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Weeks after the decrease, COVID-19 deaths on the rise again, WHO laments
The World Health Organization has decried the increase of COVID-19 deaths after 10 weeks of decline.
This was disclosed by the WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom, at a media briefing on COVID-19 held on Monday in Geneva.
Adhanom noted that the increase in COVID-19 deaths is evident in five of the six WHO regions.
“Last week marked the fourth consecutive week of increasing cases of COVID-19 globally, with increases recorded in all but one of WHO’s six regions. And after 10 weeks of declines, deaths are increasing again,” Adhanom said.
He added that the spike in COVID-19 death and cases can be attributed to the surge of the Delta variant in different countries.
The DG said, “We continue to hear reports from all regions of the world about hospitals reaching capacity.
“The Delta variant is ripping around the world at a scorching pace, driving a new spike in cases and death.
“Not everywhere is taking the same hit though, we’re amid a growing two-track pandemic where the haves and have-nots within and between countries are increasingly divergent.
“In places with high vaccination coverage, Delta is spreading quickly; especially infecting unprotected and vulnerable people and steadily putting pressure back on health systems.”
Aside from the Delta variant, other variants and low vaccine coverage also attributes to the increase in COVID-19 cases and death toll.
“As countries lift public health and social measures, they must consider the impact on health workers and health systems.
“In countries with low vaccine coverage, the situation is particularly bad.
“Delta and other highly transmissible variants are driving catastrophic waves of the case, which are translating into high numbers of hospitalizations and death.
“Even countries that successfully managed to ward off the early waves of the virus, through public health measures alone, are now amid devastating outbreaks.
“Particularly in low-income countries, exhausted health workers are battling to save lives amid shortages of personal protective equipment, oxygen, and treatments.
“Vaccines have never been the way out of this crisis on their own, but this current wave is demonstrating again just what a powerful tool they are to battle back against this virus.
“Delta is now in more than 104 countries and we expect it to soon be the dominant COVID-19 strain circulating worldwide.
“The world is watching in real-time as the COVID-19 virus continues to change and become more transmissible.”
The Kano State Government has inaugurated a 14-member committee tasked with reviewing existing education policies in the state.
Inaugurating the committee on Thursday in Kano, the Commissioner for Education, Dr Ali Makoda, said that the committee was constituted by the Kano State Executive Council to assess the state’s education policies.
“This committee was originally scheduled to be inaugurated by the governor, but due to prior engagements, he has delegated the responsibility to me so that we can begin our work immediately,” Makoda stated.
The Commissioner outlined the committee’s terms of reference, which include reviewing the four existing education policies in the state to assess whether they align with the cultural and religious beliefs of the people.
“Evaluating the feasibility of implementing the policies, and making recommendations to strengthen the state’s education system.”
He noted that the four policies to be reviewed include the Kano State Girls’ Education Policy, Kano State Gender Equity and Social Inclusion Policy, Kano State Non-State School Policy, and Kano State Teacher Development Policy.
Makoda announced that the committee has been given three weeks to submit its report, and urged the members to leverage their expertise to produce recommendations that would enhance the state’s education sector.
In his response, the committee chairman, Malam Abdullahi Dutse, assured the commissioner of the committee’s commitment to work collaboratively to meet the expectations placed on them.
“Considering the diverse expertise of the committee members, I believe the government has selected individuals with the right skills to address the challenges facing education in the state. We will work diligently to provide the necessary report,” he said.
The committee’s members include Malam Abdullahi Dutse (Chairman), Prof Abdallah Uba -Adamu, Habibu Dan Almajiri, Alhaji Danlami Garba, Kano State Commissioner for Women, Children, and Disabled Affairs Hajiya Amina Abdullahi, and Isa Ahmad.
Other members are Prof Tijjani Naniya, Malam Kabiru Hanga, Munzali Mustapha, Prof Auwal Halliru Arzai, and Dr Bashir Aliyu -Umar.
The remaining include the representatives of the Emirate Council and Civil Society Organizations, and Ibrahim Bawa, Director of Archives and Publications, who will serve as Secretary of the committee.
The U.S. Deputy-Secretary of State, Kurt Campbell, has extolled Nigeria’s partnership in the successful repatriation of funds linked to forfeited luxury real estate and Galactica Star Superyacht. (more…)
President Bola Tinubu has congratulated six Nigerians named by President Joe Biden among the 400 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in the United States.
This recognition, established by former President Bill Clinton in 1996, is the highest honour bestowed by the United States government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their careers.
This year’s awardees, announced by Biden on Jan. 14, are employed or funded by 14 participating United States government agencies, Mr Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Spokesman, said in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.
The Nigerian honourees include Azeez Butali, Gilbert Lilly Endowed Professor of Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, University of Iowa; and Ijeoma Opara, Associate Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences), Yale School of Public Health, Yale University.
Others are: Oluwatomi Akindele, Postdoctoral researcher at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; and Eno Ebong, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Biology at Northeastern University;
The rest are: Oluwasanmi Koyejo, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University; and Abidemi Ajiboye, Executive vice Chair of the Case School of Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, and Case Western Reserve University.
Tinubu commended the awardees for their achievements in science, technology and engineering.
He noted that recognising the talents of the awardees underscored Nigerians’ vast potential to excel both at home and on the global stage.
Tinubu looked forward to the honourees sharing their multidisciplinary expertise to benefit Nigeria’s development efforts under the Renewed Hope Agenda. (more…)
Kano inaugurates 14-member committee to review education policies
U.S commends Nigeria over Galactica funds repatriation efforts
Tinubu congratulates Nigerian scientists, engineers on making Biden’s honour list
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