Ebola virus disease update - West Africa

Disease outbreak news 6 August 2014

Epidemiology and surveillance

Between 2 and 4 August 2014, a total of 108 new cases of Ebola virus disease (laboratory-confirmed, probable, and suspect cases) as well as 45 deaths were reported from Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.

Health sector response

A mission briefing with representatives from Member States was held on 5 August at the World Health Organization (WHO). Information about the nature of Ebola virus disease (EVD) was highlighted. This was followed by outlining the essential components for control, including the need for national leadership, improved care and case management, identifying transmission chains and stopping disease spread, and preventing further outbreaks. Among the critical issues are: cross-border infections and travelers; partners reaching the limits of their capacity and ability to respond rapidly, safely, and effectively; and concerns about the socio-economic impact of continued transmission.

The Director-General also shared information from her recent meetings in Guinea with Member States of the Mano River Union – Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. She outlined that the response in West Africa would focus on three areas:

• Treatment of Guéckédou, Kenema, and Foya as a unified sector, which will include public health measures meant to reduce movement in and out of the area.
• Intensifying current measures in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.
• Taking steps to reduce international spread to other countries in Africa and outside of the African Region.

The Sub-regional Ebola Operations Coordination Centre (SEOCC) in Conakry reported on 5 August that the following actions are underway in the four affected countries:

• In Guinea, new foci have emerged and case management facilities will be needed. Exit screening is currently being tested in Conakry, in partnership with the US CDC.
• In Liberia, security issues continue to be of concern, notwithstanding the commitment of the Government. Community resistance remains high.
• In Nigeria, the Government is focused on following up the contacts from the index case. Clinical support is urgently needed and a treatment centre is being set up for managing cases of EVD.
• In Sierra Leone, efforts are underway to map where treatment centres are most needed and getting those set up. A similar exercise is underway for laboratories.

The SEOCC is assisting countries with these and many other response measures.

On 6 August, WHO is convening an Emergency Committee of international experts to review the outbreak and advise the Director-General, in accordance with the International Health Regulations, whether the Ebola virus disease outbreak constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Experts will receive an epidemiological briefing and will determine whether the criteria for a PHEIC have been met. If the Emergency Committee agrees that this is a PHEIC, they will then advise the Director-General on temporary recommendations. A summary of the meeting will be made public and a press briefing will be held on Friday, 8 August.

Disease update

New cases and deaths attributable to EVD continue to be reported by the Ministries of Health in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. Between 2 and 4 August 2014, 108 new cases (laboratory-confirmed, probable, and suspect cases) of EVD and 45 deaths were reported from the four countries as follows: Guinea, 10 new cases and 5 deaths; Liberia, 48 new cases and 27 deaths; Nigeria, 5 new cases and 0 death; and Sierra Leone, 45 new cases and 13 deaths.

As of 4 August 2014, the cumulative number of cases attributed to EVD in the four countries stands at 1 711, including 932 deaths. The distribution and classification of the cases are as follows: Guinea, 495 cases (351 confirmed, 133 probable, and 11 suspected), including 363 deaths; Liberia, 516 cases (143 confirmed, 252 probable, and 121 suspected), including 282 deaths; Nigeria, 9 cases (0 confirmed, 2 probable, and 7 suspected), including 1 death; and Sierra Leone, 691 cases (576 confirmed, 49 probable, and 66 suspected), including 286 deaths.

Confirmed, probable, and suspect cases and deaths from Ebola virus disease in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, as of 4 August 2014

	New	Confirmed	Probable	Suspect	Totals
Guinea
Cases	10	351	133	11	495
Deaths	5	228	133	2	363
Liberia
Cases	48	143	252	121	516
Deaths	27	128	110	44	282
Nigeria
Cases	5	0	2	7	9
Deaths	0	0	1	0	1
Sierra Leone
Cases	45	576	49	66	691
Deaths	13	247	34	5	286
Totals
Cases	108	1 070	436	205	1 711
Deaths	45	603	278	51	932
1. New cases were reported between 2 and 4 August 2014.

