Jehovah’s Witnesses have changed their long-standing blood transfusion rules. The new policy gives members more control over certain medical decisions. The Governing Body announced the change on September 18, 2026. It affects four major blood components used in medical care. Under the new rule, members can decide whether to accept red blood cells, white blood…
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has disposed of expired donated medicines worth ₦59 million in Rivers State. The products were taken to the Igwuruta dump site in Port Harcourt for destruction after arriving in Nigeria from the United States through the Nigeria Ports Authority’s Area 1 Port. NAFDAC announced…
The death toll from a suspected poisonous alcohol outbreak in Ondo State has risen to 49, with affected cases reaching 170. Ondo State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Banji Ajaka, disclosed the latest figures during an update in Akure. He said new cases had been recorded in Irele Local Government Area, indicating that the situation had…
Fiji has declared HIV a national emergency after a sharp rise in infections placed additional pressure on the country’s health system. About one in 60 adults in the Pacific island nation is now living with HIV, compared with one in 167 five years ago. Health Minister Antonio Lalabalavu said Fiji recorded 2,016 new HIV diagnoses…
Over 1,000 children have died in Bangladesh’s worst measles outbreak in decades, with new cases continuing to rise despite an emergency vaccination campaign. More than 19.8 million children have been vaccinated so far, but about 1,000 new suspected cases are still being reported each day. UNICEF told the BBC that Bangladesh will begin an “intensified…
Cuts to international aid funding are already affecting efforts to combat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, the head of the Global Fund has warned. Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said countries had managed to soften the immediate effects by redirecting domestic resources. However, he warned that the…
Zamfara State has recorded 44 deaths from a diphtheria outbreak, prompting authorities to extend school resumption by two weeks. The State Director of Public Health, Dr Yusuf Haske, disclosed the figures in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Gusau on Monday. Haske said health authorities had recorded 367 clinically suspected cases. More…
The Federal Capital Territory has recorded two deaths from diphtheria following cases in the nation’s capital. FCT health authorities said five of 15 suspected cases investigated so far have tested positive for the bacterial infection. Mandate Secretary of the Health Services and Environmental Secretariat, Dr Adedolapo Fasawe, disclosed the figures during a community sensitisation event…
Yobe State has recorded 511 diphtheria cases and 13 deaths between January and September 8, health authorities say. Commissioner for Health and Human Services Muhammad Gana disclosed the figures in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Damaturu. The 13 deaths represent a case fatality rate of 2.5 per cent, according to…
At least 24 people have died in Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State between September 3 and 7, 2026, in circumstances preliminary investigations have linked to the consumption of locally brewed alcoholic drinks, particularly a beverage known as “Monkey Tail.” The Ondo State Ministry of Health confirmed the deaths and said laboratory analysis of…
