeria back to the podium in 2019 with a bronze medal after two medalless editions (2015 and 2017) and she helped in getting Nigeria twice to the podium three years later in Oregon, USA where she upgraded her bronze medal win in 2019 to silver.

Amusan joined the party in Oregon after placing fourth in 2019 but her appearance at the World Athletics Championships podium was historic.
She first made history as the first Nigerian to set a world outdoor record when she ran 12.12 seconds in the semifinals of the 100m hurdles event in Oregon.

The then 25-year-old followed up with a first-ever gold medal by a Nigerian at World Athletics’ flagship event.
However, following the inability of the duo to get to the podium, the team, led by Tonobok Okowa, president of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, turned prayer warriors, seeking a miracle for the relay teams.

Wishes failed to become horses and team Nigeria’s horses could not ride as the men’s and women’s 4x100m failed to make it to the final with the women’s team even dropping the baton.

All hopes were now placed on the women’s 4x400m team to make it to Sunday’s final where winning a medal would be the focus.

Two of the athletes who qualified the team for the Championships were turned to ‘used and dumped’ because the AFN failed to include them in the registered pool of athletes to be tested for three out-of-competition tests which was a pre-condition for any Nigerian athlete to fulfil before they can compete in any major international competitions and Games.

Obviously being an impartial God that rewards hard work and proper planning and not indiscipline and planlessness, the Nigerian 4x400m team, an obvious victim of an unruly federation failed to make it to the final.

Overall, Team Nigeria had only two athletes in the final which makes this edition one of the worst in terms of performance.

Team Nigeria started on the wrong foot when the mixed relay team, a finalist at the last edition, failed to make it to the final, placing seventh (3:14.38) in the second semifinal. Then followed Shot Putter, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi who, for the first time in three editions, failed to make it to the final, finishing 13th in the final classification.

The women’s Discus throw trio of Chioma Onyekwere, Ashley Anumba and Obiageri Pamela Amaechi failed to extend their historic participation (the first time Nigeria has three throwers in the same event) to at least a spot at the podium.

Onyekwere, the Commonwealth Games champion finished 21st (58.58m), Anumba, the 2022 National Sports Festival queen 25th (57.77m) and Amaechi (51.60m) finished 37th, the last spot in the overall classification.

n the 400m, Imaobong Nse Uko and Dubem Nwachkwu failed to race beyond the first round in the women’s and men’s races while Ezekiel Nathaniel’s bid to become the second Nigerian after Henry Amike (1987) to make the final of the 400m hurdles ended at the semifinal stage.

While the duo of Ushoritse Itshekiri and Seye Ogunlewe failed to make it to the final in the 100m, Favour Ashe was disqualified in the first round for a false start.

In the women’s version, Rosemary Chukwuma failed to advance to the final, exiting at the semifinal stage.
Alaba Akintola and Favour Ofili did not advance beyond the semifinal while only the duo of Brume and Amusan made it to the final.

Nigeria first failed to make the podium in 1991 in Tokyo, Japan and repeated the same feat two years later in Stuttgart, Germany.
Sunday Bada, now late, anchored Nigeria’s 4x400m relay team to a bronze medal finish in 1995 in Gothenburg, Sweden and Davidson Ezinwa followed suit two years later in Athens, Greece where he led the 4x100m team to an African record and a silver medal.

The duo of Glory Alozie and Francis Obikwelu returned Team Nigeria to individual podium finishes in Seville, Spain in 1999, 12 years after Innocent Egbunike won Nigeria’s second individual medal at the Championships (after Ajayi Agbebaku won a triple jump bronze in 1983). Alozie won a silver medal in the 100m hurdles while Obikwelu settled for bronze after raising hopes of a first-ever gold medal in the 200m with his 19.84 run in the semifinal.

Then followed six editions without a medal, from 2001 in Edmonton, Canada to 2011 in Daegu, South Korea before Blessing Okagbare popped up with two individual medals in Moscow, Russia in 2013.

As the AFN has always done, it failed to build on the success of 2013 and ended the next two editions without a podium finish. Brume turned the saviour in 2019 to return Nigeria to the podium before she combined with Amusan for another podium finish in Oregon.

UN Seeks ECOWAS Exemption for Relief Supplies to Niger Republic

By

Cleopatra Okohai

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August 30, 2023

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The United Nations said an exemptions request for relief supplies to Niger Republic has been submitted to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The UN said sanctions on Niger were blocking vital humanitarian aid such as food and medicine.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees representative for Niger, Emmanuel Gignac, stated this at a press briefing during a visit to Geneva.

According to reports, trucks with food and humanitarian aid have been piling up at Niger’s land borders since a military coup on July 26, driving up food prices, in a sign of the impact of the sanctions.

The blockade is designed to pressure the junta to restore ousted President Mohamed Bazoum to office.

According to Gignac, “There is no way to bring humanitarian aid into the country. The immediate goods (affected) is going to be food and then it’s going to be access to medicine, to drugs.”

