(Must Read)-How to Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally

If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, you might be worried about taking medication to bring your numbers down, but after reading this article, you'd be glad we shared it.

Lifestyle plays an important role in treating your high blood pressure. If you successfully control your blood pressure with a healthy lifestyle, you might avoid, delay or reduce the need for medication.

Here are lifestyle changes you can make to lower your blood pressure and keep it down.

1. Watch your waistline

Blood pressure often increases as weight increases. Being overweight also can cause disrupted breathing while you sleep (sleep apnea), which further raises your blood pressure.

Weight loss is one of the most effective lifestyle changes for controlling blood pressure. Losing just 10 pounds (4.5 kilogrammes) can help reduce your blood pressure.

 Besides shedding pounds, you generally should also keep an eye on your waistline. Carrying too much weight around your waist can put you at greater risk of high blood pressure

Men are at risk if their waist measurement is greater than 40 inches (102 centimetres while women are at risk if their waist measurement is greater than 35 inches (89 centimetres).

These numbers vary among ethnic groups. Ask your doctor about a healthy waist measurement for you.

2. Exercise regularly

Regular physical activity — at least 30 minutes most days of the week — can lower your blood pressure by four to nine millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). It’s important to be consistent because if you stop exercising, your blood pressure can rise again.

If you have slightly high blood pressure (prehypertension), exercise can help you avoid developing full-blown hypertension. If you already have hypertension, regular physical activity can bring your blood pressure down to safer levels.

The best types of exercise for lowering blood pressure include walking, jogging, cycling, swimming or dancing.

Strength training also can help reduce blood pressure. Talk to your doctor about developing an exercise programme.

3. Eat a healthy diet

Eating a diet that is rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products and skimps on saturated fat and cholesterol can lower your blood pressure by up to 14 mm Hg.This eating plan is known as the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet.It isn’t easy to change your eating habits, but with these tips, you can adopt a healthy diet:

4. Keep a food diary

 Writing down what you eat, even for just a week, can shed surprising light on your true eating habits. Monitor what you eat, how much, when and why.

Consider boosting potassium. Potassium can lessen the effects of sodium on blood pressure. The best source of potassium is food, such as fruits and vegetables, rather than supplements. Talk to your doctor about the potassium level that’s best for you.

Be a smart shopper. Read food labels when you shop and stick to your healthy-eating plan when you’re dining out, too.

5. Reduce salt in your diet

Even a small reduction in the sodium in your diet can reduce blood pressure by 2 to 8 mm Hg.

The effect of sodium intake on blood pressure varies among groups of people. In general, limit sodium to less than 2,300 milligrammes (mg) a day or less.

However, a lower sodium intake — 1,500 mg a day or less — is appropriate for people with greater salt sensitivity, including: African-Americans, anyone age 51 or older, anyone diagnosed with high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease.

6. Limit alcohol intake

Alcohol can be both good and bad for your health. In small amounts, it can potentially lower your blood pressure by two to four mm Hg.

But that protective effect is lost if you drink too much alcohol — generally more than one drink a day for women and for men older than age 65, or more than two a day for men age 65 and younger. One drink equals 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor.

Drinking more than moderate amounts of alcohol can actually raise blood pressure by several points. It can also reduce the effectiveness of blood pressure medications.

–Mayoclinic

 



When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Rats Chased President Buhari from Office - BBC

BBC has reported that as Nigerian President, Muhamamdu Buhari resumes work after spending over 100 days in London, the British capital on medical vacation, the president will be working from home. BBC Pidgin reports that Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant, SSA on Media mata to President Muhammadu Buhari say rodents don damage di President office and dis na why im dey work from home.

"After im no dey for office for about three months, rodents don cause plenty damage for di furniture and air conditioning units wey dey for im office and dis na why e dey work from home for now," Shehu tell BBC.

Shehu tell BBC say dis na one of di reason why dem dey clean and renovate di office now.

