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South East Has Highest Percentage Of Hypertension Cases – Society

Published

2 years ago

December 4, 2023

The Nigerian Hypertension Society on Monday said the South-East geopolitical zone bears the highest burden of hypertension in the country.

The President of the NHS, Prof Ayodele Omotoso, made this known in Abuja at the 23rd Annual General Meeting and scientific conference themed, “Tackling the burden of hypertension in Nigeria from primary to tertiary care,” and sub-themed, “Telemedicine as a tool for hypertension control in sub-Saharan Africa.”

Omotoso, a Professor of Medicine at the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, and Consultant Cardiologist at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Kwara State, said the burden of hypertension in Nigeria is enormous and needs urgent attention.

He said, “Nationally, the prevalence is around 30-40 per cent across the board. But when you look at the distribution in the geopolitical zones in the country, we do know that in South East, we have about 44 per cent; in North-East, it is about 42 per cent, and in other areas, it is about 25-30 per cent across the various geopolitical zones.

“When you translate that to actual figures using the current population, you will know that the burden runs into millions. Let’s say we have 120 million in the adult range in the 200 million estimated Nigerian population, just look at 30 per cent of that, that is like saying we have about 40 million Nigerians with hypertension.

“If you look at the cost of this disease, not only the cost of treatment, but the cost in terms of days lost to ill health, and complications due to kidney failure, stroke, heart failure, and others, they have economic implications on the country.”

Also, a member of the Africa Regional Advisory Group of the International Society of Hypertension, Prof Solomon Kadiri, said hypertension has become a burden in the past few decades.

Kadiri, who is a nephrologist and the keynote speaker at the conference said, “The prevalence rate from many studies will be about 35-40 per cent in adults, meaning that one in three adults that you meet will be hypertensive. In 90 per cent of hypertension cases, there is no disease cause as such that could be identified. But there are risk factors like excessive intake of salt, obesity, physical inactivity, and excessive alcohol consumption.

“When a patient is diagnosed with hypertension, he should be told what the likely reasons are, even if the patient is taking medications for hypertension, he should be told to cut down on salt intake, lose weight, and become physically active.

“Nigerians need to be aware that hypertension is a problem, and they need to have their high pressure checked. Adults should have their blood pressure checked twice a year, if they have shown to be hypertensive, they should have their blood pressure checked more frequently.”

Also speaking, the Chairperson of the Local Organising Committee for the conference, Dr Manmak Mamven, said there is a need for a comprehensive and collaborative approach to combat hypertension as a silent killer.

“Hypertension is a major public health concern globally, and Nigeria is no exception. It is our responsibility as healthcare professionals to come together and address this challenge head-on,” Dr Mamven noted.

Mamven, who is also a Consultant Nephrologist at the University Of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, Abuja, said stress and substance abuse contribute to the prevalence rate of hypertension in the country.

“The stress going on in the country now is a factor and substance abuse. I have seen some of them coming to the hospital with hypertension, and when you dig deep you will find out that it is linked to substance abuse even in younger ones,” she said.

On her part, Dr Salma Anas, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on health matters said, the Federal Government is intensifying efforts at increasing awareness of the disease.

“Under the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu, we have policies on reducing the burden of hypertension. So, we have to go back to the drawing board and start intensifying awareness among the general population, also focusing on young people, and talking to them about healthy lifestyles.

“We need to do more on awareness creation, prevention interventions, and the community to spread the message. Collectively, we will be able to reduce the scourge of hypertension,” she assured.

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Crude Sinks As Trump Delays Decision On Iran Strike

Published

4 hours ago

June 20, 2025

Editor

Oil prices tumbled Friday and equity traders fought to end a volatile week on a positive note after Donald Trump said he would consider over the next two weeks whether to join Israel’s attacks on Iran.

Speculation had been swirling that Trump would throw his lot in with Israel, but on Thursday, he said he would decide “within the next two weeks” whether to involve the United States, giving diplomacy a shot to end the hostilities.

While tensions are sky high amid fears of an escalation, the US president’s remarks suggested the crisis could be prevented from spiralling into all-out war between the Middle East foes.

Since Israel first hit Iran last Friday, the two have exchanged deadly strikes and apocalyptic warnings, though observers said the conflict has not seen a critical escalation.

European foreign ministers were due to meet their Iranian counterpart on Friday in Geneva.

In a statement read out by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the president said: “Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.”

Leavitt added: “If there’s a chance for diplomacy, the president’s always going to grab it, but he’s not afraid to use strength as well.”

Both main oil contracts were down around two per cent Friday, but uncertainty prevailed, and traders remained nervous.

“Crude still calls the shots, and volatility’s the devil in the room — and every trader on the street knows we’re two headlines away from chaos,” said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.

“Make no mistake: we’re trading a geopolitical powder keg with a lit fuse.

“President Trump’s two-week ‘thinking window’ on whether to join Israel’s war against Iran is no cooling-off period — it’s a ticking volatility clock.”

