If there’s a ventilator shortage, doctors and ethicists say priority should be given to people with the best chance of recovery and most years likely left to live
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America is fast embracing multiculturalism, and the changing dynamics have produced new dilemmas for the various marketers who are required to reach the people whose language, customs, and tastes aren’t the same as the ?general market?. It will become more critical to have marketing plans that are culturally relevant as the diversity in the population increases and ethnic minorities such as the U.S. Hispanics gain more prominence. The present-day market trend makes it imperative for the marketers to analyze and adopt novel strategies in the same manner that they’ve allocated the corporate marketing resources through time, in order to use marketing to Hispanics to their advantage…
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Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, addressed Heads of State at today’s extraordinary G20 Leaders’ Summit focused on COVID-19.
He told them, “You have come together to confront the defining health crisis of our time: We are at war with a virus that threatens to tear us apart – if we let it.“
He welcomed the G20‘s initiative to find joint solutions and work together: “This is a global crisis that requires a global response.”
“Fight, unite, ignite“
Dr Tedros’ call was clear. First, he urged leaders to fight without excuses, without regrets – thanking countries who have already taken steps and urgently asking that they do more.
Second, he encouraged them to unite, stressing that no country can fight this alone, and calling on all countries to build on the solidarity already sparked by the crisis.
Third, he exhorted them to ignite a global movement to ensure this never happens again.
He welcomed G20 leaders‘ commitment “to do whatever it takes to overcome the pandemic” to protect lives and livelihoods, as well as restore confidence and shore up stability currently threatened in trade and other sectors, and to commit to take all necessary health measures and seek to ensure adequate financing to contain the pandemic and protect people, especially the most vulnerable.“
The G20 committed to support and further strengthen WHO’s mandate in coordinating the response, and called for full funding of WHO‘s Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan.
G20 members pledged to work together to increase research and development funding for vaccines and medicines, strengthen international scientific cooperation, and leverage digital technologies.
In turn, they tasked WHO and other relevant organizations with assessing gaps in pandemic preparedness and report the findings of this assessment to the G20 Finance and Health Ministers, in order to establish a global initiative on pandemic preparedness and response together.
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Substantial progress has been made during the past decade to prevent and control schistosomiasis (also known as bilharziasis) globally. The disease affects more than 230 million people, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa.
Progress is mainly due to large-scale periodic treatment of affected populations with praziquantel, the only medicine recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) against all forms of schistosomiasis. Regular treatment cures mild symptoms and prevents
progression to severe, chronic disease.
“Through progressive scale-up of periodic large-scale treatment
to control morbidity in many endemic countries, we are closer to
achieving the minimum target of 75% global coverage of all school‐aged
children,” said Dr Amadou Garba Djirmay, who leads WHO’s global schistosomiasis control programme. “But
if we want to achieve elimination, we must go a step further to
introduce snail control in hot spots and in areas targeting elimination.
This is bound to increase impact and accelerate progress towards
interruption of transmission.”
Expansion of treatment is largely supported by donated praziquantel from Merck KGaA of up to 250 million tablets annually. In 2018, almost 78 million children were treated, representing 63% of all school‐aged children eligible for treatment.
Schistosomiasis is an acute, chronic parasitic disease caused by infection with trematode worms of the genus Schistosoma. It is prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas, especially in poor, rural communities that have little or no access to
safe drinking‐water and basic sanitation. Infection is transmitted when people suffering from schistosomiasis contaminate freshwater sources when evacuating urine and faeces containing the parasite’s eggs.
Once an egg comes into contact with fresh water, it releases miracidia (hatchlings) which enter a snail and produce hundreds of cercariae (larvae) daily. The cercariae enter the human body on contact with the skin and develop into adult worms.
Besides treatment with praziquantel, eliminating snail hosts and improving sanitation are important methods for sustainable prevention of the disease. Dam and irrigation projects are known to be potential sites for outbreaks of the disease. Snail management,
often achieved through mollusciciding, can help to reduce transmission by eliminating these intermediate snail hosts.
