ASSESSMENT OF IMPACT OF COVID-19 CHALLENGES ON PSYCHOSOCIAL WELL-BEING OF NIGERIANS

Assessment of the impact of COVID-19 challenges on the psychosocial wellbeing of the Nigerian populace are the focus of this paper. There are diverse reasons for the essence of assessment of this pandemic; however, the major reason is to document it for future generations. This study, therefore, examined the challenges faced by the populace as a result of COVID-19 pandemic in the South-Western zone and Nigeria as a whole. The study was conducted using a volunteering sampling technique and 335 participants were used using telephone inquiry. Those who completed the interview were 203 (60.6%) males and the rest 132 (39.4%) were female respondents. The instrument has a reliability coefficient of 0.76. Some of the challenges or impacts of COVID-19 on Nigeria populace are hunger, lawlessness, arm robbery, economic crisis, political crisis, financial problem, and hike in the price of essential commodities, young adults resulting in abuse of drugs, raping, pool betting, and internet fraudsters. The spiritual houses like churches, mosques, and shrine were closed up, couples that have given up raising child still found themselves in it as a result of lockdown order and finally the loss of love ones due to CORONA Virus. Based on these findings it was concluded that COVID-19 among the citizenry had cost Nigerians a lot of havoc.  Article visualizations

Emergence and spread of two SARS-CoV-2 variants of interest in Nigeria.

Identifying the dissemination patterns and impacts of a virus of economic or health importance during a pandemic is crucial, as it informs the public on policies for containment in order to reduce the spread of the virus. In this study, we integrated genomic and travel data to investigate the emergence and spread of the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.318 and B.1.525 (Eta) variants of interest in Nigeria and the wider Africa region. By integrating travel data and phylogeographic reconstructions, we find that these two variants that arose during the second wave in Nigeria emerged from within Africa, with the B.1.525 from Nigeria, and then spread to other parts of the world. Data from this study show how regional connectivity of Nigeria drove the spread of these variants of interest to surrounding countries and those connected by air-traffic. Our findings demonstrate the power of genomic analysis when combined with mobility and epidemiological data to identify the drivers of transmission, as bidirectional transmission within and between African nations are grossly underestimated as seen in our import risk index estimates

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance.

Investment in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing in Africa over the past year has led to a major increase in the number of sequences that have been generated and used to track the pandemic on the continent, a number that now exceeds 100,000 genomes. Our results show an increase in the number of African countries that are able to sequence domestically and highlight that local sequencing enables faster turnaround times and more-regular routine surveillance. Despite limitations of low testing proportions, findings from this genomic surveillance study underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic and illuminate the distinct dispersal dynamics of variants of concern-particularly Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron-on the continent. Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve while the continent faces many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Assessment of Teachers2019; Qualification, Students2019; Attitude and Availability of Teaching Materials on Students2019; Retention in Business Education among Secondary School Students in Ibadan Metropolis

The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship composite and relative contribution of independent variables on students retention in business education in Ibadan Oyo state Nigeria The study was a descriptive research design of correlational type The sample of the study consisted of 314 of teachers that are teaching business education and students that are offering business education at final year in secondary school The sample was selected using stratified random sampling techniques among strata of the respondents The instruments used for data collection are Senior school certificate examination paper on business education studies that one measures students retention the second instrument is availability of teaching materials for teachers and students with the respondent s qualification to distinguish between teachers and the students and the third instrument is the students attitude towards business education studies The first section in all the instruments used measured the demographic information about the participants The reliability coefficients of students attitude to business education studies and availability of teaching materials on students retention in business education are 0 78 and 0 82 respectively in that order The three research questions were generated in the course of this study Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Multiple Regression statistical methods were used for data analysis Results indicated that significant relationship existed between each of the independent variables on students retention in business education also significant joint relationship existed among these variables and all the independent variables were potent predictors of students retention in business education in Ibadan metropolis Oyo state Nigeria Among others it was recommended that more studies on students retention in business education are needed in Nigeria so that efforts at improving the standard of education in Nigeria could be enhanced The study concluded that the three independent variables considered in this study are germane to students retention in business educatio