E-Government Adoption and Environmental Bonuses: A Study of Nigeria and United Kingdom

The research work borders on e-government and environmental bonuses in Nigeria and United Kingdom The study examines whether the use of online government services could produce significant savings in the use of papers, filing cabinets, folders and shelves in offices. The study specifically seeks to find out whether there is significant difference in Egovernment adoption on paper usage and pollution reduction between Nigeria and United Kingdom. A survey study research method was adopted where 24 federal ministry activities in Nigeria was compared with that of the United Kingdom with the use of the secondary method of data collection. Levene’s test of equality of variances based on F-value and T-test were used for the data analysis based on statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 15. The result showed a statistical non-significant relationship between e-government adoption in Nigeria and UK. The statistical non-significance could be attributed to nonimplementation of e-government in Nigeria. The research also revealed that there is significant difference in E-government adoption on paper usage and pollution reduction between Nigeria and United Kingdom. This therefore shows that Nigeria requires policies to speed the processes for implementing e-government in its agencies to save paper work, filing cabinets, folders, shelves in offices, boost productivity, make information sharing easier, and generally help the environment. Based on the foregoing, the study recommends that the Nigerian government should increase the use of the internet among its citizens that will later transform into widespread usage of e-government. This process will help the government improve on the revenue generation while at the same time deliver its promises to the electorate while contributing to environmental savings. The contribution of this research to literature and knowledge is that e-government has been able to reduce the environmental impact of papers, save cost, boost productivity, make information sharing easier, and generally help the environment

Prevalence of malnutrition and vitamin A deficiency in Nigerian preschool children subsisting on high intakes of carotenes

The prevalence of malnutrition and vitamin A deficiency was determined in 204 preschool children of both sexes aged 3–57 months. The children were recruited from 2 rural communities of Atakumosa Local Government Area of Osun State in South West Nigeria. Dietary vitamin A intake was estimated from frequency of consumption of locally available vitamin A containing food items. Vitamin A status of the children was assessed from concentration of retinol in plasma. Nutritional status was assessed from height and weight compared with international reference standards. The results indicate widespread malnutrition among the children. The prevalence of stunting (low height for age) was 60.8% while prevalence of wasting (low weight for height) was 7.4% and of underweight (low weight for age) 27.5%. Dietary vitamin A intake appeared to be adequate in the children. Intake of vitamin A is predominantly from plant sources. At least 43% of the children consumed the carotene rich red palm oil 6 or more times per week in contrast to less than 1% who consumed eggs or milk for 6 or more times per week. Vitamin A deficiency was low in the children. Only 11.3% of the children had plasma retinol concentration <0.70µmol/L. The results indicate that childhood malnutrition of public health magnitude can coexist with adequate dietary vitamin A intakes or vitamin A status

Sperm abnormalities and libido assessment of West African dwarf rams fed diets containing Tetrapleura tetraptera (African Porridge) fruit meal

The effect of Tetrapleura tetraptera fruit meal (TTFM) on the sperm abnormalities and libido test of West African Dwarf rams was assessed in a 20 week study. Thirty five (35) West African dwarf rams weighing between 12.80 and 13.20kg were randomly allotted to five dietary treatments in a completely randomized design. The diets formulated: 0% TTFM, 0.5% TTFM, 1.0% TTFM, 1.5% TTFM and 2.0% TTFM as treatments 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively. Libido assessment was carried out at 0, 4, 8, 12 and 16th weeks of the experiment. Semen was collected twice at the beginning and at the end of the experiment from five replicates in each treatment using electro- ejaculator. The results showed that the libido increased progressively with the inclusion of TTFM which was only significantly different (p&lt;0.05) at 16th week. The best libido was observed with rams fed diets containing 1.5 and 2.0% TTFM. The sperm abnormalities were minimal in all parameters except in abnormal head which ranged from 0.4-1.20% with diet 4 exhibited the most abnormal head. It was therefore concluded that the TTFM can be incorporated between 1.5% and 2.0% into diet of rams to improve the sex drive and reduced sperm abnormalities

What are the drivers of recurrent cholera transmission in Nigeria? Evidence from a scoping review

