Geospatial Analysis of Flood Problems in Jimeta Riverine Community of Adamawa State, Nigeria

Floods are among the most devastating natural disasters in the world, claiming more lives and causing more property damages than any other natural phenomena. In recent times, the incidence of flooding across Nigeria has left both the government and the governed devastated. It is no longer news that flooding and its attendant consequences are injurious to man while the spatial dimensions are often not mapped. This study, therefore, examined the nature of water level/extent and vulnerability in the riverine community of Jimeta, Adamawa State. Using time series analysis, four epoch satellite images covering the study area was used to evaluate the geospatial coverage of water along the watercourse of Upper Benue bordering the study area. Using ILWIS 3.8, ArcGIS 10.1 and statistical analysis, the spatial extent and vulnerability of settlements was mapped. Highly vulnerable (50m buffer) were differentiated from low risk zones (100m buffers). Study revealed that besides rainfall, excess water from Cameroun dam is largely responsible for the identified high level of inundation.  The impacts of flood on the local people are devastating as lives and properties have been lost while economic activities reduced due to health risks and mass migration to neighbouring villages and towns. Early flood warning system (EFWS), rapid response mechanism and outfit, strict adherence to zoning and building principles, evacuation of waste and maintenance of drainage systems, mass awareness campaign on flooding and other environmental hazards and, continuous rehabilitation and assistance of victims as a government, individual and NGOs are recommended hence synergy among stake holders is advocated. Keywords: Flood, GIS Buffer, Settlement, Vulnerability, Water Coverage

Managing Urban Crimes with Geoinformatics: A Case Study of Benin City, Nigeria

In recent time, the increase in rural-urban migration has continued to have both positive and negative impact on the receiving urban environment. Social vices such as terrorism, urban crimes, prostitution, drug cartel and urban slums are on the increase and as a result, most infrastructural facilities are been overused resulting to urban blight. In most developing countries like Nigeria, the impact of corruption and act of criminality has equally added to this menace and effort by security organisations to restore urban sanity has yielded little or no result due largely to the use of mundane policing methods. Using Geoinformatics methodologies (ArcGIS and ILWIS software), results of buffering; network, proximity, and crime service area analyses on crime hotspots in Benin City reveals that some areas are more vulnerable than others. Base on statistical analysis of administered questionnaire, the study shows that perceived higher income (33%), employment opportunities (24%), basic infrastructures (15%), quality of life (10%), change of environment (9%) and other reasons  put together (9%) are mainly responsible for migration and consequent urban growth. The location of police stations vis-à-vis police-public relations was observed to be very poor. The study also revealed that the major crimes in the city are armed robbery (29%), burglary (22%), rape (19%), pick pocket (15%), murder/assassination (4%) and other petty crimes put together (11%). Combating crime requires intelligent ICT system and a pragmatic intelligent synergy between the public and well-prepared police force. Reducing indiscriminate rural-urban migration through rural infrastructure and police welfare/logistics improvements are recommended. Keywords: Crime, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Geoinformatics, Remote Sensing, Urban Environment

Prevalence and determinants of anemia amongst HIV positive pregnant women in a tertiary Hospital in Nigeria

Background: In pregnancy, anemia is associated with increased risk of both maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality especially in HIV situation. To determine the prevalence and determinants of anemia in HIV positive compared to HIV negative women.Methods: This was a cross sectional study carried out from June 2016 to December 2017 amongst pregnant women who presented to the antenatal clinic. Information on socio-demographic variables and laboratory test to determine the hemoglobin levels and CD4 count (for the HIV positive women) were carried out. A total of 350 subjects with equal number of HIV positive and HIV negative pregnant women were recruited. Variables were compared between the two groups using software package for social sciences version 20. P values<0.05 at 95% confidence interval are considered statistically significant.Results: The mean age for HIV positive and negative were 31.54 ±4.1 and 29.03 respectively while, mean gestational age at booking for HIV positive and negative were 20.41±8.61 and 22.37±7.4 weeks respectively. The HIV positive group had a mean parity of 2.02±1.5, and 2.56±1.2 was that of the HIV negative group. The mean hemoglobin statuses at booking were 9.92±1.8 g/dl and 10.6±1.1 g/df HIV positive and HIV negative women respectively. The mean CD4+ at booking for HIV positive group was 478±251 per microliter. The overall prevalence of anemia irrespective of HIV status was 36.6%. The prevalence of anemia in HIV positive and negative women were 44.6% and 28.6% respectively. There was statistically significant relationship between anemia and HIV status (p=0.002).Conclusions: There was inverse relationship between CD4+ count and anemia. Low CD4+ count and non-use of HAART at booking were important determinants of anemia among the HIV

Impact Assessment of Exclusive Breastfeeding Media Campaign Among Mothers in Selected Metropolitan Cities in South East Nigeria

This research is funded by Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) of the Federal Government of Nigeria through Abia State University, Uturu, Nigeria. Abstract Unarguably, the mass media by virtue of their information dissemination function play vital role in communication for health and sustainable development of the society. Health communication involves the study and use of communication strategies to inform and influence individuals and community decisions in enhancing healthy living. Therefore, the health sector, like any given sector of the society, shares a remarkable and unalienable relationship with the mass media, as evidenced through the radio, television, newspapers and magazines, among others, in communicating health policies, reporting activities in the health sector, embarking on health campaigns and in publicizing health programmes. The study is an impact assessment of exclusive breastfeeding media campaign among mothers in selected metropolitan cities in South East Nigeria to ascertain their disposition to exclusive breastfeeding media campaign messages amidst prevailing lack of interest among majority of mothers in upholding this auspicious agelong practice which invariably impacts on the wellbeing of the infant child, perhaps as a result of ignorance and lack of education, among other social factors. Qualitative and quantitative (mixed) research approaches were employed in this study. Findings reveal evident positive impact of exclusive breastfeeding media campaign messages on mother in South East Nigeria. However, antenatal channel rather than the traditional media channels remains the major source of information to mothers on exclusive breastfeeding practice in the region. The study, therefore, strongly affirms that much more is still required from the traditional media platforms especially in terms of enlivened programme design and committed publicity to rightly occupy their place in this campaign role considering the heterogeneous nature of the audience they serve, which predisposes them more advantageous to reach even prospective mothers (those not yet expecting babies) who may not have immediate need to come for antenatal to access such beneficial nutritional and health information. Key words: exclusive breastfeeding, health communication, media campaign, mothers, South East Nigeria, sustainable development DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/9-14-16 Publication date:July 31st 201