He said a formal letter from the UN. Aid Chief, Martin Griffiths, had been addressed to ECOWAS for exemptions.

ECOWAS spokesperson, Emos Lungu, declined to comment, according to report obtained by LN247.

UN aid flights have also been grounded because they cannot get access to jet fuel because of the sanctions, complicating aid efforts in the giant country.

Some agencies are using trucks, said World Food Programme regional spokesperson, Djaounsede Madjiangar, but that takes extra time.

Requests for special ECOWAS clearance for aid supplies have so far not been granted, he added.

A UN children’s agency spokesperson said UNICEF has some 50 containers with immunization, cold chain equipment and therapeutic food stuck at different entry points, unable to get into the country, while more than a million doses of yellow fever and rotavirus vaccines cannot be flown in from Europe due to the airspace closure.

He added that the agency was concerned about some 28 million vaccine doses stocked inside the country, with 95 per cent of warehouses currently hit by power outages.

Gignac also voiced concerns about the security of Niger’s population, especially among its 700,000 forcibly displaced people, describing a sharp increase in protection incidents such as kidnapping and sexual violence since the coup.

Health Ministry Backs 20% tax Increment on Sugar-sweetened Beverages

By

Cleopatra Okohai

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August 30, 2023

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The Federal Ministry of Health has expressed commitment to increase tax on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSBs) from the current rate of 10 per cent to 20 per cent.

This is in a bid to combat the rising public health concerns associated with excessive sugar consumption.

The Ministry added that the tax would deter consumers from purchasing Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and instead, encourage healthier beverages as alternatives.

The Director and Head, Public Health Department, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Chukwuma Anyaike, disclosed this at the Pro-Health Tax Policy Campaign on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, held at the Federal Ministries of Finance and Health respectively on Tuesday, in Abuja.

She said, “Taxation on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages has been successfully implemented in countries like Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Portugal, and so many others to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks.

“The introduction and sustenance of the tax in Nigeria will also reduce excess consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and thus reduce the burden of NCDs. We are committed to attaining the global best practice of at least 20% of the final retail price on all Sugar-Sweetened Beverages as the current 10 naira per liter price fails to achieve that. This campaign aligns with other government efforts in improving the public health of the Nigerian populace to meet up with the global priority of significantly reducing NCDs”, she said.

Peter Agada, who spoke on behalf of persons with diabetes, advised Nigerians to stay off carbonated drinks, saying that the cost of purchasing the products is cheap but the cost of treating diabetes is more expensive.

He called on the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, subsidise the cost of diabetes management, including medications and monitoring devices, to reduce preventable deaths.

He said “If there’s anything the government can do, things like making the health insurance scheme easily accessible to people that are non-government staff like myself; I am not in the government. I don’t work in the public sector. But I don’t have an NHIS for example. I know that there are several people now providing that service, but it’s not easily available to the majority of people.

“One out of 17 Nigerians are living with diabetes or are pre-diabetes, and are going to become diabetic very, very soon. So, this is a pandemic and diabetes is a killer disease. We’re not looking at it that way. It’s a destroyer of lives all over the world right now. People are losing their limbs, eyes, and all kinds of things. So, it’s something that makes you to really wake up and take it very seriously.”

On his part, a representative of the National Action and Sugar Reduction Coalition, Edozie Chukwuma, reiterated the need for the current administration to increase the Sugar-Sweetened Beverages tax as part of an effort to discourage patronage of sweetened products.

He said, “Basically, we’re calling on the government to enact laws to put together a tax that prohibits or that would, in the end, reduce the consumption of sugary drinks, and how will this tax work?

“It simply works by increasing the affordability of sugary drinks, thereby providing revenue that could be used to support healthcare, especially with regards to non-communicable disease burden in the country. It is an epidemic and it needs to be addressed. Out-of-pocket payments are at an all-time high, with over 75% of Nigerians paying from their pockets for treatment of different ailments”.

Cameroon Dam: CBN Farmers’ Loan Under Threat In Flooded States

By

faith Jegede

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August 30, 2023

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Following the opening of the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon and as flooding hits some frontlines states, about 3.04 million Nigerian farmers may struggle to repay over N700bn Anchor Borrowers’ Programme loan of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The opening of the dam is expected to affect 13 frontline states, according to the National Emergency Management Agency.

Already, water levels have risen in some states including Benue and Anambra, while Niger is already experiencing flooding.

Speaking with reporters some farmers say the development might make it difficult for them to repay their Anchor Borrowers’ loan.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government, on Tuesday, said it kicked against the opening of the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon by the authorities of the neighbouring country without informing the Nigerian government.