The total number of cases is subject to change due to reclassification, retrospective investigation, consolidation of cases and laboratory data, and enhanced surveillance. Data reported in the Disease Outbreak News are based on best available information reported by Ministries of Health.

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“Nigerian Gays Might Start Committing Suicide” – Homosexual Reverend, Jide Macaulay

    

As Nigerians come to terms with the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Bill signed by President Goodluck Jonathan a few weeks ago, renowned gay and founder of House of Rainbow Church, a church that harbors homosexuals and lesbians, Reverend Jide Macaulay, has come out to say that with the new law, gays in the country might start committing suicide since they would be denied their rights and freedom.

Rev. Macaulay also said that he has been receiving many calls, emails and online messages expressing fear, anger, anxiety and suicide attempts by his ‘people’.  This is how he expressed his worries:

“On January 7th, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan signed the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Bill 2013 into law.

“The law bans same sex marriage, and through its wording, also seeks to criminalize people, organizations and agencies that support homosexuality and those who do not immediately report any known homosexuals, or homosexual activities.

“Since January12th, when the announcement was made, the LGBT-community has been thrown into panic. There is chaos throughout Nigeria as we are grappling with keeping up with mass arbitrary arrest, humiliation, blackmail, extortion and police corruption in several ‘charge and bail’ cases.

“The hostility in Nigeria against gay people has reached epic proportions. In the East of Nigeria, many are fleeing their homes. One gay man, labelled “a leader of the homosexual” is on the run. His parents and brother were threatened with arrest if they don’t provide information about his whereabouts.”

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Top 100 Universities In Africa – Obafemi Awolowo University Came 10th In Africa and 1st In Nigeria [See List]

  
 Top 100 Universities In Africa Obafemi Awolowo University Came 10th In Africa and 1st In Nigeria [See List]

The rankings of Africa’s top higher education institutions has been provided by the 4 International Colleges & Universities (4icu). 4icu is an international higher education search engine and directory reviewing accredited Universities and Colleges in the world. 4icu.org includes 11,160 Colleges and Universities, ranked by web popularity, in 200 countries.

A quick look shows that South African universities dominate the top despite the fact that South Africa ranks very low on the quality of education in the world.

The first Nigeria University on the list came in at no 10 which is Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife


Top 100 Universities In Africa – Obafemi Awolowo University Came 10th In Africa and 1st In Nigeria [See List]

    Mankind
    January 6, 2014
    Education
    105

images 30 300x150 Top 100 Universities In Africa Obafemi Awolowo University Came 10th In Africa and 1st In Nigeria [See List]

The rankings of Africa’s top higher education institutions has been provided by the 4 International Colleges & Universities (4icu). 4icu is an international higher education search engine and directory reviewing accredited Universities and Colleges in the world. 4icu.org includes 11,160 Colleges and Universities, ranked by web popularity, in 200 countries.

A quick look shows that South African universities dominate the top despite the fact that South Africa ranks very low on the quality of education in the world.

The first Nigeria University on the list came in at no 10 which is Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife

See full list below:-

1. University of South Africa – South Africa

2. University of Cape Town – South Africa

3. Universiteit Stellenbosch – South Africa

4. University of Dar es Salaam – Tanzania

5. University of KwaZulu-Natal – South Africa

6. University of Pretoria – South Africa

7. Cairo University – Egypt

8. University of the Witwatersrand – South Africa

9. University of the Western Cape – South Africa

10. Obafemi Awolowo University – Nigeria

11. Makerere University – Uganda

12. University of Botswana – Botswana

13. Mansoura University – Egypt

14. Rhodes University – South Africa

15. Alexandria University – Egypt

16. The American University in Cairo – Egypt

17. Zagazig University – Egypt

18. University of Johannesburg – South Africa

19. Assiut University – Egypt

20. University of Nairobi – Kenya

21. Université Cheikh Anta Diop – Senegal

22. University of Zambia – Zambia

23. North-West University – South Africa

24. University of Lagos – Nigeria

25. Tanta University – Egypt

26. University of Ghana – Ghana

27. Université de Ouagadougou – Burkina Faso

28. Université Mohammed V – Agdal – Morocco

29. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University – South Africa

