Global COVID-19 activity is on the rise once more, reaching levels not seen since July 2024, according to recent data from sentinel surveillance sites. This was contained in the World Health Organisation (WHO) situational report shared to journalists on Thursday. The WHO reports that since mid-February 2025, the SARS-CoV-2 test positivity rate has climbed to 11 per cent, underscoring the need for continued vigilance. The increase in cases is being…

20 million Nigerians, representing 20 per cent of the country’s population, live with mental health conditions. A report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) indicates. According to the WHO, mental health problem is a disorder characterised by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotional regulation, or behaviour.  It is usually associated with distress or impairment in important areas of functioning. There are many different types of mental disorders.  It…

A fast-spreading cholera outbreak in Sudan has left at least 172 people dead and over 2,500 infected within just one week, according to the country’s health authorities. The epicentre of the outbreak is Khartoum and its twin city, Omdurman, although infections have been reported in several provinces nationwide. The spike in cases, which began in mid-May, is overwhelming a healthcare system already stretched thin by ongoing conflict and severe resource…

The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Prince Fagbemi, SAN, and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Chairman, Brig Gen Mohamed Marwa (Rtd), have expressed confidence that the amended NDLEA Act will boost Nigeria’s fight against drug abuse and trafficking once signed by President Bola Tinubu. Speaking at the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Drug Control meeting in Abuja, Fagbemi, represented by the Director of Public Prosecution, Mr. Mohammed…

Doctors in England are demanding a 29% pay increase to restore real-terms earnings to 2008 levels, warning that failure to act now would deepen NHS challenges and worsen staff retention.  The British Medical Association (BMA), which represents resident doctors (formerly junior doctors), began balloting its members this week for potential industrial action. The move follows widespread criticism of the government’s latest pay offer—a 4% increase plus a £750 one-off payment…

About 20 newly built and upgraded Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) of Level Two have been commissioned across 16 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Niger State. For quality and easy access to health facilities in the state, Governor Umaru Bago, at the commissioning ceremony held in Minna, Niger State, vowed to construct an additional 40 health facilities in the coming months. Describing the project as a significant milestone initiated by his…

NACA has urged healthcare providers, and other stakeholders to work closely together to eliminate pediatric HIV and ensure an HIV-free generation for Nigerian children as the world marks Children’s Day

In a bold move to tackle maternal and neonatal mortality, the Ondo State Government in collaboration with the Federal Government (FG) has launched a five-day co-creation workshop aimed at reducing maternal and newborn deaths by 30% by the year 2027. The workshop, themed “Maternal and Newborn Mortality Reduction Innovation and Initiative (MAMMI),” brought together stakeholders in the health sector to develop a strategic template for the effective execution of interventions…

Malawi’s Ministry of Health has confirmed three new cases of mpox in the capital city, bringing the national total to 11 since the country’s first reported case in April. Health officials say the outbreak is compounding already dire challenges in the nation’s fragile healthcare system, which has been rocked by recent cuts to U.S. government aid. The Public Health Institute of Malawi stated the new patients, aged between 17 and…

Forty-seven Nigerian medical students who fled the war in Sudan in 2023 are currently unable to register for the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) licensing exams due to missing travel documents. According to News Agency if Nigeria (NAN) report on Sunday, the students, formerly enrolled at Sudan International University (SIU), were evacuated during the conflict without proper exit visas, leaving many of their passports behind. With the National…

With cancer remaining a leading cause of non-communicable disease-related deaths in Nigeria and globally, three cancer centres are set to be commissioned for public access in the next couple of days. This move aims to improve Nigeria’s specialized healthcare system, with 500 clinicians to be trained, 2,000 cancer patients expected to be treated, and 350,000 people to receive diagnostic services yearly. According to a Nairametrics publication on Sunday, this announcement…

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted no fewer than six million opioid pills—including Tamol, Tapentadol, and Carisoprodol—and 332,000 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup at the Port Harcourt and Apapa ports. The street value of the seizures is estimated at ₦6.52 billion. At the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, NDLEA operatives, in a joint operation with Customs and other security agencies, uncovered six million opioid pills and 162,000…