Cholera, a poverty-induced disease, has continued to ravagecommunities across the country. The disease which is preventable and treatable, has remained a major problem in Nigeria for years and the World Health Organization, WHO, says Nigeria has the highest burden of cholera in Africa. Lagos State has witnessed series of cholera outbreaks in the past, but the persistence of dirty environment with heaps of refuse on the streets and the roads, the blocked drains, poor sanitation facilities, lack of potable water and generally poor hygiene habits of many residents, are strongly pointing to another looming cholera outbreak. Coupled with restricted access to potable water and reliable toilet facilities, millions of Lagosians are at risk of cholera attack. Ignorance about proper personal and environmental hygiene practices as well as lack of prompt diagnosis only contribute to the problem. The UNICEF Water Sanitation and Hygiene, WASH, specialist, Drissa Yeo, said that lack of safe water and poor sanitation are important risk factors. ...

Investors from China have offered to fund the ambitious Federal Integrated Staff Housing (FISH) project launched last year by the Head of Service of the Federation (HoS), Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, with a commitment of $300 million (approximately N108 billion). The two Chinese firms, Global Hint Construction Company Limited ( GHCCL), and One Belt and One Road Financial Project Operation, signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the HoS to construct over 5,000 housing units for civil servants in the Federal Capital Territory and Nasarawa State under the mass housing programme for civil servants. They will collaborate on the task with local real estate firm, ZVECAN Consulting and Engineering Limited. According to the terms of the MoU, the Chinese firms will deliver 700 units of houses on 100 hectares of land in each of the housing estates in Apo Resettlement Scheme and Imperial City, Mpape in Abuja. In addition, the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation will liaise with Dangote Cement Company and other manufacturers to bring down the... ...

A South African court has sentenced former Perth student Henri van Breda to three life sentences for murdering three family members with an axe in South Africa. •    Van Breda murdered his parents and brother with an axe at the family’s mansion outside Cape Town in 2015 •    Family moved to Australia but returned to South Africa several years ago •    Judge said van Breda misled police, alleged family was attacked by intruder Van Breda was also sentenced to 15 years for the attempted murder of his sister Marli, who was unable to remember the attack. He received an additional 12-month sentence for obstructing the course of justice. Van Breda murdered his parents and brother with an axe at the family’s mansion in Stellenbosch, just outside Cape Town, in 2015. In sentencing Van Breda, Judge Siraj Desai said the attacks displayed a high level of innate cruelty and almost unprecedented degree of disregard for the welfare of his own family. “Each murderous attack upon a family member constitutes a very... ...

Researchers have suggested that excessive sugar consumption during pregnancy may harm children’s cognitive development, Ingredients. News reports. The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, looked at sugar in the diets of 1,234 pregnant women. It found children of those with the highest sugar consumption during pregnancy, particularly from sugar-sweetened beverages, had lower cognitive scores for memory, verbal skills and motor skills. Consumption of artificially sweetened drinks also was linked to lower scores, while children who ate the most fruit had higher cognitive scores. While researchers adjusted their results to account for a range of other health and socioeconomic factors, mothers who consumed the most sugar were more likely to have smoked during pregnancy, have lower education levels and lower incomes. Consumers continue to be wary of sugar and artificial sweeteners, spurring manufacturers to look for alternatives. According to Mintel data, 84% of Americans say they are limiting the amount of sugar in their diet, and 79% check labels for the types of sugar or sweetener used. There... ...

Dr. Thomas Savino, convicted of involvement in a long-running bribes-for-test referrals scheme with a now-defunct New Jersey firm is headed to prison. Federal prosecutors say Thomas Savino received a four-year sentence Thursday. The 59-year-old New York man had pleaded not guilty but was convicted last October on charges including conspiracy and wire fraud. His medical practice was based in Staten Island. Prosecutors say from July 2012 through April 2013, Savino received cash bribes totaling at least $25,000 from employees and associates of Parsippany-based Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services. Savino’s referrals generated $375,000 in lab business for the company. Fifty-three people, including 38 physicians, have pleaded guilty or been convicted. The scheme involved millions of dollars in bribes and resulted in more than $100 million in payments to BLS from Medicare and private insurers. ...

France has seen a sharp fall in the number of people smoking daily, with one million fewer lighting up from 2016-2017, a survey suggests. Such a drop has not been seen in a decade, according to Public Health France, which carried out the study. There has also been a decline in smoking among teenagers and those on low incomes. The study pointed to the slew of anti-smoking measures introduced to France as a likely reason for the decline. Recent years have seen neutral packaging, reimbursements for people using tobacco substitutes, higher cigarette pricing and campaigns like the national tobacco-free month. According the survey, in 2017 26.9% of 18- to 75-year-olds smoked every day, compared with 29.4% a year earlier. This amounts to a drop from 13.2 million smokers to 12.2 million over the period. France’s Health Minister Agnès Buzyn in particular welcomed the decline in smoking among those on low incomes, saying that “tobacco is a trajectory of inequality, it weighs particularly on the most disadvantaged and it gets worse”.A... ...

The Medical Guild has rejected the appointment of a non-medically qualified person as the permanent secretary of the state Health Service Commission, saying it contravenes the Health Sector Reform Law 2006 setting up the commission. Stating this in a communiqué during the Ordinary General Meeting of the Guild in Lagos recently, it said it was also rejecting the Lagos State Government’s appointment of consultant pharmacist into the state Health Services, as well as other circulars regarding radiographers and medical laboratory scientists. The communiqué reads in part: “It is our position that the word ‘Consultant’ in a hospital, refers only to a specialist medical practitioner of high ranking who is an expert in his/her field. We have observed that the conferment of the status of Consultant to any health worker apart from Medical Directors will lead to chaos and anarchy in the health sector. It will also adversely affect patient care and indeed promote widespread quackery in the state. In addition, the conferment of the status of Director on the Medical... ...