After over 100 days in London where im dey on medical vacation, President Buhari return to Nigeria on Saturday, August 19. Im address di nation on Monday morning, come send letter to di National Assembly say im don resume work.

But, on Monday, di President still work from home and people come dey ask wetin cause this one.

Shehu say dem just dey clean di office and dis na why di President dey work from di office wey im get for di residential area of Aso Rock villa, wey bi seat of government for Nigeria.

Source: BBC Pidgin

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Man Sells Wife on Facebook

 

A 56-year-old man has ended up being defrauded after he was scammed by a husband who allegedly sold his wife to him for marriage.

 

30-year-old man identified as Brian Nkatazo Mathe, reportedly hatched a plan along with his 22-year-old wife, Stephanie Pullen, to steal from men by opening a Facebook account where the latter would lure potential husbands. 

 

According to a report by H-Metro, a 56-year-old man identified as Nyakanyaka Msipani, fell into the trap and met Pullen who introduced Nkatazo as her brother capable of receiving her bride price. 

 

Msipani is yet to stay with the woman he paid bride price for and any attempt to have quality time with Pullen would hit a snag of Nkatazo who was introduced as brother. 

 

Msipani said; “I phoned Pullen after admiring her on Facebook and we met and agreed to marry each other giving me a condition that I was supposed to meet her brother for lobola issues. 

"I never had time to caress or kiss Pullen as she kept on visiting me in the presence of Nkatazo demanding money that at one time I gave him my bank card and pin to withdraw money to use at a funeral.

 

"He disappeared with the money and bank card for some time and I phoned Nkatazo’s sister and she is the one who disclosed to me that the two were husband and wife. 

"I lost more than $5 000 in total apart from the $4 000 he demanded as lobola and I paid through bank transfers. I feel sorry for them. If I am the first victim it is better to spare them from jail because I will lose the wife and money at the same time,” said Msipani who wants Pullen as per the bride price agreement.

 

While speaking to a correspondent, Nkatazo, who is gainfully employed said that economic conditions forced them to hatch the plan for financial gain. Pullen refused to entertain a reporter saying the three are in agreement. 

“We are all agreeing and I do not see the need for you here. Ibvai pano,” said Pullen. 

 

Pullen and Nkatazo who were detained at Harare Central police station and are expected to appear in court today.

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Grace Mugabe Breaks Silence, Explains why she Beat the Hell Out of South African Model

Zimbabwe's first lady, Grace Mugabe has given reasons why she was forced to assault a model in South Africa.

Zimbabwe's First Lady, Grace Mugabe

 

Zimbabwe’s first lady Grace Mugabe claims she hit 20-year-old Gabriella Engels with an extension cord in an act of self-defence. Her two sons were not spared a beating either. Mugabe has told South African officials that she was in fact the victim in the attack that happened last Sunday in a flat in Sandton. This allegedly took place in the presence of numerous body guards.

This is according to highly-placed sources privy to the case. “She is adamant on the issue of protecting herself because she feels she was attacked. She says she was attacked by the victim and that she also has her own injuries which she is not going to publish in the media,” said one source.

The assault, which happened last Sunday has Zimbabwean and South African officials scurrying behind the scenes to try to defuse what has become an embarrassing international incident that has brought the diplomatic relations between the two neighbours under intense scrutiny.

Engels claims that Mugabe assaulted her after she found her with her sons, Robert jr and Chatunga Bellarmine. But it appears that the pair, known for their high-rolling lifestyles, also faced their mother’s wrath that night.

“People are not talking about the fact she did the same to her kids. She beats her kids too,” the source said.

Engels received cuts and bruises and had to crawl out of the room to escape, she claimed. She said that Mugabe’s bodyguards stood by and watched.

Since the attack, civil rights organisation AfriForum, has decided to represent Engels and the “Bulldog” advocate Gerrie Nel has taken the case and is hoping to get the Zimbabwean first lady in the dock, despite government’s fears of diplomatic fallout.

