Sustainability of Financial Inclusion to Rural Dwellers in Nigeria: Problems and Way Forward

Financial inclusion as the provision of a broad range of high quality financial products such as savings, credit, insurance, payments and pensions, which are relevant, appropriate and affordable for the entire adult population especially the low income segments of the economy. This study critically examines the sustainability of financial inclusion to rural dwellers in Nigeria using descriptive study and content analysis. The study observed that the sustainability of financial inclusion to rural dwellers in Nigeria remains the mainstream for economic growth in any country. The implication of this study is that economy cannot grow fast without proper implementation of financial inclusion to rural areas in Nigeria. The study recommended that the promotion of collaboration between Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Microfinance Banks (MFBs) and Communication services providers for enhanced intermediation of financial services should be encouraged; there is need to educate rural dwellers on the importance of banking as it would facilitate the success of CBN financial inclusion policy and that since some of the rural dwellers preferred to keep money under their pillows at home, there should be proper enlightenment to change their orientation on financial inclusion in Nigeria. Keywords: Financial Services, financial inclusion, DMBs, rural dwellers, poverty reduction.

Implication of Marketing of Banking Services on the Profitability of Nigerian Banks: a Case Study of First Bank Plc.

Banking industry renders services to customers ranging from collection of deposits, opening various categories of account, deposit, current and savings account. Out of the volume of money-collected part are given out as loan to investors, individual, corporate bodies and the government. The aim of this study is to investigate the implication of marketing of banking services on the profitability of Nigerian banks. The scope of the study spanned from 2000 to 2012. The study made use of quantitative data and econometric techniques in assessing the level of implication. The result of the analysis shows that marketing of banking services have indeed had significant positive implication on profitability of Nigerian banks looking at the indicators of banks product or services such as savings account, current account, loan and advance, e-banking, payments and cash management, treasury services, etc. the study therefore recommend that bank customers, management and shareholders should adopt electronic banking operation so that it will increase the level of bank profitability; bank management should from time to time train their staff and customers with regards to services banks provide especially in the area of modern banking development and that the regulatory authorities (CBN, NDIC and Federal Ministry of Finance) should monitor the activities of commercial banks in terms of bank charges on services rendered to customers. Keywords: Marketing, Banking Services, Deposit, E-Banking, Profitability

Knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about the health hazards of biomass smoke exposure amongst commercial food vendors in Nigeria

Background Exposure to biomass smoke is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Africa. Commercial food vendors in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa are commonly exposed to biomass smoke from open fire cooking both at work and home. Little is known about the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of food vendors about the health hazards of biomass smoke exposure in Nigeria. Methods We did a descriptive cross sectional survey of the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of commercial food vendors in the cities of Benin and Calabar in Nigeria. We recruited respondents using a multi-stage approach. Structured interviewer-administered questionnaires were used for data collection. Results We recruited 308 participants (164, 53.2% female). The majority 185(60.2%) were married and had post-primary education 206(67.4%). The average monthly income was <30,000 Naira (US$150). Most 198(64.4%) were not aware that biomass smoke exposure is harmful to human health. About three-quarters (221; 71.8%) were unconcerned as to the effect of exposure to fumes from biomass fuels on their health. Less than half of respondents (110, 41.6%) believed biomass smoke was harmful to health. Male gender, being single, having post-primary education and preferring electricity or gas fuels were associated with good knowledge of the adverse health effects of biomass smoke exposure whilst female gender and having good knowledge of the adverse health effects of biomass smoke were associated with positive attitudes towards preventing exposure. Conclusion Commercial food vendors in our study had limited knowledge about the adverse health effects of biomass smoke exposure and negative attitudes towards preventing these adverse health effects. We suggest an educational intervention is needed to improve this knowledge

Food vendor characteristics.

<p>Food vendor characteristics.</p

Logistic regression for predictors of knowledge and attitude of food vendors.

<p>Logistic regression for predictors of knowledge and attitude of food vendors.</p

Bivariate variables for good attitude towards preventing harmful effects of biomass fuel smoke.

<p>Bivariate variables for good attitude towards preventing harmful effects of biomass fuel smoke.</p

Bivariate variables for knowledge of harmful effects of biomass fuel smoke.

<p>Bivariate variables for knowledge of harmful effects of biomass fuel smoke.</p

Bacterial etiology of community-acquired pneumonia in immunocompetent hospitalized patients and appropriateness of empirical treatment recommendations: an international point-prevalence study

An accurate knowledge of the epidemiology of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is key for selecting appropriate antimicrobial treatments. Very few etiological studies assessed the appropriateness of empiric guideline recommendations at a multinational level. This study aims at the following: (i) describing the bacterial etiologic distribution of CAP and (ii) assessing the appropriateness of the empirical treatment recommendations by clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for CAP in light of the bacterial pathogens diagnosed as causative agents of CAP. Secondary analysis of the GLIMP, a point-prevalence international study which enrolled adults hospitalized with CAP in 2015. The analysis was limited to immunocompetent patients tested for bacterial CAP agents within 24 h of admission. The CAP CPGs evaluated included the following: the 2007 and 2019 American Thoracic Society/Infectious Diseases Society of America (ATS/IDSA), the European Respiratory Society (ERS), and selected country-specific CPGs. Among 2564 patients enrolled, 35.3% had an identifiable pathogen. Streptococcus pneumoniae (8.2%) was the most frequently identified pathogen, followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (4.1%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (3.4%). CPGs appropriately recommend covering more than 90% of all the potential pathogens causing CAP, with the exception of patients enrolled from Germany, Pakistan, and Croatia. The 2019 ATS/IDSA CPGs appropriately recommend covering 93.6% of the cases compared with 90.3% of the ERS CPGs (p < 0.01). S. pneumoniae remains the most common pathogen in patients hospitalized with CAP. Multinational CPG recommendations for patients with CAP seem to appropriately cover the most common pathogens and should be strongly encouraged for the management of CAP patients.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio