The federal government has instructed all chief medical directors and medical directors of federal tertiary hospitals to procure needles and syringes solely from NAFDAC-approved local manufacturers. The new directive was stated in a circular addressed to all medical directors signed by the Minister of State for Health, Tunji Alausa, on Friday.

Yobe State government said 85 persons have died from Cerebrospinal Meningitis in the state while 2,510 have recovered from the disease between January 2023 to April 2024. The Commissioner for Health in the State, Dr Lawan Gana while addressing journalists in Damaturu also refuted the purported social media report on the alleged deaths of 200 persons in Potiskum and Nangere local government areas of the state.

Nigeria has become the first country in the world to roll out a new meningitis vaccine (called Men5CV) recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) in a historic move. According to WHO, this is especially important for countries like Nigeria where multiple serogroups are prevalent. The new vaccine uses the same technology as the meningitis A conjugate vaccine (MenAfriVac®), which wiped out meningococcal A epidemics in Nigeria.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed the outbreak of a disease of unknown origin which is said to have infected a total of 164 persons and killed four in six wards of Isa local government area of Sokoto State. The director general of the agency, Dr Jide Idris, said so far, a total of 164 suspected cases had been identified in six (6) wards of Isa local government area in the following wards: Bargaja (22), Isa North (17), Isa South (98), Tozai (12), Tsabre (4), and Turba (11), adding that four deaths had been recorded amongst the suspected cases. He said the agency was notified by the Sokoto State Ministry of Health on March 21, 2024, of reported cases of children presenting with symptoms that include abdominal distension due to rapid onset of fluids in the abdomen (ascites), fever, vomiting and weight loss from Isa LGA of Sokoto State.

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, has envisaged a 3-day thunderstorms and sunshine across the country from Friday 5th April, 2024.

Nigerian health workers seeking greener pasture has been directed to gladly resign their appointment with Federal Government before leaving the country. The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Tunji Alausa stated this in a directive by the FG, that health workers seeking employment opportunities abroad must resign their appointments before leaving. Alausa revealed this on Saturday, stating that the era where health workers could apply for leave of absence and pursue opportunities in other countries has ended. He disclosed that the ban on leave of absence for health workers resulted from an Executive Order issued by President Bola Tinubu, who aims to combat the ‘Japa Syndrome’ facing the nation’s health sector. The ‘Japa Syndrome’ refers to Nigerians leaving the country in search of better opportunities. 

Scientists have created a vaccine that has the potential to protect against a broad range of coronaviruses, including varieties that are not yet known. The scientists from the University of Canbridge, the University of Oxford, and Caltech in the US are developing a novel approach called "proactive vaccinology" which aims to train the body's immune system to recognise several different coronaviruses. The vaccine is made by attaching harmless proteins from different coronaviruses to minuscule nanoparticles that are then injected to prime the body’s defences to fight the viruses should they ever invade. Because the vaccine trains the immune system to target proteins that are shared across many different types of coronavirus, the protection it induces is extremely broad, making it effective against known and unknown viruses in the same family.

The National Agency for the Control of AIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, and other development partners are set to optimise innovative HIV prevention and strategies for increased domestic funding towards community ownership and sustainability of HIV. The event which will be held between 7 and 9 May in Abuja, was contained in a statement issued on Friday and signed by the agency's public relations officer, Toyin Aderibige. The conference tagged "Accelerating HIV Prevention to End AIDS through Innovations and Community Engagement," aims at opening dialogue on optimistic innovative HIV prevention approaches towards achieving HIV epidemic control. It will also showcase a diverse array of sessions including dedicated tracks on youth empowerment, community engagement sessions, leadership discussions, plenary sessions, sponsored sessions, and special sessions.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has stated that the alleged Nido infant milk formula, which is said to contain excess sugar or honey, is not registered in Nigeria, is not known to the agency, and is not in circulation. This comes after an investigative documentary aired on Al-Jazeera, an international cable network, which accused Nestle of adding excessive sugar to its NIDO Infant Formula and selling it to poorer countries like Africa.

Three Sub-Saharan nations, namely Benin, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, have launched a significant program for malaria prevention in Africa. The program is a large-scale rollout of a life-saving malaria vaccine that aims to target millions of children. The vaccine's launch is announced on Tuesday 25th April 2024 in commemoration of World Malaria Day, and it seeks further to scale up vaccine deployment in the African region. Over 30 countries in the African region have shown interest in the vaccine, and several of them are scheduled to roll it out in the next year with support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

The Republic of Congo has announced an epidemic of Monkeypox (mpox) after 19 cases were confirmed across five departments, including the capital Brazaville. Mpox is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus. It can occur in humans and other animals. Symptoms include a rash that forms blisters and then crusts over, fever, and swollen lymph nodes. Mpox is a zoonosis, a disease that is transmitted from animals to humans, with cases often found close to tropical rainforests where there are animals that carry the virus. Evidence of monkeypox virus infection has been found in animals including squirrels, Gambian pouched rats, dormice, different species of monkeys, and others. The disease can also spread from humans to humans. It can be transmitted through contact with bodily fluids, lesions on the skin or on internal mucosal surfaces, such as in the mouth or throat, respiratory droplets, and contaminated objects.

The shutting down of some pharmaceutical companies leaving the country coupled with the hyper inflation that has hit the country after the removal of fuel subsidy by President Tinubu administration, prices of malaria, antibiotics, anti-diabetes, hypertension drugs and other related products have soured leading to fears of increased mortality and reduced life expectancy among Nigerians.The danger has manifested more vicious as retail prices for the most commonly used medication in country have skyrocketed by at least 300 per cent in the last six months unchallenged. 

Medical doctors under the auspices of Association of Resident Doctors, ARD, at the University College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan in Oyo State have commenced a three-day strike over alleged assault on one of their members by relatives of a patient in the hospital. 

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has shut down the Eziukwu Market, popularly known as Cemetery Market, in Aba, Abia State, following production and selling of dangerous fake beverages.

The acting Head, Media and Publicity, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Manji Yarling, has disclosed the collaboration of the Austrian and the Federal Government of Nigeria on Transport Infrastructure and other Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has revealed in its safety audit report, incidences of sexual violence against children living in some Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Benue State.

The Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, Enugu State Chapter has threatened an industrial action over abduction of members in the state and the need for the State Government and security agencies to emplace measures to safeguard Medical and Dental Council workers in the State.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has introduced the Human Papilloma Virus, HPV, vaccine into its routine immunization system, to protect over 7.7 million girls between aged 9 to 14 years as part of Renewed Health Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.