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Tag: #Betta Edu

  • 2020 World Sickle Cell Day: Linda Ayade Calls on Warriors To Look On The Grand Side Of Life, Supports Them With Palliatives

    2020 World Sickle Cell Day: Linda Ayade Calls on Warriors To Look On The Grand Side Of Life, Supports Them With Palliatives

    By Elijah Ugani – Calabar

    The wife of the Executive Governor of Cross River State Dr Linda Ayade has called on Sickle Cell warriors to always look on the grand side of life, see themselves as Angels sent down from heaven to proffer solutions to mankind.

    Ayade was represented by the State Commissioner for Health Dr Betta Edu, made the call while declaring open the 2020 World sickel Cell day at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital UCTH, further to call on the legislative arm of Government to pass laws that will protect the rights of people living with sickle cells.

    Ayade further called all stakeholders across the Country and the World to support people living with sickle cells disease as burden of care is usually heavy for most families .

    “At a trying time like this where the entire World is going through unimaginable challenges and the difficulties of being confined due to COVID-19, the Economy is dwindling, Health Sector worse hit by pandemic and rate of Job loss rising, one can only but imagine what families with sickle carriers and the carriers themselves are going through. I feel your pain and will support in my own little way to see smiles on your faces”.

    Her Excellency also promised that “the Cross River state Government will be putting up a Bill to the House of Assembly to ensure that you all have equal rights, opportunities and privileges just like every other person out there”

    Dr Linda advocated that “all Sickle Cell patients be made automatic beneficiaries of the State Health Insurance Scheme also known as “Ayadecare” without charges and has gone further to donate a truck load of assorted palliatives in commemoration of this day.”

    Dr Edu reiterated the willingness of the CRSG to always support persons living with sickle cells disease in all ramifications stating the dynamic and humane nature of Sen Prof Ben Ayade who doesn’t derive pleasure in seeing anyone suffer. She charged scientist to go into further research on ways to improve the living condition of Sickle Cell carriers, and pleaded with health workers to continue care on carriers as some symptoms of sickle cell disease could be easily mistaken for COVID 19.

    Sickle Cell disease is an inherited blood disorder that makes the red blood cells assume a sickle shape thereby leading to blocking of blood flow, destruction of blood cells and inability to get oxygen to all parts of the body leading to pains, anaemia, that is shortage of blood blood and infections among others.

    Apart from medical challenges affecting the patients, they are also faced with socioeconomic concerns in areas like schooling, employment opportunities, relationships/marriages as well as high level of stigmatization.

    The theme for this years commemoration is ‘Keeping Hope Alive in Civic-19 Outbreak’.

    The United Nations declared June 19th every year to mark Sickle Cell day.

    Present at the event were Prof Merimeku; chairman of event, Prof Ikpeme, CMD UCTH represented by Prof Ngim, Dr Enyiama, Dr Ihenacho HOD Hematology UCTH and others.

  • U.S Government Commissions Upgraded Cross River State Emergency Operation Center for COVID-19, Commends Cross River State

    U.S Government Commissions Upgraded Cross River State Emergency Operation Center for COVID-19, Commends Cross River State

    By Admin

    The United State Government on Tuesday through her Ambassador Mary Beth Leonard joined the cross river state Governor, Sir Ben Ayade to virtually commission an upgraded Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for Cross River State, which has been equipped with support of the American people to track and control the spread of the deadly COVID-19.

    Cross River is the first of the nine states to receive the EOC upgrade. The commissioned EOC comes with a new call center. The EOC is coordinating the Statewide public health response to the COVID-19 outbreak and other diseases of public health concerns.

    Commissioning the Centre virtually, United State Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard commended the state government on several measures been instituted to curtail the spread of the disease and protect the health of Cross Riverians.

    She said the upgraded centers are now equipped as operational digital situation and communication rooms that powers and coordinate the state COVID response and other disease outbreaks, utilizing data integration, warehousing, and visualization to provide state officials transparent and real-time information on COVID-19.

    Her words “With the commissioning of these EOCs, Nigeria can better coordinate the COVID-19 outbreak response and surveillance activities, as well as any other emergent disease outbreaks or disasters, which will help to turn the tide of the pandemic within their state, ultimately the nation, and flatten the COVID-19 curve.”

    Speaking virtual from the Governor’s Office in Calabar, Cross River State Deputy Governor, Prof Ivara Ejemot Esu said “Though Cross River continues to have no documented cases, we need to be on our guard to do even more to ensure the COVID-19 pandemic is brought to a speedy end or controlled to the best of our ability in Nigeria.