In 2017, the World Health Assembly – WHO’s decision making body – adopted resolution WHA70.16 on the Global Vector Control
Response, calling on Member States to develop or adapt national vector control strategies and operational plans. The strategy aims to reduce by at least 40% the incidence of vector borne diseases, including schistosomiasis, by 2025.
In response, WHO is reinforcing snail control as part of its strategic approach to achieve the target of eliminating schistosomiasis as a public health problem and, ultimately, the goal of elimination of transmission. Snail control will complement mass
treatment campaigns and sustain the public health impact of this core intervention.
To facilitate implementation of snail control, in 2019 WHO published on specific, standardized procedures and criteria for efficacy
testing and evaluation and in 2017 a manual on the use of molluscicides in the field. WHO is also planning to strengthen capacities
of health staff in medical malacology in order to reinforce snail control activities in countries.
In the past, molluscicides (particularly niclosamide1 based products) were widely used in schistosomiasis control programmes. For example, in China programmes largely relied on snail control for over 30 years to overcome the disease as a public
health problem. In other parts of the world, however, snail control programmes were gradually discontinued and competencies faded away.
“Snail control is a crucial component of the global schistosomiasis elimination strategy,” said Dr Rajpal Yadav, Scientist, WHO Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases. “It
is time we look for new snail control products that are cost–effective
and of low risk to humans and the environment. Some efforts are being
made to explore molluscicide compounds from plants, marine algae and
microorganisms.”
An integrated control strategy involving mass treatment with praziquantel, snail control and environmental modification, wider access to sanitation and safe water, economic and environmental development, health education and poverty-alleviation can greatly
contribute to sustainable control and elimination of schistosomiasis.
WHO’s new road map on neglected tropical diseases for 2021–2030, due to be launched later this year, advocates enhanced financial and political support to achieve the target of interruption of transmission. Additional research to address gaps,
develop tools and optimize the impact of existing programmes with snail control will complement the core strategic approach.
There are two major forms of schistosomiasis – intestinal and urogenital.
Intestinal schistosomiasis usually results in diarrhoea and blood in the stool; enlargement of the liver and of the spleen and portal hypertension are common in advanced cases.
Urogenital schistosomiasis is characterized by the presence of blood in the urine. Chronic infection results in fibrosis of the bladder and ureter that can evolve to hydronephrosis and create conditions for bladder cancer.
In women, urogenital schistosomiasis can cause vaginal bleeding, pain during sexual intercourse and nodules in the vulva, a condition now described as female genital schistosomiasis. In men, urogenital schistosomiasis can induce disease in the seminal
vesicles and prostate.
1Limitations with the use of formulations based on niclosamide include restrictions on the usage of water immediately after application and temporary toxicity to non-target aquatic organisms including
fish, amphibians and invertebrates.
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In trying to enforce the closure of markets as ordered by Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State, the police brutalised and fired teargas canisters at traders and buyers at Ifon Market on Wednesday morning.
The governor had on Tuesday ordered the closure of all weekly markets in the state to curb the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The government stated that only daily markets would be allowed to operate because they attracted small number of persons at a time.
However, in enforcing the order, the police in Osun embarked on extra-judicial activities by harassing and brutalising buyers and sellers at Ifon Market.
Some buyers caught in the melee, explained to our correspondent that they went to purchase food items but were attacked by policemen.
“Police officers stormed the market in large numbers and teargassed everyone both young and old.
“The market was filled with people from all over the state, we had to rush out of the place to escape beating from the police,” one witness said.
Another resident explained that her husband had to hurriedly go in search for money after the pronouncement by the governor so that they could stock some food items in the house.
She said, “What would people eat during the period of staying at home if they couldn’t get food?
“Why should people be dispersed with teargas while trying to get items to be used for a long time during the course of this epidemic?” a woman queried.
The residents urged the state government to revisit the order and give people the opportunity to stock their houses with food items before closing all markets.
“Yesterday’s act was not needed at this point where people live from hand to mouth.
“I strongly call on the appropriate authorities to look into this and check on those who might have been injured during the ruthless act by police officers,” one of the affected residents of the state said.
