Connect with us

Health and Safety

Aviation handlers threaten strike over NASS embargo on new NCAA rates

Published

on

NCAA, Police investigate how mangled corpse got to Lagos airport runway

The Aviation Ground Handling Association of Nigeria (AGHAN) has threatened indefinite strike over the National Assembly’s directive stopping the implementation of the newly approved safety handling rates by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

The association’s President, Mr Olaniyi Adigun, made this known to newsmen in Lagos on Monday.

The ground handling companies in Nigeria are Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) Plc, Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) Plc, Precision Aviation Handling Company Limited (PAHCOL) and the Swissport Handling Company

The newsmen report that NCAA had in August approved new safety threshold handling rates for the ground handling companies, the first time in 36 years.

The House of Representatives Committee on Aviation, however, directed NCAA to stop implementation of the new rates which was to commence on Oct. 1, 2021 (for international) and Jan. 1, 2022 (for local) operators,

With the new rates, the handlers can charge between 1,500 dollars and 5,000 dollars (passenger and cargo flights) for narrow and wide-body aircraft on international routes, respectively, while for domestic operators it was upped to N20,000 and N70,000, depending on the aircraft type.

Adigun told newsmen that the strike, which would begin on Friday would definitely have an adverse effect on the industry as the operations of the airline sub-sector would be paralysed.

He noted that the ground handling companies in Nigeria were expected to charge the same handling rates as their counterparts in the sub-African countries.

Adigun urged the government to allow the regulator to do its job without any form of interference from the National Assembly.

He said: “This will not help us with the safety applications that we have been pushing up. This is an industry that came up from the crisis safety management and had improved on safety and assiduously improving the commercial part.”

Speaking, Mr Olumide Ohunayo, Director, Research, Zenith Trave, urged the National Assembly to back off from interfering with the decisions taken by the regulator of the industry.

He said: “I think the National Assembly should back off from interfering with the decisions taken by the regulator of the industry. This will not augur well for us.

“We cherish our achievements on the safety level, based on the prowess of our regulator and the ability to sustain it over the years and that has made them to retain all certifications – FAA and ICAO.

“Rather, all they can do is to advice or raise a resolution and pass it across to the regulator or ask other industry players to speak on such issues instead of interfering directly on such issues.

“It boomeranged with what has happened with AOC of NG Eagle and it also boomeranged with the pressure being put on the ground handlers.”

Ohunayo, however, advised ground handling services not to withdraw their services but to consider continuing dialogue because they were a critical part of the industry.

Adigun said the ticket fares had increased from 1990 till now, reflecting the reality of today. The ticket they were paying N50,000, N60,000 for, was below N10,000; 20 years ago.

He asked if the ground handlers should remain stunted to the over 30 years agreement and their equipment was not procured in Nigeria.

Also, Dr Gabriel Olowo, President, Sabre Network, West Africa, said the increment in the handling rate was justifiable.

According to him, it is absolutely justifiable given global economic indexes on all factors of production that have increased astronomically, including severe currency fluctuations.

Olowo, who is also the President, Aviation RoundTable, said refusal by the government not to allow the prices to be driven by market forces suggests that the operators might be enjoying all sorts of subsidies, waivers, etc.

Commenting, John Ojikutu, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Centurion Security Services, noted that political interference had been a clog in the wheel of progress of the economic sector and caused downfalls of most Nigerian airlines, including Nigeria Airways.

 

Health and Safety

Japa: FG Prohibits Leave Of Absence For Health Workers

Published

on

The Federal Government has placed a ban on leave of absence for health professionals relocating abroad.

The Minister of State for Health, Dr Tunji Alausa, who disclosed this on Saturday in Abeokuta said that health workers going abroad to seek greener pastures must “henceforth resign their appointment before embarking on such journeys”.

The Minister who spoke during his visit to the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Aro, said the directive was contained in the Executive Order issued by President Bola Tinubu.

He said the decision was taken to combat the challenge of brain drain fondly called ‘Japa Syndrome’ confronting the health sector.

The minister also disclosed that the federal government had commenced aggressive recruitment of manpower in the health sector.

According to him,  the annual enrollment of Nurses which used to be about 28,000 had been increased to 68,000 adding that by the end of the year, it would have gone up to 120,000.

*President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

He said President Tinubu acknowledged the people as the biggest asset of the country and had vowed to take proactive measures to improve the health sector for their benefit.

On the shortage of manpower in the health sector, Alausa said the President had ordered massive recruitment of personnel to bridge the gap.

“In addition to the massive engagement of Nurses, we have equally doubled our enrollment for Doctors, Dentistry, and Pharmacists.

“However, the government has not prohibited anyone who wants to move to the UK or Australia to take up appointments not to do so.

