The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, has urged Nigerian doctors to embrace technological innovations, preventive healthcare and continuous professional development to improve healthcare delivery in the country.

Salako also called on medical practitioners to prioritise their personal health, adopt healthy lifestyles and pay greater attention to their mental wellbeing as part of efforts to secure the future of the medical profession.

The minister, who was represented by the Acting Provost and Medical Director of the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, Dr Sunday Amosu, made the call on Thursday at the opening of the 2026 Physicians’ Week organised by the Ogun State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association.

Salako said doctors needed to continually improve their professional competence and adapt to emerging developments in medicine while placing greater emphasis on disease prevention and personal wellbeing.

According to him, strengthening the medical profession requires practitioners to embrace technology, improve their skills and adopt preventive approaches to healthcare.

Speaking on the theme of the celebration, “Securing the Future of Medicine in Nigeria,” Salako said, “We must continue professional development. We need to up our game and be up there. We need to go the way of technology. We need to go preventive health.

“What are we talking about? We need to take care of ourselves. I’ve run all the available tests a few months back, including PSA, including lipid profile. Anything that you can talk of, except the MRI.

“We must take care of our health. When you see somebody who is still looking young, ask him what he’s been doing. And sincerely, who is your own doctor? I did ask myself. I have a doctor, but it’s not official. Maybe you need to make it official.

“You are also what you eat. I don’t need to tell you that everything that has to do with non-communicable diseases has to do with our lifestyle. And I’m sure you know all of these things. In my house, I have an orchard. I planted everything there. I can tell you I eat vegetables all year round.

“At one time, my lipid profile was like 250 or so. And they wanted to put me on a drug, but I told them not to worry, that I know what to do. I ran away from all those things that I knew could have been the contributing factors. So, we have to also prioritise a healthy lifestyle.”

He stressed that preventive healthcare and healthy living were particularly important in addressing the growing burden of non-communicable diseases, many of which are associated with lifestyle choices.

He urged doctors to lead by example by undergoing regular medical examinations, monitoring their health status and making informed decisions about their diets and daily habits.

Meanwhile, the Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, urged doctors to prioritise their physical, mental and financial wellbeing, warning that the demands of medical practice could take a toll on their health.

Coker said physicians continued to shoulder enormous responsibilities despite challenges including inadequate infrastructure, ageing equipment and staff shortages across healthcare facilities.

She noted that doctors were not only responsible for diagnosing and treating patients but also provided emotional support to individuals and families facing economic and social difficulties.

“To secure the future of medicine, we have to first of all secure ourselves. You have to make sure your wellbeing, mental wellbeing, physical wellbeing, financial wellbeing, which a lot of us ignore.”

Also speaking, the Chairman of the NMA in Ogun State, Dr Sunday Enimola, called for improved working conditions, adequate staffing and better remuneration to address the challenges confronting the medical profession.

Enimola said Nigeria could not secure the future of medicine by continually demanding more from doctors without providing the resources and working environment required for effective service delivery.

He identified workforce shortages, medical migration, burnout, insecurity and inadequate infrastructure as major challenges requiring urgent attention.

“We are asking our healthcare professionals to do more, often with fewer resources. We cannot secure the future of medicine by simply asking doctors to work harder,” he said.

The NMA chairman called for policies that would encourage doctors to remain in Nigeria by providing professional fulfilment, career opportunities, dignity and improved welfare.

He also advocated the integration of artificial intelligence, telemedicine, electronic health records and other digital innovations into healthcare delivery, stressing that technology should support rather than replace medical practitioners.

Enimola further called for reforms in medical education to equip future doctors with the clinical competence, technological knowledge and adaptability required to meet changing healthcare needs.

He urged government agencies, universities, healthcare institutions and technology companies to collaborate on developing affordable and accessible digital health solutions suited to Nigeria’s circumstances.