    “We want seize this opportunity to continually invite USAID to come to cross river and strengthen our health system. We really appreciate this support”.

    The DG NCDC Dr Chikwe Ihekwazu, thanked The US Government for the support and pledged continued support to Cross River state who he said must be at the drivers seat and take full responsibility for the health of its people. He commended the state and asked for sustainability of the Upgraded EOC.

    On her part, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Betta Edu who was Physically present at the EOC, thanked the US government for the support, and held that the state is working closely with NCDC through the deployment of national Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) to support response activities in the state.

    Edu maintained that the EOC has a situation room and a call centre where staff are on 24 hours standby to receive calls from the public and track data/ information on COVID19.

    She thanked the US Government for their intervention stating that Cross River State will appreciate more support to strengthen the health system to address not just COVID-19 but any other outbreak in future.

    Edu stated that “the emergency operations center will serve as a central point of contact for public health activities and data collection including tracking of suspected cases in a consistent manner with up-to-date information shared among federal, state and local partners as well as with the public”

    Dr. Douglas Chukwu, Cross River State team lead for USAID partner Jhpiego, conducted a virtual tour of the new Emergency Operations Center for U.S. Ambassador Mary Beth Leonard and Cross River Deputy Governor Ivara Esu, DG NCDC and the Commissioner for Health.

  • Daniel Emori Bedridden With Spinal Cord Injury For 16 Years Cries For Help

    Daniel Emori Bedridden With Spinal Cord Injury For 16 Years Cries For Help

    By Admin

    An Abuja-based 37-year-old Daniel Emori from Adadama community in Abi local government area of Cross River state, has called on kind-hearted Nigerians to come to his aid over his health predicament.

    Daniel has been bedridden for 16 years now after an automobile accident he had in 2003 while working as a delivery van driver for a pharmaceutical company in Onitsha, Anambra state.

    He told LEADERSHIP that he now resides in Bwari area of Abuja having been abandoned to his fate without proper medical care since then.

    “It was after my S.S.C.E (WAEC) in the year 2000, I traveled to Onitsha in search of greener pastures. I started working in a plastic manufacturing company as a machine operator. After two years in the company, I went to a driving school for six months.

    “After I finished from the driving school, I started working as a driver before a pharmaceutical company employed me as one of the company delivery van drivers,” Daniel explained.

    For donations toward Daniel’s surgery – Account Name: Emori Daniel, Bank: UBA, Account Number: 2072008766, and for further enquires, Daniel can be contacted via phone number: 07031655209.

    According to him, the fateful day was October 10, 2003, and while on his routine duty of supplying the company’s products to customers, he had an encounter with a stray cow, which resulted into an accident.

    “Almost immediately, I sustained a spinal cord injury on the spot which has paralysed me till date.

    “16 years after all, effort to reach both my local and state governments of origin to get financial assistance for the required surgery and treatment has not yielded any fruitful result. That is why I am using this opportunity once again to appeal to fellow Nigerians and the general public to come to my aid.

    “Infections and pressure bedsores have eaten deeply into my body due to lack of medical care as a result of not being financially buoyant to take care of myself. I am gradually dying,” Daniel added.

  • Cross River Dismisses Bauchi Governor’s Claim, Insists The State Is Covid 19 Free

    Cross River Dismisses Bauchi Governor’s Claim, Insists The State Is Covid 19 Free

    The Cross River State Government has dismissed the claim by the Bauchi State Governor Bala Muhammed that 15 coronavirus (COVID-19) cases recently came from Calabar, the state capital, to his state.

    Briefing newsmen  in Calabar, the Commissioner for Health and Chairman of the State COVID-19 Respond Team, Dr. Beta Edu, denied such claims, insisting that there is no coronavirus in Cross River State.

    Her words “We want to make it very clear that the 15 said persons have nothing whatsoever to do with Cross River State. We don’t know how Bauchi came to that conclusion, because our borders have been closed for months now.”

    Edu maintained thatthe distance between Cross River and Bauchi states is far and one would have to pass through many states, which are already heavily infected, before reaching Bauch and wonder the possibility of contracting the virus through those states.

    Edu averred that “the state government had taken proactive steps on time to checkmate COVID-19 spread since January and the state shut its borders and made wearing of face masks mandatory and those measures explained why the state was yet to record any COVID-19 case so far”

    She expressed the determination of the state government to support the government and people of Bauchi State with facemasks, shields and Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) to check the upsurge of COVID-19 cases, adding, however: “We understand the pressure, pains and stress our brother, the Governor of Bauchi State, is passing through.

