By Olukayode Idowu
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has commended the Governor of Adamawa state, Ahmadu Fintiri for signing the Child Protection Bill into law.
According to a statement by UNICEF: “The Child Protection Law is the official position of the Adamawa Government that disregard for children’s rights is unacceptable and punishable. The law aims to safeguard the rights of children by preventing and addressing the killing and maiming of children, child labour, abductions of children, sexual violence against children and the recruitment and use of children by armed groups, among other grave violations of their rights.”
The statement further said that: “UNICEF hopes that the new law in Adamawa will be effectively implemented and that vulnerable children are supported to survive, thrive and become successful members of the society.”
“With the signing into law the Child Protection Bill by the government of Adamawa state, only Kano, Bauchi and Gombe states are yet to domesticate the Child Rights Act,” the statement read.
UNICEF, in the statement, called on the Governments of these states to do the needful as a commitment of their respect for the rights of children.”
It assured to continue to work with the government of Adamawa to operationalize the law and bring perpetrators and violators into account.
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MSF Conducts 32 major surgeries in Sokoto in two weeks to treat noma
By Olukayode Idowu
A team of Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has conducted 32 surgeries for noma patients in another round of surgical intervention at the Noma Hospital in Sokoto from 23 October to 4 November 2022.
A statement at the weekend by MSF said since the start of the activities in 2014, a total of 1249 major surgeries have been conducted for the noma patients, noting that the organisation is supporting the Noma Hospital in Sokoto through inpatient care, reconstructive surgeries, outreach activities, nutrition and mental health support.
The MSF project coordinator in Sokoto, Dr Sham`un Abubakar, was quoted to have said: “Noma is preventable and treatable, but people still die from it because of the limited knowledge about the disease and on how to detect it. Up to 90 per cent of people affected by noma die in the first two weeks if they don’t receive treatment in time. That is why early detection is important.”
He added that: “Early case detection and reporting through Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) can be achieved through increased surveillance activities like training of Disease Surveillance and Notification Officers (DSNOs), Health Care Workers (HCW), Traditional Healers, Alternative Medicine Practitioners, Community, Religious and Traditional Rulers and Women and Youth Groups. Noma is a disease that shouldn’t exist anymore.”
The statement explained that noma is an infectious and non-contagious bacterial disease that starts as an inflammation of the gums, similar to a small mouth ulcer. In just two weeks the infection starts to destroy bones and tissues, potentially affecting the jaw, lips, cheeks, nose or eyes, leaving survivors with physical consequences including pain, breathing complications and difficulties in eating. Malnourished children and members of isolated communities with limited access to healthcare and vaccination are more vulnerable. People who survive noma either have to live sequels of the disease or manage to undergo extensive reconstructive surgery to improve quality of life. On top of that, they deal with the social stigma caused by the disfigurement.
The statement further added that: “In collaboration with the health authorities and other stakeholders, MSF is commemorating the noma day (5th November), in order to raise awareness about the disease, address stigma attached to it and highlight specialized activities on the disease, so the patients can access the services. Besides over 1000 surgeries since the beginning of the activities in Sokoto, MSF teams have held 16857 mental health counselling and 2185 health promotion sessions; furthermore, admitted 1349 patients for both medical and surgical management of noma. In addition, a total of 103 survivors were admitted to the Inpatient Therapeutic Feeding Centre (ITFC), and 35 were enrolled in the Ambulatory Therapeutic Feeding Centre (ATFC).”
MSF launched an international campaign in 2020 to raise awareness about noma and accelerate the research and advocacy agenda – a crucial step being to see the disease included in the World Health Organization (WHO) list of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). The inclusion would shine a spotlight on the disease, facilitating the integration of noma prevention and treatment activities into existing public health programmes and the allocation of much-needed resources for its eradication. Nigeria with the support of MSF and other noma stakeholders has taken the lead as a member state to get noma on the WHO’s NTDs list.
“Noma is a neglected disease, but it’s still not included in the WHO list of Neglected Tropical Disease although it fits all the criteria. We are supporting the Government of Nigeria’s (GoN) call for the World Health Organization to recognize noma as a Neglected Tropical Disease so more attention and more resources will be allocated to eradicate it,” Dr Sham’un added.
Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is an international, independent, medical humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural disasters and exclusion from healthcare. MSF has worked continuously in Nigeria since 1996, and currently provides medical care, free of charge, in 11 states across the country.
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World needs Global Economic Integration, IMF Says
By Olukayode Idowu
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that more than ever before the world needs global economic integration to especially ward off the threats on global economy in the last two years as a result of COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Ukraine crisis.
The Managing Director of IMF, Ms. Kristalina Georgieva in her remark to the China International Import Expo (CIIE) at the weekend lamented that for over two and a half years the world has faced challenges in the global supply chain due to COVID-19 and the Ukraine crisis, insisting that the world has witnessed economic downturn.
She said due to the crises, “We have witnessed acute food insecurities, inflation. Poverty in many places is on the rise, around the world. We have seen
even big economies become relatively poorer.”
She proffered that: “Integration, not fragmentation, is key to the world’s economic success. We must promote trade openness and China is leading by example in this sense.”
She advised that reforms by China should be emulated, while decrying that: “Today, trade restriction and distortion, and subsidence is on the rise,” lamenting that: “Rather than be a source of growth, trade policies have become a source of fragmentation.”
She also asked governments to bring their disputes for resolution, stressing that: “We need much stronger international cooperation, not less of it.”
On her part, the Director General of the World Trade Organisation, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala noted that China contributes 15 per cent of world’s total exports and she is the second largest importer of goods and services, while the third largest service exporter.
Okonjo-Iweala in her goodwill message to the Expo, said: “Trade must be part of the solution to solve inflation, climate change,
global economic slow, etc.”
She disclosed that reforming and revitalization of WTO is about equipping it to be able to find challenges to problems and be able to drive the solutions.
Okonjo-Iweala claimed that the future of trade is in digital solutions and services, going green and green services, and in inclusivity.
She explained that the future of trade means bringing continents together like Africa, Latin America, among others
She revealed that WTO will work with China for stronger, more responsive partnership with common objectives of making the world a better place.
In his opening speech at fifth China International Import Expo (CIIE), the Chinese President, Xi Jinping said the CIIE has become a showcase of China’s new development paradigm, a platform for high-standard opening-up, and a public good for the whole world.
He said: “Openness is a key driving force behind the progress of human civilizations and an intrinsic path toward global prosperity and development. The world today is confronted with accelerated changes unseen in a century as well as a sluggish economic recovery. We should commit ourselves to openness to meet development challenges, foster synergy for cooperation, build the momentum of innovation, and deliver benefits to all. We should steadily advance economic globalization, enhance every country’s dynamism of growth, and provide all nations with greater and fairer access to the fruits of development.”
He promised that: “China will work with all countries and all parties to share the opportunities in its vast market. We will step up efforts to cultivate a robust domestic market, upgrade trade in goods, develop new mechanisms for trade in services, and import more quality products. We will establish pilot zones for Silk Road e-commerce cooperation and build national demonstration zones for innovative development of trade in services, so as to encourage innovation in trade and promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.”
He added that: “China will work with all countries and all parties to share the opportunities from its institutional opening-up. We will steadily expand institutional opening-up with regard to rules, regulations, management and standards, put into full effect the new Catalogue of Encouraged Industries for Foreign Investment, and further develop the national integrated demonstration zone for greater openness in the service sector. We will implement the strategy to upgrade pilot free trade areas, accelerate the Hainan Free Trade Port development, and tap into their role as pilot platforms for comprehensive reform and opening-up.”
He further assured that: “China will work with all countries and all parties to share the opportunities from deepened international cooperation. We will engage fully and deeply in WTO reform negotiations, promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and enhance international macro-economic policy coordination, with a view to jointly fostering new drivers for global growth. We will endeavor actively to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) to expand the globally-oriented network of high-standard free trade areas. We will firmly support other developing countries and assist them in growing faster, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.”
