Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards and Market Performance of Listed Banks in Nigeria

Abstract. The objective of this study is to examine the effect of the adoption of IFRS on the market performance of banks in Nigeria. Secondary data were acquired from the financial statement of 15 money deposit banks listed on floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) while regression and paired sample test analyses were used to determine the association between the adoption of IFRS and the market performance of listed money deposit Banks in Nigeria. The study found a positive and significant relationship between the adoption of IFRS and the market performance of listed money deposit banks in Nigeria proxy by Dividend pay-out (DPO) and Dividend Yield (DY). Furthermore, the paired sample test result indicates a significant difference exists between Dividend pay-out (DPO) and the adoption of IFRS while no significant difference exists between Dividend Yield (DY) and the adoption of IFRS. Thus, the study recommends that the global adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards particularly in developing economies like Nigeria should be properly implemented and studied, so as to keep abreast with the various changes the would likely affect the market performance of the Nigerian Banking industry

HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NIGERIA

This study employs the ordinary least square regression analysis to examine the impact of human capital development on economic growth of Nigeria, using annual time series date from 1981 to 2015. The empirical results show that human capital development has significant impact on economic growth, as proxy by the gross domestic product. In line with theory, the human capital development indicators namely secondary school enrolment, tertiary school enrolment, total government expenditure on health and total government expenditure on education exhibit positive and statistically significant impact on economic growth of Nigeria which implies that these indicators are indispensable in the achievement of growth in the Nigerian economy. However, life expectancy and primary school enrolment exhibit a negative and statistically insignificant impact on economic growth of Nigeria. The study concluded that the Nigerian government should ensure to allocate adequate resources for the development of human capital in order to enhance economic growth in Nigeria. The study also recommended that going forward the government and policy makers should increase its total expenditure on education, ensure sufficient budgetary allocation on health expenditure, and ensure a standard is set across all secondary and tertiary institutions in the country so that proper human capital required for any individual to become productive and economic growth is enhance

Effects of Solo and Pair Programming Instructional Strategies on Students’ Academic Achievement in Visual-Basic.Net Computer Programming Language

This study assesses the relative effectiveness of solo and pair programming instructional strategies on students’ academic achievement in the Visual-Basic.Net Computer Programming Language. Two research questions and three null hypotheses guided the study. The sample comprised 68 subjects distributed over the three treatment groups (27 solo programmers, 24 pair programmers, and 17 conventional programmers) from three hundred computer science students of the Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka, Yaba, Lagos State, Nigeria. The Visual-Basic.Net Achievement Test (VAT) was used to collect data for both the pre- and post-tests. The VAT test was administered to all 68 subjects in the three groups, first as pre-test and after treatment as post-test. Mean and standard deviations were used to answer the two research questions while ANCOVA and multiple comparisons were used in testing the three null hypotheses. The results of the analyses indicate that: (i) the experimental groups performed better than the control group, (ii) the treatment appeared to be more effective among male students than their female counterparts, (iii) the main effects of treatment and gender as well as the interaction effects of treatment and gender were not statistically significant

Regional Analysis of Acceptance of COVID-19 Vaccines in Nigeria

Background: Attempts at curbing the spread of SARSCoV-2 have resulted in formulation and adoption of COVID-19 protocols in different countries. To further prevent contracting the virus, many developed countries are administering COVID-19 vaccines to their citizens and residents while the developing countries are not left out. The Nigerian government began administering COVID-19 vaccines on March 9, 2021. This study therefore analysed the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines across different states in Nigeria. Methods: The study utilised secondary data of COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria. The dataset was obtained from OpenAFRICA, which was first created on September 1, 2021 and last updated in September 29, 2021. The data were statistically analysed and then mapped using the Geographic Information System. Results: The findings showed a very low level of acceptance of the full doses of COVID-19 vaccines vis-a-vis the population of each of the thirty-six (36) Nigerian States. Conclusion: We therefore conclude that the population responses to receiving COVID-19 vaccines is very low in Nigeria, which signals a high level of health risk and vulnerability to the virus

Malnutrition and feeding practices among under-five children in rural communities of Federal Capital Territory Abuja, Nigeria

