WHALEXTRA

  Nigeria’s health sector  requires all-round reforms in 2026, the   Nigerian Medical Association   (NMA) has said. The association said its position was informed by the alleged lapses the sector recorded in the outgoing year. The NMA said the sector, in 2025, recorded a weak policy focus, persistent workforce crises and poor financing. It noted that the lapses have continued to undermine healthcare delivery across the board. In a year-end review of the Federal Government’s health sector performance, the Lagos Chairman of the association, Dr. Saheed Babajide Kehinde, described the performance of the sector as “highly unfortunate, unacceptable and disappointing”.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says the country is not under “serious threat for now” for the Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV).  While there have been concerns over the outbreak of the virus in certain parts of the world, the NCDC has assured Nigerians that the country is safe and there is no cause for alarm. “Let me say, there’s no serious threat for now. That’s one. Two, this HMPV virus, it’s not a new virus. It’s just that it’s not well-known. But it’s been implicated in many respiratory infections over the years, over the countries, especially in children, and elderly people,” the NCDC Director-General Jide Idris said on Thursday’s edition of Channels Television’s  Sunrise Daily “Just like the normal flu, old virus or influenza, respiratory virus, it’s just one of those causes of respiratory problems.” ‘We Learned our Lessons’ The NCDC boss said the country is monitoring the situation and is on high alert with no cases reported in Nigeria yet. “We are in a ...