When asked why Mugabe didn’t open a police case against Engels, the official said that Mugabe didn’t see it that way. The official explained how the incident had placed the SAPS in a predicament.

“Yes, clearly it was a difficult situation, a predicament because it was a high-profile matter and all the things came colliding. It was a mad house, and we had to ensure we don’t break the international law on how to treat important delegates. In cases like this, you want to collect all the information from all sides.”

The first lady is apparently still holed-up in South Africa and is waiting for the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) to issue her diplomatic immunity. Then she can leave.

If this happens, this will be the second time that Mugabe has used this legal loophole to escape prosecution.  In 2009, she was given diplomatic immunity by the Chinese after she assaulted a journalist in Hong Kong. Dirco spokesperson Nelson Kgwete said that a decision had yet to be made about giving Mugabe diplomatic immunity.

AfriForum on Friday said that they were waiting to see if Mugabe would be given diplomatic immunity. If she was, Willie Spies, the organisation’s legal representative said the organisation would launch a review application in the high court in Pretoria to have the decision set aside.

He said that Engels had opened a case of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm against Mugabe, which was serious enough to warrant her not being given immunity.

“You must remember that Mrs Mugabe visits South Africa very often,” said Spies.

“She does have interests and assets in South Africa so it makes it possible for us to get hold of her or pursue her at a later stage.”

Mugabe has in recent months allegedly been on a multimillion dollar spending splurge on Joburg property.

“If the review application fails,we have committed ourselves to challenge this up to the Constitutional Court,” Spies said.

Another source said the matter had to be dealt with delicately.

“Everything was colliding into everything else and he (minister Fikile Mbalula) has had to think deeply. You can imagine if the police just went in there, guns blazing, she is guarded by a dozen guards."

“There is no law that is higher than the other. We also had to consider the international complexities because you have had our diplomats thrown out of countries. That is the complexity.”

Meanwhile, the woman at the centre of the incident is recovering. Engels’ mother Debbie on Friday said: “She is not getting trauma counselling as yet, but she is on the mend.”

The assault charges against Mugabe are set to be discussed in Parliament. 

In the meeting of the programming committee on Friday, MPs agreed that the case, along with that of Deputy Higher Education Minister Mduduzi Manana, deserves special attention when Parliament debates gender-based violence this month.

The debate was supposed to have been held last Tuesday but had to be held over because of the motion of no-confidence against President Jacob Zuma.

MPs from across the political spectrum agreed that Manana and Mugabe should be the focal point of their deliberations.

 

-IOL

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

HOFNA Hits Another Milestone, Organises Girls Leadership Booth Camp

*****With report from N.S. Jean Marie

HOFNA Empowering the girl child

Some 40 young girls aged 13-19 have been armed with knowledge on how they can better lead their peers and effectively become leaders in the society. This was during a three day all girls leaders boot camp that held in Bamenda from August 17-19, 2017. Holding with the theme “inspiring the next generation of female leaders”, the young girls selected from the two Anglophone regions were availed with basic knowledge on how to overcome inferiority, be assertive, master their bodies and the need to go back to school and remain in school.

Opening the three day event, the Board chair of Hope for the Needy Association, HOFNA, Yaa Gladys Viban reminded the girls that to be leaders in the society, they must be proactive, ready to take risk, have sense of direction, cultivate the habit of problem solving and identify role models that they look up to them in life. She emphasized that for them to become leaders, they must be academically strong, have the knack to serve, as well as develop the love for volunteer or just doing something for nothing. “We need to make the girls to start seeing themselves as full participation in nation building and as partners in the development process” She said.

 On her part, Chongwain Christelle Bay Nfor, director of HOFNA, said the girls were selected on their expressions of possessing leadership skills. She explained that HOFAN launched a call for applications and “we asked what they think about leadership and their visions and their responses guided us to do the selections”. HOFNA Director reiterated that fact that after the three days boot camp, the girls shall be assigned mentors to guide them in their leadership journeys in order to make sure they realize their dreams.

