Health
COVID-19: Tell your followers to sit at home, Akin Fadeyi Foundation to politicians, clergy
BY: Nmerichukwu Igweamaka
The Akin Fadeyi Foundation, conveners of the Corruption, Not in My country Project have called on all religious, political and traditional Institutions to adhere to the government and World Health Organization’s directive on the restriction of all religious and political gatherings are strictly adhered to.
In a statement signed by the Organization’s Founder and ED, Akin Fadeyi, ‘’The rate of infections and tragic mortalities around the globe has underscored such compelling need for all of us to yield to government directive’.
He added, ‘irrespective of our country’s level of coordination, surveillance and critical preparedness, as citizens, we still have a huge role to play within our communities to ensure the prevention or reduction of human-to-human transmission. This will not only protect us; it will also reduce the pressure on our nation’s health workers who are staking everything on the front-line to keep us alive”.
Fadeyi said, COVID-19 death toll has been on the rise across the world, necessitating travel bans and border closures. For the first time since after the second world war, the whole world is facing an anomalous challenge containing the deadly COVID-19.
The virus was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization following the high number of reported cases in China, Italy, Iran, Spain, Germany, S. Korea, France, US, UK and other countries, with a current record of over 8,000 deaths and 219,000 reported cases.
Following the most recent report issued by the Nigerian Government, there’s a total of 12 confirmed cases in the country. To this end and as a preventive measure, the federal government has issued a travel ban on the US, UK and 11 other countries, whilst schools are also being shut down.
Nonetheless, Nigeria’s Centre for Disease Control (‘NCDC’) has developed a new guideline for people to stay in self-isolation. In the guideline called the ‘Self Isolation Guidance for Nigeria’, citizens returning into the country especially from China, Japan, Italy, Republic of Korea, Iran, France, Germany, and Spain are advised to adhere strictly to the 14 days self-isolation rules to prevent further exposure or spreading of the disease to other members of the society.
However, if religious and political gatherings are still being observed unabated, Nigerian citizens and indeed foreigners amongst us would be vulnerable to the risk of infection, at a time where even the best scientist in the world are still grappling with straws to find a cure.
We commend the NCDC for its timely release of information and efforts since the outbreak of COVID-19, even as we acknowledge their possible challenges in the face of infrastructural shortfalls in our healthcare system.
While the Akin Fadeyi Foundation would like to convey its heartfelt wishes to all currently affected by the COVID-19 virus and wish them a speedy recovery, we urge our fellow citizens not to panic, but to thoroughly adhere to the World Health Organization’s protocol for prevention, which includes consistent handwash with soap under running water for 30 seconds, social distancing, and avoidance of crowd, sneezing and coughing into elbow, and by all means, quickly reporting symptomatic signs to authorities concerned.
As a Foundation and with support from our funders, the McArthur Foundation, we shall soon be rolling out audio-visual messages on social media and TV in furthering consistent and robust messaging that enable us all to exercise caution.
Health
Cybercriminals Successfully Encrypted Data in Ransomware Attacks on Nearly 75% of Healthcare Organizations, Sophos Survey
Only 24% of Healthcare Organizations Were Able to Disrupt a Ransomware Attack Before Attackers Encrypted Their Data. This is the Lowest Rate of Disruption in 3 Years, reports SANDRA ANI
Sophos, a global leader in innovating and delivering cybersecurity as a service, today shared its sector survey report, “The State of Ransomware in Healthcare 2023,” which revealed that, among those organizations surveyed, cybercriminals successfully encrypted data in nearly 75% of ransomware attacks.
This is the highest rate of encryption in the past three years and a significant increase from the 61% of healthcare organizations that reported having their data encrypted last year.
In addition, only 24% of healthcare organizations were able to disrupt a ransomware attack before the attackers encrypted their data—down from 34% in 2022; this is the lowest rate of disruption reported by the sector over the past three years.
“To me, the percentage of organizations that successfully stop an attack before encryption is a strong indicator of security maturity. For the healthcare sector, however, this number is quite low—only 24%. What’s more, this number is declining, which suggests the sector is actively losing ground against cyberattackers and is increasingly unable to detect and stop an attack in progress.
“Part of the problem is that ransomware attacks continue to grow in sophistication, and the attackers are speeding up their attack timelines. In the latest Active Adversary Report for Tech Leaders, we found that the median time from the start of a ransomware attack to detection was only five days. We also found that 90% of ransomware attacks took place after regular business hours. The ransomware threat has simply become too complex for most companies to go at it alone. All organizations, especially those in healthcare, need to modernize their defensive approach to cybercrime, moving from being solely preventative to actively monitoring and investigating alerts 24/7 and securing outside help in the form of services like managed detection and response (MDR),” said Chester Wisniewski, director, field CTO, Sophos.
Additional key findings from the report include:
- In 37% of ransomware attacks where data was successfully encrypted, data was also stolen, suggesting a rise in the “double dip” method
- Healthcare organizations are now taking longer to recover, with 47% recovering in a week, compared to 54% last year
- The overall number of ransomware attacks against healthcare organizations surveyed declined from 66% in 2022 to 60% this year
- Compromised credentials were the number one root cause of ransomware attacks against healthcare organizations, followed by exploits
- The number of healthcare organizations surveyed that paid ransom payments declined from 61% last year to 42% this year. This is lower than the cross-sector average of 46%
“In 2016, the Red Cross Hospital of Córdoba in Spain suffered a ransomware attack that reached servers and encrypted hundreds of files, medical records and other important patient information. It was a major disruption to our operations and interfered with our ability to care for our patients. The stakes are high in ransomware attacks against healthcare organizations—and attackers know that—meaning we’ll always be a target. After this ransomware attack, we worked hard with Tekpyme to bolster our defenses, and now we have reduced our incident response time by 80%. I think the industry as a whole is making improvements, but there is still work to do, because of the constantly changing nature of cybercrime. Hopefully healthcare organizations can leverage the help that is available from security vendors such as Sophos to prevent a very real ‘threat to life’ if systems go offline due to a ransomware attack,” said José Antonio Alcaraz Pérez, head of information systems and communications at Cruz Red Andalusia in Spain.
