Ebola Epidemic - Socio-Economic Implications of Inadequate Human Resources for Health, and Poor Health Financing!

In a statement accompanying the new 2014 health workforce factsheet and scorecard, Rotimi Sankore Editor of Afri-Dev.Info commended the efforts of the health sectors in Ebola affected countries but cautioned that:

"A key reason why the World Health Organisation and leading health groups have warned that the epidemic will take months to bring under control and may effect up to 20,00 people is that no health crisis can be swiftly and sustainably resolved with weak health systems. Health workers are the core of every health system, but most African countries have only between 5% and 40% of numbers and required mix of health workers. In addition current levels of health financing are a fraction of required investment”

Ebola, and the ongoing challenges of HIV, Malaria, TB, Neglected Tropical Diseases, Non-Communicable Diseases, Reproductive, Maternal or Child Health will not be sustainably resolved without the necessary long term population based planning, multisectoral coordination and investment across the Education, Labour, Human development, Finance, Economic development and Health sectors."

The historical underinvestment in especially the Education sectors - including poor population based and development needs planning in many African countries - has resulted in many having just a fraction of human resources required across multiple sectors for long term sustainable development.

On How Health Worker Shortages Have Undermined Fight Against Ebola:

According to Factsheet for comparison tables on doctors, nurses & midwives and pharmacists in Ebola affected countries.

"Liberia with about 4 million people has only about 50 doctors compared to over 12,000 doctors for roughly the same population in Croatia. Sierra Leone with almost 6 million people has 136 doctors compared to over 18,000 in Denmark for roughly same population. Guinea with about 11 million people has just over 900 doctors compared to over 76,000 doctors in Cuba for about same population, and Nigeria has just under 59,000 doctors compared to 295,000 doctors in Japan which has 40 million people less than Nigeria. It is not a coincidence that Ebola has devastated Liberia and Sierra Leone which are 2 of the 5 countries globally with the lowest numbers of doctors.

Poor Health Financing has Left Most African Countries Unprepared for Ebola:

“The poor investment in overall education and human resources development; combined with poor actual per capita investment in the health sector - translates into huge differences in life expectancy between African and other countries.

Liberia invests only $18 per capita in health compared to Croatia's $818; Guinea $7 compared to Cuba's $573; Sierra Leone $13 compared to $5,563 in Denmark; and Nigeria $29 compared to Japans $3,824. Consequently and in tandem with other related factors - the difference in life expectancy between Liberia and Croatia is 16 years; between Guinea and Cuba 21 years; between Sierra Leone and Denmark 34 years; and between Nigeria and Japan 30 years.”

Disruption to Society and Economy:

With experts estimating that a one year improvement in life expectancy can result in an increase in GDP of up to 4%, the reasons for persistent economic under development become much clearer.

Ebola has with higher visibly - than other long standing but equally serious health challenges - disrupted education, farming, food production and supplies, banking, mining, manufacturing, airlines, tourism, retail markets and supply chains, with predictions for heavy economic losses in affected countries.

Emergency funding and donations are only useful for a short term response. Ebola demonstrates again like HIV before it that health is not just a responsibility of the health sector – and the long term response must involve Finance, Planning, Human, Social and Economic Development Sectors".

Women Account for Up To 75% of Cases and 60% of Mortality:

The Ebola response must take account of the special situation of women and girls, and take necessary measures to protect them. Disaggregation of case’s and mortality indicates that women tend to be disproportionately affected. Women account for 55 to 60 percent of the deceased in the current epidemic in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, according to UNICEF.“

Women also constitute a large section of the health workers and are on the frontlines of response.

Liberia’s task force on Ebola has reported that 75 percent of those who were infected or died from Ebola were women, because they are often the primary care-givers, nurses and traders within their communities. 

Women are also the traditional birth attendants, nurses and the cleaners and laundry workers in hospitals – and often have to work in less than ideal conditions.
Source:Africa-Dev

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Cameroun kills 27 Boko Haram militants!

While debate continued on whether the Nigerian troop chased Boko-Haram militants into the Cameroon borders, or that they fled, Cameroonian state-owned radio, CRTV reportedly claimed its military has killed 27 members of the sect near a northeastern town.

CRTV allegedly reports that after attacking villages, a town, a military base and Police station in Nigeria earlier this week, Boko Haram militants crossed the border into Cameroun earlier, causing 480 Nigerian soldiers to flee to Cameroun.

