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The Civil Society–Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) says no fewer than 70,000 children in Adamawa are malnourished with urgent need of nutritional support.

The Chairman, Steering Committee (CS-SUNN), Mr Sodangi Chindo, disclosed this during a state-level dialogue on nutrition financing and maternity protection on Wednesday, in Yola.

He said the figure was based on findings from the 2023 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS).

According to him, over 70,000 children in the state are in urgent need of nutrition intervention, adding that malnutrition remains a serious threat to child survival, growth and development.

“The NDHS 2023, conducted every five years, showed that 19.1 per cent of children in Adamawa are underweight, 4.2 per cent are wasted, while 39.7 per cent are stunted.

“The indices indicated improvement compared to the 2018 survey, which recorded 32.5 per cent underweight, seven per cent wasting and 48.1 per cent stunting,” he said.

He attributed the progress to the state government’s commitment of N300 million for procurement of nutrition commodities, which was matched through counterpart funding to N600 million in 2025.

The chairman, however, urged the government to increase funding, noting that only 3.5 per cent of the proposed 2026 budget, amounting to nine billion naira, would be required to tackle malnutrition in the state.

He explained that through counterpart funding arrangements, the state could access double the value of its investment, reducing the financial requirement from N18 billion to nine billion naira.

“In this regard, Adamawa State Government will need to invest only nine billion naira instead of the required N18 billion to address child malnutrition,” he said.

Chindo described nutrition as critical to health and development, adding that it remained one of the world’s most pressing health and human development challenges.

“Malnutrition is a major public health concern in Nigeria, with about 40 per cent of children affected nationwide.

“According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 45 per cent of under-five deaths were linked to malnutrition.

“Also according to WHO, Nigeria loses over 2,000 under-five children daily to malnutrition,” the chairman added.

Chindo called for timely release and utilisation of 2025 nutrition allocations.

He also advocated adequate budgetary provision for nutrition in the 2026 budget, based on evidence.

He further urged development partners, philanthropists and corporate organisations to align with the state’s nutrition agenda to mobilise additional resources. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Esenvosa Izah/Folasade Akpan

By Victor Adeoti

The Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, says overcrowded communities in Nigeria, like those in other African countries, are accelerating the transmission of infectious diseases.

Ogunsola said this was due to limited access to clean water, sanitation, and proper waste disposal, particularly in urban centres.

She made the statement while delivering the 1st Distinguished Lecture of the Federal University of Health Sciences (FUHSI), Ila-Orangun, Osun State.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the lecture was themed, “Climate Change, Cities and Infections: The Triple Nexus Shaping Urban Health.”

Ogunsola said in many such settlements, families shared communal toilets, makeshift drainage systems, and polluted streams—conditions which turned minor infections into widespread public health threats.

“African cities are transitioning into hotspots for climate-driven infections due to the sheer speed of their expansion and the fragility of the systems meant to support them.

“As cities grow outward and upward, infrastructure such as sanitation, drainage, and healthcare services lag behind, creating environments where diseases can spread easily and rapidly.

“Our cities are expanding faster than the systems designed to protect the health of the people living in them.

“When entire communities share limited water, toilet facilities, and drainage systems, infections spread with remarkable speed,” she said.

She added that rising temperatures recorded across the continent had a direct effect on the behaviour and survival of disease-carrying vectors.

“Warmer climates allow mosquitoes, flies, and other vectors to breed faster, spread more widely, and live longer, enabling them to transmit diseases year-round rather than seasonally.

“Mosquitoes, flies, and other vectors are thriving in warmer, stagnant environments created by rapid urban growth,” the VC said.

Ogunsola also noted that air pollution had become one of the most dangerous and underestimated drivers of respiratory infections in African cities.

“With millions relying on diesel generators, firewood, and fossil fuels, exposure to polluted air weakens immunity and aggravates chronic illnesses, especially among children and the elderly,” she said.

She urged governments, institutions, and communities to collaborate and adopt proactive measures to safeguard the continent’s future.

Ogunsola emphasised the importance of climate adaptation policies, expanded research, technological innovation, and robust public health surveillance systems.

According to the VC, the way forward lies in informed planning, stronger climate policies, investment in research, and a united resolve to safeguard the health of African cities.

Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of FUHSI, Prof. Akeem Lasisi, emphasised that the maiden lecture was not only timely, but essential for a continent currently grappling with environmental and public health instability.

Lasisi stressed that Nigeria, like many African nations, was already witnessing the consequences of shifting weather patterns, extreme heat, and overcrowding in emerging urban centres.

“This topic is not just academic; it is a lived experience already unfolding around us,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ayodeji Alabi

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has highlighted ongoing efforts to develop a vaccine for Lassa fever.

The disease, an acute viral hemorrhagic disease endemic in West Africa, is largely driven by poverty-related conditions, including poor housing, lack of rodent-proof food storage, and poor sanitation.

The Director of Science and Innovation at Africa CDC, Dr Mosoka Papa Fallah, disclosed this during the bi-weekly high-level regional news conference on Thursday.

