Health
Tiwa Savage Joins Rotary for Polio Eradication

By Dipo Olowookere
Nigerian music star, Tiwa Savage, has been announced as the new celebrity ambassador of Rotary for the eradication of polio in the society.
Rotary started an awareness campaign for the eradication of polio it tagged ‘This Close’ and to achieve this faster, the organisation engaged the services of the singer.
Polio is paralyzing and life altering disease on the verge of becoming the second human disease ever to be eliminated worldwide after smallpox.
The singer’s participation in this program comes at a critical juncture. Last year, Nigeria experienced a polio outbreak that paralyzed four children after passing nearly two years without a case of the disease. Her involvement in the campaign will raise important awareness that will help ensure the outbreak is stopped.
Tiwa Savage, who has been described by CNN as Nigeria’s biggest pop star, will help Rotary achieve its goal of a polio-free world by raising awareness about the vaccine-preventable disease.
She administered a vaccine to children in Lagos in late April. Nigeria regularly conducts mass immunization campaigns to vaccinate every child under the age of five in the country.
Speaking on the development, the musician said, “This is a cause that hits close to home for me, not only as a mother of a small child, but as a proud Nigerian, whose country has been battling this disease for many years.”
Tiwa Savage’s musical career began when she was 16 years of age as a backup singer for George Michael. Before going out on her own, she worked with many other well-known musicians, such as Whitney Houston, Kelly Clarkson, Andrea Bocelli, Mary J Blige and many more.
Tiwa Savage is also a successful songwriter. She was signed to Sony/ATV Music before establishing her own label 323 Entertainment which teamed up with Marvin Records in 2012.
Last year, Savage signed with Roc Nation as a management client. Already a superstar in her home country, her social media has amassed to a staggering 2.9 million followers on Instagram, 1. 8 million on Facebook, and 1.7 million on Twitter.
Tiwa Savage announced her new partnership with Rotary last week in New York City at a World Immunization Week event.
As part of the ‘This Close’ campaign, Savage will be featured in ads raising her thumb and forefinger in the ‘this close’ gesture with the tagline ‘we’re this close to ending polio.’ Since the initiative launched in 1988, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99.9 percent, from about 350,000 cases a year to less than 37 cases in 2016.
The Nigerian music star joins other public figures and celebrities participating in Rotary’s public awareness campaign, including Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; actress Kristen Bell; Supermodel Isabeli Fontana; Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu; action movie star Jackie Chan; boxing great Manny Pacquiao; pop star Psy; golf legend Jack Nicklaus; conservationist Jane Goodall; premier violinist Itzhak Perlman; Grammy Award winners A.R. Rahman; Angelique Kidjo and Ziggy Marley; and peace advocate Queen Noor of Jordan.
Rotary launched its polio immunization program PolioPlus in 1985 and in 1988 became a spearheading partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative with the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and more recently the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Rotary’s roles within the initiative are fundraising, advocacy, raising awareness and mobilizing volunteers.
To date, Rotary has contributed more than $1.6 billion and countless volunteer hours to fight polio. Through 2018, every dollar Rotary commits to polio eradication will be matched two-to-one by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation up to $35 million a year. To date, more than 2.5 billion children have been immunized against polio, a paralyzing and sometimes deadly disease.
Health
AAN Seeks Swift Government Actions on Albinism Related Health Crisis

By Adedapo Adesanya
The Albinism Association of Nigeria (AAN) has intensified its call for swift actions by government and policymakers over the escalating health crisis facing persons with albinism (PWAs) in Nigeria.
The call came as the world marked World Cancer Day on February 4, 2025 under the theme United by Unique.
In a statement signed by the president of the association, Mrs Bisi Bamishe, the group said, “Our people are dying in silence, with little to no awareness of the immense health challenges we endure, particularly the devastating impact of skin cancer.
“Despite our continuous advocacy efforts, the plight of persons with albinism remains largely unaddressed, and the consequences are dire. Within just a few days, we have lost three of our beloved members to this ravaging disease.”
The group highlighted the graveness of the issue, adding that, many others are battling for their lives without access to proper medical care.
“The grim reality is that the community of persons with albinism in Nigeria is under siege, and urgent action is required to prevent further loss of lives.”
AAN used the calender event to call on the government across several tiers to join the fight and improve their inputs.
“The absence of structured government interventions, including access to free or subsidized skin cancer treatments, preventive measures such as sunscreen distribution, and specialized dermatological care, has left our community in a state of despair. Without immediate action, we will continue to witness the preventable deaths of our members,” the group lamented.
“We call on the federal, state, and local governments, the legislative arms at all levels, well-meaning individuals, local and international donors, and relevant stakeholders to stand with us in the fight against this dreaded disease,” it added.
It also noted that it has not rested on its oars with it’s multiple approach to raise awareness about the pressing health needs of persons with albinism.
“We have engaged policymakers, health authorities, and legislators, urging them to implement sustainable policies that will ensure access to affordable healthcare, routine skin cancer screening, and the provision of lifesaving treatments for affected persons.
“However, the time for mere discussions has passed. We need tangible, swift, and decisive actions to save lives,” the group added.
The association lauded the efforts and responsiveness of the Lagos State government and called on other states to follow in its footsteps.
“We must acknowledge the efforts of some state governors, development partners and NGOs that have done a lot for us. Special appreciation goes to Lagos State Government that has spent over N20 million on skin cancer patients in the last two years as well as provision of sunscreen, hats and umbrellas. We hope other states can follow suit as much as possible.”
Health
Nigeria Tightens Surveillance at Entry Point Amid Fresh Ebola Outbreak

