Climate Change Awareness and related Tree Planting Practices in a Rural Community in North-Western Nigeria

Background: Tree cutting is one of the causes of climate change and a common practice in Africa, a continent under significant threat from climate change. Therefore, climate change awareness and mitigation are vital to reducing its impacts in the region. Reforestation through planting of trees is an important carbon emission reduction strategy. This study assessed climate change awareness and related tree planting practices among household heads in a Nigerian rural community.Methods: A community-based descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in April 2019 among all household heads in Nasarawan Buhari community. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from the 104 household heads (or their representatives). Data was analyzed using SPSS (version 21.0) and statistical significance was set at p value of < 0.05.Results: The mean age of respondents was 40.6±12.6 years, and most of them (87.5%) were males. Half (50.0%) were aware of climate change, and their main source of information was radio (63.5%). Most (98.1%) used fire wood for cooking. Only a minority (27.9%) planted at least a tree in the year preceding the study. There was a statistically significant association between climate change awareness and occupation (p=0.038) but not with tree planting (p=0.827).Conclusion: The results indicated that only half of respondents were aware of climate change. There was high use of wood as cooking fuel with low tree planting. Tree planting was not associated with climate change awareness. There is therefore a need for continuous climate change education and mitigation campaign in the community

The Effect of Training on The Knowledge and Practice of Occupational Health and Safety Measures among Poultry Farm Workers in Kaduna State, Nigeria

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Methods and outcomes of home management of diarrhoea in a community in north-western Nigeria

Diarrhoeal diseases represent the second leading cause of under-five mortality in the developing world. The secondary level of disease prevention consisting of early detection and prompt treatment is crucial in averting diarrhoea-related deaths among children. The appropriateness or otherwise of the approaches in combating diarrhoea, in the event of it’s occurrence is key to the outcome.This study explored the popular and prevalent methods of home management of diarrhoea (HMD) among mothers of under-fives and the outcomes of the same. It is a cross-sectional, descriptive study conducted in a sub-urban community among 350 mothers of under-fives, randomly selected by multi-stage sampling method. Data were collected using interviewer-administered, closed-ended, structured questionnaires and analysed electronically.Results showed that majority (70.5%) of the respondents preferred WHO-recommended methods of HMD; although only about two-thirds of them (64%) admitted practising HMD. Out of this, 91.96% reported experiencing a favourable outcome of complete recovery of their children without visiting health facilities. There was an association between maternal age and the practice of HMD (p<0.05).The findings from this study call for more intensive advocacy and campaigns by the local health authorities and all stakeholders in favour of the promotion of the consistent practice of WHO-recommended guidelines only for the home management of diarrhoea, particularly among mothers and care-givers of under-five children.          Keywords: diarrhoea, home management, methods, mothers, outcomes, under five

Occupational Safety Practices among Butchers in Selected Abattoirsin Igabi LGA, North-Western Nigeria

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