ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION IN NIGERIA: PROSPECTS, CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES

Abstract Entrepreneurship education (EEd) is globally viewed as the engine of economic growth and development, an education and training which develops students to use their creativity, possess the ability to recognize and evaluate business opportunity, take initiative, responsibility, risks and appropriate actions to succeed. This paper sought to identify the challenges confronting the success of EEd in Nigeria and gather strategies for its improvement. Two research questions guided the study. The researchers used simple random sampling technique to select 620 students and entrepreneurs as the sample for the study. A 30-item questionnaire was used to gather information. Findings revealed that EEd challenges include: recruiting qualified teachers with appropriate knowledge; raising funds for financing EEd in schools and for youths' establishment of business; dealing with poor power supply and security; providing adequate learning materials; facility/technology; among others. Factors such as: provision of credit facility by banks; interest-free loans/funds by governments, financial institutions/NGOs; training/re-training of teachers; provision of adequate facilities; among others were identified as strategies. Recommendations made include: adequate funding of EEd activities/provision of take-off grants for students/entrepreneurs, necessary infrastructural facilities/technology, among others. Nigeria today faces a number of challenges which can only be met if it has innovative, welleducated, and entrepreneurial citizens who, whatever their walks of life, have the spirit and inquisitiveness to think in new ways, and the courage to meet and adapt to the challenges facing them. Moreover, a dynamic economy, which is innovative and able to groom young people who will launch and successfully develop their own commercial or social ventures, or who will become innovators in the wider organizations in which they work, is definitely what Nigeria needs at this point in time to survive her challenges. Entrepreneurship education is essential not only to shape the mindsets of young people but also to provide the skills and knowledge that are essential to developing an entrepreneurship culture. Entrepreneurship education seeks to provide students with the knowledge, skills and motivation to encourage entrepreneurial success in a variety of settings The above views show that entrepreneurship education by its scope, nature and characteristics is a rebranding education culture meant to guarantee a comprehensive educational system re-engineering arising from the obvious deficiencies of the existing education system (Enu

Assessment of iron Parameters and Transient Elastography (FibroScan) Pattern amongPatients with Chronic Viral Hepatitis Infection in Jos, Nigeria

Background:The long-termeffect of excess iron deposition in the liver include fibrosis and cirrhosis which may progress to hepatocellular carcinoma. We assessed iron parameters among patients with chronic viral hepatitis B and C infection (CVHBI; CVHCI) to determineif any correlation existed with the degree of fibrosis in the liver. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out on 186 patients, made up of 132 patients withCVHBI and 54 patients with CVHCI. Serum ferritin and C-reactive protein were done by ELISA, serum iron and total iron binding capacity (TIBC) by colorimetric technique while transferrin saturation (Tsat) was calculated using serum iron and TIBC values. Liver fibrosis was assessed using fibroscan.Obtained data wereanalysed using SPSS version 20 and p values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.  Results: The mean values for serum ferritin, iron, TIBC and Tsat were 218.1±325.6µg/L, 25.1±22.8µmol/L, 71.13 ± 35.92µmol/L and 45.2 ± 49.9% respectively. There were no significant differences in iron parameters between patients with CVHBI and CVHCI. Elevated serum ferritin was found in 15.2% and 20.4% of CHBVI and CHCVI patients respectively; while an elevated Tsat was seen in 22.7% and 24.1% of CHBVI and CHCVI patients respectively. Using a combination of elevated serum ferritin and Tsat, the prevalence of iron overload was found to be1.6%. Fibroscan scores did not differ significantly between patients with orwithout elevated iron parameters. Conclusion:Chronic viral hepatitis infection is associated elevated iron parameters though withminimal effect on liver fibrosis. Conflict of interest: Ni

Prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome: A community survey in an African population