30. Cape Peninsula University of Technology – South Africa

31. Université d’Antananarivo – Madagascar

32. Ain Shams University – Egypt

33. University of Ibadan – Nigeria

34. Kenyatta University – Kenya

35. University of Namibia – Namibia

36. Universiteit van die Vrystaat – South Africa

37. University of Nigeria – Nigeria

38. The German University in Cairo – Egypt

39. University of Limpopo – South Africa

40. Université de la Reunion – Reunion

41. University of Khartoum – Sudan

42. Benha University – Egypt

43. Universidade Eduardo Mondlane – Mozambique

44. Helwan University – Egypt

45. École Nationale d’Architecture – Morocco

46. University of Fort Hare – South Africa

47. Université Nationale du Rwanda – Rwanda

48. Al Akhawayn University – Morocco

49. Université Catholique de l’Afrique de l’Ouest – Benin

50. Tshwane University of Technology – South Africa

51. Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology – Kenya

52. Minia University – Egypt

53. Addis Ababa University – Ethiopia

54. Fayoum University – Egypt

55. Moi University – Kenya

56. University of Ilorin – Nigeria

57. October 6 University – Egypt

58. South Valley University – Egypt

59. Sokoine University of Agriculture – Tanzania

60. Université Mouloud Maameri de Tizi Ouzou – Algeria

61. Université Mohammed V – Souissi – Morocco

62. Al-Azhar University – Egypt

63. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology – Ghana

64. Misurata University – Libya

65. Minoufiya University – Egypt

66. Université d’Oran – Algeria

67. Université Hassan II Mohammedia – Casablanca – Morocco

68. Polytechnic of Namibia – Namibia

69. Université d’Alger – Algeria

70. University of Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe

71. University of Cape Coast – Ghana

72. The British University in Egypt – Egypt

73. Université de Tunis El Manar – Tunisia

74. University of Zululand – South Africa

75. University of Agriculture, Abeokuta – Nigeria

76. University of Malawi – Malawi

77. Université Cadi Ayyad – Morocco

78. Université Mentouri de Constantine – Algeria

79. Suez Canal University – Egypt

80. Université de Yaoundé I – Cameroon

81. Egerton University – Kenya

82. University of Swaziland – Swaziland

83. Kafr el-Sheikh University – Egypt

84. Université Ibn Tofail – Morocco

85. Université de la Manouba – Tunisia

86. Université Hassan II – Casablanca – Morocco

87. Covenant University – Nigeria

88. University of Benin – Nigeria

89. École Nationale Supérieure en Informatique – Algeria

90. Université des Sciences et de la Technologie Houari Boumediène – Algeria

91. Durban University of Technology – South Africa

92. Strathmore University – Kenya

93. Ahmadu Bello University – Nigeria

94. Université Ibnou Zohr – Morocco

95. Universidade de Cabo Verde – Cape Verde

96. Sudan University of Science and Technology – Sudan

97. University of Mauritius – Mauritius

98. Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences – Tanzania

99. Gulu University – Uganda

100. Vaal University of Technology – South Africa
 

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Tukur’s successor: Jonathan, North Eastern govs consider consensus candidate

        
  President Goodluck Jonathan and Peoples Democratic Party’s governors from the North East may have adopted the option of a consensus candidate for the post of the chairmanship of the party.

The party’s former chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, officially resigned his position at the 63rd National Executive Committee meeting of the party in Abuja on Thursday.

President Jonathan, Saturday PUNCH learnt, considered having a consensus candidate when his preferred candidate,  a former governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Adamu Muázu, was rejected  by governors from the North East, the zone expected  to produce the next chairman of the party.

The President held a closed door meeting with the three governors and a deputy governor from the North East zone on Friday.  The meeting which lasted over an hour took place inside the President’s Office.

Those who attended the parley with the President were Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State, Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State, the Acting Governor of Taraba State, Garba Umar, and the Adamawa State Deputy Governor, Bala Ngilari. Ngilari did not join the state governor, Murtala Nyako, to defect to the All Progressives Congress.

The meeting started shortly after the President had also met with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Muhammed, who is also from the zone, (Bauchi).