Background: Poor dietary practices and malnutrition among under five children in Nigeria has remained a great public health concern. Objective: This study assessed the feeeding practices and nutritional status of under-five children to determine the prevalence of malnutrition of under five children in Kuje area council, Abuja. Methods: Cross-sectional study design was employed. Validated questionnaire was used to obtain information on the feeding practices of the respondents, while appropriate equipment was used for measurements of anthropometric parameters. Anthropometric data was analysed by comparing with reference standard and analysed statistically with p<0.05 considered significant. Results: Result showed that 97% of the children were breastfed, 30.6% had early initiation to breastfeeding, 22.4% were breastfed exclusively, and 30.2% discarded colostrum. Only 27.7% had age appropriate timely introduction of complementary feeding. The prevalence of global acute malnutrition (GAM) was 12.8%, (severe wasting [5.4%] plus moderate wasting [7.4%]), underweight was 24.4%, stunting was 40.3% and overweight was 7.0%. Child left in the care of another child (younger than 14 years old), place of delivery, immunization status of the child, early initiation to breastfeeding, use of colostrum, and age of child were all significantly (p<0.05) associated with nutritional status. Conclusion: There is high prevalence of malnutrition and poor infant and young child practice in Kuje Area Council

An assessment of the reading motivation skills of Nigerian primary school teachers: Implications for language and science education

Recent studies and frequent news reports have expressed concerns about African children’s decreasing reading habits and dwindling achievement in language and primary science examinations. African children are not reading because they have reading difficulties or because they have no interest in books. This article focuses on the elementary schooling years, when the ability to read and comprehend and the love of reading are developed, using Nigeria as a case study. The article begins with a review of the literature on reading that underscores the importance of nurturing and supporting good reading habits amongst African children. Following a cursory exposition of the categories of schools in Nigeria and the place of reading and science in the National Policy on Education, the remainder of the article presents the findings of a study conducted to assess the reading motivation skills of primary school teachers and illustrates pedagogical ways of developing good reading habits amongst African children. Implications for language and science education are discussed

Effect of Carica papaya (Linn) aqueous leaf extract on pharmacokinetic profile of ciprofloxacin in rabbits

Purpose: To investigate the fate of ciprofloxacin, after concomitant administration with the aqueous leaf extract of Carica papaya, which herbal practitioners in Nigeria have found helpful in the treatment of painful crisis in sickle cell anaemia (SCA) patients.Method: Thirteen rabbits were fasted for 12 h and given by oral route 20 mg/kg ciprofloxacin (control group); after a 3-week crossover period, the animals were given 500 mg/kg aqueous extract of Carica papaya followed by 20 mg/kg ciprofloxacin (treatment group). Blood samples were collected over a period of 0 - 24 h post-dosing, and pharmacokinetic profile of ciprofloxacin in plasma sample determined using a validated high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method.Results: Time to attain maximum plasma ciprofloxacin concentration (Tmax), lag time and clearance (CL/F) were higher in the treated group; all other pharmacokinetic parameters showed significant decrease in the treated group (p < 0.005) compared to the control group. The slow rate of elimination of ciprofloxacin in the control group (0.32 ± 0.11 h-1) compared to the treated group (0.21 ± 0.07 h-1) was not due to kidney impairment as plasma creatinine level indicated that kidney function was within normal range (0.68 ± 2.78 mg/dl).Conclusion: The results of the study show that there is interaction between ciprofloxacin and Carica papaya. This interaction can be avoided by taking ciprofloxacin at least 3 h prior to administration of the leaf extract of C. papaya.Keywords: Carica papaya, Ciprofloxacin, Sickle cell anaemia, Herb-drug interaction, Pharmacokinetic

Mapping local patterns of childhood overweight and wasting in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017