It should be recalled that the young girls were schooled with practical knowledge on how to address gender based violence, making good decisions, healthy friendships, team work and entrepreneurship, knowledge on female body changes like how pregnancy happens, how to communicate with a partner and prevent unwanted pregnancies and STI/HIV and how to produce local detergents that can make them financially viable.

Through interactive presentations, Comfort Musa cautioned them not to do online what they cannot do offline, like sharing nude pictures online and charting late in the night with opposite sex online.

Hope For the Needy Association, HOFNA it is worth mentioning is a not for profit making organization that focuses on leadership, development education promotion, advocacy on sexuality and reproduction related issues and the environment. Organized by HOFNA the girls’ leadership Boot camp was realized with additional funding from the Israeli embassy in Cameron.

HOFNA Director Chongwain Christelle Bay Nfor

PARTICIPANTS

VIPs at the girls leadership booth camp

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Breaking News: President Buhari Arrives Nigeria After 103 Days Abroad

President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived Nigeria after spending 103 days abroad where he received medical treatment.

Buhari had left the shores of Nigeria on May 7 and has been abroad for 103 days.

The president’s jet, Eagle One, which left London at 10.27am touched down at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja at about 4.36pm.

The President’s plane has landed at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. 4.36p. Acting president, Yemi Osinbajo, Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, Governors Rochas Okorocha and Mohammed Abubakar were on ground to receive the president. Also on ground were members of the president’s cabinet and presidential aides.

 en News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Over 18 Killed in Ghastly Motor Accident in Muyuka......Graphics pic

 Tongues are still waging at Mile 29 Muyuka in the South West Region of Cameroon after a duty truck lost control and collided with an 18 seater bus. The truck according to reports had brakes failure while descending the Mile 29 hill while the 18 seater bus was coming from Buea. The collision according to reports has claimed over 20 lives. Reports say the choral group members who were in the bus were returning to Buea after performing in Muyuka.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Forbe Ranking: Emma Stone Named Highest-Paid Actress for 2017

Emma Stone appears backstage with her Oscar during the 89th annual Academy Awards on February 26. Stone has been named the highest paid actress for 2017 by Forbes. Jennifer Aniston and Jennifer Lawrence also made the list. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI| License Photo

 

Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Emma Stone has taken the No. 1 spot atop the Forbes annual list of highest-paid actresses for 2017 ahead of Jennifer Aniston and Jennifer Lawrence.

The list, released Wednesday, has Stone earning $26 million mostly due to her role in award-winning musical La La Land, which won her the Best Actress Oscar.

Close behind in second place is Aniston who earned $25.5 million by continuing to receive royalties from her time on Friends and earning money through her various endorsement deals with Emirates airlines, Smartwater, and Aveeno.

Lawrence who was named the highest-paid actress in 2015 and 2016, has fallen down to third place taking in $24 million. The majority of her earnings come from her starring role in director Darren Aronofsky's upcoming thriller Mother!, due in theaters on Sept. 15.

Rounding out the rest of the Top 10 is Melissa McCarthy ($18 million), Mila Kunis ($15.5 million), Emma Watson ($14 million), Charlize Theron ($14 million), Cate Blanchett ($12 million), Julia Roberts ($12 million) and Amy Adams (11.5 million).

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Few Hours Nationwide Power Outrage Swallows Minister's Post, Puts President on Bended Knees

 A minister in Taiwan has resigned from his post even as the president issued a sincere apology after power went off for a few hours.

President Tsai Ing-wen

 

The President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday apologised for a nationwide power outage that struck the nation a day earlier.

Vanguard reports that the power outage reportedly affected millions of households.

The president vowed to review the island’s power grid in order to secure the system’s stability.

“I, on behalf of the administration, deeply apologise for the inconvenience and worry caused. It should have not happened,” Tsai said at a meeting of her ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s Central Standing Committee in Taipei.

 

Massive blackouts that lasted several hours on Tuesday were caused by a malfunction at the Tatan Power Plant, in Taoyuan county, the largest natural gas facility in Taiwan.

