Wednesday, December 5, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Health & Wellbeing

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

21

UCH celebrates Tony Anenih Names geriatric centre after him KEMI OLAITAN IBADAN

F

or the old and young ones within Ibadan, the Oyo State capital and outside the state, penultimate Saturday will be a day that will not be forgotten for a long time to come as they converged at the University College Hospital (UCH) for the official commissioning of Chief Tony Anenih Geriatric Centre. Indeed it was a parade of who is who that came to felicitate with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain and former Minister of Works that the centre was named after. The list of dignitaries include wife of the former Oyo State governor, Chief (Mrs.) Oluwakemi Alao-Akala; royal entourage from Edo State; Brig-General Raji Rasaki; Dr. Saka Balogun and Oyo PDP Chairman, Hon. Yinka Taiwo.

With the lawn court of the centre adorned with beautiful canopies for the dignitaries, the scorching sun could not deter the array of dignitaries to be part of the epoch-making ceremony with the visitors to the tertiary hospital awed by the various magnificent cars by the dignitaries.

The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital, Prof. Temitope Alonge, a renowned medical practitioner while taking the guests through the nitty-gritty of medical profession, said geriatric as a sub-specialty of internal medicine deal

with taking care of the elderly people. According to him, with their training, geriatricians are able to distinguish between diseases in reality and the effects of normal aging in the elderly, maintaining that they are there to assist with the unwanted effects of aging on the body.

Prof. Alonge who explained that aging is a process that comes with a decrease in the physiological reserves in all the organs of the body and bringing health challenges that include dehydration, insisted that the key concerns of the geriatrician regarding his patients are functional ability, independence and the quality of life.

He said, “ He (geriatrician ) will have to come to terms with the so-called geriatric giants which are the major categories of impairment that appear in elderly people, especially as they become frail and begin to fail. These giants include immobility, instability, and impaired intellect or memory. “ Other common problems that impact the life of the elderly include visual impairment and hearing loss which can lead to social isolation, depression and dependence on other people to talk to other people or receive information over the telephone. In addition, visual impairment along with one of the giants (instability) increase the incidence of falls in the elderly with the attendant consequences – head injury, fractures and sometimes death. One other factor that merits mention is the large number of co-morbidities that trail the

Chief (Mrs) Alao-Akala, Prof. Chukwu, Chief Anenih, Professor (Mrs) Dora Akunyili and Prof. Alonge unveiling the plaque at the commissioning of Chief Tony Anenih Geriatric Centre, UCH, Ibadan at the weekend.

elderly such that they are on medications for various ailments. Polypharmacy has become an emerging challenge as drugdrug interactions are rife with the use of multiple drugs for multiple ailments that are common place in the elderly. “ The CMD while noting that health care has become expensive in the world, stated that the resolve of the management of the hospital to be part of the global practice led to the submission of a proposal to the Federal Government in the 2011 capital subvention for the construction of a geriatric centre in the first teaching hospital in the country.

His words, “ In line with the Federal Government policy of partnership with corporate bodies and individuals to as-

sist the government in providing affordable health for her citizenry, I sought permission from and obtained same from the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, to engage individuals and corporate bodies to endow some of the buildings with the sole aim of making these sites functional as the endowment will include furnishing, equipping and rehabilitation in some instances. “ Today, the first purpose-built geriatric center in a tertiary health institution in Nigeria, is the first to be endowed and the endower, Chief Tony Anenih, has provided fund that has been deployed to providing the needed medical equipment, furniture and medical consumables for the center.

Nigeria’s Amazigo wins prestigious Prince Mahidol Award PAUL EJIME

T

he popular saying that Goldfish has no hiding place aptly summaries the story of Dr. Uche Amazigo, Nigeria’s renowned scientist, former senior lecturer and public health specialist who has continued to win laurels for her outstanding contribution to solutions on global public health problems.

The latest feather to Dr. Amazigo’s rich hat is the prestigious Prince Mahidol Award 2012, for playing a crucial role behind the successful Community-Directed Treatment with Ivermectin (CDTI) strategy used by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the control of Onchocerciasis.

Onchocerciasis or River blindness is a major cause of blindness and skin disease with unrelenting itching, in many African countries. The success of the CDTI approach, results from linking research and management strategies and empowering communities to fully participate and assume ownership of their health care delivery system.

As a leading figure in the introduction and application of CDTI, which is also known as the CommunityDirected Intervention (CDI) Strategy in the treatment and control of diseases, Dr. Amazigo’s research in 1990 provided the scientific basis for the establishment of the WHO’s African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (WHO/APOC), with headquarters in Burkina Faso. This unique programme has always been run by Africans for Africans, the disease having plagued the continent for centuries.

Dr. Amazigo, described as a scientist with a large heart for the poor, is instrumental to the success of the control of the disease and in strengthening community health system in140,000 communities in 16 of the 19 countries covered by WHO/APOC

Dr. Amazigo

Although community-directed treatment was introduced as a strategy to increase coverage and access to a drug for river blindness control, the strategy has had tremendous impacts on the control of other diseases and essential healthcare services in Africa. It is estimated that this strategy she defended and devoted almost two decades working with the rural poor to scale up, has also benefited over 11 million people in Africa in malaria control and another 37 million people from other types of diseases.

Having worked within WHO/APOC management since inception in 1996, Dr. Amazigo became the programme’s first female director in 2005 and steered it successfully for almost six years. She retired in April 2011, capping a long and distinguished career of service to poor hardto-reach African communities. During her leadership, the successes of APOC’s operations saw the focus on the fight against Onchocerciasis move from control to ac-

tual elimination of the disease with the Onchocerciasis control programme widely recognized as being the most successful and innovative public health campaign in the world.

A total of 75 medical personnel and scientists from 34 countries across the world, were nominated this year for the Prince Mahidol Awards. Dr. Amazigo, a recipient of the distinguished Medal of “Knight of the National Order of Burkina Faso” in 2011, clinched the coveted prize in the public health category, while Britain’s Sir Michael David Rawlins, chairman of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), is winner in the field of medicine.

The Awards are given by the Thai Royal Family annually for outstanding achievements in medicine and public health worldwide and each awardee, receives a US$100,000 cash prize.

Typical of her modesty and unassuming character, Dr. Amazigo, says she is humbled by the Award, which she is receiving on behalf of African communities, Merck & Co. Inc., for donating Ivermectin for the treatment of River Blindness control for as long as needed, Governments, APOC Management, WHO, World Bank, APOC donors, NGDOs, Research Institutions, and her family.

“The money from the Award will be used to expand the philosophy of CDI - community-directed school health and feeding programme in resource poor settings in Nigeria,” she affirmed.

Dr. Amazigo and Sir Michael will receive their awards at a ceremony in Thailand in January 2013.

Meanwhile, accolades have been pouring in congratulating and celebrating Dr. Amazigo for her latest laurel, including from Nigeria’s Health Minister, Prof. C.O. Onyebuchi Chukwu.

Ejime wrote from Abuja