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COVID-19: World reaches one million deaths in 2022 – WHO
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the world has recorded one million COVID-19 deaths in 2022, a ”tragic milestone” that must lead to more people being vaccinated against the disease.
Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus said this on Thursday during an online media briefing.
“We cannot say we are learning to live with COVID-19 when one million people have died with COVID-19 this year alone.
“When we are two-and-a-half years into the pandemic and have all the tools necessary to prevent these deaths,” Ghebreyesus said.
He urged all governments to step up action to vaccinate all health workers, older persons, and others at highest risk, as part of efforts toward inoculating 70 per cent of the global population.
The WHO boss said he was pleased to see that some countries with the lowest vaccination rates were now gaining ground especially Africa.
“In January, WHO and partners launched the COVID-19 Vaccine Delivery Partnership, focused mainly on the 34 countries that were at or below 10 per cent coverage. All but six are on the continent.
“Today, only 10 countries still have less than 10 per cent coverage, most of which are facing humanitarian emergencies,” he said, adding that vaccinations were still lagging.
He said that though there was a welcoming progress on coverage of high-priority groups, more must be done as one-third of the world’s population remained unvaccinated.
Ghebreyesus said that such included two-thirds of health workers, and three-quarters of older persons in low-income countries.
“All countries at all income levels must do more to vaccinate those most at risk, to ensure access to life-saving therapeutics, to continue testing and sequencing.
“Also, to set tailored, proportionate policies to limit transmission and save lives. This is the best way to drive a truly sustainable recovery,” he said.
According to him, intense Monkeypox transmission continues in the Americas region, although the number of cases globally fell by more than 20 per cent last week.
He said that most cases in the early stage of the outbreak were in Europe, with a smaller proportion in the Americas, adding that the situation had now reversed.
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Ghebreyesus said that currently, less than 40 per cent of reported cases were in Europe and 60 per cent in the Americas.
He said that there were signs that the outbreak was slowing in Europe, where a combination of effective public health measures, behaviour change, and vaccination, were helping to prevent transmission.
“However, in Latin America in particular, insufficient awareness or public health measures are combining with a lack of access to vaccines to fan the flames of the outbreak,” he said.
Ghebreyesus thanked vaccine manufacturer, Bavarian Nordic, which on Wednesday signed an agreement with WHO’s Regional Office for the Americas to support access to its Monkeypox vaccine in Latin America and the Caribbean.
He expressed hope that the development would help to bring the outbreak under control in the region.
In a decisive move, President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate release of all minors detained by police during the recent #EndBadGovernance protests.
The directive, announced by Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris on Monday, underscores the government’s commitment to protecting children’s rights and ensuring justice.
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Idris confirmed that President Tinubu’s directive prioritizes the welfare of detained minors, instructing the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to facilitate their safe reunification with their families.
A committee led by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs will be established to oversee the welfare of the released minors and ensure compliance with the president’s orders.
Additionally, President Tinubu has directed a formal investigation into the actions of law enforcement agencies involved in the arrests.
The president emphasized that any misconduct uncovered during the investigation will result in disciplinary action, affirming his administration’s dedication to accountability within law enforcement.
An ear-tingling tale has emerged from the Oyo State capital, Ibadan, where a yet-to-be-identified male confessed on radio that he sacrificed almost 80 women to his idol over a seven-year period.
He made the confession in Ibadan, while appearing at a Fresh FM radio programme, titled, ‘Opeyemi’ on Saturday.
Famous in the locality, Foko area of Ibadan, where he was born, by his alias, ‘Mistina Orobo’, the now self-acclaimed pastor asserted that the almost 80 women were not part of those he was hired to kill and had eaten.
He was driven to sacrifice the women in the quest to renew his mystical power. He would then indulge in cannibalism after he had taken their blood for sacrifice to his idol.
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In his words, “My idol takes about 73 to 76 women for over seven years. These women are always gotten from the club or other popular places. When I eat people, it is purposely to renew the voodoo in my body. Sometimes, when I’m shot, it won’t penetrate, even when I’m hacked, the machete breaks. The sweetest human parts are tongue, palm, and foot.”
The cannibal then used the mystical powers for nefarious activities including supporting others, including politicians, business people, and high flying career people, like bank managers, in the quest to accomplish ulterior motives.
“I also work for bank managers, politicians, and some other rich men. I’m very popular among them. When I first worked with a bank manager, it was one wealthy man that we killed and the info was supplied in the bank.
“The only person who was left to sign refused to sign, we visited him, made him sign, and killed him aftermath. I charge up to N50 to N80 million to get people killed and we always work as a team. I taught some people to work, some as highway or armed robbers and I usually get my fair share,” he added.
He formally sought anonymity until the right time, and gave graphic details of what he and his boys did to influence outcome of elections in Oyo State.
On his early days, the mysterious man confessed that he has been eating sacrifices since the age of nine as the son of an herbalist, from which he added hired assassin and highway robbery to his trade.
“As a child of an herbalist, I always eat sacrifices in seven different junctions, this was what fortified me before I grew up to become a dreaded hired assassin and sometimes, highway robber,” he confessed.
On how he turned a new leaf, the man said he met Jesus in his dream after he attempted to avenge people who earlier fought with him.
According to him, “I had been killed before but I woke up because of the idol I had at home. The day I went to retaliate those people who fought and killed me. When we got to the first person, I had a change of mind. When we got to the house of the other one, he was drunk, and my boy was about to unleash on him when I begged that he should be spared, since then, I have been sympathetic and have left the wayward life. Now, God has taken over my life.
“I am now in a seminary. I spent four years learning to be a prophet. I am not ready to establish a church. I just want people to know my terrible story. I had sold all three houses and cars I bought while engaging in these acts. I met Jesus in my dream.”
He also stressed that a former lawmaker in the House of Representatives, Temitope Olatoye (a.k.a. Sugar) died because he was in Ghana at that time if not it would have been averted, adding that he had always informed Sugar of the dangers looming.
Recall that Sugar died on March 9, 2019, in the Intensive Care Unit of the University College Hospital, after suffering bullet wounds in the head from shots of suspected political thugs in the Lalupon area of Ibadan.
The public is still wondering at the speed with which the news of his attack spread, the tales in the locality being that Sugar died on the spot.
Tensions flared outside the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) headquarters in Abuja on Monday as a large group of Nigerians gathered to demand the resignation of NNPC Group Managing Director Mele Kyari.
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The protesters, driven by frustration over reported mismanagement and high spending, specifically pointed to $4 billion spent on the refurbishment of the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries—projects that many feel have yielded little return.
More to follow……….
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