 

The malfunction, caused by human error, affected the supply of 4.65 million kilowatts of electricity and approximately 6.68 million households in 17 cities and counties on the main island of Taiwan.

 

Tsai called for a comprehensive review of the country’s “fragile power supply systems.’’

 

The outage led to the resignation of Economics Affairs Minister, Lee Chih-kung, on Tuesday. Premier Lin Chuan on Wednesday also ordered a probe to identify management problems in the state-run Taiwan Power Company and CPC Corporation Taiwan, a state-owned petroleum, natural gas, and gasoline company.

 

CPC Taiwan Chairman, Chen Chin-te said at a news conference on Wednesday that the human error was caused by a contractor’s failure to follow standard operating procedures.

 

Lin said the Taiwanese government would invite foreign specialists to help improve network stability and promote decentralised electricity generation.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

I Still Love Rihanna - Chris Brown Confesses

American singer, Chris Brown has confessed that he is still in love with Rihanna but admitted that he caused the problem that cost them their relationship.

Chris Brown and Rihanna when things were going fine

 

Chris Brown has opened up about the night he assaulted ex-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009.  The rapper, 28, spoke about the incident in a new clip for his documentary, Chris Brown: Welcome To My Life, where he described how things took a turn for the worse after he came clean about his sexual past with a woman who once worked for him.

Chris claimed that the confession came as a shock to the Barbadian singer, 29, after he had previously told her they were never romantically involved - causing their relationship to tun violent.

Speaking candidly about the incident which made international headlines, Chris revealed: 'She hated me. After that, I tried everything. She didn't care, she just didn't trust me after that. 

'From there, it just went downhill because it would be fights, it would be verbal fights, physical fights as well. Mutual sides, it is the first time I get to say anything.'

He continued: 'I still love Rihanna, but I'm just going to be honest - we would fight each other, she would hit me, I would hit her, but it never was OK. It was always a point to where we talk about it like, "What the f**k are we doing?"'

The Forever hitmaker added: 'If I go on stage, I got a scratch on my face, and I've got to explain it, like "Oh I fell", or if you got a scar or a bruise, you got to put make up on.  

'Sh*t, I'm not ever trying to put my hands on any female,' Chris continued.

'I felt like a f**king monster,' he said in the clip. 

 

 

The infamous night started after the woman Chris confessed about appeared at a Clive Davis party, where both he and Rihanna were attending. He claimed he had asked the woman prior to the party to stop going to places he would be at.

'That changed my life,' he said as he looked back at the night. 

'I made sure the person I was involved with before, I said hey, you can't come around to these places. And the person comes in, comes right to the table and says, "Hey what's up y'all." And I already know it's an issue, so I say "Hey cool" and I keep it moving.

'I look over at Rihanna and she's bawling, she's crying.'

Though things lightened up for the couple as Chris revealed they had a few drinks that night and he later offered her his cell phone for proof that he had no idea she would be there. 

To his surprise, the woman had indeed texted him that she would be at the same party - leaving her enraged, he revealed.  

'She starts going off, she throws the phone, "I hate you!", whatever, whatever, she starts hitting me, we're in a little Lamborghini, you know she's fighting me.'

 

He says he pleaded with her that he was telling the truth. But he says she continued to hit him.

'Like I remember she tried to kick me, just like her beating sh*t, but then I really hit her. With a closed fist, like I punched her, and it busted her lip, and when I saw it I was in shock, I was "f**k, why did I hit her like that?"

'So from there she's...spitting blood in my face, it raised me even more. It's a real fight in the car, and we driving in the street.

'I'm like "yo, we tripping, what the f**k, what are we doing?" She tried to grab for my phone, and I'm not giving her my phone, to throw it out the window.'

 

 

He says he pulled over in Hancock Park: 'I'm just trying to resolve the situation, I'm not trying to fight.' 

'She takes the keys out of the car...and fakes it like she throws them out of the window,' he added. 