“Cameroun soldiers have killed 27 Boko Haram elements during an attack in a locality near Fotokol in the far north,” CRTV said, noting that, the killings occurred on Monday and Tuesday.

While Cameroun has recorded some remarkable success with curbing Boko Haram, their Nigerian counterparts have struggled to repress the Islamist sect. Cameroun borders a part of northeastern Nigeria that has seen intense fighting over the past two weeks.

It will be recalled that on Sunday 17 August, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau released a video where he claimed that Gwoza, a town in Borno state, Nigeria has become an Islamic Caliphate.

It was the first time the militants have made an explicit territorial claim in more than five years of bloody insurgency.

In recent weeks, Boko Haram, which is seeking to carve out a de facto Islamic state in northern Nigeria, has stepped up attacks in Cameroun, leading the central African country to increase deployments along its jungle border.

Last month, Cameroun President, Paul Biya dismissed two senior army officers following attacks in which at least seven people were killed and the wife of the vice prime minister kidnapped.
Source: PM News

Nigeria Now Has One Active Ebola Case- health Minister!

The Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, has said Nigeria has only one active case of the infectious Ebola virus.

Giving an update on government's effort to contain the disease yesterday during a press-conference in Abuja, Chukwu said: "Today is the 37th day since the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) was imported into Nigeria by a Liberian-American. As of today (yesterday), Nigeria has had 13 cases of EVD, including the index case.

"However, seven of the infected persons were successfully managed at the isolation ward in Lagos and have been discharged.

"Two of the treated patients, a male doctor and a female nurse, were discharged yesterday (Monday) evening, having satisfied the criteria for discharge.

"As I speak with you, Nigeria has only one confirmed case of EVD, a secondary contact of Mr Patrick Sawyer's and spouse of one of the physicians who participated in the management of the index case. She is stable but still undergoing treatment at the isolation ward in Lagos."

He explained that so far, all the reported cases of Ebola in Nigeria had their roots in the index case, the late Sawyer, adding: "This is an indication that thus far, Nigeria has contained the disease outbreak."

The minister, however, refused to be drawn into a hasty conclusion that the virus had been completely eradicated in Nigeria, maintaining that it had been contained but not yet eradicated.

"We cannot say we have eradicated the Ebola virus" Chukwu explained, "We can say we have contained it; every case so far have been traced to one source. Secondly, we have kept the disease in one location in Lagos." Continuing, Chukwu said: "Excellence is a journey, it is not a destination, as every country of the world remains at risk; every citizen of the world remains at risk."

The minister, who was joined at the briefing by the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, assured the global community of the Nigerian government's commitment to remain vigilant. He also took time to explain that Ebola patients who had been declared free of the virus and discharged cannot spread the disease.

"They may be healthier than some people; they are more certain that they are free. They are the safest. If you want anybody to come to your house, these people are the safest," he said, in the bid to stem the stigmatisation of patients who have survived the disease.

The Minister of Health also decried the rumour making the rounds that the N1.9 billion federal government intervention fund released to combat Ebola was meant for a jamboree.

Chukwu, who expressed concern over the culture of impunity by Nigerians with regards to public funds, promised that the money would be used judiciously.

He said: "The money was made available for an emergency; it is not an Ebola Fund. I hear even villagers are asking for their own share. Nigerians are always asking for money to share."

He also clarified the rationale behind Federal Government's disbursement of N200 million to Lagos State, stating that it was meant to tackle the spread of the Ebola virus.

"The money was given to support Lagos State Government because the state had been spending its own funds. The job of preventing the outbreak of an epidemic is not a state duty, it is a federal government responsibility," he maintained.

The Lagos State Government also confirmed that two additional victims of Ebola have been discharged, thereby bringing the number of survivors to seven; disclosing that it had not received the N200 million, which the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved last week for the containment of the virus. In his words, "is yet to get a dime from the federal government to boost the containment and management of the virus".

The state's Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, who gave the update alongside his information counterpart, Mr. Aderemi Ibirogba, and Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Mr. Hakeem Bello, said 331 contacts "have been followed up so far".

At the briefing, Idris advised Lagosians not to panic, stating that getting infected with Ebola was not an automatic death sentence.