“It is a free world. But, you cannot eat your cake and have it. If you are going, just resign your appointments with the federal government, rather than applying for a leave of absence.

“That is the Presidential Executive Order which has been communicated to all the Chief Medical Directors of Federal Government owned health facilities to implement,” he said.

The minister explained that the challenge had been that many health professionals who applied for leave of absence would travel outside the country to practice and make money, yet their names would still be in the payroll of the government

“So, to resolve this problem, the President has directed that any health worker going abroad to work should just resign his or her appointment.

“This way, you won’t be blocking others who want to work,” he said

Responding to demands on increased funding, infrastructural development and welfare packages of health workers,  Alausa assured that his ministry would leave no stone unturned to improve the fortunes of the health sector in the country.

The minister commended the Provost and Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Paul Agboola for his commitment towards providing qualitative healthcare for Nigerians.

Earlier, Agboola hailed the minister for his selflessness and passion to turn things around for good in the health sector.

He said that,  as a result of the approval given by the minister, the hospital had embarked on many new projects, including a 40-bed mother-and-child hospital

Agboola said that his administration remained committed to doing everything necessary and possible to continually make the hospital the centre of excellence in neuro-psychiatric across the globe.

Continue Reading

Health and Safety

Lagos Set To Enforce Drainage Right-of-way In Apapa

Published

on

The Lagos State government says it will start enforcement operations in Apapa to re-establish the three-metre drainage right-of-way for all its drainage channels on Monday.

The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, said this in a statement on Sunday in Lagos.

He said the enforcement was coming after the expiration of notices and convening of stakeholders meetings with the property owners earlier in the year to voluntarily move their fences that fell within the drainage setback.

He said the Ministry had served contravention notices to the buildings on the drainage setbacks.

He added that for several years, the ministry had not been able to access the eight major collectors for maintenance purposes due to encroachment which was a major contributor to flooding in the Apapa area.

Wahab said the state government was determined to find a lasting solution to flooding in Apapa.

He directed enforcement officers to ensure that all contravening properties were removed from the drainage right-of-way in accordance with the three metres required by law.

He gave the assurance that the government would not cherrypick properties during the enforcement process.

“We want to check the state of collectors in Apapa in order to evacuate and treat the collectors.

“The whole of the collectors in this area are blocked and the right-of-way taken over by individuals who moved their fences in order to acquire extra land thereby denying us access to the drains,” Tokunbo said.

Continue Reading

Health and Safety

NAFDAC NATIONAL STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN: Partners With Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Stakeholders

Published

on

…On Prevention, Detection, And Response To Substandard And Falsified Medicine

The NAFDAC has Vowed to close down the sale and distribution outlets Facilitating the Spread of Fake Drugs, as It stresses it’s determination to combat the incidence of Substandard and Falsified (SF) medicines in the country,

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control NAFDAC has subsequently engaged stakeholders in the pharmaceutical products supply chain in its resolve to put an end to the menace and effectively safeguard the health of Nigerians.

The Director General, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, at a stakeholders meeting organized by NAFDAC on Thursday, emphasized the need to explore how to combat the sale and distribution of Substandard and Falsified Medical Products within the supply chain, insisting that the Agency would not hesitate to clamp down on wholesale and retail outlets where fake drugs are dispensed for public use.

According to her, the engagement with Pharma supply chain stakeholders in Nigeria serves as a means of thinking together and putting in place a position that will represent or guide collective efforts and strategy to prevent, detect, and respond to substandard and falsified medicinal products, adding that the goal is to ensure that medical products in circulation are of the quality standard required and safe for public use. 

The NAFDAC boss noted that the high prevalence of SF in Africa is a major threat to public health, attributing this to the fact that regulation in the region is limited with about 10% of African National Regulatory Agencies NRAs having achieved ML3. 

L-R: Director, Laboratory Services (Drugs) National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mr. Victor Abiola, Director General, NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director Post-Marketing Surveillance, NAFDAC, Dr. Fraden Bitrus Dasniyam, and Director Narcotics and Controlled Substances, Mrs Yedunni Adenuga, during the Agency’s engagement with the pharma supply chain stakeholders for input on the National Strategic Document on Substandard and Falsified Products in Lagos…on Thursday

Prof Adeyeye noted with dismay that this allows for poorly regulated manufacturers to supply their products in Africa where technologies to detect SF and track/trace are limited. 

She added that the menace of substandard and falsified medical products threatens access to safe, efficacious, and affordable medicines, undermining health systems and the achievement of Universal Health Coverage globally.

