News

Improved Electricity: Lagos Targets 20hrs Power Supply Daily To Residents

Published

4 months ago

June 12, 2023

The Lagos State Government has disclosed plans to improve power supply up to 20 hours daily in communities to further stimulate investments and boost standard of living, among others.

Recall that President Bola Tinubu, recently signed the passed Electricity Act into law, marking a significant update to the 2005 Electricity and Power Sector Reform Act in Nigeria.

Originally enacted in July 2022 during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, the new legislation aims to stimulate private sector investments in the country’s power sector and break the monopoly in electricity generation, transmission, and distribution on a national level.

Permanent Secretary, state Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ms. Sholabomi Shasore, disclosed this at the weekend at an organised stakeholders’ engagement in Alimosho Local Government Area in the state as part of continued efforts to ensure adequate power supply to Lagos residents through various interventions.

Shasore, said the meeting was organised in line with the inclusive policy of the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who believes that the contributions of every resident in the state are essential to achieve the “Greater Lagos vision.”

According to her, the Light Up Lagos Community Electrification Programme is an initiative of the present administration aimed at unlocking electricity distribution, transmission and metering infrastructure to deliver reliable power supply to high-impact, high-population, low-income communities in Lagos.

Shasore stressed that the pilot implementation of the Power Infrastructure upgrade at target communities is nearing completion at Alimosho, Orelope and Okunola; Agege, Oko-Oba and Abattoir, as well as in Ajah, Eleko, Magbon and Ibeju Lekki.

“This initiative was borne out of the desire of the State Government to improve the standard of living of Lagos residents, contribute to their economic activities; increase in productivity; job creation and ultimately boost the businesses of small and medium scale enterprises including artisans who rely primarily on electricity for the survival of their businesses, as well improve the overall wellbeing of all residents in the state,” she added.

While informing that the expected impact is to improve power supply (up to 20 hours) to target communities and create a catalyst for further investment across low-income communities in Lagos State, Shasore stated that a total number of 8,613 Service addresses connected to the feeders being installed will benefit from the improved supply covering almost 10,000 households.

According to her, “While the State Government had intervened in the functionality of electricity supply to various communities within Alimosho as a whole, the Sanwo-Olu administration is now taking it a step further by engaging with residents who are the critical stakeholders in this power intervention.

“Your participation is required to ensure that you reap the benefits of this Power Infrastructure upgrade.”

“With this engagement, the state government seeks to ensure that you know your role in realising the goal of this intervention and look out and protect the infrastructure as your own. I implore the leadership of relevant CDAs, who are direct beneficiaries of this power project, to take ownership of this electrification infrastructure and protect it against vandals,” she stated.
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Shashore stressed the importance of prompt payment of electricity bills, protection against energy theft, discouragement of meter bypassing and other illegal acts that might jeopardise the overall intention of the state government to improve power supply to Alimosho and its environs.

She explained that the developments in the power sector with the recent amendment of the Power provision in the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 are indicative that great things are to come with regard to power and Lagos State is at the forefront.

Shasore submitted that the electricity infrastructure that has been put in place in the communities would guarantee reliable power supply as incidents of power failure, faulty transformers, cables, high and low electric current and inadequate electricity poles among others have been fully addressed.

“It is worthy to note that Alimosho Local Government and its environs have always been identified as an integral part of the Greater Lagos Rising project under the administration of Governor Sanwo-Olu and as such it is set to enjoy more dividends of democracy and good governance going forward,” she said.

Headline

Diphtheria: Children at risk as 7,202 cases are confirmed in Nigeria

Published

10 mins ago

September 30, 2023

Ifunaya Emeka

A staggering 7,202 cases of diphtheria, a highly contagious bacterial infection that can be fatal without treatment, were confirmed in Nigeria last week.

The outbreak has been particularly severe among children under 14, with three-quarters of cases (73.6%) in this age group.

Most cases have been recorded in Kano state, Nigeria’s second most populous state. In the past three months, there have been 453 deaths from diphtheria in Nigeria.

Diphtheria is a vaccine-preventable disease, but low vaccination rates in Nigeria have made the outbreak possible. Only 42% of children under 15 in Nigeria are fully protected from diphtheria.

Diphtheria symptoms begin with a sore throat and fever. In severe cases, the bacteria produce a toxin that can block the airway, causing difficulty breathing and swallowing. The toxin can also spread to other body parts, causing heart kidney problems and nerve damage.

Save the Children is launching a wide-scale health response in the three most impacted states of Kano, Yobe, and Katsina. The organization is deploying expert health and supply chain staff to help overstretched clinics detect and treat diphtheria cases and to support mass vaccination campaigns.

However, Save the Children warns that a mass vaccination campaign will only be successful if the vaccine shortage is urgently addressed.

Severe shortages in Nigeria of the required vaccine and the antitoxin needed to treat the disease mean that the situation could continue to escalate, placing many children at risk of severe illness and death.

Headline

WHO releases $16m to tackle cholera, says Director-General

Published

1 day ago

September 29, 2023

Ifunaya Emeka

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has released 16 million dollars from the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies to tackle cholera.

Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General said this during an online news conference.

Ghebreyesus said that the organisation was providing essential supplies, coordinating the on the ground response with partners, supporting countries to detect, prevent and treat cholera, and informing people how to protect themselves.

“To support this work, we have appealed for 160 million dollars, and we have released more than 16 million dollars from the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies.

“But the real solution to cholera lies in ensuring everyone has access to safe water and sanitation, which is an internationally recognized human right,” he said.

According to him, in the previous week, WHO published new data showing that cases reported in 2022 were more than double those in 2021.

He said that the preliminary data for 2023 suggested was likely to be even worse.

“So far, 28 countries have reported cases in 2023 compared with 16 during the same period in 2022.

“The countries with the most concerning outbreaks right now are Ethiopia, Haiti, Iraq and Sudan.

“Significant progress has been made in countries in Southern Africa, including Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, but these countries remain at risk as the rainy season approaches,” Ghebreyesus said.

According to him, the worst affected countries and communities are poor, without access to safe drinking water or toilets.

He said that they also face shortages of oral cholera vaccine and other supplies, as well as overstretched health workers, who are dealing with multiple disease outbreaks and other health emergencies.

On COVID-19, Ghebreyesus said that as the northern hemisphere winter approaches, the organisation continued to see concerning trends.

He said that among the relatively few countries that report them, both hospitalisations and ICU admissions have increased in the past 28 days, particularly in the Americas and Europe.

WHO boss said that meanwhile, vaccination levels among the most at-risk groups remained worryingly low.

“Two-thirds of the world’s population has received a complete primary series, but only one-third has received an additional, or “booster” dose.

“COVID-19 may no longer be the acute crisis it was two years ago, but that does not mean we can ignore it,” he said.

According to him, countries invested so much in building their systems to respond to COVID-19.

He urged countries to sustain those systems, to ensure people can be protected, tested and treated for COVID-19 and other infectious threats.

“That means sustaining systems for collaborative surveillance, community protection, safe and scalable care, access to countermeasures and coordination,” he said.