🇳🇬NigeriaWest Africa
WHO highlights vaccines' impact as World Immunisation Week begins
via Punch Nigeria2 min read
The World Health Organization WHO announced that vaccines have saved over 150 million lives in the past 50 years, protecting individuals and communities from diseases like measles, diphtheria, pertussis, polio, and rotavirus. This statement was made on Friday as World Immunisation Week commenced, running from April 24 to April 30. During this week, WHO and its partners are emphasizing the benefits of vaccines throughout life and the scientific advancements leading to inoculations against malaria, HPV, cholera, dengue, meningitis, RSV, Ebola, and mpox. This year marks the midpoint of Immunisation Agenda 2030, a global initiative led by WHO to ensure access to life-saving vaccines. A report assessing progress indicated that despite challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical instability, climate disruption, and limited financing, immunization efforts over the last five years have prevented millions of deaths. However, most targets are off track due to persistent gaps in routine coverage, equity, and outbreak prevention in many countries. The UN health agency is advocating for renewed commitments to establish more sustainable national programs, stronger integration with primary healthcare, and increased prioritization by global health agencies and partners. On Friday, WHO, along with UNICEF and Gavi, reported that "The Big Catch-up" campaign, launched in 2023 to address vaccination declines, has reached an estimated 18.3 million children aged one to five across 36 cou
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TikTok announced it removed 4.02 million videos and interrupted over 86,000 LIVE sessions in Nigeria during the fourth quarter of 2025. This action is part of the platform's efforts to enhance safety and integrity, as detailed in its Q4 2025 Community Guidelines Enforcement Report. The company stated that 99.9% of the violating videos were proactively detected and removed before user reports, with 98.4% taken down within 24 hours of posting. These figures reflect TikTok's increased investment in automated detection and rapid response systems to combat harmful content. Globally, TikTok removed more than 175.3 million videos in the same period, representing about 0.5% of all uploaded content. The platform also issued warnings, demonetized content, and took other enforcement actions against over 17.7 million LIVE sessions and 9.2 million creators worldwide for violating LIVE monetization policies. TikTok is also intensifying efforts against harmful and misleading AI-generated content, requiring creators to label realistic AI-generated media and deploying automated detection systems. The company reaffirmed its commitment to a safe digital environment through advanced moderation technologies and collaboration with government agencies and civil society organizations.
Must ReadPeter Obi, the 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s administration regarding what he described as excessive borrowing and poor fiscal accountability. Obi stated that Nigeria’s total public debt has increased to approximately N200 trillion, which he attributed to "imprudent governance" under the current administration. He noted this represents an increase of over N100 trillion in three years, contrasting it with the roughly N49 trillion accumulated during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure. Obi, the former Labour Party presidential flagbearer in the 2023 election, posted this statement on his X handle, indicating a lack of accountability and transparency in managing borrowed funds. He cited figures from the Budget Office, stating that the government borrowed N11.89 trillion in the first three quarters of 2025 January to September, exceeding its planned borrowing target of N10.34 trillion by about N1.54 trillion. Obi questioned how the remaining funds were utilized, noting that only N3.10 trillion of the borrowed funds was allocated to capital expenditure during the January–September 2025 period, representing 17.66 percent of the N17.58 trillion earmarked for capital projects, leaving a funding gap of about N14.48 trillion. Nigeria has faced increasing debt pressures since the Tinubu administration’s reforms began in mid-2023, including the removal of fuel subsidies and unification of the forei
Pope Leo arrived in Barcelona on Tuesday, the fourth day of his visit to Spain, to celebrate mass in the Sagrada Familia Basilica and bless its new tower. This new tower has made the Sagrada Familia the world's tallest church. Before arriving in Barcelona, Pope Leo was in Madrid where he delivered a speech to parliament and held an open-air mass for 1.5 million people. He also thanked thousands of volunteers who assisted with logistics and security in the capital. In Barcelona, Pope Leo is scheduled to visit the city’s Gothic cathedral and lead a prayer vigil in the Olympic Stadium later on Tuesday. On Wednesday, he is expected to meet prisoners and visit an abbey on Montserrat mountain before the mass at the Sagrada Familia. The mass will mark 100 years since the death of architect Antoni Gaudi, who designed the still-unfinished modernist masterpiece. After the mass, Pope Leo will bless the Jesus Christ tower, completed in February, which brought the basilica to its maximum height of 172.5 meters. Full completion of the Sagrada Familia is anticipated in approximately a decade. Pope Leo will then travel to the Canary Islands on Thursday and Friday to meet migrants and volunteers, and to honor those who died attempting to reach the archipelago.