    “Cross River State stands with Bauchi State at this trying moment. It is not easy to have the highest number of confirmed cases in the whole of northeast of Nigeria, especially as it is leading the population of people that are probably not following the preventive measure reeled out by government.

    “At this point, we stand with the governor and people of Bauchi State. The governor of Cross River State is offering a hand of fellowship to Bauchi and all other states battling hard to contain the coronavirus.

    “To those who wish to accept this gesture, we would support you with face masks; we will support you with face shield and PPE, which are being produced in Cross River State.”

    She disclosed that Cross River State had tested 36 cases and conducted 530 screening so far since the pandemic started and they have all returned negative and the state government was still expecting support from the federal government, as it continues the fight to keep the state COVID-19 free.

    Officials of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had visited the state last month on a fact-finding mission and promised to create test centres at University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) and the Lawrence Henshaw Memorial Hospital (former Intensive Disease Hospital) in Calabar to enable more and massive testing, but so far, that has not been done.

  • Cross River State Deserves Some Accolades In The Fight Against Covid-19 – Olowu

    Cross River State Deserves Some Accolades In The Fight Against Covid-19 – Olowu

    By Elijah Ugani – Calabar

    The leader of a seven man delegation of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control NCDC, to Cross River State, Dr Omobolanle Olowu has stated that the state deserves some commendation in its proactive measures to fight Covid-19.

    Olowu stated this at the office of the Commissioner for Health who is also the Task Force Chairman on Covid-19, in Calabar today as part of its efforts to support state governments in the fight against the pandemic.

    Olowu however raised concerns of their initial fears that her delegation would be quarantined as earlier announced by the state government.

    The team lead commended the proactive initiative of the state to commence the fight against Covid-19 pandemic even when Nigeria had not recorded any incident.

    Her words, “Cross River deserves some accolades for the job they have done so far. The preventive measures, the production of nose masks and other proactive measures which they deployed, we really commend them.

    “We had the fear of being quarantined but all that is over now as nothing like that happened, we want to believe the measured put in place by the state has made the status (COVID-19) free.

    “There was a lot of anxiety before coming to Cross River, but I am glad we were given a warm reception.

    “We are surprised at the level of work that has been put in place so far, all the people we saw were all on nose masks with different teams at various points in the state”

    On her part, the state Task Force Chairman and Commissioner for Health, Dr Betta Edu, maintained that “It should be noted that Cross River was the first state to start the no mask, no movement policy, we blocked all borders too, very early and we were carrying out drills twice a day and later reduced it to once a day as part of proactive measures.

    “We want to make it known that we are not at loggerhead with the Federal government or NCDC, we are just protecting the interest of Cross Riverians.

    “We are partnering with UCTH and all medical and para-medical associations including Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, Medical Laboratory laboratory Scientists, nurses and pharmacists in the area of training and retraining for efficiency and quality service delivery as it concerns COVID-19”

    The team however still maintained the earlier position of Cross River State being Covid-19 free.

  • NCDC Meets With C’River Covid 19 Team In Calabar

    NCDC Meets With C’River Covid 19 Team In Calabar

    The Nigerian Center for Disease Control NCDC is currently in a meeting with the Cross State Covid 19 Task Force Team.

    The meeting which is held at the conference room of the Ministry of Health Headquarters, Calabar has in attendance members of the taskforce which I headed by its Chairman, Dr. Betta Edu and Commissioner for Health.

  • Nigeria Is Approaching A Difficult Era In Response To The Novel Corona Virus Disease Outbreak

    Nigeria Is Approaching A Difficult Era In Response To The Novel Corona Virus Disease Outbreak

    By Elijah Ugani – Calabar

    The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire has stated that Nigeria is approaching a difficult era in response to the outbreak of corona virus disease.

    The minister gave the explanation at the Presidential Task Force (PTF) daily briefing on COVID19.

    Ehanire noted that as the COVID-19 pandemic increases and progress to community transmission level in Nigeria, health ministry and other relevant government agencies were continuously seeking measures to check or break the transmission of the pandemic.

    Speaking further, he held that the target was to identify all positive cases and isolate both the symptomatic and asymptomatic to safeguard the health of the rest of the population as well as provide care to the symptomatic.

    Ehanire posited that the ministry “is continuously monitoring and reviewing the situation and responding with the dispatch of teams of experts to provide technical support to high burden areas or states grappling with epidemic control issues”

  • Covid 19: C’River Begins Training Of 400 Health Workers As Support Staff

    Covid 19: C’River Begins Training Of 400 Health Workers As Support Staff

    By Admin

    Cross River State COVID-19 Response team working with the Ministry of Health has commenced the training of 400 hundred health workers and other auxiliary staff like the sanitarian, ambulance drivers surveillance officers, etc.

