Connect with us

News

FG Claims Development of Diagnosis, Drugs for Sickle Cell, Others

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Dr Olorunnimbe Mamora, minister of Science and Technology, has said that the ministry through, its agencies, has developed diagnostic process, treatment and drugs for common diseases like sickle cell and hypertension.

FG Claims Development of Diagnosis, Drugs for Sickle Cell, Others

Mamora disclosed this in, Abuja, while featuring in the State House briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team.

The minister said that his ministry had also made significant achievements in food processing and fabrication of equipment to boost food production.

“In the area of medicare and health of Nigerians, of course a lot of these came to the from burner during the COVID era; so many things were developed from our indigenous companies  under our various agencies like the disinfectant towel, sanitisers, solar-powered smart hand washing machine.

“Nigeria has a very large population of sickle cell disease patients and carriers; to that effect, I can tell that we have able to develop products from plants that combat or they are anti-sickening in nature and therefore reduce the number of attacks that usually result from sickle cell anemia.

“We have also been able to develop anti-hypertensive drinks from local herbs and materials.

“Then one important drug that is very expensive—Lovastatin—a drug that reduces cholesterol; cholesterol is injurious when it is above the limit of normal; this has been developed from oyster mushroom.

`Of course, we must also look at what it common to us; tuberculosis, ebola, hepatitis—these are common diseases that we have around us.

“I can say that through our molecular diagnostic laboratories, we have been able to develop mode of identifying or making diagnosis because the first step in the management of a patient is to make the right diagnosis; if you don’t make the right diagnosis, you cannot treat what you don’t know.

“So, that is why this ability to make diagnosis is very important which some of our agencies have been able to do in terms of discovery.’’

On agriculture, he said that a recent document—Nigeria 2050 Agenda– estimated that Nigeria’s population would be about 350 million by 2050 while the current estimate is 200 million.

According to him, with such population, food remains critical in order to eliminate poverty.

He said that attention was focused on how to improve food output to ensure that there was food security.

“That’s one of the things that we are trying to achieve.

“So, that’s what we have what is called Tacca (false yam) for the production of starch and glucose syrup which reduce the pressure on yam, cassava and maize for the production of industrial raw materials.

“We have also been able to develop the extraction of glucose syrup and ethanol from sweet sorghum.

“We have  been able to boost agricultural programmes through the development of improved seeds and seedlings that are distributed to farmers—these include cowpea, rice, ginger, banana, plantain, cassava, sugar among others.’’

The minister said that Nigeria had previously recorded post-harvest loses; hence the ministry through its agencies, developed seeds that were resistance to pests and flooding.

Mamora said that the ministry was able to put in place, methods of preserving harvests to avoid rots and boost yields.

He said that the ministry and its agencies had produced equipment for processing of food and preservation of raw materials.

 

 


Kindly share this post

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

News

Prof. Aliyu, AI Practitioner to Keynote ABoICT 2024

Published

on

Kindly share this post

CommunicationsWeek Media Limited, a certified global ICT company with over two million online subscribers, is delighted and proud to announce Prof. Yakub Aliyu, as the keynote speaker at Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership Distinguished Lecture series 2024.

 

Aliyu, will be speaking on the theme: Artificial Intelligence (AI): The Good, The Complex and The Anticipated”, this leans heavily on the fact that AI changing our lives– we just need to know where to look today.

This year’s rebranded Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership Distinguished Lecture/Awards Series is slated for Saturday, May 25, 2024 at the Four Points by Sheraton, Lagos.

The event is the most prestigious annual event that brings together captains of industry in both technology and financial worlds.

According to Ken Nwogbo, CEO, Communication Week Media Ltd, organisers of the ABoICT Distinguished Lecture/Awards Series, “the choice of Prof. Yakub Aliyu is deliberate because of his exceptional career in Artificial Intelligence (AI)”.

He added that, AI is considered to have the potential to instigate a fourth industrial revolution,1 and is dramatically changing people’s patterns of interaction and economic activities.

“The traditional factors of production and physical capital and labour may no longer promote substantial economic growth. It is generally believed that AI will be one of the most important factors determining future economic growth,” he said.

A professor of microelectronics and a scholar-practitioner in artificial intelligence and deep machine learning for industrial applications and high-speed application processors. His research interests include Multimodal AI models for high-efficiency industrial robot applications and Human AI interactions.

