A Rapid Review of the Reopening of Schools in this COVID‐19 Pandemic? How Ready are We in Nigeria?

Reopening schools raise several ethical issues, including safety, privacy, autonomy, vulnerability. Some countries have gradually reopened their schools with explicit guidelines for safety. The safe reopening of schools demands sensitivity to community inequities. We aimed to conduct a rapid review of the strategies adopted in the reopening of schools in some countries amid the Covid-19 and highlight the lessons learned and to consider the feasibility of some of the existing Nigerian guidelines on school reopening. A rapid review technique using PubMed search was conducted using the combination of the following keywords: Covid-19, school, reopening along with a Google search using the phrase ‘schools reopened in COVID-19 pandemic.’ Ten articles met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. Eight countries namely China, Taiwan, South Korea, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Australia, and Israel were identified. All the countries started with phased reopening and a reduction in class size. Wearing masks was mandatory in some countries. Hand hygiene and strict cleaning of high-touch surfaces were ensured. The Nigerian government’s guidelines towards the reopening of schools sound good, but the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness need to be objectively assessed and contextualized across all tiers of the government and at all levels of development to avoid COVID-19 resurgence

Improving Maternal and Child Healthcare Programme Using Community-Participatory Interventions in Ebonyi State Nigeria

In Nigeria, the government is implementing the Free Maternal and Child Health Care Programme (FMCHCP). The policy is premised on the notion that financial barriers are one of the most important constraints to equitable access and use of skilled maternal and child healthcare. In Ebonyi State, Southeastern Nigeria the FMCHCP is experiencing implementation challenges including: inadequate human resource for health, inadequate funding, out of stock syndrome, inadequate infrastructure, and poor staff remuneration. Furthermore, there is less emphasis on community involvement in the programme implementation. In this policy brief, we recommend policy options that emphasize the implementation of community-based participatory interventions to strengthen the government’s FMCHCP as follows: Option 1: Training community women on prenatal care, life-saving skills in case of emergency, reproductive health, care of the newborn and family planning. Option 2: Sensitizing the community women towards behavioural change, to understand what quality services that respond to their needs are but also to seek and demand for such. Option 3: Implementation packages that provide technical skills to women of childbearing age as well as mothers’ groups, and traditional birth attendants for better home-based maternal and child healthcare. The effectiveness of this approach has been demonstrated in a number of community-based participatory interventions, building on the idea that if community members take part in decision-making and bring local knowledge, experiences and problems to the fore, they are more likely to own and sustain solutions to improve their communities’ health

Promoting the use of evidence in health policymaking in the ECOWAS region : the development and contextualization of an evidence-based policymaking guidance

The need for a tool to provide systematic guidance on evidence-based policymaking necessitated the production of the evidence-based policy-making (EBPM) Guidance. A regional Guidance Validation Meeting for West African policymakers was convened by the West African Health Organization (WAHO) to review findings from existing guidance documents and validate the new EBPM Guidance edition. Among key recommendations it includes: properly defining/refining policy problems; reviewing contextual issues; initiating policy priority setting; considering political acceptability of policy; commissioning research; use of rapid response services, use of policy advisory/ technical/steering committees; and use of policy briefs and policy dialogue.West African Health Organizatio

Prevalence of antibodies to Hepatitis C virus among Nigerian patients with HIV infection

Nigeria belongs to the group of countries highly endemic for viral hepatitis; unfortunately information on the prevalence of hepatitis C amongst patients with HIV in Nigeria is very scarce. This hospital-based investigation was conducted at two major hospitals in Jos, Nigeria from June 2002 through May 2003. Serum samples from 490 confirmed HIV infected patients were assayed for the presence of antibodies to HCV, using a third generation enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Twenty eight (5.7%; 95% CI 3.66-7.76%) of the patients had antibodies to HCV. The prevalence of HCV antibodies was higher among the males (7.5%; 95% CI 3.83-11.09%) than the females (4.5%; 95% CI 2.10-6.88%). Statistical analysis showed no significant difference (x2 = 1.917, df =1, p=0.05). Individuals of the age group 41-50 years had the highest prevalence of HCV antibodies (15.4%; 95% CI. 7.37-23.29%), followed by those of age group 31-40 years (7.4%; 95%, CI 3.70-11.20%). A significant difference was observed in the association between age and prevalence of HCV antibodies (x2 = 24.151, df = 4, p =0.05). Early diagnosis of HCV in people with HIV infection is advocated to reduce risk of HCV related advanced liver disease

Using equitable impact sensitive tool (EQUIST) and knowledge translation to promote evidence to policy link in maternal and child health : report of first EQUIST training workshop in Nigeria

A three day intensive training workshop using the equitable impact sensitive tool (EQUIST) and knowledge translation (KT) was held in Edo State (Nigeria) to improve the knowledge and capacity of a maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) implementation research team and policy makers. A modified "before and after" intervention study design was used, in which outcomes were measured both before the intervention (workshop) and after. Findings show that competence relevant to evidence-informed policymaking can be enhanced through training workshops. Among the most important health policy areas, where decision making is increasingly challenging are those related to maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH)

Assessment of national maternal and child health policy-makers’ knowledge and capacity for evidence-informed policy-making in Nigeria

The study aimed to engage Nigerian maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) policy-makers and stakeholders and to assess their existing knowledge and capacity on the use of research evidence for policy-making and practice. A total of 40 participants completed the questionnaire. The outcomes suggest that a future stakeholders’ engagement event could serve as an important platform to assess policy-makers’ capacity for evidence-informed policy-making. Constraints to capacity include lack of access to, and inability to synthesize, adapt and utilize available research evidence

An assessment of maternal, newborn and child health implementation studies in Nigeria : implications for evidence informed policymaking and practice

This review provides insight into the process of evidence-informed policymaking and knowledge transfer based on implementation research, focusing on Mother, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) in Nigeria. Although a reduction in maternal and child mortality in Nigeria could be attributed to implementation of various intervention policies, the study made clear that new and effective policies were informed by research evidence derived from implementation research. Implementation science is the use of strategies to adopt, adapt, and integrate evidence-based health interventions and policies. It is thus able to change patterns of practice within specific settings

Assessment of policymakers’ engagement initiatives to promote evidence informed health policy making in Nigeria

In most developing countries including Nigeria, one of the most challenging issues associated with evidence-to-policy link is the capacity constraints of policymakers to access, synthesize, adapt and utilize available research evidence. The purpose of this review is to assess the efforts and various initiatives that have been undertaken to deliberately engage policymakers and other stakeholders in the health sector in Nigeria for the promotion of evidence informed policymaking. A MEDLINE Entrez Pubmed search was performed and studies that investigated policy making process, evidence to policy link, research to policy mechanism, and researchers/policymakers interaction in Nigeria in relation to health policy were sought. Of the 132 publications found, 14 (10.6%) fulfilled the study inclusion criteria and were selected and included in the review. Of the fourteen scientific publications identified, 11 of the studies targeted both researchers and policymakers and the principal tool of intervention was training workshops which focused on various aspects of evidence informed policymaking. All the studies indicated positive outcomes and impacts in relation to quantifiable improvement in policymakers' knowledge and competence in evidence to policy process. Capacity strengthening engagement mechanism is needed for both researchers to generate better evidence and for policymakers and health-care professionals to better use available evidence.Keywords: Policymakers, evidence informed, health policy, Nigeri