Latest news with #POB
Otago Daily Times
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Cosie Cup with Old Boys
Pirates Old Boys won the Cosie Cup, the memorial trophy in the name of Paul Cosgrove, when they beat Woodlands 31-12 in the Southland premier club rugby competition on Saturday. Cosie had a special association with both the POB and Woodlands clubs before he died four years ago from cancer. POB and Woodlands are the leading teams in the competition with four rounds remaining in the round-robin. POB led 14-0 at halftime after tries to No8 Hayden Hegarty from close to the line, and lock Craig Smith from a textbook lineout drive. Woodlands scored their first try with 25 minutes remaining in the game, but POB took back control through another lineout drive with Dusty Coveney emerging from the pack to score. Midfielder Napo Seru brushed off a couple of would-be defenders to score the fifth try for POB. Woodlands scored a try near fulltime. Marist beat the Eastern Northern Barbarians 23-19 at Miller St in Invercargill. The Barbarians outscored Marist three tries to two but Scott Eade's goal kicking proved to be the difference for Marist. Marist coach Derek Manson was proud to see how well his team fronted up after a challenging couple of weeks. "We had plenty to play for, everybody put in a hell of a shift," Manson said. "It was a good showing from the Barbarians as well, they were as motivated as we were." Marist got off to the best possible start when flanker Jackson Bevin scored from a lineout. Barbarian hooker Liam Ferguson scored two tries to give the visitors a 12-10 lead at halftime. Marist first five Eade steered the team around and Curtis Tarrant did the right thing at the right time from fullback, including a game saving tackle when the Babaas were threatening to score at the end. The Marist props Liam McIntosh and Joe Turaganivalu scrummed well and the lineout operated at its usual high standard. Midfielder Mike Moodie was man of the match, while flanker Jackson Bevan and hooker James Moodie had their usual high work rate. Left wing Keanu Kahukura played his 150th game for Marist, while James Moodie was celebrating his 50th. Riley Hika and Hunter Burgess received their club blazers on Saturday night after playing 30 games. Star earned a 38-19 win over Blues on club day at Balmoral Dr. Star led 31-0 at halftime. By John Langford
West Australian
08-05-2025
- Health
- West Australian
Psychs on Bikes to make first stop to Albany RSL to deliver free mental and physical health checks
A group of medical practitioners aiming to destigmatise the mental health of regional men will roll into Albany on their motorbikes for the first time on Sunday, in the second stop of a 12-day regional tour. The 15 members of Psychs on Bikes will attend Albany RSL on May 11, where psychiatrists, psychologists, and mental health nurses will perform free mental and physical health check-ups. Sydney-based psychiatrist Joe Dunn started the initiative in 2012 and has since covered roughly 100,000km of road on his bike with the team. He said Albany, which has yet to be a destination on the POB trail, has been on his agenda for a while. 'I was yearning to go to that part of the world, that great big slab of beautiful Australia on the South West coast,' he said. Dr Dunn said though anyone can attend the visits, which aim to address the 'four silent killers' of high blood pressure, diabetes, alcohol, and depression, a primary focus was on destigmatising men's mental health treatment. 'A lot of what we do is aimed towards men as they have a suicide rate four to fives times higher than woman,' he said. 'Wherever we go, people need our services but one of the sadnesses is we can't treat people ongoing, but we can help people learn what's available and what they should do and put a label on their distress. 'We explain what is anxiety, panic attack, grief, how do you know if you're drinking too much, what to do if you're feeling suicidal. 'Then we ask if they'd like to sit down with psychs and apart from the educational aspect, half the point is to desensitise men to the idea of sitting down with a profession and see it's not scary or invasive or a shaming process.' Alongside the mental health discussions, attendees can have their blood pressure, blood glucose and BMI/weight checked out by the nurses. After Albany, the tour will travel to Esperance and Kalgoorlie, before heading across the Nullarbor where the tour will end in Dubbo. The group will be at the Albany RSL sub-branch from 4-7pm this Sunday in conjunction with the Albany Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service who will be attending with their fire truck.