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[11/6, 1:34 PM] Michael Olugbode: 2 Pakistani businessmen, blind Nigerien, son arrested for cocaine, skunk trafficking
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested two Pakistani businessmen at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos with eight kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in a public address system while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Lahole, Pakistan via Doha.
A press statement on Sunday by the spokesman of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi said the two suspects: Asif Muhammed, 45 and Hussain Naveed, 57, who hold Nigerian residence permits suspected to be fake are frequent travelers to Nigeria under the guise of doing textile business.
He said they were arrested last Saturday at the Lagos airport barely a week after they came to Nigeria on 30th October.
He said operatives at the SAHCO import shed of the airport on Friday seized 13 cartons of tramadol 225mg and 200mg imported from Karachi, Pakistan. The consignment has a total weight of 465.1 kilogrammes and 642,800 pills of the pharmaceutical opioid.
He said the previous day, last Thursday operatives at the NAHCO export shed of the airport also intercepted a consignment of different illicit drugs: cannabis, cocaine and methamphetamine as well as tramadol 225mg and Rohyphnol concealed in footwears and soap packs going to UAE, Dubai. A 32-year-old Oladitan Olufunmilayo who presented the consignment for export was arrested.
He also revealed that two businessmen who have been on the run for months over their involvement in drug trafficking have been arrested by anti-narcotic officers assigned to track them. He said Nnebo Christopher who has been wanted for his role in the importation of 40 cartons containing 346,800 pills of co-codamol, a brand of paracetamol with codeine seized at the cargo wing of the MMIA local airport since March 2022, was arrested last Thursday.
Babafemi said operatives on the trail of an automobile parts dealer, Omeje Oliver (a.k.a David Mark) since April eventually arrested him last Monday in Enugu where he fled to after abandoning his business at Aspanda, Trade Fair Complex Lagos. He was wanted in connection with the seizure of 600 grammes of heroin concealed inside soles of lady’s footwears going to Liberia on April 16.
He disclosed that on the same day Omeje was arrested, operatives at the SAHCO export shed of the Lagos airport intercepted 550 grams of cannabis loud concealed in machine parts going to Dubai, UAE, while the sender, Ogbure Ifeanyi was later arrested.
In Katsina state, operatives on patrol at Malumfashi-Zaria road, arrested a blind man, Bukar Haruna, 52, and his son Saka Haruna, 30 while heading to Niger republic with 20.5 kilogrammes cannabis and 10 grammes of exol-5. They hail from Damagram area of Niger republic.
No less than 2,685.5 kilogrammes of cannabis were recovered in four different operations conducted in parts of Edo state in the last week. While 53 bags of C/S weighing 742.5 kilogrammes were seized on Wednesday 2nd Nov at a camp in Esioriri, Owan East LGA with four suspects: Chukueke Igba, 32; Solomon Peter, 34; Emmanuel Jeremiah, 36 and Happiness Chidi, 37 arrested, another raid in the house of Joy Zubaru, 45, led to her arrest with 30.5kgs of cannabis recovered.
In the same vein, operatives last Thursday stormed the Egbeta forest in Ovia North East where they recovered 112 bags of cannabis and 8 bags of seeds with a combined weight of 1,598.5 kilogrammes , while another team evacuated 27 bags of same substance weighing 314kgs at Amahor village in Igueben local government area.
In Mubi area of Adamawa, operatives on Tuesday 1st Nov. intercepted a Toyota Corolla car transporting 9,600 pills of tramadol. A follow-up operation later led to the arrest of the owner of the consignment, Mamuda Ramadan, (a.k.a Muller), while another suspect, Alhassan Muhammed, was arrested on Sunday 30th October along Abuja-Kaduna express road, with 136,000 pills of tramadol concealed inside his cars spare tyre.
Meanwhile. the Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd) while commending the officers and men of the MMIA, Edo, Katsina, Adamawa, and Kaduna Commands of the agency for the successful operations in the past week, urged them and their counterparts across the country not to rest on their oars until all drug syndicates operating in Nigeria are completely dismantled and the last gramme of illicit substance taken out of the streets.