COVID
PTAD: Implementation of pension adjustment in progress
Dr Chioma Ejikeme, Executive Secretary of Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), says implementation of the pension adjustment is in progress. Ejikeme in a statement on Thursday in Abuja through Mr Gbenga Ajayi, PTAD’s Head of Corporate Communications, noted that the implementation was most likely to commence at the end of April, going by the submissions that had been made by all stakeholders. “Ejikeme held a meeting with the National Executives of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) led by Dr Abel Afolayan on March 16, where the issue of the implementation of the pension adjustment was openly discussed. “The union gave their understanding at the meeting, the executive secretary told the union that the implementation is most likely to commence at the end of April, going by ...
South Sudan to dispose of 60,000 expired coronavirus vaccines
South Sudan is looking to dispose of 60 000 expired doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, as rollout of the drugs is hampered by scepticism among the population, a health ministry official said Monday. The doses in question were donated by African telecommunications company MTN and the African Union late last month. “When it reached here we later discovered that the (remaining) lifespan of this vaccine is just … 14 days,” Richard Lako, Covid-19 incident manager at the health ministry, told AFP. He said that the drugs had since expired and were “already locked somewhere to be dealt with as soon as possible.” Lako said the health ministry and drug authority were working on plans to dispose of the vaccines. “The ministry is now engaging the African Union and the team with regards to that e...
Guinea receives purchase of 300,000 Sinovac coronavirus vaccines
Guinea received on Sunday a shipment of 300,000 Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines purchased from China and is also set to receive a donation of 200,000 Sinopharm shots, Guinean Foreign Minister Ibrahima Khalil Kaba said. Kaba gave no further details on the Sinopharm donation. Guinea is reporting 93 new coronavirus infections on average each day, 59% of the peak in March. There have been 21,460 infections and 138 coronavirus-related deaths reported in the country since the pandemic began. The West African country has administered at least 109,296 doses of COVID vaccines so far, according to government data compiled by Reuters. Assuming every person needs two doses, that’s enough to have vaccinated about 0.4% of the country’s population. The World Health Organization will decide late this month or i...
Osun governor urges Muslims to embrace coronavirus vaccine
Gov. Ishaq Oyetola of Osun on Saturday urged Muslims to support government”s effort and embrace COVID-19 vaccination to curtail the spread of the life threatening virus. Oyetola gave the advice at the Ansar-Ud-Deen Society, Abuja Branch 26th Annual Ramadan Lecture and special prayer for the nation, held at the society’s Central Mosque at Maitama District, in Abuja. Newsmen report that the lecture has its theme: “Islamic Perspective on COVID-19 and Vaccination.” Represented by his Deputy Chief of Staff, Abdullah Binuyo, the governor enjoined Muslims to unite and fight COVID-19 that was threatening the life that Almighty Allah has given them to uphold and cherish. He noted that vaccination sustained life while coronavirus threatened it, saying that “as Muslims, we must rally round government...
Navy’s newest offshore survey vessel begins homeward voyage to Nigeria
The Nigerian Navy (NN), says its newest offshore survey vessel, NNS LANA, has began her homeward journey to the country. This is contained in a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja by the Director of Information, Naval Headquarters, Commodore Suleman Dahun. He, however, said the ship will visit ports in Lisbon, Las Palmas, Banjul and Tema-Ghana, before heading to Nigeria on May 17. According to Dahun, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Adm. Awwal Gambo, had addressed the ship’s company. The CNS noted that the foremost desire of every littoral state is to have a fleet with the right mix of platforms to meet its operational objectives. Gambo acknowledged that the homebound voyage of NNS LANA was another milestone in the NN’s fleet recapitalisation efforts. He added that the induction of N...
YPP provides girls with sexual reproductive health information
Young people, especially girls and young women faced significant barriers in accessing sexual reproductive health information and services before the COVID-19 crisis. Now, due to the pandemic, there is a risk that young people accessing this life-saving information will move even further from their reach. To address this risk, a one-day Community Forum for adolescent girls and young women was organised by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Youth Participatory Platform (YPP) in collaboration with the Lagos State Ministry of Youth in Abesan Youth Center, Alimosho, Lagos. At the event, the CDC Secretary, Mosan Okunola LCDA, Mr. Olufemo Ojo, said “We must continue to provide young girls with information that empowers them to make informed decisions regarding their health and wellbeing....