A source close to the meeting told one of our correspondents that issue bordering on a consensus candidate for the coveted party job dominated discussion during the meeting.

The four governors arrived in two cars, suggesting that they might have decided to come and brief the President on the outcome of an earlier meeting they had on the matter. The President had on Thursday charged the governors with the responsibility of coming up with a name for the coveted position.

But Yuguda who spoke with State House correspondents on behalf of his colleagues claimed they were only in the Presidential Villa to pay Friday homage to Jonathan. He urged stakeholders to exercise patience till Monday when the new party chairman would emerge.

“We just came to say hello to the President and wish him a Good Friday. Monday is the day the NEC will decide who the chairman is going to be. So, let’s wait till Monday,” he said.

The governor also denied insinuation that PDP state governors do not want the party chairman to emerge from their states for fear of supremacy tussle.

“Are we God? It is God that gives power. Supposing he gives somebody from my state, a PDP state, what will I do? I will follow him. Let us not go into that kind of imagination,” Yuguda said.

When asked to give a hint on the kind of PDP chairman the governors would want to emerge on Monday considering the crisis that characterised Tukur’s tenure, the governor said there would always be crisis in the party but that the important thing is how leaders manage such situation.

He said, “Crisis will always be there. If there is no crisis, there won’t be managers anyway. So, somebody must be in charge to manage the situation. That’s why God structures leadership. And even at the family level, you have a leader to manage problems and crisis.

“So, we cannot be insulated from crisis. It is a continuous thing. The capacity to manage it is what makes you a good leader.”

When asked if the governors were not concerned about the high turnover rate of PDP national chairmen, Yuguda said, “I have been discussing that with my colleague from Gombe and he gave me a very wonderful answer that we are on democracy learning curve. So, that’s the dynamics of democracy. So, we are learning. So, we will cross the line very soon, Insha Allah.”

He said since PDP state governors who defected to the APC claimed that Tukur was their problem, now that the party chairman had resigned; the defectors were free to return to the party. “Wait for those who said he was their problem. He is no longer there. So, they are welcome,” he said.

Also on Friday, PDP governors held a meeting in Abuja in their plot   to install their own candidate for the party chairmanship position.

Investigations by our correspondent in Abuja on Friday indicated that the governors would meet again in Abuja on Sunday to strategise ahead of another NEC meeting slated for Monday, where the new chairman would be made known.

A governor, who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said that though they would consult with President Goodluck Jonathan on the matter,  there was no way they would not have a say in who would lead the party.

He said that it would be wrong for anyone to think that they would not take interest in who leads the party, given the experience they had under the leadership of Tukur.

He said, “We are meeting, I think on Sunday, to look at the background and credibility of who is going to lead us. We won’t just sit down and allow an individual to pick anyone and impose him on us.”

Asked who the candidate would likely be, he said it was too early to agree now, adding that “one minute is enough to rubbish agreement reached over a year ago.”

He, however, added that some aspirants had either been visiting or asking people to speak with them (governors) on their (aspirants’) behalf.

Already, a former Special Adviser to late President Umaru Yar’Adua on National Assembly Matters, Sen. Abba Aji, has joined the race.

The Borno State-born former lawmaker, who was also in the race for the job before the imposition of Tukur by President Jonathan, was said to have reopened his campaign.

Some members of the  party were said to have reasoned that the next chairman of the party must not be too old, which counted against Tukur, or too young.

Meanwhile, the party has described  the voluntary resignation of Tukur and  the peaceful resolution of its leadership challenges as a climax of political maturity and another eloquent expression of  the internal democratic mechanism that form the building blocks of the party.

A statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, in Abuja on Friday said the development had proved the in-built conflict resolution capacity of a party whose leaders were ever mindful of its historic responsibility as the custodian of the fate of over 160 million Nigerians.

The statement said, “On Thursday, the selfless efforts of our leaders to re-engineer and strengthen our great party peaked with the selfless example of our former national chairman, Tukur, who voluntarily resigned.

