By Felix Umande

The Federal Government has taken fresh steps to accelerate the local production of Rapid Diagnostic Test, RDT, kits as part of efforts to strengthen domestic manufacturing and expand access to quality healthcare diagnostics.

The move was agreed at a strategic review meeting chaired by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, CON, in Abuja.

The meeting had in attendance officials of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain, PVAC, the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, NASENI, and Troment Biotechnology Limited.

They reviewed progress on the operationalisation of a local manufacturing facility for affordable RDT kits and In-Vitro Diagnostics, IVDs, for malaria, tuberculosis and other priority diseases.

Prof. Pate said the government is treating local diagnostics production as both an economic and security issue.

“Local manufacturing of diagnostics is not just an economic priority; it is a health security imperative,” he said. “We are removing every bottleneck to accelerate production and deliver affordable test kits to Nigerians.”

The meeting assessed implementation milestones, resolved outstanding issues, and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to fast-track production in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Executive Order on Increasing Local Production of Healthcare Products.

To speed up delivery, the Coordinating Minister directed the immediate processing of the Advance Purchase Guarantee, APG, Agreement.

He also tasked the Ministry’s legal and technical teams to work with the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, NASENI and Troment Biotechnology Limited to conclude all outstanding legal and administrative processes.

Regular implementation reviews were also ordered to ensure the timely delivery of the project.

Prof. Pate said expanding domestic manufacturing of essential health commodities remains a key priority under the Renewed Hope Agenda. He noted that local production will strengthen Nigeria’s health security, reduce dependence on imports, improve access to quality diagnostics, stimulate industrial growth, and create skilled employment opportunities.

The Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain, PVAC, is a Federal Government reform programme aimed at strengthening local manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, medical devices, diagnostics, and other health products.

The initiative seeks to reduce dependence on imports, attract private investment, create skilled jobs, improve access to quality healthcare commodities, and position Nigeria as a regional hub for healthcare manufacturing and innovation.

Exercise doesn’t just make the heart stronger. It also rewires the nerves that regulate it, a discovery that could pave the way for more personalized treatments for common heart conditions such as arrhythmias and angina.

Scientists found that regular exercise rewires the heart’s nerve network, opening the door to smarter, more targeted heart treatments. Credit: Shutterstock

Regular exercise may benefit the heart in a way scientists are only beginning to understand. Beyond improving cardiovascular fitness, new research suggests that moderate aerobic exercise reshapes the nerves that regulate the heart. The findings could eventually help doctors develop more precise treatments for common heart conditions.

Researchers from the University of Bristol (UK) found, for the first time, that regular aerobic training changes the heart’s controlling nerves differently on the left and right sides of the body. The study, published in Autonomic Neuroscience, uncovered a striking left-right difference that may one day improve treatment strategies for irregular heartbeats, chest pain, angina, and stress-induced ‘broken-heart’ syndrome.

Study lead author Dr. Augusto Coppi, Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Anatomy at the University of Bristol, said: “The discovery points to a previously hidden left-right pattern in the body’s ‘autopilot’ system that helps run the heart.

“These nerve clusters act like the heart’s dimmer switch and we’ve shown that regular, moderate exercise remodels that switch in a side-specific way. This could help explain why some treatments work better on one side than the other and, in future, help doctors target therapies more precisely and effectively.”

Exercise Alters Heart-Control Nerves
The project was carried out in collaboration with University College London (UCL) in the UK, the University of São Paulo (USP), and the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) in Brazil. Using advanced three-dimensional imaging techniques known as stereology, the team examined how exercise changed nerve clusters that help regulate heart function.

After 10 weeks of training, rats that exercised had about four times as many neurons in the cardiovascular nerve cluster on the right side of the body compared with the left, relative to untrained animals. At the same time, neurons on the left side nearly doubled in size, while those on the right became slightly smaller. These findings suggest that exercise remodels the heart’s nerve network in different ways on each side.

Potential Benefits for Heart Treatments
Dr. Coppi explained:

“Irregular heart rhythms, known as arrhythmias, stress-induced ‘broken-heart’ syndrome, and certain types of chest pain are often treated by dialing down overactive stellate ganglia – the paired small nerve hubs in the lower neck/upper chest area that send ‘go faster’ signals to the heart.

“By mapping how exercise changes these ganglia on each side, the study offers clues that could one day fine-tune procedures like nerve blocks or denervation to the side most likely to help. The findings are early-stage and in rats, so clinical studies would need to follow.”

Although the research is still in its early stages and was conducted in rats, the results raise the possibility that future therapies could be tailored to target one side of these nerve clusters more effectively than the other. That approach could improve treatments for arrhythmias, stress-induced ‘broken-heart’ syndrome, and difficult-to-treat angina.

Next Steps for the Research
The researchers now plan to investigate how these structural changes affect the heart’s performance both during exercise and at rest. They also intend to determine whether the same left-right pattern appears in other animal models and in humans using non-invasive markers.
Dr. Coppi added:

“Understanding these left-right differences could help us personalize treatments for heart rhythm disorders and angina. Our next step is to test how these structural changes map onto function and whether similar patterns appear in larger animals and humans.”

Source: ScienceDaily

APIN doctor dies after refusing hospital admission as state resets 42-day outbreak countdown

By Felix Umande, Makurdi

A senior medical doctor with the AIDS Prevention Initiative in Nigeria, APIN, has died of complications from Lassa fever in Konshisha Local Government Area of Benue State, setting back the state’s plans to declare the outbreak over.

The State Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. Paul Ejeh-Ogwuche, confirmed the death on Monday in Makurdi, saying the ministry had activated contact tracing and surveillance measures in response to the case.

Ogwuche said the deceased, who hailed from Kwande LGA but worked with APIN Foundation in Konshisha, struggled with the illness for over two weeks before his condition worsened. A Lassa fever test returned positive after a friend suggested his symptoms pointed to the viral disease.

According to the commissioner, the doctor declined admission at Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi, and opted for home treatment with drugs and injections despite repeated advice from health officials to seek proper evaluation at the facility.

Initial investigations showed the patient had already developed kidney complications. He was later referred to the University of Jos Teaching Hospital in Plateau State, where he died.

His remains were returned to Benue and buried on Saturday, June 20, 2026, in line with Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention burial protocols.

Ogwuche said the death occurred just as Benue was preparing to be declared free of Lassa fever after completing a 42-day incubation monitoring period. The new case means a fresh cycle of observation must now begin before any declaration can be made.

“We have been doing sensitisation, checking our facilities, and heightening surveillance. In this case, we have also commenced case investigation and contact tracing,” the commissioner said.

He added that health authorities had been placed on alert following recent updates on other infectious disease threats, including Ebola, while surveillance had been strengthened across health facilities to prevent further spread.

Lassa fever is an acute viral illness transmitted mainly through contact with food or household items contaminated by infected rodents. Health officials are urging residents to maintain proper hygiene, store food safely, and report early symptoms to the nearest health facility.