Category: Health

Malaria Action Program For State, MAPS yesterday at the pearl ball of Transcorp Hotels held “the end of project dissemination event to mark the end of the MAPS project funded by United States President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) USAID and implemented by FHI360, Malaria Consortium and Health Partners International.

PMI supports the Government of Nigeria to increase provision of Long lasting insecticidal nets (LLIN) and preventive anti malarial  (Sulphadoxine pyrimethane) for use during pregnancy amongs other deliverables.

Deputy Governor of Cross River State, Prof. Ivara Ejemot Esu, who represented
the Cross River State Governor, Sen. Ben Ayade said that he was pleased to be part of this significant occasion which marked the malaria action program for states end of project report dissemination in Cross River State. He noted that this five year program which was designed as part of the President’s Malaria Initiative, had the sole aim of increasing quality access and uptake of malaria control intervention in a selected pilot states in Nigeria including Cross River State. According to him the intervention covered the 18 local government areas of the state and led to an increase in the use of long-lasting insecticidal nets, improvements in malaria diagnosis, capacity building of state and local government staff, and enhanced management of malaria data at both the state and national levels.

“I want to express the appreciation of the
government and people of Cross River State to all donors and partners including the Federal Ministry of Health, for selecting Cross River State as one of the pilots for the rollout of the program in Nigeria”.  He eulogized the effort of the Chief of Party-MAPS, the State Coordinator of the malaria action program and the state Malaria Elimination Program in the CRS primary health care development Agency.

Speaking earlier, Pharm. Oluwole Adeusi, Chief of Party, MAPS Nigeria said PMI through USAID funded the MAPS project to increase the quality, access, and uptake of malaria control intervention in Nigeria through the scale-up proven interventions, the strengthened program management and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) capacity at the state, and local government levels in line with the National Malaria Strategic Plan. “On behalf of MAPS, I am confident and proud to declare that the overall goal to scale up usage and coverage of life-saving malaria interventions in CRS has been largely achieved. We look forward to partnering with the state again in the foreseeable future”.

The Director General of CRSPHCDA, Dr Betta Edu during her welcome address said the program has impacted positively on the life of many Cross Riverians. She said MAPS has been able to achieved a lot in CRS  with the support of th state government and other partners.

She stated that MAPS has been able to carried out over 1.7 million distribution of LLIN’s and mRDT, capacity building for health workers and supplies of antimalaria drugs in health facilities and communities across the state. She went further to state that the wife of the Governor, Her Excellency, Dr Linda Ayade through her pet project Mediatrix Development Foundation has been embarking on Hunt Malaria Initiative were she hs established Hunt Malaria Initiative Club in over 40 schools to sensitize and educate the students on how to prevent the disease. She noted that as part of palliatives for the students LLIN’s is distributed to students across the hostels.

Finally Dr Edu noted that the State Health team led by Hon. Commissioner of Health, Dr Inyang Asibong who was unavoidably absent at the beginning  due to national issues in Abuja is very happy with the records achieved by MAPS so far while also applauding the CRSG for their support through counterpart funding. She tasked MAPS to consider CRS in their next phase as the fight to eliminate malaria in Nigeria has not yet been won.

Mrs Rose Nyambi, State coordinator of MAPS in Cross River State listed out their successes in collaboration with other stakeholders and partners in CRS.

” Over 1.7 million LLINs distributed during mass campaigns, 3200 LLINs distributed to school children in 18 primary schools in Calabar Municipal, 3617 health workers trained in various intervention, 560 community care givers and 565 CVs trained on community awareness and referral, worked with SMEP to implement a system for malaria microscopy accreditation and EQA.

The high point of the event was the presentation of an award through the Deputy Governor, to the wife of the governor, Dr. Mrs. Linda Ayade, who
was represented by the wife of the Deputy
Governor, Mrs. Omotunde Ivara Esu as the state malaria ambassador for her commitment to ensure a malaria-free Cross River state.

Dr. Iwara Iwara, Director Community Health/Program Manager, Rollback Malaria; Hon. John Ulafor, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs; Hon. Francis Etta, Commissioner for International Donor Cooperation, Mr Goddy Eta, Commissioner of Education and representatives of WHO, SFH, SIDHAS, ISMO, JSI/DELIVER were present to grace the occassion. The commissioner for health Dr. Inyang Asibong who later joined the event, presented some awards and certificates to deserving awardees.

