HEALTH NEWS OF THE WEEK

World Health Assembly (77th) agreement reached to improve the International Health Regulations

One of the key achievements of WHA77 in the last week of May 2024 was the agreement on crucial amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR). Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO's Director-General, emphasized that the amendments aim to strengthen countries' capacity to detect and respond to future outbreaks and pandemics by improving coordination and introducing a pandemic emergency definition, solidarity and equity commitment, a States Parties Committee, and National IHR Authorities. Concrete commitments were also made to finalize negotiations on a global pandemic agreement within a year.

Stakeholders advocate the right policies to address unsafe abortions in Nigeria

Healthcare professionals and stakeholders in Nigeria stressed the immediate need for effective policies to address unsafe abortions in the country during a workshop organized by Media, Nigeria (MHR). Statistics indicate that between 1-2 million abortions take place in Nigeria annually, affecting around 29 out of every 1,000 women of childbearing age. Globally 13% or 1 in 8 maternal deaths were due to unsafe abortion, particularly impacting adolescents and young women. Experts believe that implementing appropriate policies, such as expanding the legal reasons for abortions, could help prevent these deaths.

More than 6 million Nigerians risk health services disruption because of NLC strike

Over 6 million Nigerians are facing potential disruptions in their access to health services as the Nigerian Labour Congress begins an indefinite strike on Monday, June 3. As reported by Business Day News, last year, an estimated 4.5 million Nigerians received outpatient health services and 1.6 million were admitted as inpatients across 33 federal tertiary hospitals, according to the Federal Ministry of Health. The nationwide strike, organized by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), stems from unmet demands including negotiations for a new minimum wage, the recent unchanged increase in electricity tariff, and the categorization of electricity customers into different bands.