He also has adjunct academic professorships at five African, USA, and UK universities. Holds a BS in Applied Physics Electronics from Karlsruhe and A Bello Universities in Germany and Nigeria, an MBA in International Business Management from the University of London, an MSEE (Master of Engineering, Electronics), and a Ph.D. in Electronics Engineering from the University of Wales.

Prof. Aliyu is the global quality director for Bourns Inc., Riverside, California, USA, an electronics system, and components manufacturer. I oversee quality functions in 21 factories worldwide.

He has also held quality and operational management leadership positions at National Semiconductors, Bell Labs-Lucent Technology, Texas Instrument, Global Foundries, and Roper Technologies USA.

Authored and coauthored over 30 Advanced Technology United States-issued patents in High-Speed Application Processors and Contributed to over 40 international impact Journals, chapters, and conferences; FASI, SMIEEE USA, MIEE UK, M. Inst pf Physics Chartered Phys and C Eng UK.

Past lecturers included Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, then executive vice chairman, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC); Engr. Yomi Bolarinwa, former Director-General of National Broadcasting Commission (NBC); Dr. Jean Luc Fort, CEO at OR System France and a specialist in Counterparty Risk; and Professor Chris Nwagboso, Chairman, Knowledge Factory International, United Kingdom.

Others are: Uche Orji, managing director/chief executive officer, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA); Biodu Omoniyi, Managing Director/CEO, VDT Communications; Ayotunde Coker, Managing Director, Rack Centre Limited; Peter Adedayo Arogundade, managing director and chief executive officer, Sidmach Technologies Nigeria Limited; Dr. Adewale Obadare, chief visionary officer, Digital Encode and John Obaro, CEO and founder of Systemspecs; Prof. Isa Pantanmi, minister of Communications and Digital Economy; Dr. Seyi Akindeind, co-founder, Digital Encode; Dr Krishnan Ranganath, Regional Director, Africa Data Centres.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

News

Legit.ng, Shade of Life Foundation Partner to Advance Autism Awareness in Nigeria

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Legit.ng recently joined forces with the Shade of Life Foundation to become a voice of autism, and drive advocacy for improved media support during Autism Awareness Month.

Legit.ng, Shade of Life Foundation Partner to Advance Autism Awareness in Nigeria

Participants at the event

Conversations around media support exploration was led by Joseph Omotayo, head of Department for Human Interest Stories at Legit.ng, and Dr. Eziafakaku Nwokolo, founder and CEO of the Shade of Life Foundation,

This partnership is a response to the concerns raised by organizations like the Shade of Life Foundation about the level of support received from the media in discussing autism as a disability.

While other disabilities may receive attention, autism, with its critical developmental implications often lacks adequate representation in mainstream media.

Recognizing the importance of addressing these concerns, Legit.ng took proactive steps by integrating itself into the essence of autism awareness.

It facilitated a one-hour workshop with Dr. Nwokolo, the founder of the foundation, to deepen our understanding of autism, its various spectrums, and the language boundaries associated with it.

Other steps we took in advocating autism awareness in the media, can be seen in our attached press release.

Legit.ng believes that by amplifying the voices of autism and advocating for better media representation, we can contribute to creating a more inclusive and accepting society for all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

News

As Nigeria Struggle, Tanzania Turns off Power Plants Due to Excess Supply

Published

on

Kindly share this post

While 85 per cent of Nigeria is in darkness, Tanzania, an African country has shut down five hydroelectric stations in a bid to reduce excess electricity in the national grid.

As Nigeria Struggle, Tanzania Turns off Power Plants Due to Excess Supply

Kassim Majaliwa, prime minister, Tanzania, has said the main plant, Mwalimu Nyerere Hydroelectric Station, alone generated enough electricity to power major cities, including Dar es Salaam, the country’s commercial hub.

It is the first time Tanzania, which suffers chronic power shortages, has closed hydroelectric stations due to excess production.

“We have turned off all these stations because the demand is low and the electricity production is too much, we have no allocation now,” an official from state-run power company, Tanesco, said.

The 2,115MW Julius Nyerere Hydropower Dam is said to be almost filled with water following heavy rains that started early this year.

Meanwhile, while the country has an installed capacity of 1,938MW and the grid installed capacity of 1,899MW, Nigeria which has an installed capacity of 13,000MW is struggling to electrify 85 per cent of its electricity consumers.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Trending