A double burden of malnutrition occurs when individuals, household members or communities experience both undernutrition and overweight. Here, we show geospatial estimates of overweight and wasting prevalence among children under 5 years of age in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 2000 to 2017 and aggregate these to policy-relevant administrative units. Wasting decreased overall across LMICs between 2000 and 2017, from 8.4 (62.3 (55.1�70.8) million) to 6.4 (58.3 (47.6�70.7) million), but is predicted to remain above the World Health Organization�s Global Nutrition Target of <5 in over half of LMICs by 2025. Prevalence of overweight increased from 5.2 (30 (22.8�38.5) million) in 2000 to 6.0 (55.5 (44.8�67.9) million) children aged under 5 years in 2017. Areas most affected by double burden of malnutrition were located in Indonesia, Thailand, southeastern China, Botswana, Cameroon and central Nigeria. Our estimates provide a new perspective to researchers, policy makers and public health agencies in their efforts to address this global childhood syndemic. © 2020, The Author(s)

Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific mortality and life expectancy, 1950–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

BACKGROUND: Assessments of age-specific mortality and life expectancy have been done by the UN Population Division, Department of Economics and Social Affairs (UNPOP), the United States Census Bureau, WHO, and as part of previous iterations of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD). Previous iterations of the GBD used population estimates from UNPOP, which were not derived in a way that was internally consistent with the estimates of the numbers of deaths in the GBD. The present iteration of the GBD, GBD 2017, improves on previous assessments and provides timely estimates of the mortality experience of populations globally. METHODS: The GBD uses all available data to produce estimates of mortality rates between 1950 and 2017 for 23 age groups, both sexes, and 918 locations, including 195 countries and territories and subnational locations for 16 countries. Data used include vital registration systems, sample registration systems, household surveys (complete birth histories, summary birth histories, sibling histories), censuses (summary birth histories, household deaths), and Demographic Surveillance Sites. In total, this analysis used 8259 data sources. Estimates of the probability of death between birth and the age of 5 years and between ages 15 and 60 years are generated and then input into a model life table system to produce complete life tables for all locations and years. Fatal discontinuities and mortality due to HIV/AIDS are analysed separately and then incorporated into the estimation. We analyse the relationship between age-specific mortality and development status using the Socio-demographic Index, a composite measure based on fertility under the age of 25 years, education, and income. There are four main methodological improvements in GBD 2017 compared with GBD 2016: 622 additional data sources have been incorporated; new estimates of population, generated by the GBD study, are used; statistical methods used in different components of the analysis have been further standardised and improved; and the analysis has been extended backwards in time by two decades to start in 1950. FINDINGS: Globally, 18·7% (95% uncertainty interval 18·4–19·0) of deaths were registered in 1950 and that proportion has been steadily increasing since, with 58·8% (58·2–59·3) of all deaths being registered in 2015. At the global level, between 1950 and 2017, life expectancy increased from 48·1 years (46·5–49·6) to 70·5 years (70·1–70·8) for men and from 52·9 years (51·7–54·0) to 75·6 years (75·3–75·9) for women. Despite this overall progress, there remains substantial variation in life expectancy at birth in 2017, which ranges from 49·1 years (46·5–51·7) for men in the Central African Republic to 87·6 years (86·9–88·1) among women in Singapore. The greatest progress across age groups was for children younger than 5 years; under-5 mortality dropped from 216·0 deaths (196·3–238·1) per 1000 livebirths in 1950 to 38·9 deaths (35·6–42·83) per 1000 livebirths in 2017, with huge reductions across countries. Nevertheless, there were still 5·4 million (5·2–5·6) deaths among children younger than 5 years in the world in 2017. Progress has been less pronounced and more variable for adults, especially for adult males, who had stagnant or increasing mortality rates in several countries. The gap between male and female life expectancy between 1950 and 2017, while relatively stable at the global level, shows distinctive patterns across super-regions and has consistently been the largest in central Europe, eastern Europe, and central Asia, and smallest in south Asia. Performance was also variable across countries and time in observed mortality rates compared with those expected on the basis of development. INTERPRETATION: This analysis of age-sex-specific mortality shows that there are remarkably complex patterns in population mortality across countries. The findings of this study highlight global successes, such as the large decline in under-5 mortality, which reflects significant local, national, and global commitment and investment over several decades. However, they also bring attention to mortality patterns that are a cause for concern, particularly among adult men and, to a lesser extent, women, whose mortality rates have stagnated in many countries over the time period of this study, and in some cases are increasing

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background: Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. Methods: The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model—a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates—with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality—which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. Findings: The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2–100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1–290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1–211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4–48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3–37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7–9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. Interpretation: Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation