Acceptance of malaria vaccine by a rural community in Nigeria

Background: Introduction of malaria vaccine is imminent. This study evaluated the prevalence of malaria among a non-febrile population and their willingness to accept a malaria vaccine.Methods: This was a cross-sectional, community-based study done in a rural community in south east Nigeria. A total of 156 household heads were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was pre-tested before commencement of the study to correct ambiguity.Results: Majority (78.2%) acknowledged that malaria is the commonest illness in the community, while 55.1% believed that presumptive treatment is the best malaria preventive measure. Most (98.7%) of the study participants immunized their children against childhood vaccine preventable diseases, while 91.6% would be willing to accept a malaria vaccine. The prevalence of malaria parasitaemia among non-febrile respondents was 35.4% and the use of mosquito nets was 17.9%.Conclusion: The high prevalence of malaria among non-febrile populations, the practice of presumptive treatment of unconfirmed fever as malaria preventive measure and the low use of bed nets, points that it is time to introduce malaria vaccine. The high willingness to receive the vaccine is positive to the introduction of the vaccine.Keywords; Acceptance; Malaria, Vaccine, Nigeria

Modeling MSMEs Financing and Economic Growth: Evidence from Nigeria

MSMEs constitute the driving force in the attainment of industrial growth and development. Several previous studies have examined the relationship between MSMEs financing and economic growth in Nigeria but the results of these studies are still mixed. Therefore, this paper examines the causality between MSMEs financing and economic growth in Nigeria during the periods 1992 to 2013. However, the analysis technique of this study differs from the previous studies as the approaches of the previous studies are not adequate in obtaining robust estimates and drawing meaningful inference given the potential impact of MSMEs financing on economic growth. Unlike previous studies that totally relied on traditional methods for unit root testing, co-integration analysis, and causality test, our study relies on the ultra-modern econometric methods such as; the Ng-Perron modified unit root test, Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Bound testing approach to co-integration, parsimonious ECM version of ARDL model, and the Toda – Yamamoto causality procedure. The empirical results indicate evidence of a stable long – run relationship among the chosen variables. The Toda – Yamamoto causality test show evidence of a unidirectional causality running from MSMEs financing to MSMEs output, a bi-directional causality between MSMEs output and economic growth, as well as, a unidirectional causality running from MSMEs financing to economic growth in Nigeria during the periods covered. The study therefore recommends that the government through the monetary authority (CBN) should energize the MSMEs by instituting a programme that will adequately promote the financing of MSMEs with relatively low interest rate for sustainable economic growth. Keywords: MSMEs financing, economic growth, Ng- Perron, ARDL, Toda– Yamamot

Prevalence of depression among post-graduate medical trainees in selected institutions in eastern Nigeria: A multi-centre study

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Lead-based paint on playground equipment in public children’s parks in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni

Objective. To determine the use of lead-based paint in public playgrounds in the municipalities of Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni.Methods. Forty-nine public parks were selected from the municipalities of Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni. Lead levels in paint on playground equipment were measured in situ using a hand-held Thermo Scientific NITON XLP 700 Series X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyser.Results. Playground lead levels ranged from ‘too low to detect’ to 10.4 mg/cm2. The mean and median lead concentrations were 1.9 mg/cm2 and 0.9 mg/cm2 respectively. Forty-eight per cent of lead paint measurements exceeded the internationally accepted reference level of 1 mg/cm2.Conclusion. The study shows that lead-based paint is widely used in public playgrounds in the three study municipalities, and most likely throughout South Africa. We suggest key actions to ensure that children’s playgrounds in South Africa are lead-free zones, and that childhood lead exposure in these settings is prevented

Calcium Bistriflimide-Mediated Sulfur(VI)–Fluoride Exchange (SuFEx): Mechanistic Insights toward Instigating Catalysis

We report a mechanistic investigation of calcium bistriflimide-mediated sulfur(VI)–fluoride exchange (SuFEx) between sulfonyl fluorides and amines. We determine the likely pre-activation resting state─a calcium bistriflimide complex with ligated amines─thus allowing for corroborated calculation of the SuFEx activation barrier at ∼21 kcal/mol, compared to 21.5 ± 0.14 kcal/mol derived via kinetics experiments. Transition state analysis revealed: (1) a two-point calcium-substrate contact that activates the sulfur(VI) center and stabilizes the leaving fluoride and (2) a 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane additive that provides Brønsted-base activation of the nucleophilic amine. Stable Ca–F complexes upon sulfonamide formation are likely contributors to inhibited catalytic turnover, and a proof-of-principle redesign provided evidence that sulfonamide formation is feasible with 10 mol % calcium bistriflimide

Levels of Lipid Peroxidation Products in Fried Protein and Carbohydrate Foods Sold in an Institution of Higher Learning in North Central Region of Nigeria

Four typical local protein foods namely fried beans (akara), fish, beef and chicken and five carbohydrate foods namely buns, fried yam, potatoes, plantain and jellof rice as commonly consumed in the institution were evaluated for malondialdehyde and malonaldehyde levels as part of nutritional evaluation by our research group. The fried foods were purchased from food vendors within the University and lipid peroxidation assays carried out using standard methods. The levels of lipid peroxidation by malondialdehyde in akara, bony fish, chiken and beef were 3.88±1.29, 3.39±1.13, 3.86±1.30 and 2.75±1.38 respectively. In the same manner, the levels of lipid peroxidation aldehydes were 3.43±1.14, 3.87±1.29, 1.51±0.75 and 1.66±1.66 for akara, fish, beef and chicken respectively. Among the carbohydrate foods, buns and fried yam had the highest level of malondialdehde and malonaldehyde while the fried plantain, potatoes and jellof rice contained less of the peroxidation products. All the protein and carbohydrate samples contained degradation products of lipid peroxidation and various levels of deteriorations. The lipid hydrogen peroxide and carbonyls detected call for caution in using frying as a local preparation method of carbohydrates and proteins. Keywords: lipid peroxidation, frying, carbohydrate, protein

