The Paediatric Association of Nigeria, PAN, has staged an awareness walk on how to save premature and under weight babies.

The walk, tagged; “PAN Walk for IKMC” (Immediate Kangaroo Mother Care), was held on Tuesday in Akure, Ondo State Southwest Nigeria.

The President of PAN, Dr Olufemi Ogunrinde, said the walk was to raise awareness on what could be done to save premature babies from 2.5 kg downwards.

Dr Ogunrinde explained that a baby that was born prematurely would need heat, and that could be provided by placing the infant on a mother or caregivers chest.

He said “It is a walk to create awareness on Immediate Kangaroo Mother Care.

“That is what kangaroos do when they have babies, and it has been shown to work, that is what they do in many teaching hospitals, and we want people to know that anybody can do it.”

The PAN President stated that the walk was a prelude to the organisation’s annual conference, which would hold on Wednesday in Akure.

He said that the conference would also deliberate on improved children’s health in Nigeria.

Also speaking, Dr Muyiwa Alonge, Chairman of the Local Organising Committee of PAN Conference 2023, said that apart from ensuring body fitness, the walk was to sensitise stakeholders on vulnerable babies, especially the ones with 2.5 Kg weight and below.

Alonge stated that babies within such weight were at the risk of early mortality.

He said that IKMC encouraged keeping such babies glued to the mother’s chest.I

“It is a skin to skin contact. In that contact, there will be transfer of heat from mother to the baby, and it will keep the baby warm, the baby can be there for hours.

“This is found to be more effective than regular incubators that we use in the hospital.

“This mostly affects babies that weigh 2.5 kg or less. They tend to catch cold more easily, and that could be fatal, because the average weight should be 3 kg and above,”DrAlonge explained.

According to him, the 2023 conference of the organisation will look at optimising child health, in spite of the socio-economic challenges in the health sector, and the country at large.

Professor Ebunoluwa Adejuyigbe, a consultant at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, said that mothers practicing the IKMC method must ensure that the babies were placed in the position they would breathe properly.

According to Adejuyigbe, the initiative reduces cost and infection transmission.

“It also reduces cold, which is one of the conditions that cause infant mortality, particularly for the underweight babies.

“And it is not only the mothers that can do this, the fathers can also do it, even the grandmothers, as well as the older siblings.

“This also creates a greater bond because one cannot place a baby on the chest for such a long period and not love the child. That kind of child cannot be abandoned,” She said.

The Consultant maintained that such babies also had higher chances of survival than those placed in incubators.

According to her, the World Health Organisation has carried out a study on the initiative in many countries of the world, and found it functional.

NAN/ Mercy Chukwudiebere

The National Guild of Medical Directors ,GMD, has appealed to government at all levels to create an enabling environment and provide attractive incentives for doctors and other health workers.

The President of GMD, Dr Raymond Kuti said this in a communique issued at the end of the guild’s Annual General Meeting (AGM).

The theme of the AGM was ‘ Human Resource Management for Healthcare:Challenges, Strategies and Opportunities.’

Incentives

He said attractive incentives could make doctors and health workers who had left the country come back home.

Dr Kuti said; “Poor working conditions and weak infrastructure with chronic underfunding are compounding the issue with increased workload and overwork for those who remain in service.

“Limited career opportunities for advancement compounded by political interference and the lack of performance-based promotion.”

” This leads to low morale and poor attitude amongst the health workforce and the pervasive challenging political climate and insecurity is an important reason for uninhibited brain drain,” he said.

Dr Kuti said the lack of adherence to the Commonwealth Code of Practice for International Recruitment of Health Workers made it easy for other countries to recruit medical professionals with impunity.

He explained the guild had however identified strategies that can be adopted by government and private sector organisations to retain doctors in Nigeria and curb brain drain.

Kuti said’: ”One of such strategies is for the organisations to provide career advancement programmes and opportunities by investing in training, learning and development programs to keep abreast of new innovations.

“Develop and implement enhanced health sector salary and incentives schemes especially in deprived areas to improve quality of life…Skills such as effective communications, resilience, leadership, emotional intelligence, empathy, and quality assurance management must be actively taught to health professionals-starting early in schools. This will also help to improve communication channels and provide effective, ethical leadership and governance in healthcare institutions.”

Human resource

Dr Kuti also said the Human Resources (HR) management was imperative to ease burnout and minimise dissatisfaction while improving work-life balance for healthcare professionals.

He said “solutions to mitigate or reverse brain drain among healthcare workers in Nigeria must be practical and adopt a systemic approach, adding, ”there are short and long-term strategies.”