    The training began with training of trainers for Infection Prevention and Control of the Corona Virus Global Pandemic has continued to gain more volunteers and commendation for the state Government.

    The training of trainers exercise which was held at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital conference hall, will ensure that the State is up to date with upgrade of its level of preparedness as we work to prevent the spread of the COVID-19. It will be recalled that the Cross River State Government has been collaborating with the UCTH to train health workers at a small scale but now the state has decided to train in large scale.

    Declaring the training open on Friday, Commissioner for Health in the state, Dr. Betta Edu, who is also the Cross River State COVID-19 Chairman restated government’s commitment to keep Cross River State COVID-19 free.

    She said the state most important priority is to prevent the disease, and maintained that state will continue to do everything within its might to improve the level of preparedness for the COVID -19 response in the state. The Commissioner reminded other participants that the state will be depending on them as trainers to equip others with the technical knowledge on how to handle the Infection Prevention and Control of this Virus.

    Edu addede that persons trained are expected to work at the three Isolation centers in the state with a 120 bed capacity put together. “Am so pleased with the large turnout of skilled professional volunteers. We are indeed together on this” she thanked The management of UCTH for all the support.

    The Chief Medical Director, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, UCTH, Professor Ikpeme Ikpeme, represented By the CMAC, commended the Governor, Senator Ben Ayade and the Health Commissioner, Dr Betta Edu for putting all efforts towards ensuring that the State continues to maintain her COVID-19 free status. He commended the government for it support to the institution, noting that the training will go along way to provide more skilled manpower for the response.

    The training will be done with twenty persons per each batch simultaneously at various venues in Calabar and Ogoja LGA.

  • President Buhari Reveals Total Amount In Covid -19 Donation Account

    President Buhari Reveals Total Amount In Covid -19 Donation Account

    By John Owen N. – Daily Post

    As the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 continues to roll out measures on how to curtial the spread of the pandemic in the country and manage its health and economic implications, President Muhammadu Buhari has commended public-spirited Nigerians and organisations for their financial and material support.

    President Buhari also revealed the total amount in the five bank accounts designated for the COVID-19 contribution.

    In a statement signed by his Spokesman, Garba Shehu and made available to DAILY POST on Friday, Buhari cited the provision of isolation, treatment and laboratory centres/facilities by individuals and companies such as Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, Guaranty Trust Bank and ThisDay Newspapers and Partners among others in several states and Federal Capital Territory.

    The President called on other privileged Nigerians and bodies to emulate these laudable gestures.

    According to President Buhari, “We are facing a national challenge and all hands must be on deck to navigate this difficult course. In this respect, all types of assistance are welcome, big or small. The spirit behind the contributions is salutary.”

    Records obtained from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation about lodgements from 111 individuals and organisations into the FGN Covid-19 Eradication Support Accounts in the five designated banks between April 1-30, 2020, indicated the total sum of Six Hundred and Ninety Seven million, Five Hundred and Thirty-Eight Thousand, One Hundred and Eight Naira only (N697, 538, 108.00).

    The above consists small payments of N5, N10, N14, N20 by individuals to huge deposits of N200 million by Dantata Property Development; N100 million by Ocean Trust Ltd; N25 million by NSITF; N20 million by Ebele and Anyichuks Foundation; N15 million by Nizamiya Hospital Abuja; and N10 million each by Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship and Association of Bureau De Change (BDC) respectively, among others.

  • Cross River Turns Back Trucks Conveying Almajiris At Gakem Border

    Cross River Turns Back Trucks Conveying Almajiris At Gakem Border

    By Elijah Ugani – Calabar

    JoCross River State Government has ordered the return of five trucks loaded with almajiris including other passengers back to the northern part of the country.

    The trucks were intercepted on Wednesday night by a border patrol team, comprising of Peace Corps members, Civilian Vigilantes, Covid 19 border taskforce and youth group at Gakem border town in Bekwarra LGA of the state near Benue state.

    The team lead and Commissioner for Youth and Skills Development, Hon. Signor Omang Idiege noted that the intensive search and blockade of inter state vehicular movement that led his team to intercept the trucks.

    His words “after a thorough check on the five trucks, we discovered that most of the passengers, aside goods, were almajiris who did not meet Covid 19 protocols, we had to force them to turn back”

    Idiege used the opportunity to appeal to the Chairman, Covid 19, to visit the truck parks in the state and caution their drivers against conveying almajiris who have not been isolated.