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Nigeria Gets $933m Grant To Fight HIV, Malaria

Published

4 weeks ago

May 31, 2024

Editor

The Global Fund’s Grant Cycle 7 has allocated $933m to Nigeria to address HIV, Tuberculosis, and Malaria from 2024 to 2026.

Of this, $340,095,438 is dedicated to the HIV grant, with the National Agency for the Control of AIDS receiving $10,663,394 to lead the coordination of the multisectoral response to HIV.

NACA made this known on Friday in a press statement signed by its Head of Public Relations and Protocol, Toyin Aderibigbe.

To kick off the GC7 grant, the statement noted that a four-day retreat was held for the newly formed Project Monitoring Unit.

The retreat was designed to familiarise the new team members with their roles, reflect on past successes, identify areas for improvement, and discuss actionable strategies for future endeavours.

In her welcome remark, the Director General of NACA, Dr Temitope Ilori, highlighted the significant accomplishments of the GC6 grant.

Ilori said these accomplishments include training healthcare personnel, equipping laboratories, and meaningfully engaging communities.

She urged participants to build on these successes in tackling HIV challenges.

“While we celebrate these remarkable achievements, we must task ourselves to improve upon our past efforts by being efficient and intentional in sustainably addressing the public health challenges of HIV through the use of reliable data for effective decision-making.” Dr Ilori stated.

The notable activities under the GC7 include the scale-up of HIV and TB Gender and Human Rights interventions both at the national and sub-national levels; the development of 36+1 states’ strategic plans leveraging the HIV National Strategic Plan 2023-2027; the implementation of medically assisted treatment among persons who inject drugs using methadone or buprenorphine; the improvement of HIV coordination at the sub-national levels through direct support to State Agencies for the Control of AIDS; and the conduct of HIV Integrated Biological and Behavioural Surveillance Survey 2024.

Dr Ilori said, “My vision for the HIV response under my leadership is to foster a domestically driven HIV response that ends AIDS and its associated conditions as a public health threat in an effective, efficient, and sustainable manner.”

She urged everyone to join the journey toward this shared goal of greatness.

“I urge you to reflect on how our work can ensure that we eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV in collaboration with the National HIV, Hepatitis, and STI Control Programme.

“Contribute meaningfully to the sector-wide approach of the Ministry of Health, further strengthen the health response to become more resilient and sustainable, ensure that we can respond to any public health emergency, and end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030,” she said.

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Nigeria Missing In Top 10 Most Stressful Countries In Africa

Published

3 hours ago

June 28, 2024

Editor

A report has revealed the top 10 most stressful countries in Africa in 2024 with Nigeria ranked 33rd on the continent.

In Africa, stress levels are notably high due to a combination of economic challenges, political instability, and social issues.

In a report by CEOWORLD magazine, it shared the most stressed countries globally, with several African nations ranking high on the list.

The report, which compared 211 countries and territories across four categories—work-related stress, money-related stress, family-related stress, and health- and safety-related stress—provides insights into the global mental health landscape, highlighting which countries are performing well and which need improvement.

The most stressful country in Africa, according to the report, is South Sudan, with a stress score of 45.68. Burundi follows closely with a score of 45.8, and the Central African Republic ranks next with a score of 46.07.

In 2023, the main sources of stress globally included money, the economy, and health issues, as highlighted in the CEOWORLD report.

The analysis helps identify areas where mental health support is most needed and which countries are effectively managing stress among their populations.

Here is a list of the top 10 most stressful countries in Africa:

Top 10 most stressful countries in Africa
1. South Sudan – 45.68
2 Burundi – 45.8
3 Central African Republic – 46.07
4 DR Congo – 46.24
5 Niger – 46.7
6 Mozambique – 47.23
7 Eritrea – 47.32
8 Malawi – 47.52
9 Liberia – 47.94
10 Chad – 48.05

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‘We Have A Problem’: Democrats In ‘Aggressive Panic’ Over Biden’s Debate Performance

Published

3 hours ago

June 28, 2024

Editor

President Joe Biden was supposed to put the nation’s mind at ease over his physical and mental capacity with his debate showing Thursday night. But from the onset of the debate, the 81-year-old struggled seemingly even to talk, mostly summoning a weak, raspy voice.

