TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION: A SOLUTION TO PRECARIOUS YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA

Unemployment is one of the most serious problems facing Nigeria like many other countries in the world. Nigeria is becoming a predominantly youth society with high rate of unemployment. The development of youth is critical to economic survival and vibrancy of any nation. In order for a country to achieve her development aspiration, the youths need to have access to education that will enable them to enhance their standard of living and gain competitive skills that will be in high demand in the labour market. Young people that lack skills that are valued in global and local economies face limited job opportunities and income growth. The changing nature of work today is placing increased pressure on the youths to acquire technical and vocational education skills. With the youths among the big losers of the recent economic crisis, technical and vocational education is often seen as the silver bullet to the problem of youth joblessness.  Article visualizations

Using mid-level cadres as substitutes for internationally mobile health professionals in Africa. A desk review

BACKGROUND: Substitute health workers are cadres who take on some of the functions and roles normally reserved for internationally recognized health professionals such as doctors, pharmacists and nurses but who usually receive shorter pre-service training and possess lower qualifications. METHODS: A desk review is conducted on the education, regulation, scopes of practice, specialization, nomenclature, retention and cost-effectiveness of substitute health workers in terms of their utilization in countries such as Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Ghana etc., using curricula, evaluations and key-informant questionnaires. RESULTS: The cost-effectiveness of using substitutes and their relative retention within countries and in rural communities underlies their advantages to African health systems. Some studies comparing clinical officers and doctors show minimal differences in outcomes to patients. Specialized substitutes provide services in disciplines such as surgery, ophthalmology, orthopedics, radiology, dermatology, anesthesiology and dentistry, demonstrating a general bias of use for clinical services. CONCLUSIONS: The findings raise interest in expanding the use of substitute cadres, as the demands of expanding access to services such as antiretroviral treatment requires substantial human resources capacity. Understanding the roles and conditions under which such cadres best function, and managing the skepticism and professional turf protection that restricts their potential, will assist in effective utilization of substitutes

Two Strategies for the Delivery of IPTc in an Area of Seasonal Malaria Transmission in The Gambia: A Randomised Controlled Trial

Bojang and colleagues report a randomized trial showing that delivery of intermittent preventive treatment for malaria in children by village health workers is more effective than delivery by reproductive and child health trekking clinics

Phytochemical and antimicrobial studies of Commiphora africana root extracts

ABSTRACT The crude ethanolic extract of Commiphora africana root was partitioned with n-hexane, chloroform; water and 10% aqueous methanol and screened for chemical constituents and antimicrobial activity. The n-hexane fraction, which was the most bioactive was chromatographed on a column silica gel to give a number of purified components. The components from the nhexane were found to be active against Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli and C. albicans. S. aureus (ATCC 13709) was susceptible to fractions C 1 -C 11 giving zonal inhibition of between 1-3 mm. Ethanolic crude root extract (2000 µg mL -1 ) proved highly active against C. albicans, while 10% aqueous methanol was the most active against E. coli. Though C. africana root crude extracts, fractions and components showed promising in-vitro antimicrobial activity, it was not as high as that of the standard antibiotics used for comparison

Malaria prevalence, blood profile and risk factors for transmission in a peri-urban community, north-central, Nigeria