Fallah explained that high mutation rates in viruses made permanent cures difficult and limited market incentives slow the development of treatments for diseases concentrated in smaller regions.

The director noted that ribavirin has been used for Lassa fever for decades, but side effects and limited effectiveness highlight the urgent need for a vaccine.

“Several countries and institutions, including The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and the Advancing Clinical Trials Excellence in Africa (AVAREF) have collaborated to develop candidate vaccines, and Phase 1 trials have been successfully conducted in Liberia.

“The Phase 2A trials are now starting in Nigeria,” he said.

He emphasised that the initiative represented a regional, collaborative approach, with African governments and partners contributing funding and expertise to advance vaccine development.

“Whenever we have a successful vaccine, it is a breakthrough in public health, and this regional strategy is designed to ensure long-term success,” he said.

Fallah said that the Africa CDC continued to closely monitor the vaccine pipeline while strengthening laboratory and epidemic response capacities across the continent to mitigate future Lassa fever outbreaks.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigeria has recorded at least 165 confirmed Lassa fever cases and 31 deaths over the past five weeks.

Among those infected are nine are health workers, highlighting the risk to medical staff.

In Kano State, a recent outbreak caused one death and two infections, but has now been brought under control.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is urging strict infection prevention and control measures in healthcare settings to protect workers.

Some states are also enforcing sanitation rules for food handlers to reduce rodent-related transmission.

Lassa fever is primarily spread through contact with rodents and can also be transmitted between humans when precautions are not followed. Cases typically peak during the dry season, from November to April. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Esenvosa Izah/Vivian Ihechu

By Maureen Okon

Dr Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), has formally announced the Diaspora Health Impact Initiative (DHII) 2026.

Dabiri-Erewa made the announcement during a news conference in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that DHII is a nationwide health intervention programme designed to harness the expertise of Nigerian medical professionals in diaspora to strengthen local health systems.

She said the initiative would run in the week preceding the 2026 National Diaspora Day, observed annually on July 25, under the theme: “Harnessing Global Diaspora Medical Expertise to Strengthen Local Health Systems for National Development.”

She described DHII 2026 as a structured national platform aimed at improving healthcare delivery and outcomes across Nigeria’s six geo-political zones.

The NiDCOM boss said that Nigeria’s diaspora health professionals represent a strategic asset beyond their annual remittances of over 20billion dollars.

She said that the knowledge transfer, specialist skills, mentorship and systems expertise could significantly transform the country’s health sector.

According to her, DHII 2026 will provide a coordinated framework aligning diaspora capabilities with priority to federal and state health needs, particularly in underserved communities.

She said that through the National Diaspora Policy and structured engagement mechanisms, diaspora professionals were already contributing to medical outreaches, capacity building, policy advisory and health education.

The chairman said that DHII 2026 would consolidate these efforts into a sustainable impact-driven framework.

Dabiri-Erewa said that the initiative would be implemented in collaboration with key stakeholders.

She listed the stakeholders to include the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Federal Ministry of Education, the Nigerian Medical Association and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.

She outlined participating diaspora associations and their areas of intervention, like the Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas covering Imo, Abia and Enugu States.

Others are the Canadian Association of Nigerian Physicians and Dentists in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Medical Association of Nigerians Across Great Britain in Kano, Kaduna and Sokoto States.

“There is also Concerned Medics Foundation in Borno State; the Nigerian Medical Association Germany in the FCT and Nasarawa State; and the Nigerian-Australian Medical and Dental Association in Bayelsa, Edo, Akwa Ibom and Rivers States.

“The Nigerian Doctors Forum South Africa in Lagos State is also not left out.

“The interventions, scheduled for July 20 to July 23, will focus on specialist services, maternal and newborn care, women’s health screening, interventional radiology, neurosurgery, sickle cell management, health governance and advanced diagnostics,” she said.

She said that DHII 2026 would be officially flagged off in Abuja at the beginning of Diaspora Week, after which participating associations would deploy to designated states.

She said that this would be in partnership with state governments and local institutions.

According to Dabiri-Erewa, expected outcomes include improved access to specialist services, enhanced clinical competence of local professionals through hands-on mentorship, strengthened institutional capacity and measurable health impact data to guide national policy.

She said that at the conclusion of the state-level interventions, all associations were expected to return to Abuja on July 24 to present impact reports during the National Diaspora Day celebrations on July 26.

Also speaking via Zoom was Dr Jide Menakaya, President of the Medical Association of Nigerians Across Great Britain.

Menakaya commended NiDCOM for the innovative and inclusive initiative.

He said that DHII 2026 was a national project involving doctors, nurses, midwives, pharmacists and other health professionals, particularly in maternal and newborn care in Northern Nigeria.

According to her, although logistical considerations limited physical coverage, professionals nationwide can engage through relevant clinical platforms and the NMA.

He said that the collaboration among the seven diaspora associations would extend beyond 2026, building sustainable partnerships and long-term expertise transfer in Nigeria’s healthcare sector. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Modupe Adeloye/Kadiri Abdulrahman