Operation and regulation of copyright collective administration in Nigeria : important lessons for Africa

The introduction of a regulatory framework in the area of collective management of rights in Nigeria must have been intended to strengthen the creative industry. Unfortunately, it has thrown this industry and in particular the music and film industries into a battle of a regulated against a non-regulated collective administration sector for upward of twenty (20) years. My choice of research on this topic could be attributed to the interest I developed while administering the collective administration desk at the Nigerian Copyright Commission. Serving on that desk afforded the opportunity to see the frustration of right owners who were being deprived the fruit of their labor, as the societies meant to collect and distribute royalties on their behalf were enmeshed in litigations and in the process, rarely paid any royalties to authors. Within this context, this research seeks to explore whether there is any merit in the continued existence of the current regulatory framework for collective management in Nigeria, and what the best operational framework for collective administration in Nigeria would be. A methodological approach entailing literature review of books, articles, journals, legislation, cases, reports of committees and interviews with experts was adopted, with critical analysis carried out on particularly the Nigerian Copyright Act, the Nigerian Copyright (collective management organisation) regulation, the South African Copyright Act, the South African Performers’ Protection Act, the South African Collecting Societies Regulation, as well as judicial decisions challenging certain provisions in the Nigerian legislation. It is hoped that this research will spur a desire for the need for supervisory and regulatory agencies of government to seek the national interest above all others in taking and making decisions that affect the collective administration of copyright and related rights.Mercantile lawLL.M. (Intellectual Property

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Developing a framework for open access knowledge in Nigeria

The thesis provides an analysis of the legal and policy dimensions of open access to research, education and public sector information with special focus on Nigeria. It aims to investigate how open access has evolved across the world and how such initiatives could be implemented in Nigeria. It seeks to connect Nigerian works to the ‘global library’ thereby providing visibility and increasing the possibilities for impact and utility of such works. It seeks to provide a platform where Nigerians are able to freely connect to the ‘global library’, through the open access dual platforms of self-archiving and open access publishing, thereby providing them with access to use and reuse scholarly works. It further seeks to provide an understanding of open educational resources as alternative avenues to accessing education and seeks to foster citizenry participation, good governance, accountability, democratic values and spur creativity and innovation through open governance and access to public sector information

Eclampsia: A Randomized Double Blind Trial of Magnesium Sulphate and Diazepam in Lagos, Nigeria

Background: Magnesium sulphate is used widely to prevent eclamptic seizure in pregnant women with Hypertension but few studies have compared the efficacy of magnesium sulphate with that of other drugs in Nigeria. Objective: This randomnized study is to compare the efficacy of magnesium sulphate with that of diazepam in preventing seizures in hypertensive women during labour. Methods: Eclamptic patients were randomly assigned to receive either magnesium sulphate or diazepam. The magnesium sulphate regimen used was as described by Zuspan. The diazepam regimen was a loading dose of 10mg intravenously over two minutes and repeated when convulsions recurred. Primary measure of outcome: Recurrence of convulsions and maternal death. Results: The use of magnesium sulphate was found to be significantly associated with less serious morbidity in terms of recurrence of convulsions (P = 0.0047), respiratory, and renal complications (P = 0.004) and improvement in level of unconsciousness (P = 0.0024) in comparison to diazepam use. Eight maternal deaths occurred, seven (87.5%) in unbooked/ predelivery patients. More vaginal delivery and less operative delivery were recorded in the magnesium group as compared to the diazepam group (P = 0.039). Low Apgar scores < 7 at 1min were twice as common in the diazepam group as compared to the magnesium sulphate group (P = 0.04). There were four early neonatal deaths in the diazepam group and none in the magnesium sulphate group. Conclusion: This study has produced support for the touted advantages of magnesium sulphate over diazepam for the mother and the infant in the treatment of eclampsia. Key Words: Eclampsia, Recurrent Convulsions, Magnesium sulphate,Diazepam [Trop J Obstet Gynaecol, 2004; 21:143-147

Evaluating Food Safety Compliance and Hygiene Practices of Food Handlers Working in Community and Healthcare Settings in Kuwait

Safe food handling and proper hygiene practices performed by food handlers (FHs) in catering establishments are fundamental elements in reducing foodborne diseases. This study aimed at assessing food safety knowledge and compliance of hygiene practices of FHs within food establishments (using a structured questionnaire). A cross-sectional study was carried out from May 2016 to March 2018 on FHs working in community and healthcare settings. A total of 405 FHs, including 44.9% and 55.1%, were working in community and healthcare settings, respectively. The majority, 84.7%, were males with a ratio of 5.5:1. Most of them, 84.4%, had a high school education and above. A greater number, 44%, of FHs were in the age bracket of 29–39 years. As high as 95.6% of them underwent a regular medical check-up. Unsafe attitudes were shown by 44.9%% who used the same hand gloves while handling raw meat and fresh food. Additionally, 42% went home with their uniforms. The hygiene assessment score was 95.8%. In general, FHs have adequate knowledge and compliance with food safety practices. It is recommended that regular and ongoing training on hygienic practices and proper food safety techniques must be given to all FHs to ensure food safety