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Cancer: FG To Review Hospice, Palliative Care Policy – Official

Published

4 months ago

January 14, 2024

Editor

The Federal Government will review the National Policy and Strategic Plan for Hospice and Palliative Care 2021, to ensure cancer patients live a fairly good quality life.

Dr Uchechukwu Nwokwu, the National Coordinator, National Cancer Control Programme, disclosed this on Sunday in Abuja, during an interview with Newsmen.

Nwokwu said that the policy, inaugurated in 2021 was meant to institutionalise hospice and palliative care services in Nigeria.

According to the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC), Hospice and Palliative Care (HPC) is the active holistic care of individuals across all ages with serious health-related suffering due to severe illness and especially of those near the end of life.

The association also says HPC focuses on a continuum of care from diagnosis till patient’s death and bereavement.

It also addresses all domains that may cause suffering, including end-of-life care, loss, grief, and bereavement.

Nwokwu said that though the policy was already being implemented, it was not up to the expected scale.

“We are very certain that by 2024, we will review the document and then review our level of implementation as a country and see what we can do to improve on it.

“We have a new government and we are hoping that the renewed hope agenda will also translate into addressing palliative care needs of cancer patients and other patients that need palliative care services,” he said.

According to Nwokwu, cancer which does not respect any race, religion or social status, has the capacity to impoverish the richest of all people, because of the cost of care which is very expensive.

“So palliative care deals with terminal illnesses and not just cancer.

“For any illness that has the capacity or potential to last for too long, it is important to institutionalise palliative care as part of the care the person needs to receive,” he said.

Explaining how the policy came about, Nwokwu said that sometimes, someone might have a pain that could not be removed but could only be ameliorated by giving some pain medication that could just palliate it.

“So while we cannot take away the pain, we need to palliate it so that somebody who has that kind of illness will not die in pain but also live a fairly good quality of life as much as possible.

“The policy document spells out that palliative care should even start from a point of diagnosis and that means that you need to integrate the psychosocial needs of the person and even the person’s faith based system.

“If he’s a Christian you involve the pastor or the priests, if he’s a Muslim you involve the Imam or whoever can give that person some psychological or moral support.

“This is because they need to first of all accept diagnosis and the way they accept the diagnosis goes a long way in determining how far the person can accept the treatment that they’re going to be provided.

“It will also determine how much the person can also collaborate or participate in that care.

“So this palliative care is meant to start from the point of diagnosis, to end of life and even at the end of life, it also involves bereavement, even the person who has lost that loved one needs to be integrated to be able to accept the loss,” he said.

Nwokwu said that many cancer patients who were diagnosed late did not actually present late as they complained to someone or some facility when they felt pain or noticed some abnormality.

He, however, said due to lack of awareness or ability to diagnose at the facility, they did not get the needed care early enough.

“If these health workers they present to at the facilities, are able to carry out certain levels of tests or screening, they pick up these diseases early, then treatment can begin early enough and survival rate will also be higher.

“So what we want to do with the palliative care policy is to integrate these services since we have said it’s going to start from the point of diagnosis.

“We want to integrate it in the primary levels of care so that people will understand what is to be done at that level and then cascade it or refer when it goes beyond what they can do,” he said.

Nwokwu said the palliative care policy was looking at integrating HPC services at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of care so that at these levels, everybody knew what to do at any point in time.

He said also, that in-patients, or those who had terminal illnesses could have the opportunity of receiving a fairly good quality of life before they die.

This, he said, was because, when curative measures were no longer possible, all the patients might require was palliative care.

“At that time, it will be a waste of resources to keep that patient in a hospital bed because the bed fees and the cost of care is quite exorbitant and that adds to what we call financial toxicity.

“Those patients ought to be referred probably to a health centre or to a hospice centre where since all they require is palliation, they can stay there and be taken care of while they receive those palliative care services and be managed symptomatically.

“It is however necessary that those people at the hospice homes or at the primary health care centres must be trained on what to do.

“Then they can now have oncologists or other specialist doctors who visit them regularly to also attend to their other medical needs,” he said.

News

Shettima Launches NEDC’s School Enrollment Drive Programme

Published

5 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Editor

Vice President Kashim Shettima has launched the Accelerated Senior Secondary School Education Programme (ASSEP) initiated by the North-East Development Commission (NEDC) in collaboration with the office of the VP to enhance child enrollment drive in schools within the North-East sub-region.

Speaking during the launching of the programme in Bauchi on Saturday, the VP said that consequences of the nation’s action and inaction were evident in all indices used to assess development.

He said while primary education provides a foundation, secondary education is a bridge, adding that the Northeast sub-region has been the victim of inability to enforce a uniform policy to drive school and the persistent cultural perversion to formal education in the country.

“We in the Northeast occupy a quantum of position in ranking of essential services. Education being a key sector of this country, this is especially pronounced in the post primary education, while the Northeast secondary school enrollment drive stands at 19 percent, far below the nation’s 39 percent,” he said.

Earlier, the Managing Director of NEDC, Mohammed Alkali, said that the primary education completion level of 85 per cent in the Northeast is among the best in Nigeria, but secondary school enrolment is a mere 15 per cent, the second worst nationally.

According to him, due to the challenges in the post-primary education segment, JAMB UTME applications and admissions into tertiary institutions in 2019 were the lowest for the Northeast compared to other regions.