"This has been buttressed by the recovery of seven confirmed suspects, who have been re-integrated successfully with their families and communities. The common trend among the recovered cases is their early presentation for supportive treatment. "There is no need to hide friends and relations we suspect have come down with the disease. The earlier they are brought for screening and surveillance, the better the outcome," he said.

He, however, said an additional 10 contacts "were listed on Monday, raising it to 331. Of the number, 159 have been cleared and discharged on completion of the 21-day surveillance".

Environmental Palava In Lagos State!

The rather shameful habit of clearing gutters during environmental sanitation hours or construction of roads, then abandoning the dirt by the side of the drainage only so that it flows back into the gutters/ drainage when it rains again, has so eaten deep into most Lagosians, it has become a habit that needs to be redressed, if indeed we really look forward to a clean Lagos.

The eye/ saw scene from pictured above and below, at Ilaje bus-stop, Lekki area of Lagos state,  just near where the construction work is going on, is a reflection of what is obtained at most busy places, especially after the weekly or monthly environmental sanitations.

Roving Informant hereby appeals to appropriate authorities over seeing these areas to do something, Eko o'ni bajeeoooo.

Boston Marathon bombing survivor marries nurse he met while recovering!

"Every negative event contains within it the seed of an equal or greater benefit". these words from Napoleon Hill, is what could best describe the story of Boston Marathon bombing survivor James Costello and Krista D'Agostino, a nurse who cared for him during his rehabilitation, as they tied the knot recently in a wedding donated by local businesses. 



In an early appearance on the media, in December 2013, Costello said that being injured in the bombing was a blessing in disguise because it led him to meet D'Agostino, who was working a six-week temporary stint as a traveling nurse at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.



Costello had been transferred there after undergoing multiple surgeries at Massachusetts General Hospital following the bombing on April 15, 2013. It led to a romance that resulted in engagement during a 10-day trip to France in December. "One thing that she hates that I always say is I’m actually glad I got blown up,'' 



Speaking with Savannah Guthrie on Today in December, Costello said. "I wish everyone else didn’t have to, but I don’t think I would have ever met her if I didn’t, so I’m pretty happy." 

 Reports says Hyatt Regency Boston donated use of its location for the wedding, and wedding planner Rachael Gross donated her services to organize the event that included 150 family members and guests. 

The photography, flowers, video, and cocktails were all donated, and D'Agostino was resplendent in an Allure Couture gown encrusted with Swarovski crystals that was donated by Bella Sera Bridal Boutique in Danvers, Massachusetts. 



Costello's Brooks Brothers suit and the attire for the wedding party was also donated. Costello was reportedly the subject of one of the most widely - viewed images in the wake of the blast. 

A photographer captured Costello staggering through the streets with his clothes shredded and his legs burned. 



Less than two years later, he beamed as he and D'Agostino made their first appearance as husband and wife. The two are now on their honeymoon in Hawaii. 

Military Performance Against Boko Haram Unimpressive!

After a meeting in Kaduna, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) today said the military's performance in the crackdown against Boko Haram is unimpressive.

The forum challenged Federal Government and the military to rise up and dislodge the sect from areas it seized from Nigeria.

The forum, in a press statement signed by its national publicity secretary, Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim, and sent to SaharaReporters' New York office stated:

The meeting discussed exhaustively the security challenges in the North, especially the capture of some towns and villages by the Boko Haram insurgents in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states. 

According to reports, the meeting resolved to issue the following statements, and expressed deep concern about the rapid escalation of the security challenges in the North-East, particularly the capture of large portions of the territories of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states by the Boko Haram insurgents, despite the state of emergency and the heavy presence of the military.

Reports indicate that the Boko Haram insurgency appears to be on an unstoppable advance to over run more territories of Nigeria. Our military effort to checkmate the advance of the insurgents in their quest to conquer more parts of Nigeria, especially in the North East, is not yielding the desired result. 

The performance of the military and other security agencies in combating the insurgency is therefore unimpressive, considering the past performance of our military and the police in peacekeeping operations outside the country, like in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan etc., and recently Mali. Why is our military now failing to quell such a rebellion by a band of insurgents?

The ACF calls on the Federal Government to, as a matter of extreme urgency, investigate and unravel the actual reason for the failure of the military to live up to their past performance. ACF urges the Federal Government to quickly take all necessary measures to reclaim the territories captured by the insurgents and restore the territorial integrity of Nigeria.

Source: Sahara Reporters