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General News of Tuesday, 13 July 2021

Source: www.mynigeria.com

Coronavirus: Nigerians have let down their guards - Physicians lament

Coronavirus vaccine Coronavirus vaccine

Nigerian Physicians under the aegis of the West African College of Physicians (WAPC) have expressed worry about the majority of Nigerians who have lost their guards in fighting the Coronavirus pandemic.

According to the Physicians, the majority of Nigerians do not observe the Coronavirus preventive measures anymore, whether in offices, worship centres or markets, among others.

They advised Nigerians to fully comply with the directives and the extant non-pharmaceutical interventions and to get vaccinated.

The Chairman of WACP Nigeria, Dr Benjamin Uzochukwu said, “In the country, we have generally relaxed and dropped our guards, hence, we are going back to square one. To worsen it is the emergence of one they call the Delta variant, which is a very dangerous variant of the COVID-19 virus because it kills faster.

“In fact, the Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu was quoted as saying the isolation centres are filling up fast now. So, people are being sent back to the hospital as more people are coming down with COVID-19. Covid-19 is real and, therefore, we must continue the non-pharmaceutical interventions. Wash your hands properly with running water. When that is not easily available, you use sanitisers to clean up your hands. Put on your mask properly and maintain some physical and social distancing.

“These things don’t cost much, but we hardly do them. Finally, it is important that we take the vaccination that is ongoing. We have discovered that there is a lot of hesitancy, even among our colleagues. So, it is important that you embrace vaccines.”

National Chairman/Vice President of WACP Nigeria Prof. Aboi Jeremiah Madaki, in his remarks, said: “Health indices provide nations, their health policy-makers and managers with essential information on key aspects of the health status of their populations. The Nigeria health indices portray the declining health status of Nigeria when viewed as a trend over the years and also when compared with regional and global standards.

“Crude Death Rate (CDR) gives the number of deaths occurring during a year per 1000 population and is a good indicator of the general health status of the specified population Nigeria CDR in 2019 was 12 (11.6)/1000 of the population. It was 15.1 in 2008; (UN World Population Prospect 2020) and has minimally improved over the years however, 12/1000 makes Nigeria a country with the fifth-highest death rate in the world and 2nd highest in Africa being only slightly better than Lesotho.

“Life expectancy at birth, another good indicator of the general health status of the people, is equally not very favourable in Nigeria. Nigeria has a life expectancy of 54 years (2017) but dropped to 52.2 years in 2019 (NPC 2019) compared with Mozambique at 59 years putting us only better than the Central Africa Republic with 52 years and one of the lowest in Sub Saharan Africa and 3rd lowest in the world.

“The country leadership needs to take urgent steps to reduce preventable deaths and improve the quality of life of the citizens. We equally call on health-related professional bodies, security agencies and the general public to support government efforts in reducing preventable deaths in the country and making the country better for all.”