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‘Nigerian children, others hard hit by diabetes, measles, genital mutilation’

By Ali Garba (Bauchi) and Abdulganiu Alabi (Kaduna)
10 November 2017   |   3:55 am
The national president of the Diabetes Association of Nigeria [DAN], Dr. Mohammed Alkali who is also the Chief Medical Director [CMD] of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital....

Osagie Ehanire

The national president of the Diabetes Association of Nigeria [DAN], Dr. Mohammed Alkali who is also the Chief Medical Director [CMD] of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital [ATBUTH], Bauchi has disclosed that at least 415 million peopleincluding children in the world live with diabetes.

Alkali disclosed this in a statement issued yesterday in Bauchi on the association’s preparation to celebrate the World Diabetes Day [WDD] on November 14 this year in Abuja .

Meanwhile, the Federal Government said it had earmarked N3.5 billion for the national vaccination campaign against measles, targeting 33 million children for immunization against the disease.

Minister of State for Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, disclosed this at the national kick-off of the 2017/2018 measles vaccination campaign at Miyetti Allah Primary Health Care (PHC) centre in Rigassa, Igabi local government area of Kaduna State.

Represented by Executive Director of National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA , Dr. Faisal Shuaib, he said: “Nigeria accounts for the highest burden of measles globally with 3.3 million unimmunized children.

Also, the ancient town of Akwuke in Enugu state of Nigeria was on 11th October 2017 thrown into turmoil due to traditional and cultural adherence.A source said that trouble started when Mr. Kenneth Ugwunze, a son of the town was brought  back to the village from Lagos to face the king and elders of the village on the accusation that he was destroying its tradition and culture of the village by refusing to bring his daughters for female genital circumcision.

Ugwunze was asked the whereabouts of his daughters for circumcision but he replied that he could not bring them for such barbaric acts because it is against his Christian belief and religion.

This did not go down well with the king and elders who accused him and his family of being witches because according them his refusal to bring his daughters for circumcision has resulted to some mysterious deaths in the village as his mother is the chief custodian of female genital circumcision in the village for decades. The king then asked the youths to take him to the village shrine for incarceration but in the midnight through the aid of some sympathizers he escaped.

The villager who said that he was among those that helped Ugwunze to escape also disclosed that the king and his kinsmen are utterly bitter with Ugwunze and have vowed to severely punish him according to their traditional laws wherever he is found.
 
 

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