The Chief Medical Director of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital (COOUTH), Amaku Awka, Dr. Joe Akabuike, says there nothing like sudden death.
Akabuike in a paper during a Health Awareness programme organized by the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Anambra State Chapter, blamed such death on carelessness among Nigerians about their health.
Explaining the theme “End Slump and Die Syndrome: Your Health First”, the CMD said, “Let’s be intentional on issues concerning our health.
“There’s nothing as sudden death only that we don’t in most cases don’t make our overall well-being a priority.
“Eat healthy, exercise heavy and rest well. Check your vital signs on a regular basis and keep a clean environment,” he admonished.
Akabuike admonished Nigerians to prioritize regular medical checkups, routine exercise, and healthy living to prevent “slump and die syndrome.”
Do not bury hastily
He advised against hasty burying of individuals who slump or are presumed dead saying that many people have been buried alive through the practice.
The medical expert advised that such persons be taken hospitals for proper medical evaluation or autopsy to confirm death and determine its causes.
Earlier, the Chairperson, NAWOJ Anambra State chapter, Comrade Tochukwu Ifejika, encouraged journalists and other essential workers to prioritize their health.
“We should always remember that we can be replaced in their offices immediately we are dead.
“No one is indispensable. Your replacement comes immediately after you die because nature abhors vacuum”.
Chairman of the occasion and Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Anambra State Council, Dr. Odogwu Emeka, urged women to make most of opportunities like the Health Awareness program to learn one or two things to impart on them.
Representatives of security agencies – Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS), Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra (OCHA) brigade, Fire Brigade Service appreciated NAWOJ for the focus of the Health Awareness Program.
Chairperson of the Organizing Committee, Comrade Chinyere Fessy-Okoye, encouraged participants to acquire basic first-aid tools in their homes and offices to help manage emergencies before professional help arrives.
Representative of the Nigerian Red Cross, Anambra State Chapter, Lady Nkechinyelu Nnaji and her team demonstrated CPR, practical first-aid techniques and how to respond to various health emergencies.
Participants cut the first anniversary cake of the present administration of NAWOJ while Dr Nwachukwu Anakwenze (Founder Anakwenze Foundation) was awarded as most Impactful Foundation and Philanthropist Of the Year.
