Author: Helen Okechukwu

Helen Okechukwu is an award-winning investigative journalist with three years experience. She specializes in health, accountability and transparency reporting.

To pilot programme aimed at ensuring safer deliveries for women in  four Local Government Areas (LGAs), the Sokoto State government has launched the

To pilot programme aimed at ensuring safer deliveries for women in  four Local Government Areas (LGAs), the Sokoto State government has launched the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII). The four LGAs include Isa, Sabon Birni, Goronyo, and Dange Shuni local government areas are among the worst affected by maternal deaths in the state. The state commissioner for health, Faruk Wurno, who chairs the task force committee inaugurated for the programme, said government was fully committed to driving the implementation of MAMII across the state. “A roadmap has been developed, and within days the task force will swing…

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Delta state map

A woman identified as Mrs Afornughe has been brutally lynched and set ablaze in Agbarho, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State, after she was wrongly accused of attempting to abduct a child. The victim, a watermelon seller known in the community, was alleged to have hidden a young boy in a sack on Wednesday, sparking outrage among residents who swiftly descended on her in a mob attack. Eyewitnesses said after asking to spare her life, the mob, acting on suspicion, refused to free her but went ahead to beat and burn her to death. Read Also: Police arrest two…

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herbal medicine

Pharmacists in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have renewed calls for greater recognition in Nigeria’s healthcare system, urging government to designate community pharmacies as Primary Healthcare Centres (PHC) while pushing for wider integration of traditional medicine. The call came in Abuja during the 2025 World Pharmacists Day celebration themed “Think Health, Think Pharmacists”, as declared by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) according to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). Abubakar Danraka, Abuja zonal coordinator of the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists (WAPCP), said pharmacists were leading efforts to standardise indigenous remedies. Read Also: Niger unveils 20 PHCs, pledges 40 more health…

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The Yobe State Emergency Management Agency has partnered with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to strengthen the

The Yobe State Emergency Management Agency has partnered with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to strengthen the capacities of local actors in addressing malnutrition among children and tackling other emergency situations. Speaking at a Dialogue Session with Local Actors in Northeast Nigeria on Thursday in Damaturu, Josephine Nneka, an emergency specialist at UNICEF’s Maiduguri office, said the initiative was designed to enhance access to children in hard-to-reach areas. “Due to security and other challenges, UNICEF and other development partners cannot be everywhere. But with local actors, we can be able to reach any child wherever he or she is.…

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The United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC) says it has trained 2,400 community volunteers across Nigeria as part of efforts to build

The United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC) says it has trained 2,400 community volunteers across Nigeria as part of efforts to build long-term resilience against cholera and other recurring outbreaks. Muhammad Saleh, a senior emergency management specialist at the U.S. CDC, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja, noting that the initiative was the result of a strong partnership between Nigeria and the centre. According to him, the joint effort focuses on strengthening surveillance, laboratory capacity, and community-level interventions to contain epidemics that have continued to affect parts of the country. “Cholera has been a persistent challenge…

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