“Cyberspace today is ripe with technically sophisticated actors looking for vulnerabilities to exploit. What all this translates to is a multidimensional cyberthreat of actors who have the tools to paralyze entire hospitals. Partnering with the private sector is critical to our mission. The information [they] share has real-world impacts and can save real businesses and real lives,” said Christopher Wray, FBI Director.
Sophos recommends the following best practices to help defend against ransomware and other cyberattacks:
- Strengthen defensive shields with:
- Security tools that defend against the most common attack vectors, including endpoint protection with strong anti-ransomware and anti-exploit capabilities
- Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) to thwart the abuse of compromised credentials
- Adaptive technologies that respond automatically to attacks, disrupting adversaries and buying defenders time to respond
- 24/7 threat detection, investigation and response, whether delivered in-house or by a specialized Managed Detection and Response (MDR) provider
- Optimize attack preparation, including regularly backing up, practicing recovering data from backups and maintaining an up-to-date incident response plan
- Maintain security hygiene, including timely patching and regularly reviewing security tool configurations
To learn more about the State of Ransomware in Healthcare 2023, download the full report from Sophos.com.
*The State of Ransomware 2023 survey polled 3,000 IT/cybersecurity leaders in organizations with between 100 and 5,000 employees, including 233 from the healthcare sector, across 14 countries in the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific.
Health
LUTH Doctor Slumps And Dies After 72hrs Call In The Neurosurgery Unit
Outrage As LUTH Doctor Dies After 72-hour Non-stop Shift
Tweeps have taken to X to share their thoughts on the death of a young doctor, identified as Dr. Umoh Michael, who died on Sunday after allegedly working 72 hours straight.
According to reports, Michael died during a church service at the United Evangelical Church on September 17. He was said to have worked a 72-hour non-stop shift at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, where he was a resident doctor.
Doctors under the aegis of the Association of Resident Doctors, LUTH chapter, in a letter addressed to the Chief Medical Director, LUTH, Prof. Wasiu Lanre Adeyemo, attested to the fact that the young doctor was overworked.
They claimed Michael returned home at about 3:00 a.m. Sunday after a 72-hour shift in the hospital, adding that he had barely slept in their apartment before that day.
The statement partly read, “We the house officers are in deep grief over the loss of our colleague, a co-house officer (Dr Umoh Michael) who died on 17th September, 2023, after having a 72hrs call in the Neurosurgery Unit.
“He is said to have been on call 72hrs before arriving home on Sunday morning to get set for church service, reaching his worship center (United Evangelical Church) where he slumped in the church at about 11 am.”
“His roommate attested to the fact that Umoh Michael had barely slept in their apartment over the past one week as he was always on call or the day he returned home was around 3 a.m. after surgeries and other activities in the Neurosurgery Unit.”
Reacting to the sad incident, LUTH’s Public Relations Officer, Omolola Fakeye, who spoke on an online platform (not PUNCH) Online said, “It is not true that anybody worked for 72 hours. I have not been briefed about his death.
“We were at a programme yesterday (Monday), but I will find out; I can’t say anything now. I will check the medical report of what could have happened because anybody can say anything, but the medical report will show us what happened.”
May his soul rest in peace.
Health
Why You Need To Drink More Water Than You Use To
Hello! It’s the weekend, And as usual, We want to share some quick important healthy living tips with you.
Today, We will be sharing on the IMPORTANCE OF DRINKING ENOUGH WATER.
Do you know that Adult humans are 60 percent water, and our blood is 90 percent water? Now, There isn’t an agreed quantity of water that must be consumed daily. You only need to drink as plenty as you should.
Water can be said to be one of the highest natural medicines to man, As it helps avoid a lot of sicknesses like kidney stones, And it also helps in their healing process.
Here are a few importance of drinking enough water;
1. It boosts skin health and beauty: With dehydration, the skin can become more vulnerable to skin disorders and premature wrinkling.
2. It cushions the brain, spinal cord, and other sensitive tissues: Dehydration can affect brain structure and function. It is also involved in the production of hormones and neurotransmitters. Prolonged dehydration can lead to problems with thinking and reasoning.
3. It regulates body temperature: Water that is stored in the middle layers of the skin comes to the skin’s surface as sweat when the body heats up. As it evaporates, it cools the body. In sport.
4. The digestive system depends on it: The bowel needs water to work properly. Dehydration can lead to digestive problems, constipation, and an overly acidic stomach. This increases the risk of heartburn and stomach ulcers.
5. Adequate water flushes body waste easily: For sweating and removal of urine and feces.
6. The airways need it: When dehydrated, Airways are restricted by the body in an effort to minimize water loss. This can make asthma and allergies worse.
7. It helps maintain body blood pressure.
8. It prevents kidney damage: The kidneys regulate fluid in the body. Insufficient water can lead to kidney stones and other problems.
9. Consuming enough water instead of sweetened drinks helps with weight loss.
10. Joint Lubrication: Cartilage, found in joints and the disks of the spine, contains around 80% water. Dehydration can reduce the joints’ shock-absorbing ability, leading to joint pain.
Please drink enough water!
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