Why many African countries may not achieve the 2022 COVID-19 vaccination coverage target

COVID-19 continues to strain, stress, and stretch health systems globally. With the development of the COVID-19 vaccines, there are many issues still lurking behind the widespread coverage; one of which is COVID-19 vaccine nationalism and African countries are not exempted from these issues. This is evident in that many countries in the African region missed the earlier targets set by World Health Organization (WHO) for COVID-19 vaccination coverage. The WHO further set a target of 70% coverage of the COVID-19 vaccines for all countries by June 2022. In this article, we discuss the possible reasons why many African countries are struggling and may not achieve the COVID-19 vaccination target in 2022. With the fundamental issues facing COVID-19 vaccination ranging from nationalism to hesitancy, it is important that stakeholders continue to work harder to ensure that the continent is not left behind in the race to keep the world free and safe from the sting of the COVID-19 pandemic

Why are missed opportunities for immunisation and immunisation defaulting among children indistinguishable?

The two major global immunization agenda framings (Missed Opportunity for Immunisation (MOI) vs. Immunisation Defaulting) are interchangeably and inappropriately used in public health research and practice, with flawed or misleading strategies recommended and adopted in various settings around the world. This is demonstrated by the fact that many opportunities to incorporate findings from immunization coverage research into policy are squandered. The ineffectiveness of inappropriate interventions based on biased evidence can discourage and mislead policymakers to make radical decisions by discretion. This may explain why low- and middle-income countries are unable to vaccinate 80% of their children; it also poses a global health risk to capable countries. The current guidelines and information on MOI and immunization defaulting appear insufficient, and a little clarification would help immunisation forerunners achieve measurable progress in ensuring good coverage, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. The purpose of this paper is to provide appropriate recommendations to address this issue in immunization practice. Optimistically, this will stimulate further discussions, streamline differences, and gear global immunization governance on the subject to achieve the target coverage in low- and middle-income countries by 2030

Geoelectric Investigation of Aquifer Vulnerability within Afe Babalola University, Ado –Ekiti, Southwestern Nigeria.

Many investigation techniques are commonly employed with the aim of estimating the spatial distribution of transmissivity and protective capacity of groundwater resources. Unfortunately, the conventional methods for the determination of hydraulic parameters such as pumping tests, permeameter measurements and grain size analysis are intrusive and relatively expensive. A non-intrusive and less-expensive geoelectric investigation involving vertical electrical sounding was carried out in some parts of the campus of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. A total of fifty-nine (59) vertical electrical sounding (VES) data were acquired using R 50 D.C. resistivity meter within the campus which is underlain by the Precambrian basement rock of southwestern Nigeria. Following the interpretation of the VES data, maps and 2D-sections were generated. The geoelectric sections enabled the subsurface to be characterized into five geoelectric layers namely: Topsoil, clayey/sandy-clay, weathered layer, fractured basement and fresh basement. The assessment and analysis of the materials above the aquifers showed that longitudinal conductance (S) values ranged from 0.08438 to 0.73449 mhos; thus the area is classified into weak (0.1 – 0.19 mhos), moderate (0.2 – 0.69 mhos) and good protective capacity (0.7 mhos and above). The major aquifer delineated is the weathered/fractured basement aquifers. These aquifers are characterized by thick overburden, moderate/good protective capacity, moderate to relatively high value coefficients of anisotropy and low transverse unit resistance. This suggests that the materials above the aquifers act as seal, thus protecting the major aquiferous units. However, the aquifer matrix itself is relatively permeable. Areas with weak protective capacity are therefore vulnerable to infiltration of polluting fluid

Telecom Outcasts? Exploring Women Airtime Hawking and Mobile Telephony in Southwest Nigeria

Women are considered vital and indispensable to the economic growth and sustainable development of any nation, but their subordinate position in the workplace in Africa is a concern. This study investigates the motivations behind airtime hawking by Nigerian women who operate at the bottom end of their country’s mobile telephony business and are confined to the informal segment of the industry. A total of 625 respondents attended to questionnaire items about the factors that predisposed them to sell airtime on the streets. Results show they hawked to avoid being disturbed by the local revenue collectors and for quick and steady patronage, albeit small profits. The least contributory is that airtime hawking does not require a selling technique. These indicators are useful for industry captains, policymakers, and multilateral organisations interested in improving the conditions of women and their absorption into the mainstream economy

A PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF AN ONTOLOGY-BASED DIAGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC SYSTEM FOR YORUBA TRADITIONAL MEDICINE.

Traditional Medicine (TM) has an important place in health care delivery among developed and developin g nations of the world. It is a first point of call before western m edicine and a last resort when all orthodox efforts fail. The objective of this study was to provide a way to share knowledge of Yo ruba Traditional Medicine (YTM) in a machine-readab le form and to use this method to build a treatment system base on Traditional Medicine. The treatment system constru cted in this study is an ontology-based application that can be used for treatment. Description Logics formalism is used to model YTM knowledge with visual reasoning capabilities and pr ocesses. Ontological approach is used to express fo rmal specification of YTM domain knowledge and this is implemented using Web Protégé application. In order to ensure the kno wledge model and ontology view is well defined, a prototype of k nowledge based system is developed based on the ont ology classes or concepts and relationships defined which require co nversion of OWL ontology into the relational datab ase system at first hand

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries