AHBN

By Aisar Fagge

Dr Aminu Magashi Garba Foundation (AMG) has donated the sum of one million naira to a Youth Academy Initiative (YOSPIS) Tuesday, August 2nd, 2022.

Zainab Nasir Ahmad, the YOSPIS Executive Director, disclosed this during the first anniversary of the Youth Academy Initiative.

Speaking at the event, Ahmad unveiled some of the achievements they recorded so far to include a popular live radio program, Hasken Matasa, which targeted more than two million audience.

However, she added that it was part the achievements they so far recorded the collaborative empowerment of 150 women, celebrating World NGO Day in partnership with Kano State Special Adviser on Non-Governmental Organisations.

Other achievements include; Sensitizing 14 Communities in Kano on Menstrual Hygiene and donating sanitary pads to seven hundred adolescents girls in commemoration of World Menstrual Hygiene Day, initiating a monthly seminar series to the civil society organisations, supporting persons living with disability with sanitary pads at Tudun-Maliki Special Education School among others.

Yet, we have lot of challenges – Zainab

It is no longer bizarre that successes and challenges go hand in hand. Zainab also went on to mention some of the challenges she faced since her resuming duty as the Executive Director.

She decried inadequate source of funding, lack of permanent office space and official vehicle as part of the challenges faced by her organisation in the last year.

She added that YOSPIS is seriously engaged in writing and submitting proposals to potential donors, mobilise resources from members and other stakeholders.

Dr Aminu Magashi has also called on the stakeholders to engage and contribute more for youth development for the better Nigeria.

By Aisar Fagge

The Aminu Magashi Garba Foundation (AMG) in collaboration with the Department of Skills Acquisition and Training and Centre for Technology Development (CTD) have commenced the training of 10 dropout youth in Kaduna.

The program which started Tuesday, August 2nd, 2022, aimed at giving the dropout youth, within the age of 12-15, a skill on automobile repairs.

The dropout youth were sponsored by the AMG Foundation to undergo eight weeks training and four weeks internship at Panteka market.

It was gathered that the sum of N1.2million was paid by the foundation to give the training to the youth.

AMG hold on the belief that the skill will give them automatic job, improve their economic status, promote peace and help in addressing the challenge of insecurity in our society.

The Daily Reality recalls how AMG Foundation donated the sum of one million naira to the Youth Academy Initiative (YOSPIS) Tuesday, August 2nd, 2022 for similar activities.

Among the people that graced the event were: Engr. Auwal S. Anwar, Director, Centre for Technology Department Kaduna Polytechnic, Mallam Bashir Lawan, Manager, Out-Of-School program of the Centre and Hon. Muhammad Usman, former Commissioner of Education.

Others were: Kaduna State and former member House of Reps, Maimuna Abdulrahman, Admin and Finance Manager, AMG Foundation, Senior Program and Partnership Officer, AMG Foundation among others.

At the end of the event, philanthropists from Northern Nigerian states were urged to emulate Dr Aminu Magashi in rescuing the future of the youths who are now the major culprits of phone-snatching – a menace that ravaged many states in Nigeria.

By Aisar Fagge

Population explosion can be a boost or a doom. If resources are not well managed in a country with rapid population growth, illiteracy, divisive politics, unemployment, hunger, crime, insecurity, poor standard of living will be the topics of discussion.

Dr. Musa Muhammad Bello, a community physician consultant and also a lecturer with Bayero University, Kano, mentioned this during a maiden monthly seminar organized by the Community Health Organization (CHR) in collaboration with Youth Society for the Prevention of Infectious Disease and Social Vices (YOSPIS), held on Wednesday, 20th July, 2022 at CHR’s conference room, Kano.

In his paper titled: “Rising Population and Demographic Transition: Effect on Health and Sustainable Development” Dr Bello said “If Nigeria’s population continue growing at this pace, by 2050, it will double to over 400 million. Nigeria will become the 4th largest country on Earth.”

“There is a cause for alarm because, population increase or explosion can be a boom or a doom.”

“If the population is rapidly increasing and resources are not well managed then it will greatly affect the availability of these resources across all sectors – health, water, education, security, etc. It will stretch them to the extent that majority of the population will be suffering in misery – there will be poverty, hunger, starvation, malnutrition, there will be unemployment and poor living standard.”

“All sectors of life will suffer. Take for example Kano State government’s decision to ban tricycle movement from 10 pm to 6 am is an effect of population concentration. The rate of crime has increased. Phone snatchers are everywhere. Some of us here are their victims,” The speaker lamented.

Speaking about the preparation for 2023 census in Nigeria, Dr Bello said, “Census is very important. In fact, according to a United Nations Economic Council, the population census should be done in every country every ten years. But unfortunately in Nigeria, the last census we did was in 2006. So we are far behind.”

“Census gives you the exact number of people and ther demographic structure: gender, age, education, income, location, etc. and that will be a very good tool for planning development in the country. Lack of this statistics will negatively affect the government planning.”

“When it comes to health, you first look at it from disease possession. When there is a population explosion, there is increase risk of disease. People will interact with the environment, their daily activities will pollute the environment; air pollution, water pollution and so many other things. So there is likely going to have increase in disease that are transacted through air because of over crowding,” he concluded.

One of the discussants of the paper, Musa Abdullahi Sufi argued that “Nigeria is not over populated because of its available vast resources.” He urged the academics to do more research to engage policy makers. Another discussant, Zainab Nasir Ahmed countered that “Nigeria is over populated because the resources are in the hands of few people” while majority of the population wallow in squalor.

The seminar received both physical and virtual participants ranging from academics, health workers, journalists and members of Civil Society Organizations (CSO).

By Aisar Fagge

Over 2 million people die every year across the globe as a result of zoonotic diseases that people get from food, water and mostly from their contacts with animals such as dogs, cats, cows and the meat they eat.

Dr Muhammad Adamu Abbas, Head of Department, Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Bayero University, Kano stated this during a monthly seminar organized by the Community Health Organization (CHR) in collaboration with Youth Society for the Prevention of Infectious Disease and Social Vices (YOSPIS), held on Wednesday, 20th July, 2022 at CHR’s conference room, Kano.

The aim of the seminar which was sponsored by Dr Aminu Magashi, the Coordinator of Africa Health Budget Network (AHBN) is bring members of the academia, Civil Society Organizations, Non-governmental organizations and media practitioners to interact and proffer solutions to lingering problems around health, population and youth matters.

In his paper titled: Zoonotic Diseases: What are they & their effect on Health and Socio-economic Development,” Dr Abbas said zoonosis is an infectious disease that jumps from animals to humans in the form of virus, fungus, bacteria, parasite or from human environment. Deadly diseases such as Covid-19, Ebola, SARS, Anthrax, bird flu, Lassa fever are all zoonoses family.

Touching infected animals, mosquito bite, eating contaminated food, eggs or meat, polluted air or kissing sick pets such as dogs and cats are all means of transmission.

“Pregnant women, children of 5 years old or younger, people with weakened immune system and people who have regular contacts with animals have high risk of zoonotic diseases.”

According to the speaker, “Of every 4 emerging and re-emerging diseases, 3 are zoonoses while 60% of zoonoses are from animals – wild and pets. Similarly, 80% of bio-terrorism agents are pathogens of animal origin.”

Dr Abbas affirms that zoonoses force more danger to poor and vulnerable societies in Africa and Asia. But unfortunately poverty, poor health system and facilities worsen the situation.

In Nigeria, majority of the people are farmers. They have regular contacts with their animals. “North [for example] is the major supplier of meat to other parts of the country. In those days, there were people who check the health of an animal before and after it was slaughtered in order to protect people [from zoonotic diseases]. But nowadays because of too many slaughter houses and butchers, many animals are being eaten unchecked,” he lamented.

In order to tackle zoonotic diseases in countries like Nigeria, the speaker said, “educating the people and mass awareness, poverty reduction, collaboration between health workers and early detection of these diseases are of paramount importance”.

Many questions were asked by the participants and some of the ways to go forward is to sensitize people about the importance of hygiene and take the campaign to the slaughter houses, farmers and hunters.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Africa Heath Budget Network (AHBN) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to redouble efforts in determining to achieve the Family Planning (FP).

Dr. Aminu Magashi Garba, the AHBN Coordinator, made the call in a statement Monday to commemorate the World Population Day of 2022.

He added that the government should also make family planning information, commodities and services available and accessible to all.

He stated that these places should be provided especially in hard-to-reach areas, adding that, “this will curb teenage pregnancy significantly.”

As Nigeria has the largest population in Africa, the Federal Government was reportedly launched the 2030 FP commitment in March 2022, in Abuja.

The Daily Reality gathered that the federal government intents were, “by the end of 2030, Nigeria envisions a country where everyone including adolescents, young people, populations affected by crisis and other vulnerable populations are able to make informed choices, have equitable and affordable access to quality family planning and participate as equals in society’s development.”

Magashi further called on the federal government to maximize its bulging youthful population by improving on the quality of and access to education.

He added that, “The issue of recurrent strike action in the education sector such as the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) should be addressed once and for all.

“The youth should also be empowered and given the relevant skills to enable them contribute in resolving national challenges.

“We call on the government to also make family planning information, commodities and services available and accessible to all, especially those in hard-to-reach areas – this will curb teenage pregnancy significantly.

“The Federal and state governments should take the issues of the provision of family planning commodities serious by ensuring its availability free of charge in all government clinics across the country.

“This can be achieved by the payment of counterpart funding and the provision of funds for logistics by all tiers of governments,” the statement added.