Background : Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) has been reported to be common in the West. Community surveys are lacking in the African setting. We determined the prevalence of IBS in a rural community setting in Nigeria. Method : Questionnaires were administered to consenting individuals. Subjects satisfying the Rome II criteria for IBS were invited for physical examination at a health center to identify the presence of "alarm factors." Results : One hundred forty (31.6%) of the 443 evaluated individuals fulfilled the Rome II criteria for IBS, with a male-to-female ratio of 1.37:1 (P= .11). The prevalence of IBS was highest (39.3%) in the third decade, followed by 25% in the fourth decade (P= .009). Ninety-six (67%) IBS individuals had the alternating pattern of diarrhea and constipation, whereas 28 (20%) and 19 (13%) had constipation and diarrhea subtypes, respectively. Conclusion : IBS as diagnosed by the Rome II criteria has a high prevalence in the African rural population, as obtained elsewhere.Contexte: Irritable Syndrome (IBS) a \ue9t\ue9 signal\ue9 \ue0 \ueatre commune \ue0 l\u2019Ouest. Enqu\ueates communautaires font d\ue9faut dans le contexte africain. Nous avons d\ue9termin\ue9 la pr\ue9valence de IBS dans un milieu rural. communaut\ue9 d\ue9fi nition dans le Nig\ue9ria. M\ue9thode: Questionnaires ont \ue9t\ue9 administr\ue9 aux personnes consentantes. Sujets de satisfaction de la Rome II crit\ue8res d\u2019IBS ont \ue9t\ue9 invit\ue9s pour l\u2019examen physique dans un centre de sant\ue9 \ue0 identifi er la pr\ue9sence de \u201c alarme les facteurs \u201d. R\ue9sultats: Un cent et quarante (31,6 %) des individus \ue9valu\ue9es 443 rempli le Rome Crit\ue8res II IBS avec un m\ue2le \ue0 ratio f\ue9minin de 1.37:1 (p = 0,11) .la pr\ue9valence IBS \ue9tait plus \ue9lev\ue9 dans la troisi\ue8me d\ue9cennie (39.3 %), suivie de 25 % dans le quatri\ue8me dix ans (p = 0.009). Quatre-vingt-seize (67 %) IBS personnes avaient le mod\ue8le d\u2019alternance de la diarrh\ue9e et constipation, alors que 28 (20 %) et 19 (13 %) avaient constipation et la diarrh\ue9e subtypes respectivement. Conclusion: IBS comme un diagnostic par les crit\ue8res de Rome II a une haute pr\ue9valence dans la population rurale africaine comme obtenu ailleurs

Bio-Efficacy of Insecticide-Treated Bednets (ITNs) Distributed through the Healthcare Facilities in a Boundary Community in Nigeria

This study was conducted to evaluate the susceptibility and efficacy of three insecticidal treated bednets; Olyset®, PermaNet2.0® and MAGNet® collected from the different health facilities, against Anopheles mosquitoes under laboratory conditions. PermaNet3.0 was used as a positive control. Larval collections were carried out and reared at the insectary of National Arbovirus and Vector Research Centre, Enugu State. Anopheles Kisumu mosquitoes were used as the standard control in the cone bioassay test. The bioassay showed that the wild An. gambiae s.l. and An. gambiae Kisumu strains were susceptible (100% mortality) to the PermaNet3.0® used as positive control while the wild-caught Anopheles were resistant to the mono-treated ITNs. The mortality effect of the net brands showed that the brands have a statistically significant effect on the mosquito mortality after 24 hours F (2, 18) = 14.32, p < .001), while the sides of the net did not have a statistically significant effect on the mosquito mortality (F (3, 18) = 1.67, p = .209). This study also suggests the need to develop and adopt routine monitoring of the ITNs at the health facilities, as it will inform the replacement of ineffective nets. However, a mass campaign of PBO nets is necessary for the state to achieve and maintain the universal coverage of ITNs

Protein profiling in hepatocellular carcinoma by label-free quantitative proteomics in two west african populations