Stocks were mixed following a public holiday in New York, with Hong Kong, Taipei, Mumbai and Bangkok all up with London, Paris and Frankfurt.

Seoul’s Kospi led the gains, rising more than one per cent to break 3,000 points for the first time in nearly three and a half years.

The index has risen every day except one since the June 4 election of a new president, which ended months of political crisis and fuelled hopes for an economic rebound.

Tokyo fell as Japanese core inflation accelerated, stoked by a doubling in the cost of rice, a hot topic issue that poses a threat to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba ahead of elections next month.

There were also losses in Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Manila and Jakarta.

The Middle East crisis continues to absorb most of the news but Trump’s trade war remains a major obstacle for investors as the end of a 90-day pause on his April 2 tariff blitz approaches, with few governments reaching deals to avert them being imposed.

“While the worst of the tariffs have been paused, we suspect it won’t be until those deadlines approach that new agreements may be finalised,” said David Sekera, chief US market strategist at Morningstar.

“Until then, as news emerges regarding the progress and substance of trade negotiations, these headlines could have an outsize positive or negative impact on markets.”

Key figures at around 0715 GMT: Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 2.6 percent at $76.85 per barrel, West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.9 percent at $73.62 per barrel, Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 38,403.23 (close), Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.8 percent at 23,421.80, Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,359.90 (close), London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 8,819.26 Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1517 from $1.1463 on Thursday, Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3467 from $1.3429, Dollar/yen: DOWN at 145.38 yen from 145.63 yen Euro/pound: UP at 85.51 pence from 85.36 pence.

AFP

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‎Italian PM Trumpets Plan To Boost African Economies At EU Summit

Published

4 hours ago

June 20, 2025

Editor

‎Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni on Friday will host European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen in Rome for a summit aimed at boosting African economies in a bid to curb illegal migration to the bloc.
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‎Meloni, whose far-right Brothers of Italy party has prioritised cutting irregular immigration, has launched a 5.5-billion-euro ($6.3-billion) plan targeting 14 countries including Ethiopia, Ivory Coast and Senegal to support industries from energy to health care.
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‎Irregular border crossings detected into the European Union stood at 239,000 last year, down 38 percent from an almost 10-year peak in 2023, according to European border agency Frontex.

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‎Meloni’s plan aims to strengthen trade relations between Italy and African nations in the energy sector particularly, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine has forced Rome to seek new supplies of oil and gas.
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‎Rome also wants a stake in financing a railway line between Zambia and Angola, and is planning a 65-million-euro investment in biofuel production in Kenya.
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‎Kenyan President William Ruto has praised the plan as “ambitious”, but noted “that investment alone is not enough” and African economies continue to be burdened by debt.
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‎African Union chief Moussa Faki Mahamat has also warned that the continent “cannot rely solely on promises that are often broken”.

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‎Experts say that Italy has “promised too much” by implying that these investments could reduce the number of migrants by creating jobs and growth.
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‎”The funding that Italy can provide is not at the right scale,” Giovanni Carbone, head of the University of Milan’s Africa programme, told AFP.
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‎The plan serves to benefit the interests of “large companies in the Italian fossil fuel industry”, said Simone Ogno from the NGO ReCommon.
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‎Major Italian companies are already involved in the plan, including oil giant Eni, electricity carrier Terna and agro-industrial group Bonifiche Ferraresi.
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‎Undocumented migration via the Central Mediterranean route — between North Africa and Italy — saw around 67,000 migrant arrivals in 2024, Frontex said, down 59 percent from the year prior.
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‎AFP

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Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, Deserves Not To Live – Israel’s Defence Minister

Published

23 hours ago

June 19, 2025

Editor

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei

Israel’s Defence Minister on Thursday issued a direct threat against Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, accusing him of orchestrating attacks on Israel through proxy forces and calling for his elimination.

The minister’s remarks, reported by Al Jazeera, reflect growing tensions between the two countries following an Iranian missile strike on Beersheba, which reportedly caused damage to the Soroka Medical Center.

The minister stated that Khamenei has consistently sought Israel’s destruction, adding that preventing him from continuing his actions is now considered part of Israel’s broader campaign.

According to him, as reported by Al Jazeera, “A man like [Khamenei] has always aimed at destroying Israel through his agents.

“This man, who is willing to attack us, must not stay alive. This matter, the matter of stopping this man, eliminating him, is part of the campaign, and we now understand his role because before, he was talking about the destruction of Israel.”

In recent days, Israel has launched strikes on Iranian nuclear and military facilities, prompting retaliatory missile and drone attacks from Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently addressed the Iranian people in a video message, expressing hope that military operations would help pave the way for Iranians to achieve freedom.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump also weighed in on Khamenei, stating in a social media post: “We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now… Our patience is wearing thin.”

Earlier, Khamenei warned the US that any strikes on its territory would have “serious irreparable consequences”.

As reported by Al Jazeera, the death toll from Israel’s attacks on Iran has risen to more than 240, including 70 women and children. At least 24 people have been killed in Iranian attacks on Israel.