Combining Slaughterhouse Surveillance Data with Cattle Tracing Scheme and Environmental Data to Quantify Environmental Risk Factors for Liver Fluke in Cattle.

Liver fluke infection causes serious disease (fasciolosis) in cattle and sheep in many regions of the world, resulting in production losses and additional economic consequences due to condemnation of the liver at slaughter. Liver fluke depends on mud snails as an intermediate host and infect livestock when ingested through grazing. Therefore, environmental factors play important roles in infection risk and climate change is likely to modify this. Here, we demonstrate how slaughterhouse data can be integrated with other data, including animal movement and climate variables to identify environmental risk factors for liver fluke in cattle in Scotland. We fitted a generalized linear mixed model to the data, with exposure-weighted random and fixed effects, an approach which takes into account the amount of time cattle spent at different locations, exposed to different levels of risk. This enabled us to identify an increased risk of liver fluke with increased animal age, rainfall, and temperature and for farms located further to the West, in excess of the risk associated with a warmer, wetter climate. This model explained 45% of the variability in liver fluke between farms, suggesting that the unexplained 55% was due to factors not included in the model, such as differences in on-farm management and presence of wet habitats. This approach demonstrates the value of statistically integrating routinely recorded slaughterhouse data with other pre-existing data, creating a powerful approach to quantify disease risks in production animals. Furthermore, this approach can be used to better quantify the impact of projected climate change on liver fluke risk for future studies

Persistent hypertension up to one year postpartum among women with hypertensive disorders in pregnancy in a low-resource setting:A prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (HDPs) are associated with lifelong cardiovascular disease risk. Persistent postpartum hypertension in HDPs could suggest progression to chronic hypertension. This phenomenon has not been well examined in low- and middle-income countries (LIMCs), and most previous follow-ups typically last for maximally six weeks postpartum. We assessed the prevalence of persistent hypertension up to one year in women with HDPs in a low resource setting and determined associated risk factors. METHODOLOGY: A prospective cohort study of women conducted at eight tertiary health care facilities in seven states of Nigeria. Four hundred and ten women with any HDP were enrolled within 24 hours of delivery and followed up at intervals until one year postpartum. Descriptive statistics were performed to express the participants’ characteristics. Univariable and multivariable logistic regressions were conducted to identify associated risk factors. RESULTS: Of the 410 women enrolled, 278 were followed up to one year after delivery (follow-up rate 68%). Among women diagnosed with gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia/eclampsia, 22.3% (95% CI; 8.3–36.3) and 62.1% (95% CI; 52.5–71.9), respectively, had persistent hypertension at six months and this remained similar at one year 22.3% (95% CI; 5.6–54.4) and 61.2% (95% CI; 40.6–77.8). Maternal age and body mass index were significant risk factors for persistent hypertension at one year [aORs = 1.07/year (95% CI; 1.02–1.13) and 1.06/kg/m(2) (95% CI; 1.01–1.10)], respectively. CONCLUSION: This study showed a substantial prevalence of persistent hypertension beyond puerperium. Health systems in LMICs need to be organized to anticipate and maintain postpartum monitoring until blood pressure is normalized, or women referred or discharged to family physicians as appropriate. In particular, attention should be given to women who are obese, and or of higher maternal age

Metabolic syndrome following hypertensive disorders in pregnancy in a low-resource setting:A cohort study

Objectives: Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (HDPs) are associated with risk of future metabolic syndrome. Despite the huge burden of HDPs in sub-Saharan Africa, this association has not been adequately studied in this population. Study design: This was a prospective cohort study on pregnant women recruited between August 2017 - April 2018 and followed up to one year after their deliveries and evaluated for presence of metabolic syndrome at delivery, nine weeks, six months and one year. Main outcome measures: Prevalence of metabolic syndrome Results: A total of 488 pregnant women were included: 410 and 78 with HDPs and normotensive, respectively. None of the normotensive had metabolic syndrome until one year (1.7% = 1 out of 59 observations), while among those with HDPs were 17.4% (71 of 407), 8.7% (23 of 263), 4.7% (11 of 232) and 6.1% (17 of 278), at delivery, nine weeks, six months and one year postpartum, respectively. High BMI and blood pressure were the drivers of metabolic syndrome in this population. The incidence rate in HDPs versus normotensive at one year were, respectively, 57.5/1000 persons’ year (95%CI; 35.8 – 92.6) and 16.9/1000 persons’ years (95%CI; 2.4-118.3), with incidence rate ratio of 3.4/1000 person's years. Only parity significantly predicted the presence of metabolic syndrome at one year [(aOR= 3.26/delivery (95%CI; 1.21-8.79)]. Conclusion: HDPs were associated with a higher incidence of metabolic syndrome up to one year postpartum. Women with HDPs should be routinely screened for metabolic syndrome within the first year postpartum to reduce cardiometabolic risks.</p