Cross River State Commissioner for Health, Dr (Mrs) Inyang Asibong presented strategic health plan for 2016 – 2020 to Stakeholders and partners in health sector to provide leadership and direction, and to work collaboratively to ensure the health system deliver quality services that are safe and responsive for Cross Riverians.

Dr Asibong presented 2016 – 2020 strategic health plan  after a 3 days retreat held at Formula Hotel located at 35 Atekong Drive, State Housing Estate with Directors of the ministry of Health, Stakeholders, representatives from World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Society for Family Health (SFH), Pathfinder and other Development Agency and partners in health sector.

 In her presentation, the Commissioner said, the health strategic plan 2016 – 2020 define the vision, purpose and strategic priority which ensure we are responsive in our role of managing health system in Cross River State.

Dr Asibong charged Stakeholders and partners to support the vision of His Excellency Gov Benedict Ayade to shape the health services, work forces and development of policy, legislation and Regulation.

Cross River State Health Strategic Plan covers reorganization of support services, legislative reform, improving quality of care, revitalization of Hospital services, reducing morbidity and mortality rate, strengthening the delivery of a primary health care package among others.

Also addressing the Stakeholders, Director General, Cross River Primary Health Care Agency, Dr Betta Edu said the Cross River Strategic health plan allows for qualification of all primary health care clinic to an ideal clinics for better health care of the people.

Stakeholders and partners in their separate presentations reviewed their priorities and capabilities to consolidate Cross River State Health system through a functional alignment process by improving system, skills and structures to enhance ability to deliver positive outcomes.

In a world where beauty often only goes skin deep and light skin is perceived by many as more desirable, dark-skinned women find it more and more difficult to love and be comfortable in their own skin.

Skin bleaching or whitening has unfortunately become a common phenomenon in many countries. These products are used by women around the world in order to obtain blemish-free, lighter and brighter skin tones. Yet, many ignore the health warnings associated with using these often dangerous skin bleaching products.

Nigeria tops the list of countries where women use these products most. According to the World Health Organisation, 77% of Nigerians use skin bleaching products on a daily basis – and this is not just confined to female users. Other countries where skin bleaching is popular includes Kenya, USA, Thailand and South Africa.

In case you’re considering doing the same to your skin, perhaps you should know these 5 things first:

1. Skin bleaching is not trying to be “white”

In many African countries light-skinned women are considered more beautiful and believed to be more successful and more likely to get married. This ignited backstreet skin whitening markets with vendors selling their own skin bleaching products and injections promising to remove melanin. Women who use these products aren’t trying to be white, it’s more about fitting in and feeling more accepted by their society.

2. Certain types of skin bleaching can be safe when done with the right ingredients and supervision

According to Whitening Cream Reviews, there is nothing wrong with bleaching your skin if you do it the right way, follow the procedures and use the right products. They stress that you should make sure your skin is monitored regularly by a licensed skin professional or dermatologist and that one should always be on the lookout for any strange changes in your skin during this process like peeling and redness.

3. Hydroquinone is seriously not good for you

If you are in a process of bleaching your skin, avoid using creams that contain the ingredient Hydroquinone. According to Livestrong, it may cause scars on the skin, kidney, liver or nerve damage, abnormalities in a newborn baby if used during pregnancy, and might even have serious effects of pigmentation on the eye and cause corneal damage.

4. Skin bleaching can have unpleasant side effects

Skin bleaching techniques could have serious side effects and complications like inflammation (swelling and redness), skin irritation, or burning and itchy skin.

5. There are other alternatives for a radiant, even complexion

Many skin bleaching products contain ingredients that have been banned in most African countries due to the dangerous effects they have on one’s health. But, there are safe, natural home remedies that can be applied to the skin such as lemon, honey, Aloe Vera, oranges and yoghurt.

I am a dark skinned girl and I have been teased a lot because of my brown skin. But I have ignored anyone trying to make me feel bad about my God-given skin. I mean, why would I want to change my skin colour because of other people’s definition of beauty?

It would be dumb of me. God created me and liked what he made, so I should embrace that.