With the mandate to regulate and control the manufacture, importation, exportation, distribution, advertisement, sale, and use of drugs, cosmetics, chemicals, detergents, medical devices, and packaged water generally referred to as Regulated Products, she noted that this puts a burden on the Agency to lead the fight against SF medical products in Nigeria and support efforts that will see a reduction in the prevalence of SF medical products both locally manufactured and imported. 

The DG explained that NAFDAC is not the only regulatory agency in terms of substandard falsified medicines, adding that the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) probably has more to do in the fight against fake drugs. 

She, however, relished a cordial relationship that exists between the two sister agencies, insisting that we must do this fight together. 

Prof Adeyeye explained that currently, NAFDAC is doing its best to fight this issue of Substandard and Falsified products, stating that the fight against Substandard/Falsified medical products is based on three broad thematic areas Prevent, Detect, and Respond (PDR). 

She said that NAFDAC operatives are not just going on the streets to look for substandard falsified medicines but also going after products that have been approved in Southeast Asia en route to Nigeria. 

She reiterated that 70 percent of medicines used in Nigeria come from outside which necessitated the establishment of a Pre-shipment testing scheme that has stopped over 124 products that were approved from coming into the Nigerian market. 

According to her, some of the SF medicines do not have content, some will not disintegrate, and some will not dissolve. In contrast, some of them have wrong labelling and all sorts of non-compliance, adding that the Agency is dealing with that now with the World Health Organisation (WHO). 

Prof Adeyeye further disclosed that most of the products stopped from coming into the Nigerian market have fake certificates of pharmaceutical products. Noting that it takes two to tango, Prof. Adeyeye opined that its not just India bringing substandard falsified medicines to us, it is us; Nigerians that connive with them to bring in cheap products at the detriment of lives in Nigeria. 

Furthermore, She disclosed that over 124 shipments have been stopped, adding that these are products that had been approved, that could have been in circulation in Nigeria for five years. 

So, if ten containers per year for one particular product or two containers per year should find their way into Nigeria, you can figure out what the consequences might be.

The NAFDAC boss, however, announced the berth of a new regulatory directive with emphasis on the source of raw materials used in the production process. For those that are registering new products, she said they must procure raw materials from approved sources like WHO Prequalified sources, FDA, or other stringent Regulatory Authorities. 

If you don’t source from a prequalified source, we will not register the product, she said. 

She, however, dispelled the news going around, over the alleged proliferation of fake drugs in the country, saying the proliferation news that has been going on is false. 

There is no proliferation of substandard medicines. We do a national survey, sampling of products using scientific methods from different parts of the country., she said, adding that the survey was done in 

2021 and 2022 for ant-malaria with a 10 percent prevalence level. 

We couldn’t do it in 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. She explained further, If you live very close to the border where people come in and out the prevalence may be higher there. Thats statistics. 

The average is about 10%, she said, insisting that proliferation is not synonymous with shortage because the two words are now used together. The fact that we have a shortage of medicines does not mean there is a proliferation of substandard falsified medicines.

 The survey for 2023 is not ready yet. We will publish 2021 and 2022.

She noted that the Pharmaceutical Supply chain plays a vital role in ensuring that safe, quality, and efficacious medicines reach the end users, adding that there is therefore a need to foster complementary partnerships that will seek to identify lapses in the supply chain system to improve the chances of winning the war on substandard and falsified medical products in Nigeria. 

We have formal and informal markets. Do not buy medicines from the informal market. We do a lot of raids in Oke- Arin, Idumota markets Lagos, Onitsha head bridge where you can buy a product maybe 50 per cent or 80 per cent cheaper because of low quality, she added, the state of the economy shouldn’t be an excuse for people to buy poison under the guise of cheap products.

I enjoin you to sustain your support to NAFDAC to ensure that only safe, efficacious, and quality medicines are used in Nigeria. NAFDAC, as the regulatory agency is seeking the support of all stakeholders in the pharma industry and supply chain system to improve our chances of winning the war on SF medical products.

The Supply chain stakeholders made very useful contributions for input into the National Strategic document to guide our collective efforts towards combating the menace of the SF in the country.

The stakeholders present at the supply chain engagements include the World Health Organization (WHO), United States Pharmacopeia (USP), Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria ( PMG-MAN), Association of Community Pharmacist of Nigeria (ACPN), Pharmaceutical Wholesalers Association of Nigeria (PWDAN), Nigerian Representatives of Overseas Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (NIROPHARM), Association of Pharmaceutical Importers of Nigeria (APIN), Association of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacist of Nigeria (AHAPN), Nigeria Army Medical corps, Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), National of Veterinary Medical Association(NVMA). Others are different companies represented under PMG-MAN, APIN, PWDAN, and Niropharm.

Continue Reading

Editor’s Pick

Politics