Health
Coca-Cola Unveils $20m ‘Safe Birth Initiative’ In Nigeria, Ivory Coast
By Dipo Olowookere
The management of Coca-Cola Company has set aside $20 million to support one of its new ideas tagged ‘The Safe Birth Initiative.’
The programme is aimed to support the Ministries of Health in Ivory Coast and Nigeria to tackle the high incidence of maternal and newborn mortalities in the two countries.
At a courtesy visit to the Ivorian President, Mr Alassane Ouattara, the Group President of Coca-Cola Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA), Mr Brian Smith, explained that the initiative will focus on strengthening the capacity of maternity and neonatal units in selected public hospitals in Ivory Coast and Nigeria.
He said with $2 million grant from Coca-Cola to Medshare International Inc, the US-based not-for-profit NGO will source essential equipment, kits and supplies worth about $20 million to enable safe deliveries and post-delivery emergency care for both mothers and their newborns.
The programme, he said, will also include the training of biomedical technicians and other appropriate hospital personnel by Medshare International on the operation, repair and maintenance of the donated equipment as well as the reactivation of a huge stock of faulty or abandoned equipment in public hospitals which is a major challenge for the country’s healthcare delivery system.
This intervention comes as Ivory Coast, which has enjoyed stability and one of the fastest economic growth rates since the end of a civil war in 2011, grapples with some of the highest maternal and newborn mortality ratios globally.
According to UNICEF’s 2016 State of the World’s Children report, 38 out of every 1,000 babies die within the first 28 days of birth while 645 out of 100,000 women die during or shortly after child birth due to avoidable conditions. This translates to 31,000 newborns and 5,400 maternal deaths annually in a country with a population of 24 million people.
In Nigeria on the other hand, about 40,000 women and 260,000 newborns (excluding 300,000 stillborn) die during or shortly after childbirth annually.
About 29 percent of the newborn deaths (90,000) occur in the first 24 hours of birth. For this reason, neonatal mortality is considered as one of the worst public health crises in Nigeria and a major priority for the government in its resolve to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Mr Smith noted that, “The commitment to help promote sustainable development in our communities is a fundamental part of Coca-Cola’s strategy for sustainable business growth.
“This program which demonstrates this commitment will help save the precious lives of many mothers and newborns and also support the remarkable efforts of the Ivorian government at rebuilding this vibrant country.”
In his remarks, President Ouattara welcomed Coca-Cola’s support for the Health Ministry, noting that maternal and child health was an area the country recorded a weak performance under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
“Your new program will translate to improved healthcare and budget savings which will be channelled to other needs” President Ouattara said, adding that his Administration has been able to drive fast growth in the economy at an average rate of 9 percent over the last 5 years. “Our emphasis now is to boost social expenditure with a focus on health, education and youth employment in order reduce the poverty level further from 50 percent to about 25 percent by the end of my current tenure.”
On her part, the Ivorian Minister of Health, Dr Goudou Coffi, noted that improvement of maternal and newborn healthcare is one of the public health priorities of the country and thanked Coca-Cola for the initiative.
“Coca-Cola’s support through the Safe Birth Initiative will significantly strengthen our healthcare capacity and boost our resolve towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets in relation to maternal and newborn mortalities,” she said.
President of Coca-Cola West Africa Business Unit, Peter Njonjo, stated that, “Coca-Cola has a special relationship with women who are pillars of our business, especially in Africa where women play a dominant role in our distribution and retail network. Just like our 5by20 Initiative, the Safe Birth Initiative which we will be implementing in Ivory Coast and Nigeria is a platform enabling us to promote the wellbeing of women, in this case, as it relates to the special but vulnerable experience of childbirth.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) says the number of Nigerians enrolled in health insurance has risen to more than 22 million.
The Director-General of NHIA, Mr Kelechi Ohiri, said this resulted from the implementation of the mandatory health insurance, which has gained momentum nationwide.
He said this on Wednesday at the Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Association of Insurance and Pension Editors (NAIPE) in Lagos.
Mr Ohiri said enrolment had increased to 22.03 million, representing a 35 per cent year-on-year growth, attributing this to stronger collaboration with state social health insurance agencies, ministries, departments and agencies, organised labour, employers, the private sector, and the gradual implementation of the mandatory health insurance provisions of the NHIA Act.
He said that the country had moved beyond policy formulation to delivering measurable improvements in healthcare access, service quality and consumer protection in line with the federal government’s health sector reform agenda.
According to him, Nigeria already has the necessary policies and legislation to achieve Universal Health Coverage, positing that the key challenge was effective implementation.
“The decisive variable is now implementation- consistent, rigorous and accountable execution that converts political commitment into healthcare access for real Nigerians,” he said.
Mr Ohiri said that the transition from the former National Health Insurance Scheme to the NHIA had strengthened regulation, consumer protection, accountability and strategic purchasing, while providing the legal and operational framework for achieving Universal Health Coverage.
He added that improving the experience of enrollees remained central to the Authority’s reform agenda.
According to him, NHIA has strengthened its complaints management system, introduced faster resolution timelines, and intensified compliance monitoring of Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) and healthcare providers.
He further added that NHIA had sanctioned facilities that failed to meet the required standards, adding that his organisation had resolved 3,878 complaints, representing an 87 per cent resolution rate, while 95 per cent of the cases were concluded within prescribed timelines.