I do not think that you just wake up one day and decide “I want to be a light skinned girl”. It is something you put a lot of thought into and if you do it because you are not happy with the skin that you’re in, to me that is a reflection of self-hatred and other self-esteem issues.

With that being said, people have different reasons for bleaching their skin – some to cover up dark spots and some to even up their skin tone, so let’s not judge until you have walked in someone else’s shoes.

Whatever your reason may be – if you have decided to bleach your skin, make sure you are ready and doing it for all the right reasons. But most importantly: contact a professional before you do so.

Despite the fact that most of us wear them almost every day, we are still far from being in a harmonious relationship with our bras. 80% of women wear the wrong bra, which in turn affects our health. An ill-fitting bra is not just uncomfortable, but can actually damage your breast tissue, shape and can even block blood flow.

According to Petite Cherry, you need to figure out your exact bra size, and then choose the type of bra accordingly:

• Petite breasts: pushups, bralettes and demis 
• Medium breasts: balconette bras and demis
• Large breasts: plunge bras and full cups

And now for the hacks!

Prof Ben Ayade, Governor, Cross River State has newly employed 18 medical doctors that will run the 18 LGAs to improve the quality of primary health care delivery across the state.

The State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Inyang Asibong, while reacting to the development said, “Primary health care is the point of entry into the health system and the foundation of the health sector. Unless we strengthen the Primary Health Care delivery system in the state, Health care will remain epileptic.

“Presently, the Government of Sen Ayade is restructuring the health system with emphasis on Primary Health Care. As part of his promise to deliver quality Health care to everyone in our communities, the Governor has employed 18 Medical Doctors as Medical Officers of health to give support to the nurses, midwives, and Community health practitioners in the Local Government Areas.”

According to Inyang, “Cross River State must reduce maternal mortality to very insignificant levels. We must deliver quality healthcare service to our people where ever they are found. To achieve this we have employed doctors to give that required support and bring the expertise that will save lives in the communities”.

Dr. Betta Edu, Director General of the Cross River State Primary Health Care Development Agency commended the effort of the Governor, Senator Ben Ayade in the health sector. She noted that the doctors employment was an intervention needed to boast the primary health care system in the state.

She said “The doctors will build capacity of other health workers in the LGA. They will also help with on the job training and supervision of other health staff. Furthermore, their presence at the primary health care facilities will boost the confidence of our people in the communities to patronise PHC facilities and encourage pregnant women to utilise maternity services rendered at the PHCs rather than in TBAs and Churches. This great stride in the health sector has a multiplier effect that will improve health indices in the state.”

Read more at: http://crossriverwatch.com/?p=25335

Masturbation is simply as the sexual stimulation of one’s own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm, masturbation, which of course is usually done in the secret, is practised by both singles and married.

While people perceive men to be guiltier of this act, findings have shown that women indu lge in it as well, more so with the use of sex toys.

According to Kinsey Institute, an organisation that promotes interdisciplinary research and scholarship in the field of human sexuality and related aspects of gender, relationship and reproduction, about 92 per cent of men and 62 per cent of women engage in masturbation in their lifetime.

A study by Christin Bowman of the Department of Social-Personality Psychology, University of New York, United States, found that women’s reasons for masturbating could be any of sexual pleasure, to learn about or better understand their bodies, as a release, to substitute for sex from their partner and general sexual dissatisfaction.

He found that even though women’s feelings when they masturbate could lead to shame or fear that they are acting selfishly, mainly, most women feel sexually empowered when they do it.

The question as to whether this act is good for the human system or not has been tossed back and forth, without a unanimous outcome. While some experts say it is good for the body, some others say its side effect is best described as detrimental.

However, findings have shown that beyond the instant pleasure such people claim to derive from the act, there are some ugly sides to it that may hunt such persons later in life. It was also found that the inadequate understanding of how strongly addictive masturbation is, coupled with its affordability, makes people see it as an option.

But according to Medical Daily, an organisation renowned for health and science issues, masturbation, which is highly addictive, could lead to fatigue, memory loss, hair loss, blurred vision, pains in the penis and impaired sexual function like erectile dysfunction, low sex drive and premature ejaculation.