Coronavirus: Nigeria has vaccinated over 1 million people – NPHCDA
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has announced that Nigeria had so far vaccinated over a million eligible people out of its target of 70 percent of the nation’s population. The NPHCDA disclosed this on its official Twitter handle, on Thursday. Newsmen report that for the country to achieve herd immunity against COVID-19, it had set an ambitious goal of vaccinating 40 per cent of its over 200 million population before the end of 2021, and 70 per cent by the end of 2022. The country kicked off vaccination on March 5, 2021, commencing with healthcare workers who are mostly at risk to the infections, being the first responders. It noted that the vaccine roll-out would be in four phases, starting with health workers, frontline workers, COVID-19 rapid response team, l...
UEFA confirms Rome as Euro 2020 host city
Rome’s Stadio Olimpico has been “fully confirmed” as a venue for Euro 2020 matches after the Italian government guaranteed the presence of at least 25 per cent of fans, UEFA announced on Wednesday. Rome was one of four of the 12 host cities threatened with having its matches removed because it could not give assurances that spectators would be allowed into grounds given the ongoing Covid-19 situation. “The authorities have guaranteed at least 25 per cent of the stadium’s capacity will be filled,” European football’s governing body said. “As a result, UEFA considers Rome to be fully confirmed as a venue for the tournament.” Three other cities — Munich, Bilbao and Dublin — have until April 19 to provide UEFA with additional information on their plans for spectators. Rome is set to host the o...
CAC aims to register new company within three hours
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) says it will be possible for companies in Nigeria to be registered within three hours, before the end of 2021. The commission tweeted this on Sunday via its verified Twitter handle. It said, Garba Abubakar, the commission’s registrar-general, gave this indication at a recent dinner in honour of the chairman, governing board, CAC and Nigeria’s Ambassador-designate to Spain, Ademola Seriki. The commission announced last December the upgrade of its online registration portal for business. It said the upgrade would include features that allow the automation of key services and processes in line with the federal government’s effort to Nigeria’s ease of doing business. Newsmen had reported how the new regulation protocol has left businesses in the country s...
Saudi Arabia announces Ramadan starts Tuesday
Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest shrines, announced that the holy fasting month of Ramadan will start on Tuesday, as Muslims worldwide face coronavirus curbs. “Tomorrow, Tuesday… is the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadan this year,” the kingdom’s supreme court said in a royal court statement. Other Muslim countries, including Sunni-majority Egypt and Lebanon, have also announced that Tuesday marks the start of Ramadan, while Shiite-majority countries like Iran are expected to start a day later. The daytime fasting month of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. Observant Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk, and traditionally gather with family and friends to break their fast in the evening. It is also a time of prayers, during which Muslims typicall...
Minister calls for transformation of food system
Minister of Environment, Dr. Muhammad Abubakar, has called for the transformation of the food system to aid rejuvenation of soils and forest covers. Speaking at the 14th National Council of Environment virtually held with the theme: “Managing Emerging Environmental Challenges: Need for Strategic Approach to Sustainable Development in Covid-19 Era and Beyond,” the Minister said: “There is urgent need to transform our food system which has been the major factor in the issue of loss of biodiversity, fresh water and deforestation with its attendant effects on climate change. It is therefore, expected that pertinent issues of climate smart agriculture and agro ecological practices that will aid rejuvenation of soils and forest covers, among others,are discussed during this meeting.” He noted th...
Israeli study: South African coronavirus variant may evade protection from Pfizer vaccine
The coronavirus variant discovered in South Africa may evade the protection provided by Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine to some extent, a real-world data study in Israel found, though its prevalence in the country is very low and the research has not been peer reviewed. The study, released on Saturday, compared almost 400 people who had tested positive for COVID-19, 14 days or more after they received one or two doses of the vaccine, against the same number of unvaccinated patients with the disease. It matched age and gender, among other characteristics. The South African variant, B.1.351, was found to make up about 1% of all the COVID-19 cases across all the people studied, according to the study by Tel Aviv University and Israel’s largest healthcare provider, Clalit. But among patient...