'I get out the car and I'm looking for the keys and somebody yelled and she yells out her door, "Help, he’s trying to kill me."' 

He says he attempted to find the keys, but she was sitting on them. Following the incident, Chris plead guilty to one count of felony assault and served probation for the crime. Rihanna found it hard to move on from her first love, breaking in tears when quizzed about their volatile relationship on Oprah's Next Chapter in 2012. 

She said: 'I lost my best friend - like everything I knew switched in a night, and I couldn't control that.

'So, I had to deal with that and that's not easy for me to understand, interpret and it's not easy to interpret on camera, not with the world watching.' 

-Culled from Dailymail.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

The New 2018 Honda Jazz is Here #PhotoNews

In case you have some money to spare and you are a lover of good cars of the latest automobile technology, you can try out the latest Honda product without any fear of regrets.

 

Honda Jazz 2018

 

Honda, one of the most driven car brand in Nigeria, if you ever owned a Honda Jazz, well the old one, you may want to know that the 2018 model has been revealed.

 

Dubbed 2018 Honda Jazz, it was released ahead of the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show. Much has been updated in the Jazz, the most satisfactory is the the exterior that has the ‘Solid Wing Face‘ headlight signature and grille that runs in the Honda family.

 

The new Honda Jazz got its interior touched up too, at least technologically, it now has cruise control, automatic headlights, City-Brake Active safety system, a 7-inch Honda Connect infotainment system, rear-view parking camera, keyless entry and start, and most importantly, advanced safety technologies such as Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning and Traffic Sign Recognition.

 

Honda’s upgraded engines reduce fuel consumption and Co2 emissions and also produces 128hp although the the 100hp engine will still be available.

 

See more photos below:

 

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

African Leaders and Medical Tourism

African countries have been expending massive sums of money in the area of medical tourism over the failure of generations to develop the local medical systems.

 

President Muhammadu Buhari

 

African countries have a lot in common, including a tapestry of shared cultural and economic practices. True, there are numerous relatively distinct ethnic groups across the continent, a shared pattern of social, cultural, and economic practices is discernible.

 

Equally discernible is the shared pattern of political behaviour and stunted development across the continent. The most frequently identified factors responsible for this situation are poor leadership, weak institutions, governance failure, and endemic corruption.

 

One of the consequences of these shortcomings is poor health care across the continent. Save for a few private hospitals, whose charges are very high, most hospitals across the continent are poorly funded, under-equipped and poorly staffed. Many hospital laboratories lack the equipment and tools for the most basic lab tests, while their pharmacies run out of basic drugs like pain killers, antibiotics, and anti-malarial medicines.

 

It is the poor – health care system in Africa that popularised medical tourism – the practice of travelling abroad to obtain medical treatment-on the continent. For Africans, medical tourism destinations include North America, Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia, especially India. South Africa is the only known medical tourism destination in Africa.

 

In 2016 alone, Africans spent well over $6bn on medical tourism, with Nigerians accounting for over $2bn. These could only be conservative estimates as we often do not know how much government officials spend abroad on medical care. What we do know for sure is that the Nigerian federal and state governments spent less than the above amount on health care facilities in 2016. Indeed, the Federal Government’s health budget for 2016 was only about $800m. Worse still, not all of it was released and, of the amount released, a reasonable portion of it must have been misappropriated.

 

As indicated above, Nigeria is the leading producer of medical tourists in Africa, not simply because Nigeria has the largest population in Africa but also because Nigeria has one of the poorest health care facilities on the continent.

 

On top of the list of medical tourists from Nigeria are Presidents, governors, legislators, company executives, and their family members. Among the most notorious medical tourists are the late President Umaru Yar’Adua and the incumbent President, Muhammadu Buhari. After repeated medical visits to Germany, Yar’Adua spent three months in hospital in Saudi Arabia, returning to Nigeria under the cover of darkness, never to be seen in public until he was declared dead on May 5, 2010.