Mr Ohiri noted that more than N14.2 million had been refunded to enrollees, while non-compliant healthcare facilities had been sanctioned.
He said NHIA had also introduced service standards, including a one-hour treatment commencement target for enrollees requiring urgent care, to improve access to timely and quality healthcare services.
The NHIA boss further disclosed that capitation payments to healthcare providers had been increased by 93 per cent.
He said fee-for-service reimbursements rose by 378 per cent to enable providers to invest more in personnel, equipment and infrastructure.
According to him, 7,592 healthcare facilities have been assessed under the SafeCare quality framework as part of efforts to institutionalise continuous quality improvement across the country.
Mr Ohiri also highlighted interventions targeted at vulnerable groups, including support for more than 48,500 pregnant women, expanded maternal and newborn healthcare services, the Vulnerable Group Fund, and improved access to healthcare for pensioners and retirees.
He said Universal Health Coverage could only be achieved if every Nigerian, regardless of income or location, had access to quality healthcare services.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The new one-hour authorisation response time ultimatum policy introduced by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has received the full backing of SUNU Health Nigeria Limited.
This policy was introduced by the agency to ensure enrollees get prompt approval codes to access care.
Healthcare service providers have been urged to report any Health Maintenance Organisation (HMO) that violates this initiative through an email, with the HMO in copy and a timestamp attached as evidence of the request. They may proceed to offer services to enrollees thereafter.
Speaking at the company’s second-quarter Providers’ Forum for the Lagos-Ogun region in Lagos recently, the chief executive of SUNU Health, Dr Moyosore Olomola, expressed optimism that this policy would improve healthcare delivery in the country, especially for enrollees, who crave quality service.
At the event themed Improving Quality and Access to Care Through Stronger Provider Network, and held at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) in Yaba, Lagos, Mr Olomola reaffirmed the HMO’s commitment to operating within legal and operational frameworks to guarantee adequate care for enrollees.
“Access to care and quality of care remain key priorities in our healthcare systems. We know quite well that deliberate collaboration, strategic partnerships, and a shared commitment to excellence are required to achieve these priorities.
“A strong provider network is doubtless the backbone of any effective healthcare system. It ensures that our mutual enrollees receive the right care, at the right time, in the right place, and at the right price,” Mr Olomola, represented at the programme by the organisation’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Dr Faith Nwachi, stated.
He further assured that SUNU Health would strictly adhere to the one-hour authorisation limit, stressing that this aligns seamlessly with one of the organisation’s core values—promptness and its corporate slogan, Humanity is the centre of our initiatives.
In a bid to further improve access and quality of care, SUNU Health also demonstrated its new operational software and Mobile app, aptly named SUNU Legacy.
Also speaking at the event, the NHIA Lagos State Coordinator (Ikeja), Dr Bethuel-Kasimu Abraham, noted that the forum’s expected outcome is to significantly reduce delays in accessing medical care.
Other key expectations include ensuring continuity of care, improving patient outcomes, and strengthening accountability among HMOs.
Addressing specific pain points faced by enrollees, the NHIA Ogun State Coordinator, Mr Dare Adefeso, acknowledged that the agency had received complaints regarding out-of-stock drugs and the discrimination of enrollees by certain providers.
He affirmed that the NHIA is actively addressing these issues, stressing that moving forward, every facility must ensure enrollees are properly catered to regardless of their status, provided they have an active health insurance plan.
Corroborating the long-standing legacy of SUNU Health, the Ogun State Director of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mrs Aishat Tiamiyu, shared that her agency is responsible for public information dissemination and has been enrolled with SUNU Health for over 25 years.
Commending the HMO’s stellar service over two decades, she called for the immediate enrollment of new NOA staff into the scheme.
The Providers’ Forum remains one of the strategic channels employed by SUNU Health to consistently engage healthcare providers, understand their operational challenges, introduce new software updates, and solidify partnerships aimed at fostering premium healthcare delivery across Nigeria.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has announced the recall of a sexual enhancement product known as WAP Sensual Enhancement Capsules.
In a statement on Monday, the Nigerian agency disclosed that the recall is due to “undeclared pharmaceutical ingredients” in the product, whose country of origin is unknown, but is marketed and distributed online in the US through eBay.
It was emphasised that the recall is being “voluntarily” made by the manufacturer, Best Supplements Best Prices Company.
The detection of the undeclared pharmaceutical ingredients was made by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Laboratory analysis by the US FDA revealed that the product contained undeclared sildenafil, tadalafil, and flibanserin, which were not mentioned on the product label. Such substances may include phosphodiesterase type-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors or related compounds commonly used for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, the statement by NAFDAC stated.
Sildenafil and tadalafil are ingredients in FDA-approved prescription drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction.
It was noted that these undeclared ingredients may interact with nitrates found in some prescription drugs, such as nitroglycerin, and may lower blood pressure to dangerous levels. Consumers with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart disease often take nitrates.
Flibanserin is the active ingredient in an FDA-approved prescription drug used to treat low sexual desire in women. Flibanserin can cause drowsiness, sedation, dangerously low blood pressure, and fainting, especially when combined with alcohol.
Consumers have been encouraged to report compromised products (medicines or medical devices) to the nearest NAFDAC office, call 0800-162-3322, or send an email to sf******@********ov.ng.