Dr Kuti said the large contingent of health workers in the diaspora was a pool of great resources that the nation can still benefit from through skills transfer, mentorship and the use of technology.

He urged that innovative approaches to increasing the pool of health workers available should be explored.

“This includes elimination of roodblocks such as licensing of doctors that discourage middle-level doctors from coming back to Nigeria.

“Rehiring of retired physicians on retainership or contract hosis to fill in the gaps created by doctors who have left the country and to also use their wealth of experience to mentor younger doctors,” Dr Kuti further stated.

He said the guild would engage with the government and all stakeholders in the implementation of the WHO policy on towns in advanced countries poaching healthcare workers from developing nations.

Dr Kuti also said: ”The guild would promote multilateral negotiations between Nigeria and the key countries doctors and other health workers emigrate to so as to secure controlled emigration on more profitable terms for the country.

“Resuscitation of an abandoned exchange programme that allowed residents and other cadres of health workers to go overseas for a specified period for specialised training and then come back to give back.

“Likewise, Nigerian resident doctors in training in the diaspora should be able to come home for short, specialised training periods that will be counted as part of their training,” he said.

NAN/ Mercy Chukwudiebere

Israel’s Hadassah Hospital has expressed willingness to support African countries to improve their health sectors by sharing best practices, developing research as Hadassah Hospitals is already at the forefront of global innovations.

Ms Barbara Sofer, the Director of Public Relations and Communications, Hadassah Office in Israel made this known on Tuesday in Jerusalem, while briefing some Nigerian Journalists on a tour to the hospital in Israel.

This is also as Sofer disclosed the several breakthroughs in research and procedures that Hadassah Hospital have recorded making it the solution center for terrible conditions.

One of such breakthroughs Sofer disclosed is a treatment for bone marrow cancer, Myeloma which is less expensive in Hadassah Hospitals and affordable for patients from across the world.

She said; “One of the latest things we are very proud of, is this new treatment for multiple Maloma.

“Getting it in the U.S cost money, but here our doctor has managed to legally create a less expensive version of this.

“And something that will be possible for not only our country but throughout the world and in affordable places that do not have the budget…So it is a very innovative treatment with a very high success rate. Israel’s Hadassah hospital develops breakthrough affordable treatment for cancer.

“We have a pro promising treatment for macro-degeneration and also is based on stem cells, Israel has an advantage that we are of as one of the counties that have stem cells available as opposed to the United States when they were banned to use this embryo stem cells.

“We now have treatment for macular degeneration using stem cells, a breakthrough treatment is back surgery where many people can have broken backs and they cannot undergo surgery because they are frail, we also have the wake surgery.

“That is the direction we are working in high tech innovations,” Sofer said

Open-door policy

The Executive Director, Hadassah Office in Israel, Ms Suzzie Benvenziti said that the hospital operates an open-door policy which makes it open to everyone irrespective of religion, and race.

Benvenziti said that “the hospital which is innovative and reassert hub has been able to thrive in Israel amidst several challenges.”

“The hospital has an open-door policy treating everybody without regards to religion, race and nationality and same is with the staff working here coming from every background.

“For this reason, in 2005, Hadassah hospitals were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and this is really one of the core elements of our values of the hospital
“The Hospital is a Center of excellence with over 200 research projects happening here at every time, we swerve more than 1 million people annually and we are at the fore front of innovation worldwide.

“Various departments have been named on top of their field, various projects have been recognized, acquired by companies from across the world,” Benvenziti said.

Anaesthesia Specialist in the hospital Holgar Fung said that there is a lot that African countries can learn from Hadassah hospital to improve medi-care in the continent.

Infrastructure

Fung, a Cameroonian Doctor in the center urged African governments to build health infrastructure, equip them, regular trainings of medical personnel, improve and carryout more procedures and treatments, conduct researches to meet global standards.

He said; “I am very hopeful about the African continent because there are more and more awareness because of the internet and the younger generation is becoming more and aware.

“On infrastructure, we need to have structures, not only build but equip. We need to train people, and also we need to create linkages.

“When it comes to training, we have a lot of medical schools on the continent but the problem is we do not encourage the culture of research which is really key and the center piece at Hadassah because the more you research the more you innovate, the more possibility you have to help people.”

He said; “Another thing on the structure is procurement of logistics, open market and non-monopolisation. Because of greed, only one person wants to control the whole chain for personal gains. We should work on ourselves for collective benefits.”

“We need to improve our offers of health care, because most of our people go to India and the truth is, Indi is not better than ours.

“Increase the numbers of procedure we do and this can only be possible if we train more people, we need to buy equipment improve in supply chain management,” Fung explained.

NAN/ Mercy Chukwudiebere