Category: Health & Wellness

…Pathologists demand urgent investment as brain-drain, poor working conditions threaten cancer careBy Chioma Obinna Nigeria has fewer than 200 practising pathologists serving a population of more than 200 million people, a development experts say is threatening accurate diagnosis, cancer care and the wider health system.

The specialists, who described pathology as the bedrock of modern medicine, warned that the country could face a deeper diagnostic crisis unless government urgently invests in training, infrastructure, technology and incentives to retain specialists. Speaking in Lagos at the 16th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the West African Division of the International Academy of Pathology, WADIAP, tagged EKOPATH ’26.

The three-day conference, which began on August 24 to 26th, has as its theme: “Future-Proofing Pathology in West Africa: Integrating Quality, Innovation, and Regional Synergy.” Speaking, President of WADIAP, Prof. Fatimah AbdulKareem, said current statistics showed that fewer than 200 pathologists were practising in Nigeria, with the situation worsening as young doctors showed little interest in pathology training and qualified specialists migrated abroad.

According to her, Nigeria had at some point trained about 800 pathologists, but the number currently practising in the country was far below that figure. “Right now in the country, the number that are in the country now, by the time we take the statistics, it may not be up to 200 pathologists that are left in the country,” she said. AbdulKareem said the country was facing a dangerous combination of inadequate recruitment and migration.

She cited the experience of Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, where an advertisement for residency training reportedly attracted only two interested applicants, yet none eventually resumed the programme. “Secondly, the ones that we are training, as they finish, as they qualify, they leave. Because they can easily get a job outside the country,” she said. The

…. 20.6m cases, 9.8m deaths recorded worldwide in 2024By Chioma Obinna The just-released GLOBOCAN report has revealed that the global cancer burden is rising sharply, with 20.6 million new cases and 9.8 million deaths recorded worldwide in 2024. It also showed that deep inequalities in prevention, early detection, treatment and cancer surveillance continue to leave millions at risk.

The latest estimates by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the World Health Organization’s specialised cancer agency, also projected that annual new cancer cases could rise to 34 million by 2050, a 67 per cent increase from 2024, while cancer deaths could climb to 17.5 million, nearly 80 per cent higher than the current level.

The estimates, contained in the new GLOBOCAN 2024 report, were released as IARC marked its 60th anniversary and provide a comprehensive picture of cancer incidence and mortality across countries, regions, age groups and sexes. According to the report, 10.6 million of the 20.6 million new cases recorded in 2024 occurred among men and 10 million among women. Men accounted for 56 per cent of the estimated 9.8 million cancer deaths, while women accounted for 44 per cent.

Commenting on the report, Head of the Cancer Surveillance Branch at IARC, Freddie Bray said the figures reflected the disproportionate impact of cancer on men. “One in nine men and one in 13 women die from cancer. This reflects the variation in cancer types between men and women and the generally poorer prognosis of cancers affecting men,” he said.

The report also revealed striking geographical disparities in the global cancer burden, driven by population size, ageing, exposure to risk factors and unequal access to prevention and care. China alone accounts for about one in four cancer cases and one in four cancer deaths worldwide, while Europe, with just

By Chioma Obinna LAGOS — Resident doctors at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, have given the Lagos State Government a seven-day ultimatum to implement the Specialist Allowance for Grade Level 14 doctors and pay outstanding salary and promotion arrears owed affected members.

The doctors, under the aegis of the Association of Resident Doctors, LASUTH, LASUTH-ARD, warned that failure to address the issues within the stipulated period could lead to further industrial action and create disharmony in the state’s health sector. The association made the demand on Thursday while addressing journalists in Lagos.

It listed its three immediate demands as the implementation and payment of the Specialist Allowance to all Grade Level 14 resident doctors at LASUTH, payment of arrears of the allowance, and immediate payment of salary shortfalls and promotion arrears owed affected members.

President of LASUTH-ARD, Dr Gabriel Akerele, accused some state government officials of misleading the association over the inclusion of the Specialist Allowance for Senior Registrar 1, SR1, in the Professional Allowance Table approved by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. According to him, the association was repeatedly assured that the allowance had been incorporated into the table forwarded to the governor for approval, only to discover that the August salaries of affected doctors did not include it.

Akerele said the association had met with the governor on July 17, during which Sanwo-Olu reviewed and approved the file containing the Professional Allowance Table. “We were told that the Specialist Allowance for SR1 had been incorporated into the Professional Allowance Table and that it had been sent to Mr Governor for approval. We gave them the benefit of the doubt. “We even met with Mr Governor on July 17.

He brought out the file, went through it and approved it immediately. We were happy because we believed the Specialist

…Deploys 500,000 vaccine doses, expands treatment centres By Chidinma Chukwu, Abuja ABUJA — The Federal Government has activated an emergency multi-agency task force to contain a diphtheria outbreak affecting children in parts of Katsina and Kano states. As part of the immediate response, the government has deployed 500,000 doses of diphtheria vaccines to the two states and commenced measures to expand access to treatment for affected communities.

The directive was issued by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, according to a statement signed by the ministry’s Assistant Director, Information and Public Relations, Ado Bako, on Friday. The ministry said the emergency task force would strengthen disease surveillance, close immunisation gaps and ensure that suspected and confirmed cases receive prompt treatment and referral care.

It said the response was part of the Federal Government’s broader efforts to protect children from vaccine-preventable diseases and strengthen the country’s capacity to detect and respond rapidly to disease outbreaks. The task force was constituted by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in collaboration with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), the affected state governments and international health partners.

According to the statement, the committee would be co-chaired by the Director-General of the NCDC and the Director of Public Health. It would include representatives of the NPHCDA; health commissioners from Katsina, Kano, Zamfara and Sokoto states; the World Health Organisation (WHO); UNICEF; and the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme in Katsina State. The ministry’s Chief Epidemiologist will serve as secretary of the task force.

Under the emergency response plan, the NPHCDA has deployed 500,000 doses of vaccines to Katsina and Kano for intensified immunisation of unvaccinated children in affected and high-risk communities. The task force will also