He added that, nationally, the Northeast has the lowest number of teachers and the highest percentage 55 per cent of those available are without literacy skills.

The MD also revealed that the challenges in the post-primary education segment include weak quality indices and a wide demand-supply gap driven by economic and cultural factors.

“The Accelerated Senior Secondary Education Programme seeks to boost the post primary education rating across the North East region through improved enrolment into tertiary institutions.

“It’s also to improve skills development as well as the elevation of teacher quality. It would pay special focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and communication.

“These would foster creativity and critical thinking; motivates and inspires young people to generate new technologies and ideas to learn from inquiry-based tasks,” he said.

Alkali also explained that the programme would also raise awareness about after-school possibilities and the potential for diligent students to become successful and prominent contributors to the North East region and Nigeria at large.

He expressed gratitude to the Federal Government especially, the Vice President for the deep interest and commitment to human development in the North-East.

News

Edo Police Break Silence On Operatives Fighting Dirty In Viral Video

Published

5 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Editor

By Joseph Ebi Kanjo

The Edo State Police Command says a trending video showing two operatives of the command engaging in a fight is a handiwork of mischief makers.

In the video which has gone viral on the internet, two policemen are seen fighting themselves, while a voice commentary in the background claims they are from the Igueben Decisional Police Station headquarters in the state.

A writeup also attached to a version of the video sighted by Info Daily also claims that the policemen were fighting because of sharing formula of money collected from motorists on the highway. The writeup also claims that the incident happened yesterday, May 17th, 2024.

But reacting to the viral video in a statement issued by SP Chidi Nwabuzor, Police Public Relations Officer, the command said contrary to the claim, the incident happened in 2020, adding that disciplinary measures were taken against the erring policemen.

The statement which issued electronically to newsmen in Benin on Saturday evening partly reads: “Edo State Police Command wishes to inform the general public that it’s aware of a video trending on the internet showing two policemen that engaged themselves in a fight in public spaces and wishes to state as follows that;

“The now trending video happened in April 2020 in a community called Ebelle in the Igueben local government area of Edo State.

“The two erring policemen, namely; (i) F/NO.491112 CPL Ozimeade Aidonojie and (ii) F/NO. 516384 PC Salubi Stephen were attached to Ebelle Police Divisional Headquarters.

“They defaulted, tried in an orderly and upon conviction dismissed from the Force for the offence of discreditable conduct contrary to Paragraph ‘E’ Sub Section 111 of the Police Act and Regulations 370 Cap. P19 of Federation of Nigeria 2004.”

Nwabuzor in the statement reiterated the state Commissioner of Police, Funsho Adegboye, commitment to “making Edo State a desired secured state where the law abiding citizens and the general public go about their lawful businesses in making Edo State economic hubs of Nigeria without fear or intimidation.”

News

Excitement, Dance As ‘Looted Ancestral Stools’ Return To Oba Of Benin

Published

6 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Editor

It was a moment of joy, excitement and dance at the palace of the Oba of Benin as the revered monarch, Oba Ewuare II took custody of two looted royal stools from the German government.

They were handed over to the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, NCMM on behalf of the Nigerian government by the German authorities in 2022.

The Director-General of
National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Mr Olugbile Holloway made the presentation on behalf of the Federal Government on Saturday May18, 2024 in Oba of Benin Palace, Benin City.

According to history, the artefacts — Bronze and wooden Royal stools (Ekete), made during the reign of Oba Eresoyen and Oba Esigie several Centuries ago, were looted from Oba Palace during the punitive expedition in 1897.

Addressing the Benin Throne during the presentation of the artefacts, Mr Holloway, pledged on behalf of NCMM, to work-hand-in hand with the Benin Royal Court in uplifting and displaying Edo heritage.

He revealed that as the Benin Bronzes and other art works are gradually making their way home (Nigeria), “NCMM will join hands with the Royal Court to create a befitting destination for people around the world to come and appreciate these works”.

“What you see before us were originally taken away from the Royal family in 1897.

“We have a stool made of Bronze and a wooden stool.

“I speak for every member of my team, to say that we remain loyal to the Royal Court. And if there is anything we can do, we will do to support this laudable initiative.

“This heritage is not just Benin heritage, but Nigeria’s heritage.
When we speak of Benin heritage, there is nobody that doesn’t know the great works of ours.

“I appreciate you, we will always do what we can do with our powers to make His Royal Majesty lineage in memory”, he said.

After unveiling the repatriated Artefacts, Oba of Benin, who danced joyfully to Benin traditional rendition in dramatic dance steps, with excited Chiefs and members of the Royal family, offered prayers to Almighty God and his ancestors.

The traditional ruler, who was visibly overwhelmed with joy, appreciated the German government and the Federal Government and the NCMM leadership for their efforts.

The royal father, thereafter, in a historic move, sat in one of the royal stools (Ekete), and personally presented a chunk of white, which, according to belief, symbolizes peace and blessings to the Director-General of National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Mr Olugbile Holloway.

Oba Ewuare II also prayed for Mr Holloway and his team, accompanied by the Curator, National Museum, Benin, Mr Mark Olaitan, Director, Legal Services, NCMM, Barrister Babatunde Adebiyi on the visit where Royal Drummers gave a good account of their stewardship.