Background: Hepatocellular Carcinoma is the third most common cause of cancer related death worldwide, often diagnosed by measuring serum AFP; a poor performance stand-alone biomarker. With the aim of improving on this, our study focuses on plasma proteins identified by Mass Spectrometry in order to investigate and validate differences seen in the respective proteomes of controls and subjects with LC and HCC. Methods: Mass Spectrometry analysis using liquid chromatography electro spray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight was conducted on 339 subjects using a pooled expression profiling approach. ELISA assays were performed on four significantly differentially expressed proteins to validate their expression profiles in subjects from the Gambia and a pilot group from Nigeria. Results from this were collated for statistical multiplexing using logistic regression analysis. Results: Twenty-six proteins were identified as differentially expressed between the three subject groups. Direct measurements of four; hemopexin, alpha-1-antitrypsin, apolipoprotein A1 and complement component 3 confirmed their change in abundance in LC and HCC versus control patients. These trends were independently replicated in the pilot validation subjects from Nigeria. The statistical multiplexing of these proteins demonstrated performance comparable to or greater than ALT in identifying liver cirrhosis or carcinogenesis. This exercise also proposed preliminary cut offs with achievable sensitivity, specificity and AUC statistics greater than reported AFP averages. Conclusions: The validated changes of expression in these proteins have the potential for development into highperformance tests usable in the diagnosis and or monitoring of HCC and LC patients. The identification of sustained expression trends strengthens the suggestion of these four proteins as worthy candidates for further investigation in the context of liver disease. The statistical combinations also provide a novel inroad of analyses able to propose definitive cutoffs and combinations for evaluation of performance

Association of HIV-induced immunosuppression and clinical malaria in Nigerian adults

Background: Despite the growing body of evidence on the interaction between HIV and malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, there is a dearth of data on clinical malaria in HIV-infected patients in Nigeria. We determined the burden of clinical malaria in HIV-infected adult Nigerians and further investigated the association between their immunological status and the rates of clinical malaria. Methods: Ninety seven antiretroviral treatment-naïve HIV-infected adults were enrolled in a cross-sectional study from August to December, 2009. The participants had a complete clinical evaluation, thick and thin blood films for malaria parasites and CD4 cell count quantification. Clinical malaria was defined as having fever (temperature ≥ 37.5oC or history of fever within 48 hours) and a malaria parasite density above the median value obtained for subjects with co-existing fever and parasitaemia. Results: Clinical malaria was diagnosed in 10 out of 97 patients (10.3%). Lower CD4 cell counts were associated with increasing rates of clinical malaria which was 0% at CD4 cell count of ≥ 500, 2.6% at 200-499 and 30% a

Protein profiling in hepatocellular carcinoma by label-free quantitative proteomics in two west african populations.

Background Hepatocellular Carcinoma is the third most common cause of cancer related death worldwide, often diagnosed by measuring serum AFP; a poor performance stand-alone biomarker. With the aim of improving on this, our study focuses on plasma proteins identified by Mass Spectrometry in order to investigate and validate differences seen in the respective proteomes of controls and subjects with LC and HCC. Methods Mass Spectrometry analysis using liquid chromatography electro spray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight was conducted on 339 subjects using a pooled expression profiling approach. ELISA assays were performed on four significantly differentially expressed proteins to validate their expression profiles in subjects from the Gambia and a pilot group from Nigeria. Results from this were collated for statistical multiplexing using logistic regression analysis. Results Twenty-six proteins were identified as differentially expressed between the three subject groups. Direct measurements of four; hemopexin, alpha-1-antitrypsin, apolipoprotein A1 and complement component 3 confirmed their change in abundance in LC and HCC versus control patients. These trends were independently replicated in the pilot validation subjects from Nigeria. The statistical multiplexing of these proteins demonstrated performance comparable to or greater than ALT in identifying liver cirrhosis or carcinogenesis. This exercise also proposed preliminary cut offs with achievable sensitivity, specificity and AUC statistics greater than reported AFP averages. Conclusions The validated changes of expression in these proteins have the potential for development into high-performance tests usable in the diagnosis and or monitoring of HCC and LC patients. The identification of sustained expression trends strengthens the suggestion of these four proteins as worthy candidates for further investigation in the context of liver disease. The statistical combinations also provide a novel inroad of analyses able to propose definitive cut-offs and combinations for evaluation of performance

Informing a target product profile for rapid tests to identify HBV-infected pregnant women with high viral loads: a discrete choice experiment with African healthcare workers

