WOMEN’S PERCEPTION OF THE ACTUALISATION OF THE 5TH MDG (REDUCTION OF MATERNAL MORTALITY): A STUDY OF PREGNANT WOMEN IN IMO STATE, NIGERIA

Goal number five of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), reduction of maternal mortality, had always represented a major challenge for Nigerian women. As the deadline for the actualization of the goals approaches, this study examined Nigerian women’s perception of the attainment of the target goal. Pregnant women registered in health facilities in Imo State, Nigeria, were purposively studied. For this study, 210 pregnant women were sampled in 21 (5%) out of the 416 documented health facilities in the State. Using data gathered over a sampling period of 11 days by means of questionnaire and oral interview, analyses were done using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. The analyses found out that Nigeria was making progress in reducing maternal mortality rates, but the pace still remains too slow, as there are still many instances of deaths related to childbirth. Factors responsible for the slow progress were given as low ratio of births attended by skilled health workers, especially in rural areas; unfortunate attitudes to antenatal and postnatal care, poor state of health/medical infrastructure, etc. This study recommended the need for Nigeria to declare primary health care as a national emergency in 2015 and implement policies that will bring about structural change in the health sector and behavioural change among pregnant women

WOMEN’S PERCEPTION OF THE ACTUALISATION OF THE 5TH MDG (REDUCTION OF MATERNAL MORTALITY): A STUDY OF PREGNANT WOMEN IN IMO STATE, NIGERIA

Goal number five of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), reduction of maternal mortality, had always represented a major challenge for Nigerian women. As the deadline for the actualization of the goals approaches, this study examined Nigerian women’s perception of the attainment of the target goal. Pregnant women registered in health facilities in Imo State, Nigeria, were purposively studied. For this study, 210 pregnant women were sampled in 21 (5%) out of the 416 documented health facilities in the State. Using data gathered over a sampling period of 11 days by means of questionnaire and oral interview, analyses were done using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. The analyses found out that Nigeria was making progress in reducing maternal mortality rates, but the pace still remains too slow, as there are still many instances of deaths related to childbirth. Factors responsible for the slow progress were given as low ratio of births attended by skilled health workers, especially in rural areas; unfortunate attitudes to antenatal and postnatal care, poor state of health/medical infrastructure, etc. This study recommended the need for Nigeria to declare primary health care as a national emergency in 2015 and implement policies that will bring about structural change in the health sector and behavioural change among pregnant women

Comparative study of cocoa-sweat and that of pure honey

The comparative study of cocoa-sweat and that of pure honey were carried out to show whether the taste of former could be accepted as an alternative to the later, using the hedonic scale of sensory evaluation. The fructose components of cocoa-sweat were compared with that of pure honey, using  spectrophotometer absorbency method. The cocoa-sweat concentrated for 10 min had a closed value of fructose content (2.69%) as against 3.41% of pure honey. The cocoa-sweat concentrated for 20 and 30 min had higher fructose content of 9.31 and 9.46% respectively, as against 3.41% of pure honey. From the sensory evaluation tests, the cocoa-sweat concentrated for 20 and 30 min were highly acceptable with mean values if 27.3 and 28.8 respectively, as compared to the sweat concentrated for 10 min that had 24.6 mean value. The sweat concentrated for 10 min was recommended for use as a natural source of sweetener in place of sugar, in the absence of pure honey

THE BITTER-HONEY NATURE OF TRADITIONAL MYTH PRACTICES IN SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIA: THE CASE OF KABANGATENDE CULT OF OBUDU COSMOLOGY IN CROSS RIVER STATES

Every way of life, whether Asian, European or African, is traditional by nature. This corpus explores contradictions inherent in the traditional practice of the myth of the Kabangatendé cult of Obudu in Cross River State, Southern Nigeria. The myth presents an image of positive effects on human practitioners, leading to a consistent increase in money, social influence and political strength. It is also said to be a symbol of affluence, nobility, auspiciousness, success and prosperity with less effort. It is imperative to note that myths operate in diverse capacities. Some are authoritative and appear to have a compelling force of obedience on the people, while others are manipulated and their influence on custodians can be termed to befit situations. This study seeks to address the following questions: Is the Kabangatende cult a revolutionary myth that militates against human existence? Does this myth halt the economic, social and political transformation of its custodians? Or is it an artistic reality that favors literary aesthetics that in turn promote Obudu tradition? In an attempt to arrive at possible tentative responses to the interrogations raised, the paper hinges on Joseph Campbell’s theory of monomyth and other theories whereby empirical evidence will be drawn from ethnographic and historical research, interviews and observations. This study contributes in a better understanding on how traditional practices, with counter-productive tendencies notwithstanding, can be adhered to by the people

Regulating assisted reproductive technologies (ART) in Nigeria: lessons from Australia and the United Kingdom