Background: The 2018 cholera outbreak in Nigeria affected over half of the states in the country, and was characterised by high attack and case fatality rates. The country continues to record cholera cases and related deaths to date. However, there is a dearth of evidence on context-specific drivers and their operational mechanisms in mediating recurrent cholera transmission in Nigeria. This study therefore aimed to fill this important research gap, with a view to informing the design and implementation of appropriate preventive and control measures. / Methods: Four bibliographic literature sources (CINAHL (Plus with full text), Web of Science, Google Scholar and PubMed), and one journal (African Journals Online) were searched to retrieve documents relating to cholera transmission in Nigeria. Titles and abstracts of the identified documents were screened according to a predefined study protocol. Data extraction and bibliometric analysis of all eligible documents were conducted, which was followed by thematic and systematic analyses. / Results: Forty-five documents met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis. The majority of the documents were peer-reviewed journal articles (89%) and conducted predominantly in the context of cholera epidemics (64%). The narrative analysis indicates that social, biological, environmental and climatic, health systems, and a combination of two or more factors appear to drive cholera transmission in Nigeria. Regarding operational dynamics, a substantial number of the identified drivers appear to be functionally interdependent of each other. / Conclusion: The drivers of recurring cholera transmission in Nigeria are diverse but functionally interdependent; thus, underlining the importance of adopting a multi-sectoral approach for cholera prevention and control

Assessing effects of a media campaign on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention in Nigeria: results from the VISION Project

BACKGROUND: In response to the growing HIV epidemic in Nigeria, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) initiated the VISION Project, which aimed to increase use of family planning, child survival, and HIV/AIDS services. The VISION Project used a mass-media campaign that focused on reproductive health and HIV/AIDS prevention. This paper assesses to what extent program exposure translates into increased awareness and prevention of HIV/AIDS. METHODS: This analysis is based on data from the 2002 and 2004 Nigeria (Bauchi, Enugu, and Oyo) Family Planning and Reproductive Health Surveys, which were conducted among adults living in the VISION Project areas. To correct for endogeneity, two-stage logistic regression is used to investigate the effect of program exposure on 1) discussion of HIV/AIDS with a partner, 2) awareness that consistent condom use reduces HIV risk, and 3) condom use at last intercourse. RESULTS: Exposure to the VISION mass media campaign was high: 59%, 47%, and 24% were exposed to at least 1 VISION radio, printed advertisement, or TV program about reproductive health, respectively. The differences in outcome variables between 2002 baseline data and the 2004 follow-up data were small. However, those with high program exposure were almost one and a half (Odds Ratio [O.R.] = 1.47, 95% Confidence Interval [C.I.] 1.01–2.16) times more likely than those with no exposure to have discussed HIV/AIDS with a partner. Those with high program exposure were over twice (O.R. = 2.20, C.I. 1.49–3.25) as likely as those with low exposure to know that condom use can reduce risk of HIV infection. Program exposure had no effect on condom use at last sex. CONCLUSION: The VISION Project reached a large portion of the population and exposure to mass media programs about reproductive health and HIV prevention topics can help increase HIV/AIDS awareness. Programs that target rural populations, females, and unmarried individuals, and disseminate information on where to obtain condoms, are needed to reduce barriers to condom use. Improvements in HIV/AIDS prevention behaviour are likely to require that these programmatic efforts be continued, scaled up, done in conjunction with other interventions, and targeted towards individuals with specific socio-demographic characteristics

The burden of road traffic crashes, injuries and deaths in Africa:A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective To estimate the burden of road traffic injuries and deaths for all road users and among different road user groups in Africa. Methods We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Global Health, Google Scholar, websites of African road safety agencies and organizations for registry- and population-based studies and reports on road traffic injury and death estimates in Africa, published between 1980 and 2015. Available data for all road users and by road user group were extracted and analysed. We conducted a random-effects meta-analysis and estimated pooled rates of road traffic injuries and deaths. Findings We identified 39 studies from 15 African countries. The estimated pooled rate for road traffic injury was 65.2 per 100000 population (95% confidence interval, CI: 60.8–69.5) and the death rate was 16.6 per 100 000 population (95% CI: 15.2–18.0). Road traffic injury rates increased from 40.7 per 100 000 population in the 1990s to 92.9 per 100 000 population between 2010 and 2015, while death rates decreased from 19.9 per 100 000 population in the 1990s to 9.3 per 100 000 population between 2010 and 2015. The highest road traffic death rate was among motorized four-wheeler occupants at 5.9 per 100 000 population (95% CI: 4.4–7.4), closely followed by pedestrians at 3.4 per 100 000 population (95% CI: 2.5–4.2). Conclusion The burden of road traffic injury and death is high in Africa. Since registry-based reports underestimate the burden, a systematic collation of road traffic injury and death data is needed to determine the true burden

Impact of agricultural development on the health and nutritional status of children aged 0-10 years in a rural setting in southern Nigeria

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