The Word Health Organization (WHO) reports that more than 7 in every 10 deaths that occurs annually are often caused by noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), out of which deaths by cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) from trans fat intake account for 500, 000 deaths, globally. In Nigeria, specifically, a significant number of deaths linked to cardiovascular diseases are […]
Recent events in Nigeria have brought to the fore the need to pay attention to mental health issues in the country. The suicide of a doctor on Third Mainland Bridge in March 2017, the suicides and attempted suicides of young persons in universities in the country, and the attempted suicides of older women in Lagos, […]
One of the highlights for universal health coverage in Nigeria and for using the instrumentality of law to promote better health outcomes was the passage and the Presidential Assent to the National Health Act, in late 2014. There is much hope that this Act will fulfil its promises to ensure that every Nigeria receives a […]
Recently, I found myself stupefied by a statement by Dr Femi Thomas, the Executive Director of the NHIS on the amounts spent on health versus the amounts needed for universal health coverage in Nigeria. Currently we expend about 2.5 trillion naira, which includes premiums for national health plans, monies spent out of pockets and various […]
Malawi recently passed a law to ban child marriage. News reports on this pointed out that Malawi has a high rate of child marriage, up to fifty per cent in some areas. Child Marriage is another form of gender-based violence and human rights violation that limits girls opportunities to live healthy fulfilling lives. The health […]
Reproductive health has received a lot of attention of late – and none too soon, I would say – with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation significantly increasing funding for reproductive health, and UNFPA’s launch of the FamilyPlanning2020 project. Globally, there is an estimated 120 million women with unmet family planning needs – those who want […]
It is early in 2015 but several cases of domestic abuse and violence have already reached CHELD’S doors. What many of these cases have in common aside from the abuse is financial considerations. Financial issues have featured prominently in the stories we have heard about abuse ranging from husbands preventing their wives from working or/and […]
“There are less than 150 psychiatrists in the country (around 1 per 1 million population) and very few neurologists., with many newly trained specialists leaving the country to work abroad. There are around 5 psychiatric nurses per 100,000 population and only very few other mental and neurological health professionals like clinical psychologists, social workers, neurophysiotherapists, […]
2014 was a remarkable year in the Nigerian health sector’s history. The first positive thing that comes to the minds of most people is the effective containment of the Ebola Virus Disease, which still inspires instinctive gratitude and laudatory comments. The heroism of Dr Stella Adadevoh will not easily be forgotten nor will government action […]
As terrifying as the Ebola virus is, the Nigerian experience has shown that it is both possible and advantageous to strengthen national capacities to manage and contain the spread of the disease. Another important lesson is that disease-centered capacity-building can be locally-generated, and adaptable to different kinds of outbreaks. The process of strengthening national capacity should […]
The euphoria of Nigeria being Ebola free is yet to subside, despite fears of possible reintroduction of the disease into Nigeria amidst raging infection rates in neighbouring West African countries. The death toll of the present Ebola epidemic is so alarming that there is really little to celebrate, upon consideration that Nigeria’s borders are porous.Already […]
Domestic violence and abuse are human rights violations which impact the health of individuals (particularly women) and have high economic costs for the society. Although it is hard to put concrete figures on the incidence of domestic violence and abuse in Nigeria because of the silence that often surrounds it, the prevalence of domestic violence […]
Majority of Nigerians die from preventable diseases that don’t require rocket science to be addressed, and only about 5% of Nigerians (federal civil servants) are covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) which the Federal Government pays 100% of the premium since the scheme started in 2005. This is from tax payers money by […]
To commemorate, the 16 Days of Activism to End Violence against Women, The Centre for Health Ethics Law and Development (CHELD) hosted another edition of its Conversations on Domestic Violence on Saturday December 6, 2014. This event was held in the lovely ambience of Ginger Tapas Bar and Grill, one of the sponsors of the […]
The National Health Act has been ten years in the making, as chronicled in this Nigeria Health Watch piece written by Felix Abraham Obi. The harmonised version was passed by both the lower and upper house of the National Assembly and submitted to President Goodluck Jonathan for assent on October 28th 2014. After nearly two months of advocacy […]
On this week’s #EbolaPolicyAdvocacySeries, Dr. Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia calls for the urgent need to transform Nigeria’s public health law. WHO’s certification need not make Nigeria and Nigerians complacent, to develop a “no longer our problem” attitude we are pretty skilled in, eager to move on the other next sensation. We are not out of the wood […]
2014 may go down in history as, amongst other things, the year Ebola ceased to be a Congo disease and became instead a global phenomenon. The disease has emphasized the fact that infectious diseases respect no boundaries and are incapable of drawing a distinction between races, or income brackets. The ways in which countries have […]
Less than a couple of weeks ago, yet another baby factory was uncovered. A line-up of girls, many of whom should be in secondary school studying to make their lives and eventually those of their children better, stood instead, at various stages of pregnancy. A few babies, too, were held in hands, some on the […]
In June this year, Save the Children released their annual report, the State of the World’s Mothers Report, 2013. Unsurprisingly, Nigeria found itself near the bottom,the eighth worst place. According to that report, Nigeria was the 169th most unsafe place out of 176 countries surveyed in which a woman could give birth. 1 in 13 […]
Introduction The increasing fanciful terms used to describe the state of maternal health in Nigeria has and should become a cause of urgent concern for policy makers, stakeholders and other persons interested in the health, wellbeing and image of the most populous country in Africa. At a Millenium Summit held in New York, World Leaders […]
