Poverty Alleviation Programmes and Economic Development in Nigeria: A Comparative Assessment of Asa and Ilorin West Local Govt. Areas of Kwara State, Nigeria

This study investigates into the impact of government programmes towards poverty alleviation on the inhabitants of Nigeria with special reference to Asa and Ilorin West Local Government Areas of Kwara State. A focus group discussion (FGD) of 4 groups (2 males and 2 females) was conducted from whose scenario a questionnaire was raised. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were employed especially to see the impact of those policies on the inhabitants using household income as a proxy. The Sen's Gini coefficient revealed that agricultural sector is the highest income-contributing sectorand worst hit income inequality group with about 84percent of totalpopulation in high poverty margin/region among the whole sectors studied. The study also acknowledged the existence of either one poverty alleviation program at one time or the other, but often the policy targets are at variance with the outcome. The study thus that suggests a kind of performance evaluation towards reappraising and adjusting the instruments employed by the programmes, refocus on the important sector(s) in the area of finance and credit facilities and organized buffer stock against agricultural s or bumper harvest in order to sustain price stability

Resistant plasmid profile analysis of multidrug resistant Escherichia coli isolated from urinary tract infections in Abeokuta, Nigeria

Background: Multi-drug resistant Escherichia coli has become a major threat and cause of many urinary tract infections (UTIs) in Abeokuta, Nigeria.Objectives: This study was carried out to determine the resistant plasmids of multidrug resistant Escherichia coli isolated from (Urinary tract infections)UTIs in Abeokuta.Methods: A total of 120 Escherichia coli isolates were obtained from urine samples collected from patients attending inpatient and outpatient clinics presenting UTI; with their biodata. Antibiotics susceptibility was performed and multi-drug resistant isolates were selected for plasmid profiling. Plasmids were extracted by the alkaline lysis method, electrophoresed on 0.8% agarose gel and profiled using a gel-photo documentation system gel.Results: Escherichia coli isolates obtained shows high resistance to cloxacillin (92.5%), amoxicillin (90.8%), ampicillin (90.8%), erythromycin (75.8%), cotrimoxazole (70.0%), streptomycin (70.0%) and tetracycline (68.3%) while 85.8% and 84.2% were susceptible to gentamycin and ceftazidime respectively. Sixteen Escherichia coli strains were observed to be resistant to more than two classes of antibiotics. The resistant plasmid DNA was detectable in 6(37.5%) of the 16 multidrug resistant Escherichia coli having single sized plasmids of the same weight 854bp and were all resistant to erythromycin, cefuroxime, cloxacillin, amoxicillin, ampicillin and cotrimoxazole.Conclusion: This study has highlighted the emergence of multidrug resistant R-plasmids among Escherichia coli causing urinary tract infections in Abeokuta, Nigeria. There is a high level of resistance to many antimicrobials that are frequently used in Abeokuta, Nigeria.Keywords: Escherichia coli, UTI, R-plasmid, multidrug resis