While speaking, another resident of Osun said, “Government and prominent people in the state should also help by providing materials and items which will help to alleviate suffering at this hard time.”
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The Advocacy for Integrity and Economic Development has urged the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control to stop wasting “limited testing kits” on political office holders and government officials.
In a statement on Thursday by its Director of Media and Publicity, Comrade O’Seun John, the organisation said the unchecked usage of the scarce testing kits for COVID-19 on government officials and politicians is appalling and a disservice to ordinary Nigerian, who deserve to be truly tested.
The statement reads, “We have noticed with utmost dismay the unending wastage of scarce testing kits for COVID-19 on politicians and political office holders at the detriment of the masses.
“We find this endeavour as a disservice to the people of Nigeria who should be the primary focus of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control and Ministry of Health.
“From several reports, the NCDC conducts an average of two tests on governors, senators, House of Representatives and Assembly members, Chief of Staff to the President amongst other influential figures in the country.
“These individuals have been solely responsible for the decades of decay and backwardness our health care system is facing. They stood aloof and budgeted billions of naira for frivolous expenses while the citizens suffer in penury, they do not deserve to enjoy the benefits from magnanimous philanthropists who have inconvenient themselves to help Nigerians.
“It is also on record that most, if not all, of the cases recorded or perceived in the corridors of power have been caused by the sheer refusal to submit to simple emergency protocols and checks at the airports. Nigerians should not then be the ones suffering for the ego and pride of these few ones.
“While we acknowledge that not every Nigerian will get tested for COVID-19, it is extremely important that these testing kits are kept safely for the primary use of the average Nigerian.
“The present statistics of less than 200 individuals who have received testing from the NCDC is disgraceful for a population of almost 200 million people. NCDC must channel its resources on improving the testing rates for Nigerians.
“The NCDC should leave the politicians alone and focus on Nigerians who are more in number and at a greater risk. If any politician feels the need to get tested, such politician can charter a flight to Europe, Asia or America where they get their routine medical check-up.”
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Olabisi Deji-Folutile
Olabisi Deji-Folutile
The world is facing its most trying and unprecedented times as the last few weeks have been most challenging for almost everybody. What started in Wuhan, China, as an epidemic, has put the entire world in disarray. Major streets across the globes have become empty. Both the rich and the poor are being ravaged by the plague of COVID-19, which the World Health Organisation has rightly described as a pandemic. Work places have been shut; religious and social gatherings banned and many countries are on total lockdown, in a bid to curb the spread of this viral disease. Expectedly, schools are also affected across board. Every day people are being told to embrace social distancing and suddenly things like human contacts, hitherto considered as free gifts of life, are becoming very expensive.
No one knows when this whole chaos will end, so people are making different kinds of adjustments to cope with the situation while it lasts. Many companies have shifted their operations online. Likewise, many schools have opted for e-learning, making use of available technology for teaching and learning.
Universities around the world are making use of communication technology to ease the effects of the global pandemic on their academic calendars. In China, universities are going for online teaching instead of in-class teaching; the ones in Australia have moved their classes online just as UK universities have suspended face-to-face teaching. Turkey started its remote university classes on March 23. In Kenya, universities have activated communication between lecturers and students via social media platforms and emails while classes have gone totally online in the Philippines and Kyrgyzstan. Teachers in France have been working with their students on Zoom.
Just a few days ago, Ghana’s President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, directed the ministry of education to collaborate with the ministry of communications in rolling out open learning programmes in response to the closure of all educational institutions in the country. In the same vein, Mount Kenya University’s Vice-Chancellor Peter Wanderi, has announced the extension of online teaching platforms for regular students to facilitate the learning process. And to take care of the over six million students that have experienced disruption to their studies, ten North African and 12 Arab countries have begun work on an e-learning initiative to facilitate open and online education.
These are some of the steps being taken across the globe to bridge the gap created by school closure in the wake of COVID-19. Unfortunately, while all these activities are going on in other parts of the world, Nigerian government has not said anything about steps being taken to take care of its students’ community. Rather, the only message from the Federal Government was a total closure of all tertiary institutions and FG-owned unity schools till further notice. A statement issued by the National Universities Commission simply said universities would remain shut for one month while the Education Minister, Adamu Adamu, said tertiary institutions would remain shut indefinitely.
Assuming government has been overwhelmed by the burden of controlling the spread of COVID- 19, hence its silence on options for learning for its teeming student population, one would have expected the higher institutions themselves to at least say something, but as it is, they too are not helping matters. The silence in our universities has been deafening. To worsen the situation, the Academic Staff Union of Universities, decided to choose this time, of all times, to embark on an indefinite strike. One wonders how the academic body manages to feel comfortable being on a strike at a time when researchers across the globe are busy looking for solution to a pandemic that is ravaging the entire world. This kind of action makes one query the essence of having Research and Development as a core component of tertiary education in Nigeria when researchers can be nowhere to be found at a critical time of societal needs.
By now, our researchers should be adding their voices to the various efforts being made towards developing a vaccine or cure for COVID-19. After all, universities are expected to proffer solutions to societal problems. This is a wrong time for ASUU to embark on an indefinite strike. This should be a time of strategising and proffering solutions. This is really the time for everyone to get involved. Besides, I think Nigerian universities should also be more forthcoming on their responses to the challenges posed to their students by COVID-19.
As it is, religious organisations are doing far better in terms of their responses to the effects of this pandemic on their primary constituencies. Many of them have devised other means of getting the attention of their members following several government directives prohibiting either gatherings or limiting the number of people allowed to congregate at a time. Almost all the churches have switched to online platforms for their services. How come religious organisations are working hard to keep their flocks and both government and higher institutions in Nigeria are just moving on as if all is well? No word on how to keep the students busy or keep them engaged using available online technology! Should teaching and learning be restricted to the classrooms alone in this 21st century?
Nigeria has always been described as a religious society. Corona Virus has further exposed the smartness of our religious bodies and the dullness of those in charge of our public educational institutions. This is not an attempt to blame any religious organisation for having the foresight to deploy technology in reaching their audiences. Instead, it is a wakeup call to managers of our educational institutions to adopt and use available technology to help their students at a time like this.
Apart from the National Open University of Nigeria, which basically runs online, I doubt if there is any other public university in the country that has capacity for online teaching. This is in spite of the launch of the Nigerian Communication Satellite known as NIGCOMSAT by the Nigerian Government first in 2007 and then NIGCOMSAT-IR in December 2011, to provide critical ICT backbone infrastructure to support e-learning, among others in the country.
What is the essence of investing so much money in a communication satellite if it cannot be deployed at a time of need? Those in charge of NIGCOMSAT, the commercial arm of Nigeria’s space centre, have consistently claimed that the technology has the capacity to cover the entire Africa. If that is the case, why is the country still struggling to deploy internet connectivity facilities to its schools to aide e-learning? If we are truly a serious country, by now, all the schools in urban and rural areas should have been connected to the e-learning services.
No doubt, COVID-19 has exposed Nigeria’s unpreparedness for e-learning. But, we can’t afford to remain where we are. That is why it is important for every institution to start thinking of how to deploy available technology in the world for the good of their students at this critical period. Universities should as a matter of urgency migrate online. This shouldn’t be another season of waiting and probably wasting for the Nigerian student. There is no reason why any higher institution worth its name should suspend all academic activities until the end of Corona Virus with all the available resources and technology in the world today. The minimum expected of them is to upload teaching resources online for students to have access to them. At least this will give the students the opportunity to learn on their own.
This is also an opportunity for telecommunications companies like Glo, MTN and the rest of them to make a difference in Nigeria’s educational institutions. They can as part of their corporate social responsibility decide to boost internet facilities in universities and other educational institutions; or provide data at cheaper rates to help poor students have access to the internet for online learning.
I know there are obvious stumbling blocks to digital learning in Nigeria. Many students don’t even have access to devices while the cost of buying data is still high. These challenges and others have provided telecommunications companies a huge opportunity of making a difference in Nigerian higher institutions by providing e-learning solutions and broadband connectivity to universities and other higher institutions.