It is daunting when you have to leave your environment for some unfamiliar place, with a different culture and language; it is even more frightening when you are in poor health. For whatever it is worth, it is common practice in Nigeria these days to employ the services of an agent, who will help you […]
Mental health in Nigeria has been called the silent epidemic, and the forgotten issue. Our mental health project seeks to make mental health matters visible, prominent, and by so doing create awareness, reduce stigma, increase public education, and change law and policy to expand the rights of, and better serve the needs of people suffering […]
Like many people in the 21st century, I spend time on Facebook. In the time since I set up my account, I have made new friends, reconnected with old ones, read startling news, seen several peculiar updates, and prayed for missing children. But nothing has broken my heart as the pictures that were circulated on […]
By Nonso Attoh (Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Nigeria) (Guest blog) Approaching the main gates of the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus every morning, you are confronted with the sight of ahalf-naked, elderly-looking woman sleeping next to the gutter, surrounded by a motley assortment of garbage and clutter. Dishevelled, dirty, hair unkempt and […]
Domestic abuse and violence, is a societal menace, a serious public health issue, which often has negative intergenerational impacts. Many people, particularly women, but even a few men, and the children who witness abuse in their homes have suffered and continue to suffer without knowledge of how to address this issue, frequently lacking support from […]
By Nonso Attoh (Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Nigeria) (Guest blog) Approaching the main gates of the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus every morning, you are confronted with the sight of ahalf-naked, elderly-looking woman sleeping next to the gutter, surrounded by a motley assortment of garbage and clutter. Dishevelled, dirty, hair unkempt and […]
May 2012 Punch Policeman who shot lover’s sister arrested Emmanuel Okujo, the police corporal accused of shooting 23-year-old Blessing Isanbor on February 10, 2012 in the Gbagada area of Lagos has been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command. Okujo, who also absconded with the victim’s younger sister, Patience, turned himself in at the State […]
I wrote an article recently in the Daily Times – Looking Out for Our Children (http://dailytimes.com.ng/opinion/looking-out-our-children) – about the legal regime for sexual abuse of children and the distribution of child pornography and our personal responsibility to create safe environments for our children. Sexual abuse of any persons, men, and women, but especially children can […]
The Executive Director of CHELD, Dr. Cheluchi Onyemelukwe Onuobia, now writes an opinion column for Daily Times on Health Law and Policy matters every Thursday. In addition to the weekly blog on the CHELD site, insights on health law and policy issues in Nigeria and Africa can be found there. Please visit the website – www.dailytimes.com.ng. The first […]
I was recently in Nairobi on invitation from Interights for a Consultative Meeting of Experts on the Right to Health in Africa. I have done some work on the right to health, including examining Nigerian jurisprudence on the right to health and examining the linkage with the right to health in international law to access […]
At CHELD, one of the projects we seek to pursue vigorously is cervical cancer awareness. While there is debate in the western world about whether or not cancer screenings are useful or over-utilised, there is no question of any excess of cancer screenings in a developing country like Nigeria. The problem currently is not one […]
April 2012 Leadership: Berserk Husband Kills Son, Burns Wife With Hot Iron http://leadership.ng/nga/articles/23138/2012/04/28/berserk_husband_kills_son_burns_wife_hot_iron.html Vanguard – Man kills only son, burns wife with hot pressing iron http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/04/man-kills-only-son-burns-wife-with-hot-pressing-iron/ Vanguard – How adultery led woman to an early grave –http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/04/how-adultery-led-woman-to-an-early-grave/ Related PostsConversations on Domestic Violence82Domestic violence and abuse are human rights violations which impact the health of individuals […]
Our new website cheld.org is now live, our aim is to make all health related legislation in Nigeria easily accessible online on the CHELD Website. Related PostsWho We Are71The CHELD team is comprised of lawyers, doctors, health professionals, social scientists, economists, public health specialists, gender specialists, and statisticians. Each professional brings their expertise to different […]
One of the projects that we are undertaking at CHELD is joining our efforts with existing work against domestic violence in Nigeria. Domestic violence is coming out of the shadows and spilling onto the papers and social media, issuing screams loudly for all to hear. When we began to think about this project, many of […]
Do you know your rights in respect of your health? Do you know what to expect of the government? Of your doctor? Your nurse? Other health care professionals? Do you know what you are entitled to under Nigerian law? There is an assumption that people, particularly among the elite, know what their legal and human […]
CHELD was established in 2010 to address the minimal use and employment of existing legislation, lack of knowledge about, and inadequate implementation of existing policies on health, as well as clear absence of needed policy directions in certain critical areas. Nigeria’s track record on basic health issues such as women’s health (maternal mortality) and child […]
The CHELD team is comprised of lawyers, doctors, health professionals, social scientists, economists, public health specialists, gender specialists, and statisticians. Each professional brings their expertise to different aspects of CHELD’s work, providing a holistic approach to health law and policy development and to the execution of the practical projects that CHELD undertakes. A core team oversees the regular operations of CHELD.
Learn MoreCHELD employs law, policy, ethics promotion and research to improve public health in Nigeria and other African countries. Its broad mission is to provide information on, analyse current policy responses to health issues, advocate for health law reform, health system reforms, and health policy implementation. It seeks to influence and inform health law, ethics, regulation and policy development in Nigeria and other African countries.
Learn More