Federal Health Minister Lends a Hand to USAID Fistula Surgical Repair Clinic at Osun State Medical Center

Nigerian Minister of Health Professor Isaac Adewole performs fistula
surgery on a 37-year-old mother of four, alleviating four years
of continual suffering. The Minister assisted with a USAID-supported
free clinic in Osun State to highlight a nationwide initiative to
shrink Nigeria’s large backlog of cases awaiting treatment.

Minister of Health Professor Isaac Adewole took the Health Ministry’s efforts to rid Nigeria of untreated obstetric fistula into his own hands by “scrubbing in” at a free surgical repair clinic for fistula patients at an Osun State hospital in late July.

The Minister led a team of Nigeria’s top obstetric surgeons at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-supported event, which marked the commencement of a joint initiative between USAID and Osun State government to expand access to fistula repair treatments within the state. The initiative is part of a nationwide push to improve public access to health care services.

On the Side of an Orphan

A community health worker examines a child

It began with the loss of the father to a road accident and the mother to post- natal complications three months after her birth.  While, Bunmi (not her real name) gained a new mother and caregiver in her Aunt, Mrs. Oloye, there was still more to come for the toddler.   During a door-to-door HIV Testing and Counselling campaign, organized by the USAID-supported Local Partners for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (LOPIN), Bunmi was found to be HIV+.
  
Terrified and sad by the test report, Mrs. Oloye was, at the same time relieved that she had found an explanation for her niece’s worsening health condition.  Prior to the diagnosis Bunmi was sickly and sluggish and the aunt a local herb (Agbo) seller was at her wits end over the child’s steady health decline.

Fishing for Market Opportunities in Nigeria

Presenter Joy Michael narrates a how-to video on
fish farming produced by Chi Farms.

Nigerians consume nearly two million metric tons of fish per year, which creates a huge market opportunity for fish farming. A key ingredient in many national dishes, fish is an important source of protein that will see a booming demand as the country’s population grows.

But the fish sector faces challenges, too. More than half of the fish consumed by Nigerians is imported, and the price of imported fish have risen sharply. The government is taking steps to restrict fish imports fish to help encourage domestic production, but a gap in locally produced fish remains.

Abuja Summer Institute Opens to Accelerate Young Women in Digital Media

Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and University of California, Santa Cruz are among the contributors to the Abuja Summer Institute (ASI) taking place this week in Abuja and next week in Kano which is providing digital social entrepreneurship training primarily targeting northern Nigerian women.

The Journalist and Ethics

Freedom of the press is vital to the sustenance of democracy.  No wonder the media is described as the fourth estate following the executive, legislature and the judiciary.  May 3 is celebrated as World Press Freedom Day to highlight the state of the press and focus on violations of this freedom.  The U.S. Embassy Abuja held a series of events to celebrate this important day focused on different themes.  At an event on journalism ethics the Embassy Counselor for Public Affairs Aruna Amirthanayagam said in many places around the world, the media is under tremendous pressure with threats to their safety and wellbeing.  He added that reporting the news accurately has always been challenging requiring great sacrifice on the part of journalists.