Zawya
01-03-2025
- Health
- Zawya
High-level delegation visits Nigeria, urges commitments from government
As Nigeria intensifies efforts to halt the transmission of type 2 variant poliovirus, a high-level delegation from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), visited Abuja, Nigeria, 27-28 February 2025. During the visit, government, traditional leaders, and partners renewed their commitment to overcome remaining challenges to end polio in Nigeria. The visit, conducted by the Polio Oversight Board (POB), which is the highest decision-making body of GPEI, focused on reviewing progress, addressing challenges such as insecurity and vaccine misinformation, and mobilizing increased domestic and international support for polio eradication. Led by Dr Chris Elias, Chair of the POB, the delegation engaged in conversations with Nigeria's government and the highest traditional leader, the Sultan of Sokoto, to emphasize the need for renewed country leadership and ownership at all levels of government in the effort to stop the ongoing transmission of type 2 variant poliovirus. Other members of the delegation included Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Acting WHO Regional Director for Africa, Mr Gilles Fagninou, UNICEF's Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Mr Mike McGovern, Chair of Rotary International PolioPlus Committee, Mr Derrick Sim, Interim Chief Vaccine Programmes&Markets Officer, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; Mr. Massimo De Luca, Head of Cooperation at the Delegation of the European Union to the Federal Republic of Nigeria and ECOWAS and GPEI Donor Representative. In Abuja, the delegation met with Prof Muhammad Ali Pate, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, who emphasized the country's longstanding commitment to polio eradication and underscored that further dedication across the country is necessary to implement corrective measures and stop transmission for good. The POB delegation also met His Royale Highness Abubakar, Umar Suleiman, Mai Bade, representing the Sultan of Sokoto, who reaffirmed Nigeria's steadfast commitment to polio eradication and routine immunization strengthening. Additionally, the delegation met with Dr Muyi Aina, Executive Director and CEO of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, and leadership from the National Emergency Operations Center. They assessed the current epidemiology of the virus and discussed the recommendations from the 42nd Expert Review Committee (ERC) on Polio Eradication and Routine Immunization in Nigeria. The ERC, a technical body composed of experts who regularly assess the progress of a country's polio eradication programme, met in Abuja on 29-30 January 2025 and gave a series of recommendations. To close immunity gaps and end polio transmission, the ERC urged greater political leadership, calling for active engagement of government officials and stronger accountability measures. The ERC recommended surveillance efforts and campaign quality must be improved through proven strategies to ensure targeted vaccine coverage. To enhance operations, the ERC recommended digitalizing vaccine tracking, strengthening cold chain logistics and ensuring timely fund disbursements. Additionally, the ERC recommended routine immunization must be strengthened through integration with polio campaigns and by deploying effective social mobilization strategies to counter misinformation and vaccine hesitancy. Throughout 2023-2024, type 2 variant poliovirus transmission levels were static despite tremendous efforts at all levels to reach every under-5 child with polio vaccines in the states that are affected by variant poliovirus. As of 15 February 2025, there were 94 confirmed polio affected children across 15 States during 2024. No type 2 variant poliovirus cases have been detected in Nigeria so far in 2025. The POB delegation underscored that renewed commitment from stakeholders at all levels of the country's robust polio eradication programme is critical to stopping the type 2 variant poliovirus from spreading within Nigeria and across neighbouring countries. Delegates further emphasized the need to accelerate the strengthening of routine immunization systems, given that optimal routine immunization coverage is key to breaking the ongoing transmission of type 2 variant poliovirus. Together with the government, the delegation agreed that rapid progress can be possible with significant efforts coordinating across states and federal ministries. Nigerian leaders reaffirmed their commitment to bolstering polio outbreak response activities and routine immunization to protect all children against polio. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) - Nigeria.