Notably, it is not the act itself that causes some of these effects; they are a product of the overproduction of sex hormones and neurotransmitters occasioned by frequent masturbation.

In other words, masturbation tends to be excessive because it is accessible and cheap to practise, thus, when people engage in too much of it, sex hormones are over-secreted in the system, which results in these negative effects like hair loss, blurred vision and acne, among others. It added that because it is an act that is generally deemed unacceptable or one that falls below acceptable standard, it could cause low self esteem.

It said, “Masturbation can also lead to sexual exhaustion, which is exhibited in the form of impotence or erectile dysfunction – weak erection. And just like any other obsessive compulsive, such as alcohol abuse or gambling, extreme masturbating can interfere with an individual’s personal relationship and professional life.

“The National Health Service, which is the largest publicly funded health care system in the world, suggests that taking a break from the act may serve as a good thing.”

That’s not all. Excessive masturbation, like doing it daily, has been found to cause seminal leakage, in which case, semen would be leaking or flowing out freely from the penis. This is usually caused by the weakening of the parasympathetic nerves because the ejaculatory valve that opens and closes during sex stays open for a longer time.

Thus, it is not uncommon for people who masturbate to see some stains on their inner wear, especially moments after doing it, and if personal hygiene is inadequate, it has been found to cause odour in that region. It could also deplete the amount of semen in their seminal vesicle.

Other reports revealed that masturbation ruins the sex life of those who indulge in it, leads to premature ejaculation because it tends to make sex uninteresting and difficult.

For women who masturbate, it was also revealed that orgasm gives women an incentive to have more sex, and since most women do not reach orgasm through penile penetration, some resort to masturbation since it is self pleasing and then they become addicted to it.

According to some experts, the pleasure of masturbation does not last for a long time, unlike that of actual sex, thus, people who do it, having been used to it, tend to keep doing it till it impairs their ability to derive maximum pleasure during sexual intercourse. In the same vein, the act has been found to reduce the sensitivity on the penis due to the constant rubbing all in a bid to reach orgasm.

Like sexual intercourse, it has been found that masturbation tends to make people weak and fall asleep, because when they ejaculate (for men) or reach orgasm (for women), their system releases a number of brain chemicals including oxytocin, norepinephrine, serotonin, vasopressin and prolactin, all of which cause them to feel relaxed and sleepy. The effect is said to be more profound in men.

It is also interesting to know that beyond these identified effects, masturbation could on the long run cause men to have acne, because male arousal results in the surge of male hormones, the same hormones that are also known to be responsible for the formation of acne.

In his view, a medical practitioner, Dr. Rotimi Adesanya, affirms that there is a negative side to masturbation. He explained that since it is not an act that is acceptable in the environment and most of those who do it do so secretly, those who masturbate tend to suffer from low self esteem because it is not something they might be proud of.

He noted that apart from the fact that it could lead to memory loss, the pleasure derivable from masturbation does not last for a long time, unlike that of sex, hence, it could be a mere waste of time. “In fact, in some cultures, it is seen as a psychological issue,” he added.

He continued, “On the long run, masturbation may reduce sperm count, and that is why men who want to make their wife pregnant should not engage in masturbation, because when they ejaculate during the act, it would reduce their sperm count during actual intercourse. That is in addition to the fact that men who engage in it could have erectile dysfunction, because if the man has satisfied himself earlier, when it is time to meet the wife, he may not have erection.

“It also creates dissatisfaction between the man and the woman. If one of the parties masturbates, because of the initial pleasure, the person could climax on time, leaving the partner unsatisfied. Also, it can make them feel drowsy; they tend to get tired easily. So it is not advisable.”

Adesanya advised that people who do it should seek medical counsel. “The truth is that you don’t see people going to the hospital to seek medical help about it, but basically it can be treated with psychotherapy. Clinical psychology is involved most times and if the case is bad, a psychiatrist could be involved,” he added.

In the view of a psychologist, Prof. Oni Fagboungbe, people engage in masturbation for different reasons; including pleasure or because it has become a compulsive disorder in their system.

“It is not something one should do and persistent engagement in it could cause low self esteem,” he said.

Culled from Punchng.com

Good news for Nigeria as President Buhari is now on course to return to Nigeria after having his ear checkup in London.