The NMA chairman said securing the future of medicine required collective action, urging stakeholders to translate discussions at the Physicians’ Week into practical measures that would improve healthcare delivery and protect the well-being of medical professionals.

Source: punchng.com

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The verdict in the trial over the 2020 death of Argentine football legend Diego Maradona will be delivered on December 22, the court announced Thursday, after six months of hearings.

The trial of seven healthcare professionals accused of negligence in the star’s death concluded Thursday with brief statements from Maradona’s daughter and some of the defendants.

“I hope my father receives the justice he deserves…like anyone else,” said Dalma Maradona, her voice breaking with emotion.

The main defendant in the case, Leopoldo Luque, Maradona’s primary doctor, declared, “I am innocent.”

Maradona died at age 60 from heart failure coupled with pulmonary oedema.

The larger-than-life star, who had a history of substance abuse, was found dead in his bed on November 25, 2020.

He was at his residence in Tigre, north of Buenos Aires, rented for his convalescence following minor neurosurgery.

His death plunged the country into mourning in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

– ‘Scapegoat’ –

The trial, which began in April, included testimony from more than 70 witnesses.

Prosecutors requested prison sentences ranging from four to twelve years for six of the seven defendants, with the heaviest sentence — 12 years — sought for Luque.

In closing arguments on Wednesday, Luque’s defence attorneys rejected the prosecution’s argument that Maradona’s death was foreseeable, calling their client a “scapegoat” in the case.

Throughout the trial, Luque was by far the most combative defendant, speaking several times when he felt he was being implicated.

His legal team played audio recordings, presented scientific articles and even a video of Maradona’s autopsy, provoking the anger of the footballer’s daughters.

“It’s easy to attack me because I’m the one who had the most contact with Maradona,” Luque said in court, asserting that “the only one who would defend me would be Diego.”

“I cared deeply for him, I loved him, he was my idol and my friend,” he said.

The case has revolved around whether the doctors’ decision to allow Maradona to convalesce in a private home, instead of in a hospital, was negligent.

The prosecution pointed to the near-total absence of medical equipment, such as a hospital bed, defibrillator or quickly available ambulance, as evidence of what they presented as the defendants’ dereliction of duty.

Several medical experts testified that Maradona’s caretakers failed to react to key warning signs — he was suffering from oedema, tachycardia and had difficulty breathing — in the lead-up to his death.

AFP

The United States on Thursday praised the conclusion of the latest round of talks towards a democratic transition between Venezuela’s interim government and opposition representatives.

The US-sponsored talks on transitioning from the hardline socialist rule of ousted ex-president Nicolas Maduro began in August.

Washington is under pressure to organise democratic elections following its January ouster of Maduro.

It nudged interim President Delcy Rodriguez, a former Maduro loyalist who was his vice president, to negotiate with an opposition delegation led by Dinorah Figuera.

“I welcome and recognise the efforts of the parties sitting at this dialogue table to move forward in the area of political guarantees for everyone,” Rodriguez said at the end of Thursday’s meeting with the opposition, held at the presidential palace.

Figuera led a political bloc that won a majority in the 2015 National Assembly, the last legislature elected in a vote widely recognised by the international community.

The third round of talks “delivered tangible results including agreement to work to review and revise several repressive laws to increase political and social freedom, and guarantee the participation of all political actors,” the US State Department said in a statement.

It also hailed progress on “rebuilding an independent Supreme Court.”

Since the talks started, the process has strengthened press freedoms, restored access to more than 70 previously blocked websites, “produced an agreement to recover gold holdings in the Bank of England for earthquake relief, and advanced efforts to reform the repressive Law Against Hatred,” it said.

The statement also said the Trump administration remains committed to supporting a Venezuelan-led process toward a peaceful democratic transition.

Exiled opposition leader Maria Machado has been sidelined from the negotiations, and thousands protested in Caracas and other cities on Thursday demanding her return to the country.

AFP

Source: punchng.com

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