 

The record of his medical sojourn abroad has now been surpassed by Buhari, who has already spent more than four months in London, receiving medical treatment for an undisclosed illness, and his return date remains undetermined. He says it is left to his doctors. It is this lack of specificity about his return, more than the non-disclosure of his ailment, that has generated the most criticisms, expressed in various commentaries and protests.

 

Nigerian leaders are, however, not alone in the non-disclosure of their illness nor are they the only African leaders who engage in medical tourism. At least four other African leaders are co-travellers.

 

Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who has been President of Angola for the last 38 years, had travelled several times to Spain for medical treatment, again for an undisclosed problem.

 

Another sit-tight President, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, who has been in power since 1980, has made three medical trips to Singapore this year alone. His political opponents have accused him of running the country from his “hospital bed” but he says he is going nowhere and he is not dying. He is 93 years old.

 

In the case of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria, his illness is difficult to hide, although its specific cause remains undisclosed. He had a stroke in 2013, which transferred his mobility to a wheelchair. But he has been going to France for medical treatment ever before the stroke occurred, and he has been going there periodically ever since for what his aides describe as medical checkups.

 

Even the relatively young President Patrice Talon of Benin Republic, who is only 59, has also been engaging in medical tourism to France. The major exception in his case, which his colleagues should emulate, is the full disclosure of his ailments.

 

In June this year, his government disclosed that he went to a hospital in France for two major operations, one on his prostate gland and the other on his digestive system. The reactions of his fellow citizens have been genuine prayers for his recovery.

 

Medical tourism by African leaders comes at a huge cost to their countries, which the taxpayers have to bear. This explains the agitation for more open disclosure not only of the nature of their illnesses but also the cost of treatment. In the case of President Buhari, the practice of non-disclosure is further complicated by the duration of his treatment and the uncertainty that comes with it. As I once indicated on this column, this has led to the loss of a human angle to the criticisms as the public sympathy for his condition wanes.

 

Besides the capital flight that goes with medical tourism, the practice is an indictment of the health care system in African countries, most of which rank poorly on the Human Development Index. The involvement of African leaders in medical tourism accentuates this indictment by further undermining the health care system.

 

There are even bigger problems: One, political leaders may not have the incentive and political will to improve the health care system at home, if they and their families can go abroad for medical treatment.

 

Two, the deplorable situation in government medical facilities has encouraged brain drain, leading African doctors to go abroad in search of greener pastures. Today, there are Nigerian doctors in virtually every notable hospital across the United States and Europe. Indeed, many Nigerian patients go abroad for treatment, only to be attended to by a Nigerian doctor or nurse.

 

For Nigerian doctors, who remain to establish their own hospitals and clinics, the outcome has been pathetic. In Akure, Ondo State, for example, a once notable medical landmark, Dairo and Dairo Hospital, had to fold up after several years of operation. When I last interviewed Dr. Tayo Dairo and his wife, Dr. Dupe Dairo, on why they closed down the facility, their response was typical. In a country where nearly 70 per cent of the population live below the poverty line, private hospitals often have to run at a loss. The situation is worsened by medical tourism as those who can afford to pay prefer to go abroad for treatment.

 

The question now is what to do to improve the health care facilities at home as no legislation can prevent those who can afford it from going abroad for treatment. For one thing, legislators may not make laws that would prevent them from going abroad for treatment. Besides, the freedom to spend one’s money on medical treatment abroad should not be curtailed by legislation.

 

One path to a solution is to impress it on federal and state governments to increase the budgetary allocation for health care and then set up enforcement committees at both levels to ensure that the budgeted sums are released and spent as earmarked. The function of the ministries of health should be limited to ensuring service delivery in the various medical facilities.

 

Until and unless medical facilities at home improve significantly, medical tourism will continue with all its negative implications for health care system at home. Whether or not they are medical tourists themselves, African leaders should muster the political will to improve the heath care system in their respective countries.

 

Written by Punch Newspaper columnist, Niyi Akinnaso

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)