In the opening minutes, the president repeatedly tripped over his words, misspoke and lost his train of thought.

In one of the most notable moments, Biden ended a rambling statement that lacked focus by saying, “We finally beat Medicare,” before moderators cut him off and transitioned back to Trump

While Biden warmed up and gained more of a rhythm as the debate progressed, he struggled to land a punch against Trump.

According to NBC news, Trump, unleashing a torrent of bad information — didn’t hesitate to pounce on Biden, saying at one point that he didn’t understand what Biden had just said with regard to the border.

“I don’t know if he knows what he said either,” Trump said.

Nearly an hour into the debate, a Biden aide and others familiar with his situation offered up an explanation for the president’s hoarseness: He has a cold.

Even the Biden campaign acknowledged that the debate would be a critical moment in the election, with officials hoping it could shake up the race to the president’s benefit. Most polls have found the race to be neck and neck, a razor-thin margin that has remained unchanged for months, even after a jury found Trump guilty on 34 felony counts.

Questions about Biden’s age and frailty have dragged down his polling numbers for months. The public concerns are exacerbated by deceptively edited videos, some of which have gone viral, that cut off relevant portions of an event, making it appear as if Biden is wandering or confused. This was Biden’s first opportunity — since the State of the Union speech — to dispel that narrative.

Instead of a new beginning, many Democrats saw it as a moment for panic.

“Democrats just committed collective suicide,” said one party strategist who has worked on presidential campaigns. “Biden sounds hoarse, looks tired and is babbling. He is reaffirming everything voters already perceived. President Biden can’t win. This debate is a nail in the political coffin.“

“It’s hard to argue that we shouldn’t nominate someone else,” a Democratic consultant who works on down-ballot races added.

Biden did ramp up as the debate progressed.

“Only one of us is a convicted felon, and I’m looking at him,” Biden said to Trump. That was one moment that tested really well with internal simultaneous Biden campaign polling at the time of the debate, according to a person familiar.

A Biden aide said that it was “not an ideal start” for the president at the beginning of the debate, but that there was “no mass panic” at the campaign headquarters in Delaware.

Trump, meanwhile, has fended off his own questions over whether he’s diminished by age, including that he struggles to stay on topic and meanders when speaking. Biden has posited that the former president “snapped” after his 2020 election loss and is unstable. Biden, though, had prepped for the possibility of “two Trumps” appearing on the debate stage Thursday, and had planned to try to bait him into revealing “the true Trump.”

The muting of the microphones, a stipulation agreed to before the debate by both campaigns, added a new dimension to the face-off. The two men’s first match-up in 2020 was marked by repeated interruptions by Trump, leading to moments of frustration for Biden.

“Will you shut up, man?” Biden complained in that first Cleveland debate.

“I’m thinking the Democrats are thinking about who the Barry Goldwater is who can walk in tomorrow and tell the president he needs to step aside,” Ben Proto, chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party, said.

In 1974, after key Watergate tapes were made public, then-Sen. Barry Goldwater, R-Ariz., went to see President Richard Nixon along with other prominent lawmakers and told him that he would be convicted by the Senate and should step aside— which Nixon did

Headline

JUST IN: Tinubu Makes Eight New Appointments

Published

5 hours ago

June 28, 2024

Editor

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of eight new Federal Permanent Secretaries to fill existing and impending vacancies of some states and geo-political zones in the Civil Service.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President, Media and Publicity, said in a statement on Friday that the new Permanent Secretaries were appointed after a diligent selection process by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

The are: Dr Emanso Umobong Okop – Akwa-Ibom, Mr Obi Emeka Vitalis – Anambra, Mahmood Fatima Sugra Tabi’a – Bauchi, Danjuma Mohammed Sanusi – Jigawa, Olusanya Olubunmi – Ondo, Dr Keshinro Maryam Ismaila – Zamfara, Akujobi Chinyere Ijeoma (South-East) and Isokpunwu Christopher Osaruwanmwen (South-South).

“The President anticipates that the new Federal Permanent Secretaries will exercise absolute dedication, diligence and fidelity to the nation in the discharge of their functions and ensure optimum service delivery to the Nigerian people,” said the statement.

(NAN)