Asked whether the Federal Government registered its grievance over the opening of the Lagdo Dam by Cameroon without informing Nigeria, the Director-General, Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency Clement Nze replied, “Of course yes, expectedly Nigeria wasn’t pleased with the fact that Cameroon opened their dam without notifying Nigeria, ,

The NIHSA boss who disclosed this to journalists, explained that the same occurred severally in time past

“It happened in 2012, which though they informed Nigeria, but because of the pressure on the dam in that year, they had to open it before the scheduled date, in order to relieve the dam from any breach.

“In 2019, they opened the dam on October 10 till October 31 without informing Nigeria and there was flood. So we now know that whenever there is flood of a certain magnitude we begin to ask questions.

“The same thing happened in 2022, and again in 2023 after the information got to us that Cameroon had opened the dam. I got across to them, that was when they had to confirm to us in writing that they had opened it on August 14, 2023.” He said

Nze also said that what Nigeria has with Cameroon is a Memorandum of Understanding which doesn’t give you powers to do anything if the other party violates some terms.

“Although in the MoU, there is no section of it that says Cameroon must notify us before they release water. But based on professional collaboration between my agency and the relevant agencies in Cameroon, they are supposed to inform us.”

Data obtained from the CBN showed that at least 1.25 million farmers in the 19 states received a total of N289.19bn as of December 2022.

The data showed that out of the 19 states, Sokoto got the highest (N49.25bn to 179,914 farmers), then Jigawa (N48.14bn for 175,685 farmers) and Zamfara (N34.46bn for 115,894 farmers).

Others include Taraba (N31.1bn for 154,407 farmers) and Adamawa (N30.69bn for 317,513 farmers).

The lowest loan was received by Lagos (N483m for 2,460 farmers), Imo (N1.07bn for 4,415.81 farmers), Osun (N1.26bn for 4,621 farmers), Anambra (N1.43bn for 6,647 farmers) and Abia (N2.67bn for 8,152 farmers).

Of the sum, a total of N411.49bn was loaned to 1.79 million farmers in eight northern states, who may struggle to make repayments due to insecurity caused by bandits.

Out of the eight states, Kaduna got the highest loan (N139.94bn for 510,664 farmers), then Niger (N61.75bn for 287,044 farmers), and Kano (N58.18bn for 322,452 farmers).

The lowest loan was received by Plateau (N8.49bn for 34,103 farmers), Yobe (21.55bn for 94,372 farmers) and Borno (N36.48bn for 177,752 farmers).

The CBN earlier said it disbursed N12.65bn to farmers under its anchor borrowers’ programme in the first two months of 2023.

The suspended CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, at the end of the 290th meeting of the apex bank’s monetary policy committee, said that a total of N1.09tn had been disbursed through the ABP since its inception in 2015.

He said 4.6 million smallholder farmers cultivating or rearing 21 agricultural commodities have benefitted from the programme so far.

The CBN disclosed that N503bn representing 52.39 per cent has been repaid by farmers under the Anchor borrowers programme as of February 2023. This figure contradicts claims by the IMF that only 24 per cent of loans disbursed under the Programme have been repaid.

With the flood-threatening farming activities, a number of farmers may struggle to repay their loans.

The President, All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Kabiru Ibrahim, in a recent interview, urged President Bola Tinubu to tackle flooding and erosion in order to ensure food security, following the declaration of a state of emergency on food security.

Ibrahim said, “The announcement of the President is such a very encouraging and very welcome development. The farmers and all Nigerians are hopeful that the attainment of food security is around the corner now.

“Increasing what we produce and eating what we produce is the only available pathway to the attainment of any form of National prosperity today.”

The former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Management, Sadiya Farouq, had said that in 2022, 676,945 farmlands were destroyed as a result of flooding.

In Anambra, people in local government areas such as Ogbaru, Ayamelum, Anambra East and West, Onitsha North and South, Awka North, Idemilli South, Ekwusigo and Ihiala, located along the River Niger coastline are always the worst hit during the annual flooding.

The water levels around these coastal communities have already started rising over a week ago, according to the information gathered from residents.

Apart from flood sacking the residents from their homes, it also destroys farmlands, homes and property as well as businesses.

Some of the residents who spoke, said there has been growing panic since the water levels have started rising in their areas, thereby forcing them to relocate their families and businesses.

The farmers and fishermen said they have started harvesting their produce prematurely for fear of losing everything to the flood as it happened in 2022.

Meta Rejects Suspending Ex Cambodian PM From Facebook

By

Rhoda Onuzulike

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August 30, 2023

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Facebook’s parent Meta Platforms (MERA.O) has rejected a recommendation from its oversight Board to suspend the account of Cambodia’s Former Prime Minister Hun Sen over allegations he used it to threaten opponents.

Meta said it had determined that “suspending accounts outside our regular enforcement framework would not be consistent with our policies, including our protocol on restricting accounts of public figures during civil unrest.”

The Board, which is funded by Meta but operates independently, had advised in June that the company suspend Hun Sen’s account for six months over a video that it said violated rules on violent threats.

Meta, in a written statement, agreed to take down the video but said it would respond to the Board’s recommendation to suspend Hun Sen after a review.