By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria has tightened surveillance measures at entry points in the country owing to a fresh outbreak of Ebola disease in Uganda.
Last week, the Ugandan Ministry of Health confirmed the outbreak of the disease with one death and has now followed up with forty-four contacts.
With the latest development, the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Mr Jide Idris, in an advisory said although Nigeria has not recorded any outbreak of the disease, it is putting in place preventive measures.
“There are no cases of Ebola virus disease in Nigeria. However, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), in collaboration with relevant Ministries, Departments, Agencies, and Partners through the National Emerging Viral Hemorrhagic Diseases (EVHD) Technical Working Group, continues to monitor disease occurrence and has initiated measures to strengthen our preparedness in the country.
“These include the update of our EVD emergency contingency plan, heightened surveillance especially at the points of entry, and optimizing diagnostic capacity for EVD testing in designated laboratories in cities with international airports of entry and the National Reference Laboratory. In addition, all Lassa Fever testing laboratories can be activated to scale up testing if the need arises.”
According to the NCDC DG, there are no Ebola vaccines in Nigeria at the moment.
“There are vaccines and therapeutics available for some strains of the Ebola virus. The approved vaccine for the Zaire species (EBV) is not currently available in the country but can be obtained from the WHO Afro and does not protect against the Sudan virus,” he said.
However, the NCDC boss said, “Early recognition, isolation of patients, and initiation of supportive treatment, implementing infection and control measures in health facilities and homes, tracing and monitoring of contacts, and safe burial practices, significantly reduce morbidity and the probability of death.”
Ebola disease is a severe, and often fatal disease caused by the Ebola virus. It is transmitted to humans via contact with wild animals and spreads through human-to-human transmission via direct contact with bodily fluids of infected individuals or contaminated surfaces.
Symptoms may include fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, vomiting, diarrhoea, internal and external bleeding. It may appear 2 to 21 days after infection. Medical expertise are advised by the NCDC, in regard to this disease.
Health
i3 Shifts 3rd Cohorts Focus to Growth-Stage Healthtechs After Trump’s Orders

By Adedapo Adesanya
Investing in Innovation Africa (i3), a pan-African initiative to support African health-tech startups to commercialise and scale their offerings has decided to make a pivotal change to its third cohort selection to prioritise the immediate support for 5-7 growth-stage companies building the future of pharmacy care in Africa.
This comes after the US State Department’s “stop-work” directive for foreign aid issued on January 25, which is anticipated to impact the distribution of essential medicine in Africa’s healthcare supply chains.
President Donald Trump issued the executive order freezing US foreign development assistance for 90 days upon assuming office.
One of the affected by the order is the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which offers humanitarian and development assistance to other countries, primarily by giving fundings to non-governmental organisations, governments, and others. USAID is crucial in combating HIV/AIDS and other health matters.
According to a statement shared with Business Post on Monday, i3 says the order highlights and intensifies the need for locally-driven, market-creating approaches to health product distribution and service delivery across Africa.
So now the programme funded by the Gates Foundation, MSD, Cencora, Endless Foundation, HELP Logistics (a subsidiary of the Kühne Foundation), Sanofi’s Global Health Unit and Chemonics, will concentrate its immediate efforts on helping innovative growth-stage startups unlock major partnerships to rapidly expand access to patient care.
Fifteen leading startups will be selected for this cohort including 10 early-stage startups innovating in healthcare delivery or product distribution and five growth-stage startups building the future of pharmacy care.
Early-stage startups will receive a $50,000 grant and growth-stage startups will receive a $225,000 grant to unlock major partnerships that can expand patient access across the continent.
For startups in the cohort, i3 aims to facilitate at least 150 relationships with key healthcare organizations, worth at least $30M, which will expand patient access while creating valuable local jobs.
Entries for the 3rd cohort are open until February 28 after which the selected startups will be announced on April 30.
Launched in 2022, i3 has empowered 60 African health innovators across 16 countries, exceeding expectations with 43 per cent women-led and 20 per cent Francophone-led ventures.
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