Nigeria In Need Of 155,000 More Doctors

No fewer than 155,000 additional doctors at the ratio of one doctor to 1000 people would be need in Nigeria to achieve the Universal Health Coverage (UHC).Prof. Usman Ahmed, Provost, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Federal University Dutse has said this is to make more people have access to healthcare.According to World Health Organisation (WHO), Universal Health Coverage aims to ensure that all people have access to the needed services of sufficient quality without exposing persons (recipients) to financial hardship.Ahmed, who is also a professor of health sciences, University of Manchester, UK told the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday in Abuja that data from the Federal Ministry of Health shows that there were 45,000 doctors registered and practicing in Nigeria, which is a ratio of one doctor to 4008 people.“Even if we take it as one doctor to 4000 people and we want to have UHC, meaning a minimum of one doctor to 1000 people, we will need to have at least 200,000 doctors in Nigeria today.“ It also means that we will need nearly a million nurses because for each doctor we need several other nurses, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, audiologist etc. and we don’t have them complete in Nigeria,’’ he said.He said Nigeria should realise that WHO recommended one doctor to 600 people, adding that “if we use WHO’s recommendation, we may need more than 155,000 doctors today.’’The don recommended one doctor to 1000 people to replicate a model used in India, adding that India had 840,000 doctors in a ratio of one doctor to 1800 people.He said the Indian Universal Health Care Commission recommended that the country should migrate from one doctor to 1800 people to one doctor to 1000 people to UHC .“They call it Modicare. 

World’s Smallest Baby Born in California

A California hospital has disclosed the birth of the world’s smallest baby ever to survive, weighing a mere 245 grams (8.6 ounces) — the same as a large apple — when she was born.

The girl, nicknamed Saybie by hospital staff, was born 23 weeks and three days into her mother’s pregnancy at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women and Newborns in San Diego.

The father was told by doctors that he would have about an hour with his daughter before she passed away.

“But that hour turned into two hours which turned into a day, which turned into a week.” the mother said.

Doctors said Saybie was delivered via emergency cesarean section in December at 23 weeks and three days gestation in the womb after severe pregnancy complications that put her mother’s life at risk. A typical pregnancy lasts 40 weeks.

After nearly five months at the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit, Saybie was discharged home earlier this month weighing a healthy five pounds (2.2 kilograms) and sporting a graduation cap.

Sanwo-Olu appoints former head of service as new SSG

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has appointed a former head of service in the state, Folasade Jaji, as the new Secretary to the State Government (SSG).

Head of Service, Hakeem Muri-Okunola, announced the appointment in a statement on Thursday.

Mrs Jaji had served as the 17th Head of Service of the state’s public service.

She joined Lagos State Civil Service on October 27, 1980 at the State Judicial Service Commission before she was deployed to the Governor’s Office, Department of Political Affairs where she served from 1980 and 1982.