They can as part of their corporate social responsibility decide to boost internet facilities in universities and other higher institutions; or help poor students who have limited or poor internet access to enhance online learning.
Olabisi Deji-Folutile is the Editor-in-Chief of Franktalknow.com and member of the Nigerian Guild of Editors. Email: bisideji@yahoo.co.uk
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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is preparing a smartphone application that can track movements of individuals in an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19, according to Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) Khairy Jamaluddin.
He said a similar application had been launched in Singapore which has managed to successfully trace infections through the detection of close contacts.
“A few days ago, Singapore launched a mobile phone app called ‘TraceTogether’ that can track the movements of people so that in a positive case, they can look at the individual’s movement history and warn others who have been near the patient to be screened,“ he said while appearing as moderator of an online forum on Mosti’s official Facebook page today.
The forum entitled Adapting to the Challenges of Covid-19 was attended by three panelists who are fellows of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia, namely Prof Datuk Dr Awang Bulgiba Awang Mahmud (epidemiologist); Prof Shamala Devi Sekaran (immunology and virology); and Prof Dr Mahendhiran Sangaran Nair (scientific and statistical data).
Launched on March 20, the TraceTogether app can identify people who have been within 2m of Covid-19 patients for at least 30 minutes, using wireless Bluetooth technology. Its developers say the app is useful when those infected cannot recall whom they had been in close proximity with for an extended duration.
Meanwhile, Mahendhiran said the implementation of such an application must be in line with robust regulation as well as educating the public on the importance of technology and data usage in the wellness industry.
“It’s about educating the population on how the data is used, a lot of awareness, and having regulatory framework on who gets to see and use the data, on what circumstances,“ he added. – Bernama
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GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government will issue full payments for April to June to rickshaw peddlers affected by the Covid-19 outbreak next month.
State Tourism Development, Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said each rickshaw peddler would receive a sum of RM500, which included an allowance of RM300 and a one-off cash assistance of RM200.
“I have communicated with various sectors to understand the needs of the various parties and I have also conveyed the needs and recommendations to the state government to get the best help for them.
“The payout is expected to benefit about 318 peddlers,“ he said in a statement today.
The state government previously allocated RM100 a month to peddlers in the state to help those with no fixed income.
Yeoh said a total of 1,367 tour guides registered with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture would also receive a one-off cash assistance worth RM500 each.
“10,000 e-hailing drivers in Penang will also receive RM300 one-off assistance while 2,248 taxi drivers will benefit from an initial incentive payment of RM300 with an additional RM200 one-off.
“All of these assistance is part of the Penang People’s Aid Package announced by Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow yesterday. I will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that the people and sectors that need the most help will benefit, ” he said.
Yesterday, Chow announced a RM75 million People’s Aid Package to be distributed to 15 target groups involving over 400,000 recipients who are affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. – Bernama
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KOTA KINABALU: In an effort to curb Covid-19 outbreak, the Sabah government issued several more new directives today including a 14-day quarantine order at designated centres for individuals and students from overseas who entered the state directly.
State secretary Datuk Safar Untong said students and individuals who came back to Sabah from other states during the Movement Control Order (MCO) would be issued a stay-home notice and required to do self-quarantine at home for 14 days.
“Sabah Covid-19 Command Centre today also wants to inform that food aid distribution to groups who are directly affected by the pandemic, has begun from 3pm yesterday.
“A big portion of this aid is expected to reach the target group by today, while the rest would be handed over soon,” he said in a statement here.
Safar said the one-off RM500 special aid allowance to the poor and hardcore poor would be paid via online starting today by the district offices.
“For those without bank account, payment would be done by cash, while the RM300 one-off assistance to the B40 group or badly affected groups namely taxi drivers, farmers, fishermen, breeders, mountain guides and porters, as well as freelance tour guides, would be credited into to their respective accounts starting today,” he said.
Safar added that for vulnerable groups such as elders, orphans, and the disabled, involving 62,638 people and single mothers (6,500) in the state, the RM300 would be credited beginning tomorrow. – Bernama
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