The World Health Organization (WHO) has praised four countries – Austria, Norway, Oman, and Singapore – for successfully removing industrially produced trans fats from their food supplies. These countries were awarded validation certificates for their strong policies, effective monitoring, and enforcement systems during the 78th World Health Assembly. WHO made this announcement on 19 May. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus said that removing trans fats is one of the cheapest…

To ensure access to quality Primary Healthcare (PHC) systems, the Sokoto State Ministry of Health, in partnership with the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) and supported by the Society for Family Health (SFH), has joined forces to prioritise healthcare services within the state. At a meeting led by the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Faruk Abubakar, a State Steering Committee for Community Pharmacists (CPs) and Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs)…

Nurses and midwives in Lagos State have received new professional kits, including scrubs and Crocs, under the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) led by Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu. The kits were officially presented on Monday by the First Lady of Lagos State, Dr. Claudiana Sanwo-Olu, during a ceremony at the Banquet Hall of the Office of the First Lady in Alausa, Ikeja. The event was also attended by the…

Mauritania has achieved a major public health victory with the elimination of trachoma as a public health problem, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced. The certificate of validation was presented during the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly in Geneva to Health Minister Abdallahi Sidi Mohamed Wedih and Ambassador Aïcha Vall Vergès. Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, praised the country’s milestone, calling it a sign of hope for other nations still battling…

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has explained its standpoint on the nationwide ban on sachet alcohol. Mr. Kenneth Azikiwe, Director of the FCT Directorate of the agency, while addressing the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday stated that the temporary lifting of the ban is only valid until December 31, 2025. He shared that the contemporary ministerial lifting of the sachet alcohol ban…

The Kano State Government, in partnership with the GAMMUN Centre for Care and Development, has reaffirmed its commitment to preventing and managing hypertension through public awareness and advocacy.

To strengthen and improve quality access to medicines, diagnostics, and medical oxygen, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), in a strategic partnership with Unitaid, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to enhance the manufacturing of health products in Africa. Unitaid, established in 2006, is a global health organisation that helps people in low- and middle-income countries get fast access to new and affordable health products, with…

A new study, which is at its early stage of development, has suggested that mushrooms could be used to treat patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease due to a component found in them. A group of researchers from the University of California at San Francisco, in a report published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, highlighted this discovery using the hallucinogenic drug psilocybin. The hallucinogenic drug psilocybin, found in magic mushrooms, according to…

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported a sharp rise in yellow fever cases in South America. According to the report from 29 December 2024 to 26 April 2025 (with Ecuador’s data updated to 2 May),  212 confirmed cases of yellow fever have been recorded in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Sadly, 85 people have died, giving a high fatality rate of 40%. This year’s number is three times…

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two octogenarians—80-year-old Ayuba Ashiru and 82-year-old Uloma Uchechi Sunday—alongside her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom, in a nationwide crackdown on drug trafficking. Ayuba, a convicted ex-drug dealer, was arrested in Sabon Gari, Kaduna, with 2.3kg of skunk. He admitted to peddling drugs for 46 years. In Abia, NDLEA operatives raided Uloma’s home in Umuaguma Ntigha Uzor village, recovering methamphetamine, tramadol, skunk, and N130,600…

Nigeria Customs Service has hand over large consignment of smuggled and unregistered pharmaceutical products worth N24.6 million to the NAFDAC.

Health experts have called for urgent intervention from governments globally due to the growing number and implications of obesity, stating that 2 in 3 adults aged above 25 may become obese by 2030 if nothing is done. One of the researchers who compiled the World Heart Federation report, Mariachiara Di Cesare, a Professor of Population Studies and Global Health, emphasized the need for health systems to strengthen and provide affordable…