Willingness to pay for rapid diagnostic tests for the diagnosis and treatment of malaria in southeast Nigeria: ex post and ex ante

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The introduction of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) has improved the diagnosis and treatment of malaria. However, any successful control of malaria will depend on socio-economic factors that influence its management in the community. Willingness to pay (WTP) is important because consumer responses to prices will influence utilization of services and revenues collected. Also the consumer's attitude can influence monetary valuation with respect to different conditions ex post and ex ante.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>WTP for RDT for Malaria was assessed by the contingent valuation method using a bidding game approach in rural and urban communities in southeast Nigeria. The ex post WTP was assessed at the health centers on 618 patients immediately following diagnosis of malaria with RDT and the ex ante WTP was assessed by household interviews on 1020 householders with a prior history of malaria.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>For the ex ante WTP, 51% of the respondents in urban and 24.7% in rural areas were willing to pay for RDT. The mean WTP (235.49 naira) in urban is higher than WTP (182.05 Naira) in rural areas. For the ex post WTP, 89 and 90.7% of the respondents in urban and rural areas respectively were WTP. The mean WTP (372.30 naira) in urban is also higher than (296.28 naira) in rural areas. For the ex post scenario, the lower two Social Economic Status (SES) quartiles were more willing to pay and the mean WTP is higher than the higher two SES while in the ex ante scenario, the higher two SES quartiles were more WTP and with a higher WTP than the lower two SES quartile. Ex ante and ex post WTP were directly dependent on costs.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The ex post WTP is higher than the ex ante WTP and both are greater than the current cost of RDTs. Urban dwellers were more willing to pay than the rural dwellers. The mean WTP should be considered when designing suitable financial strategies for making RDTs available to communities.</p

Achieving Sustainable Food Security in Nigeria: Challenges and Way Forward

One of the goals of Nigeria’s agricultural development policy is to ensure that the nation produces enough food and less dependent on importation so as to ensure adequate and affordable food for all. Using descriptive statistics, this study is an attempt to evaluate food security situation in Nigeria from 1991 to 2015. The paper shows that there is a shortfall in domestically produced food in Nigeria because the growth in the population of Nigeria is at the rate of 3.2% while the growth in food production has been less than one. This shows that demand for food (population) is greater than the supply (agricultural production) because of factors such as inconsistent government policies, environmental degradation and non-sustainable agricultural production. The paper also shows that Nigeria depends so much on food importation. To achieve sustainable food security in Nigeria, the paper recommends an improvement in environmental management in other to increase agricultural productivity

A Three-Factor Model of Inclusive, Sustainable and Resilient Economic Development for Developing Countries

Nigeria had adopted various development plans in order to achieve MDGs.Achievement of MDGs is crucial to effective implementation of SDGs agenda aimed at fostering inclusive, sustainable and resilient economic development. In spite of these efforts, the Nigerian economy is still characterized by low capital formation, chronic unemployment, a large percentage of the population living on primary sector and negligible savings. Indeed, Nigeria’s performance in MDGs was quite unimpressive. This is partly attributable to inappropriate human capital theory of economic growth on which these development plans were based. Therefore, this study focused on building a model of inclusive, sustainable and resilient economic development which would yield potent factors and describe activities that could link human capital investment with aggregate economic activities to induce economic development with full participation of target population. The study covered the period, 1981 - 2014. Data were sourced from Central Bank of Nigeria, National Bureau of Statistics and World Development Indicators. Data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis technique. Study revealed that minimum wage, girl-child education and special intervention fund were factors which influenced the relationship among human capital, real GDP and economic development. It was concluded that the outcome of this study which is a three-factor model of inclusive, sustainable and resilient economic development is essentially a human capital theory of economic development capable of linking the different sectors of the economy. It was recommended, inter alia, that a dynamic employment policy would involve economic empowerment of women through job reservation in paid labour

Tax-financing of Budget Deficits in LDCs: Re-validation of Laffer Curve Theory

Urgent need for quick action to put Nigeria and other developing economies back to the path of economic recovery has almost imposed state of emergency on these economies. Most LDCs are faced with acute shortage of development funds due to recessions accompanying incessant crashes in international financial market. Raising existing tax rates to finance budget deficit in LDCs often generates public debate on pros and cons of such policy option. Study considered Nigeria as typical case of LDCs. Study focused on establishing the effectiveness of tax-financing of budget deficit under Laffer curve theory. Study spanned across 1970-2015. Data were analyzed using ADF, CUSUM, heteroskedasticity, multiple regression, Johansen cointegration and ECM. Results indicate that: (1) Custom and exercise duties, petroleum profit tax and value-added tax contributed significantly to the reduction in budget deficit while company income tax had nonsignificant impact(2)Total government revenue constituted major chunk of planned income for budget deficit financing(3) Deficit financing of capital health expenditure yielded high returns while that of recurrent education expenditure and capital education expenditure was accompanied by low returns (4)Growth and employment generation accelerated deficit financing while private investment decelerated it (5) There were long and short-run relationships among budget deficit, taxes, human capital investment and macroeconomic indicators with significant rate of adjustment of short-run disequilibrium. Study concluded that tax-financing of budget deficit was effective under Laffer curve effect. It was recommended, among others, that LDCs should enlarge their tax bases through inclusion, to finance budget deficit