Malaria-related morbidity is a common occurrence in sub-Saharan Africa culminating in low productivity, and waste of valuable man-power. A cross-sectional study of a sub-urban community in Ilorin, north-central, Nigeria, was conducted. Malaria parasite detection and quantification was established using Giemsa-stained thick and thin blood films. Packed cell volume (PCV) was determined with hematocrit centrifuge and micro-hematocrit reader. Bio-data, socio-environmental and socio-demographic factors were obtained with pretested questionnaire. One thousand, one hundred and four (44.8% males and 55.2% females) inhabitants enrolled for the study with 63.86% harbouring varying degrees of Plasmodium falciparum parasitaemia. Specific point prevalence with respect to age groups were only significant (p<0.05) with age 6-10 and 26-30 respectively. 42.1% of the population were anaemic following established guidelines. More subjects concealed light infections with slightly higher mean anaemia in comparison to other groups. Education level, farming, proximity to stagnant water and sleeping outdoor was highly correlated with degree of infections (p<0.001). Five epidemiological factors predicted future malaria infections viz; outdoor sleepers (OR: 0.003, 95% CI: 0.001-0.006, p<0.001), domiciling within 50 metres of bushes (OR: 10.807, 95% CI: 8.067-14.479, p<0.001), use of insecticides (OR: 0.003, 95% CI: 0.001-0.004, p<0.001), proximity to stagnant water (OR: 0.516, 95% CI: 0.400-0.666, p<0.001) and drug efficacy (OR: 0.457, 95% CI: 0.354-0.590, p<0.001). Malaria still remains a public health debacle in Nigeria. Transmission largely depends on a complex interaction of the vector, physical, socio-economic, demographic and environmental factors, human biology and behaviour with malnutrition promoting anaemic outcomes.Keywords: Anaemia; Plasmodium falciparum; predictions; Ile Apa

Effect of counselling on the family function of intimate partner violence victims attending antenatal clinic in a tertiary hospital in North Central Nigeria

Background and aim: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global problem. Family dysfunction is an integral characteristic of IPV homes. However, not much has been done regarding restoration of these families. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of counselling on the family function of pregnant IPV victims, with a view to recommending an appropriate interventional strategy.Methods: The study was a single-blinded randomised controlled trial of pregnant IPV victims. The Abuse Assessment Scale (AAS) was used to recruit 72 IPV victims who were randomised into the control and intervention arms of 36 each. Their sociodemographic data were collected. The family function of the victims was assessed using the SCORE-15 index of family function at the beginning the study. The intervention arm had three sessions of counselling lasting one to two hours fortnightly using the SOS DoC protocol. The family function was repeated post intervention. Data were analysed using SPSS version 20 and a p-value of 0.05 was considered significant.Results: The majority (82%) of the IPV victims had dysfunctional families. Baseline mean family function score across the groups showed no statistically significant difference. Post intervention, the mean family function score improved from 2.92 ± 0.92 to 2.16 ± 0.63 and this change was statistically significant (p 0.0001). In the control arm, the change from 2.48 ± 0.73 to 2.29 ± 0.82 was not statistically significant (p = 0.116). Conclusion: Short-term counselling significantly improved the family function of IPV victims

Prevalence and type of haematological malignancies among adults in a tertiary hospital in Jos-Nigeria: a sixteen-year retrospective analysis

Background: Global cancer statistics in Nigeria estimated increasing cancer occurrence per year with many unreported cases. Information regarding haematologic malignancies epidemiology in Jos is limited. This study sought to determine the prevalence, pattern and distribution of haematologic malignancies among adults in Jos, Nigeria in a 16 year period.Methods: Retrospective review of adults with haematologic malignancies diagnoses by bone marrow aspiration cytology or histology of tissue biopsies between 2000 and 2015 at the Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos-Nigeria was conducted. Socio-demographic parameters and cytological/histologic diagnoses were extracted from the cancer register.Results: A total of 1706 cases of cancers were diagnosed during this period. Of these, 330 cases were haematologic malignancies. The prevalence of haematologic malignancies among the adult patient population was 19.3% with a male (56.7%) dominance. Leukaemia occurred the most (64.5%) followed by lymphoma (30%) and multiple myeloma (5.4%). Chronic leukaemia occurred more frequently than acute leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was more common than Hodgkin's lymphoma. The mean ±SD were 44±17 years for leukaemia and 43±15 years for lymphoma. The haematologic malignancies showed an increasing pattern of occurrence.Conclusion: This occurrence of haematologic malignancies among adult patients with cancer from this Centre is high. Evidence of increasing occurrence was observed. Measures targeted at improved diagnosis and care are advocated. Future studies to evaluate the genetic and environmental risk factors associated with haematologic malignancies development from this region are recommended.Keywords: Haematologic malignancies, Prevalence, Pattern, Adults, Jos, Nigeria