Assisted reproductive technologies (ART), are innovative, non-coital medical procreative procedures, that have brought respite to a number of childless persons and couples, just as it also raises a number of ethical and medico-legal issues. A number of countries including Nigeria, are still struggling to find the appropriate legal framework to provide guidelines for this reproductive process to curtail inherent unethical practices associated with that development. The paper explores the available regulatory instruments in Nigeria and in cognate jurisdictions such as Australia and the United Kingdom, through a comparative study to ascertain the efficacy of the existing instruments in ensuring that unethical practices and abuses associated with ART are eradicated. The findings indicate that the regulatory instrument in Nigeria requires significant improvement in line with the legal frameworks in operation in the cognate jurisdictions to effectively guard against potential unethical practices and abuses associated with the application of ART. Keywords: Assisted reproduction, law, ethics, Nigeria, Australia, United Kingdom Les technologies de procréation assistée (TAR) sont des procédures médicales de procréation innovantes et non coïtales, qui ont apporté un répit à un certain nombre de personnes sans enfants et de couples, tout comme elles soulèvent un certain nombre de problèmes éthiques et médico-légaux. Un certain nombre de pays, dont le Nigéria, ont encore du mal à trouver le cadre juridique approprié pour fournir des directives pour ce processus de reproduction afin de réduire les pratiques contraires à l'éthique inhérentes à ce développement. Le document explore les instruments réglementaires disponibles au Nigéria et dans des juridictions apparentées telles que l'Australie et le Royaume-Uni, à travers une étude comparative pour vérifier l'efficacité des instruments existants pour garantir que les pratiques contraires à l'éthique et les abus associés aux TAR sont éradiqués. Les résultats indiquent que l'instrument réglementaire au Nigéria nécessite une amélioration significative conformément aux cadres juridiques en vigueur dans les juridictions apparentées pour se prémunir efficacement contre d'éventuelles pratiques contraires à l'éthique et les abus associés à l'application de l'ART. Mots-clés: Procréation assistée, droit, éthique, Nigéria, Australie, Royaume-Un

A review of policy acts and initiatives in plantain and banana innovation system in Nigeria

Plantain and banana are among the most important staple food crops in humid forest zone of West and Central Africa. These has made the crop one of the key research mandates of International and nationalresearch institutes, both of which has developed many technologies aimed at improving the production of the crop and removing constraints posed by pest and diseases, marketing opportunities andperishability. Despite these efforts and research breakthrough the production of the crops has been on consistent downward trend in recent years. A ten years (1996 - 2005) production figure of the cropsshowed that land under plantain and banana production increased by 24.6% while yield reduction of 21.8% was recorded during the same period (FAOSTAT, 2006). This abysmal trend prompted a 40 years(1967 - 2006) review of policy acts and initiatives on the crops, with an examination of various efforts in the areas of research, dissemination, utilization, production and marketing. Seven gaps of criticalimplications to production and commercialization were identified; these include government nonintervention, marketing and constraints to production, weak/fragile links among stakeholders, researchfarmersdichotomy, project sustainability, lack of documentation and funding. Linkages among stakeholders were generally weak and without cohesion, objectives were at variance and unhealthy.The study concluded that stakeholder’s cohesion and coordination of efforts is needed for increased production and commercialization. Also governmental intervention is needed in the areas of policyinitiatives and acts that will go beyond the ad-hoc response which are usually triggered by natural disaster such as pest and diseases as is the case with black Sigatoka outbreak in mid 80’s which wasthe only period government really intervened in plantain and banana production in Nigeria

Perception on the Causes and the Impacts of Climate Change on Ecosystem Services Provided by Cola nitida (Vent.) Schott & Endl in Nigeria

Kolanut (Cola nitida) is a tropical multipurpose agroforestry tree species in Nigeria, the species receives little attention from studies geared towards assessing the impact of climate change on the services it provides. The study investigated farmers’ views on the impacts of current changes in climatic variables on the ecosystem services the species provides in Nigeria. This study was conducted by interviewing farmers cultivating C. nitida, using the purposive sampling method and focus group discussion (FGD). Data were obtained by using structured questionnaires and interview sections. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results showed that about 96% of respondents revealed that climatic factors such as a change in rainfall pattern, drought, and temperature influenced the survival and fruiting patterns of Cola nitida in Nigeria. The regressions showed that age, gender, marital status, education level, and household size significantly influenced farmers’ perception of climate change. The results revealed that climate change will have a significant influence on the ecosystem services (productivity, supporting, cultural and regulating) provided by this species. Rural farmers should be encouraged to domesticate this species in Nigeria as mitigating measure to climate change and maximize the ecosystem services provided by Cola nitida for improved livelihood

International institute of tropical agriculture plantain and banana programme: An insight into the contributions of farmer-to- farmer extension paradigm

Dissemination of research results by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) had been a major challenge to the Institute as inappropriate dissemination mechanism was revealed as a majorconstraint to her earlier efforts in disseminating cooking banana technologies between 1990 and 1994. A public-private technology delivery approach (research-farmer-to-farmer extension approach), which allows farmers to play the major role in dissemination of IITA plantain and banana based technologies was undertaken in three states of Nigeria. This study provides an insight into the contributions of thisparadigm shift. The results show that farmer-to-farmer dissemination accounted for 26.6% awareness and 35.7% source of solutions to problems encountered in technology adoption at no direct cost toresearch and extension. Average plantain and banana hybrid adoption in the three states was 50.7%. Correlation analysis revealed that household size, ever questioned about plantain production problems,frequency of extension visits and trial experience had significant relationships with adoption. The regression analysis indicated that trial experience was the only variable with predictive value for plantain and banana hybrids adoption (R = 0.21). We concluded that free flow of information among all stakeholders is the panacea for sustained adoption and diffusion of the IITA plantain and banana basedinnovations

The Role of Microfinance Institutions in Financing Small Businesses

SMEs all over the world play a strong role in national development. This is attributed to the massive employment it provides to the citizenry of the country where it exists. The financing of these ‘’goose’’ which have being laying so many golden eggs has come under scrutiny by academics and practitioners. Due to the recognition accorded this very important sector, the Nigerian government established microfinance banks in the year 2007 to serve as mechanisms for financial sources for various SMEs. This study explored the roles of these micro finance banks and institutions on small and medium enterprises as well as the extent to which the small businesses have benefited from the credit scheme of microfinance banks. Primary data was obtained via interviews conducted in 15 small businesses across Lagos state with their responses summarized in tables. This study advocates the recapitalization of microfinance banks to enhance their capacity to support small business growth and expansion and also to bring to the knowledge of the management of microfinance banks and institutions the impact of the use of collaterals as a condition for granting credit to small businesse