“It was a  denouncement which brought to the fore,  the unimpeachable  democratic features of the PDP as a political party whose leaders and members are at all times willing to sacrifice personal  interests in the overall good of the party and the nation.

“This is a true character of a political party attuned to the essentials of progress and national unity.”

Metuh said that the occasion re-affirmed that despite the party’s large size and diversity, its capacity to internally resolve all its challenges and by extension hold Nigeria together as well as boost her fortunes and improve the lots of the people was without rival.

He added that the peaceful manner through which the PDP had continued to resolve its problems was an assurance that the challenges facing Nigeria today would equally be resolved with the cooperation of the people.

“We therefore wish to send a fresh clear signal to the opposition and detractors who must be hugely disappointed with the outcome of our National Executive Committee meeting that the PDP has come to stay and shall continue to win elections, having been deeply rooted in the province of the people,” he added.


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Dozens arrrested in Northern Nigeria as anti-gay law comes into force [SEE PICS]

        

Dozens of gay men have been arrested in northern Nigeria under a draconian anti-gay law that makes same-sex marriage a crime punishable by up to 14 years in jail, human rights activists say.

The law was signed in secret by members of Nigeria’s House of Representatives in Abuja on December 17 and by the president on January 7, although there was no public announcement.

The Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act criminalizes same-sex marriage and provides for up to 14 years in jail. Membership or support of gay organizations, associations or clubs carries a penalty of up to 10 years’ imprisonment.

The new law reflects a highly religious and conservative society that largely considers homosexuality a deviation. In areas of northern Nigeria law is enforced by Islamic Shariah courts and homosexuals can be stoned to death.

Dorothy Aken’Ova of Nigeria’s International Center for Reproductive Health and Sexual Rights said that police in Bauchi state have drawn up a list of 168 allegedly gay men, 38 of whom have been taken into custody so far.        

       
  Activists have suggested that some Nigerian homosexuals may have already fled the country.

The law has drawn widespread international condemnation from countries including the United States, Canada and Britain, Nigeria’s former colonial power, as well as by a host of non-governmental organizations such as AIDS-Free World, which in an open letter appealed to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon for “guidance and leadership” to ensure that “the global response to HIV is neither paralyzed at this critical time, nor set on a disastrous reverse course”.

Dr Heather Collister of the Geneva-based International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) said in a statement that the law “was manifestly incompatible with international human rights standards and must be repealed”.

“In addition to targeting same-sex relations, the law targets the work of human rights defenders, effectively criminalising their work,” she added.

The Initiative for Equal Rights (TIER), a Nigeria-based LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) organization, tweeted that “government should think about development and not sex between two consensual adults. Stop chasing shadow people”.

In December, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Assocation (ILGA) said that Nigeria’s law “will not only incite increased violence against LGBT people, but it will also justify and legalize that violence”.

Some observers have suggested the anti-gay law is being used to draw attention away from Nigeria’s multiple armed conflicts, religious tensions, corruption and under-development, as well as to curry public favour ahead of Jonathan’s expected 2015 re-election bid.

The Initiative for Equal Rights (TIER), a Nigeria-based LGBT organisation, tweeted that “government should think about development and not sex between two consensual adults. Stop chasing shadow people”.

A study of 39 nations around the world by the U.S. Pew Research Center found that 98 percent of Nigerians believe society should not accept homosexuality, making the country the world’s least tolerant when it comes to LGBT issues.

On Monday, presidential spokesman Reuben Abati said that “this is a law that is a reflection of the beliefs and orientation of the Nigerian people”.

Nigeria is one of 38 African countries – about 70 percent of the continent - that have adopted anti-gay legislation, and several African leaders have publicly warned that they would not let foreign powers dictate to them on the matter.

Among the countries still considering similar legislation is Uganda, where in December the national parliament passed a bill which would punish “aggravated” homosexual acts with life sentences, as well as penalize those who do not report gay activity. The law currently awaits the signature of the country’s long-serving president, Yoweri Museveni.

Shawn Gaylord, advocacy counsel at the Washington-based Human Rights First, said that “government leaders around the world, including President Musaveni…will be watching to see how the international community responds to legislation that discriminates against the LGBT community”.

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