By Princess-Ekwi Ajide, Abuja
Federal Government of Nigeria has expressed worry that the country has one of the highest figures of heart related diseases in Africa owing to consumption of unhealthy fats.
Speaking on the need to educate Nigerians on keeping fit at this week’s ministerial update on COVID-19 response and development in the health sector, the Director, Family Health, Dr. Salma Anas regretted that food vendors use trans-fat especially in bakery and confectionaries and several other snacks Nigerians consume daily.
She noted that the Ministry is working closely with NAFDAC, to ensure that Nigerians avoid all fats that are fortified and hydrogenated which unfortunately can lead to death, urging Nigerians to be cognizant that trans-fat are very dangerous to health as it causes a lot of problem with circulation thereby, leading to heart problems.
Dr. Anas, however, noted that there are fats which are regarded as high density cholesterol or the good fats warning Nigerians to be careful in what they eat especially outside their homes and avoid trans-fats like margarine which she said Nigerians unfortunately enjoy a lot even if they reside abroad.
She further stressed that there are high incidence of lung cancer in the country owing to smoking of Shisha which she described as one of the imported cultures that are foreign to Nigeria, cautioning that “shisha” has permeated all nooks and crannies of the country even though it is much more dangerous than tobacco.
She encouraged citizens to eat more quality food than quantity by consuming lots of fruits and vegetables.
Speaking on behalf of the Ports Health Services, Dr. Geofery Okadigbo, said they are currently tracking passengers coming into Nigeria from countries and as at last weekend, the services screened more than 44,000 passengers in the five International airports in the country.
He said their data shows that 96 percent of passengers coming into the country are fully vaccinated and expressed worry that a higher percentage of passengers coming in or leaving the country from Ogun State are carrying fake COVID-19 cards.
According to him, all 422 people found with fake COVID-19 cards have been handed over to security agencies.