BACKGROUND: Elimination of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) requires infant immunoprophylaxis and antiviral prophylaxis for pregnant women with high viral loads. Since real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), a gold standard for assessing antiviral eligibility, is neither accessible nor affordable for women living in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) detecting alternative HBV markers may be needed. To inform future development of the target product profile (TPP) for RDTs to identify highly viremic women, we used a discrete choice experiment (DCE) and elicited preference and trade-off of healthcare workers (HCW) in Africa between the following four attributes of fictional RDTs: price, time-to-result, diagnostic sensitivity, and specificity. METHODS: Through an online questionnaire survey, we asked participants to indicate their preferred test from a set of two RDTs in seven choice tasks with varying levels of the four attributes. We used mixed multinomial logit models to quantify the utility gain or loss generated by each attribute. We attempted to define minimal and optimal criteria for test attributes that can satisfy ≥ 70% and ≥ 90% of HCWs, respectively, as an alternative to RT-PCR. RESULTS: A total of 555 HCWs from 41 African countries participated. Increases in sensitivity and specificity generated significant utility and increases in cost and time-to-result generated significant disutility. The size of the coefficients for the highest attribute levels relative to the reference levels were in the following order: sensitivity (β = 3.749), cost (β = -2.550), specificity (β = 1.134), and time-to-result (β = -0.284). Doctors cared most about test sensitivity, while public health practitioners cared about cost and midwives about time-to-result. For an RDT with 95% specificity, costing 1 US$, and yielding results in 20 min, the minimally acceptable test sensitivity would be 82.5% and the optimally acceptable sensitivity would be 87.5%. CONCLUSIONS: African HCWs would prefer an RDT with the following order of priority: higher sensitivity, lower cost, higher specificity, and shorter time-to-result. The development and optimization of RDTs that can meet the criteria are urgently needed to scale up the prevention of HBV mother-to-child transmission in LMICs

[Prevention of liver fibrosis and liver cancer linked to hepatitis B virus in Africa: the Prolifica study].

Despite the existence of an effective vaccine, HBV infects 257 million people worldwide and is the cause of the majority of HCC. With an annual mortality rate of 887 000 patients in 2015, this cancer is the second deadliest. Low-income countries such as ones in sub-Saharan Africa are the most at risk due to the limited access to healthcare. To overcome this and born from an international research collaboration within an EU project, the Prolifica study aimed at evaluating a screen-and-treat program to prevent HBV complications, and more particularly HCC. Based on communities, facilities and hospitals HBsAg+ detection, the study lasted from 2011 to 2016. From the "cost effectiveness" feasibility of such a program to the development of simple scores for antiviral treatment, Prolifica uncovered data of crucial importance in a region with low HBV infection awareness, transmissions modes and prevention means which could have impacts on public health policies

A new approach to prevent, diagnose, and treat hepatitis B in Africa

There are 82 million people living with hepatitis B (PLWHB) in the World Health Organization Africa region, where it is the main cause of liver disease. Effective vaccines have been available for over 40 years, yet there are 990,000 new infections annually, due to limited implementation of hepatitis B birth dose vaccination and antenatal tenofovir prophylaxis for highly viraemic women, which could eliminate mother-to-child transmission. Despite effective and cheap antiviral treatment which can suppress hepatitis B virus replication and reduce the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), < 2% of PLWHB are diagnosed, and only 0.1% are treated. As a result, PLWHB are frequently diagnosed only when they have already developed decompensated cirrhosis and late-stage HCC, and consequently 80,000 hepatitis B-associated deaths occur each year. Major barriers include complex treatment guidelines which were derived from high-income settings, lack of affordable diagnostics, lack or insufficient domestic funding for hepatitis care, and limited healthcare infrastructure. Current treatment criteria may overlook patients at risk of cirrhosis and HCC. Therefore, expanded and simplified treatment criteria are needed. We advocate for decentralized community treatment programmes, adapted for low-resource and rural settings with limited laboratory infrastructure. We propose a strategy of treat-all except patients fulfilling criteria that suggest low risk of disease progression. Expanded treatment represents a financial challenge requiring concerted action from policy makers, industry, and international donor agencies. It is crucial to accelerate hepatitis B elimination plans, integrate hepatitis B care into existing healthcare programmes, and prioritize longitudinal and implementation research to improve care for PLWHB