Effects of Wheat and Fish Trade Restriction Policies on Households’ Vulnerability to Poverty in Nigeria

Against the expected trade liberalization policies as enunciated under the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement, Nigeria currently uses trade restriction policies through tariffs and quotas to protect local producers and ensure self-sufficiency in staple food especially wheat and fish, which constitute 56% of annual food import. However, the general equilibrium effects of restrictive policy instruments are yet to be fully understood especially for the poor and the vulnerable. Living Standard (HNLSS) survey data for 2009/2010 and the NISER’s 2011 Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) were used. An 80% wheat and 50% fish tariff increase as currently implemented in Nigeria were used for the simulations. Data were analyzed using computable general equilibrium (CGE) technique and Vulnerability To Poverty (VTP) measure. Prior to policy simulations, vulnerable rural and urban households in NW had the highest observed poverty (68.2% and 71.2%) while, while the rural and urban households in the south-south zone had the least (53.0% and 45.5%) respectively. The expected poverty was highest in simulation three across vulnerable and non-vulnerable households. Consequently, the ratio of expected to observed poverty indicates that vulnerable rural and urban households have the highest likelihood of sinking deeper into poverty particularly with the combined policies in simulation three. It is therefore recommended that government should strengthen domestic production of food import substitutes backed with strong value addition. Keywords:Computable general equilibrium, Per-capita consumption expenditure, Social accounting matrix, Trade restrictions, Vulnerability to poverty DOI: 10.7176/JPID/50-06 Publication date:June 30th 201

Industrial Pollution and its Attendant Effects on Public Health in Nigeria

Air pollution from rapid industrialization and the use of energy have led to increasing deterioration in environmental quality which poses serious challenges to human health. This study estimated the effect of industrial pollution on public health in Nigeria using time series data sourced from World Development Indicators (WDI) data from 1971-2011.. The stationarity tests reveal that except for GDP growth which was stationary at its level, all other variables were stationary at first difference. The cointegration test shows the existence of three cointegrating equations which implies that the series cannot drift too far apart and hence the need for an estimation of the VECM model. The VECM shows a negative relationship between life expectancy (a proxy for public health) and carbon dioxide emission (industrial pollution) both in the short and long run. The coefficient of Error Correction Term (-0.0802) of the model was significant and negative meaning that the system corrects its previous period disequilibrium at a speed of approximately 8% annually. The impulse response analysis revealed that after the first quarter, a one standard deviation shock in carbon emission has a negative and significant impact on life expectancy, thereby validating the negative relationship between life expectancy and carbon dioxide emission in Nigeria.  The study therefore recommends that efforts aimed at improving public health should focus on observing the Kyoto Protocol (KP) agreement which is targeted at reducing the emission of green house gases responsible for climate change with severe health implications. This objective can be achieved by imposing taxes, use of quotas or fostering collective bargaining between the parties involved. Keywords: Life expectancy, public health, industrial pollution, carbon dioxide emission, VECM, Nigeri

Plantain Value Chain Mapping in Southwestern Nigeria

Understanding relationships, opportunities and bottlenecks in a commodity value chain is crucial to the determination of the contribution of a commodity to economic development. The objective of the study was to Map Plantain Value Chain in order to identify the key players, their roles, value added along the chain as well as constraints. Personal Interview and Focus group discussions were used to collect primary data from the actors along the chain. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Value added analysis. The study identified conventional and peculiar actors such as Input suppliers, Producers, Farm-Gate Assemblers, Market-Arena Assemblers, Insitu Wholesalers, Transit Wholesalers, Processors, Retailers and Consumers. The study revealed tremendous dominance of the Midstream sector in the commodity value chain and that Value addition, volume of trade and geographical coverage indices were highest at the midstream sector. The result revealed also that Plantains were traded mostly in unprocessed form and there was low level of export of the commodity. Producers sold most of their product (55%) at the farm gate.  Horizontal flow of the commodity was prominent among the actors. Value added at processing level was estimated at ?111/kg of processed product. The cross cutting constraints among the actors were inadequate credit accessibility, high transportation cost, inadequate market access and inadequate storage facilities amongst others. The study recommends intervention in the area of linking actors in the value chain to prospective markets for them to benefit from the various activities.  Keywords:Plantain, Value Chain Map, Value Chain Actors, Value Added, Southwestern Nigeria

The burden experienced by family caregivers of patients with epilepsy attending the government psychiatric hospital, Kaduna, Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Caring for patients with chronic medical and psychiatric disorders is associated with significant burden. However little is known about the burden experience by caregivers of patients with epilepsy in Nigeria. The objective of this study, therefore, was to assess the level and correlates of burden among caregivers of patients with epilepsy. METHODS: It was a cross-sectional study carried out among 231 eligible caregivers of patients with epilepsy attending the psychiatric clinic of government psychiatric hospital in Kaduna, Northern Nigeria. Socio demographic/clinical characteristics of patients and sociodemographic characteristics of caregivers were recorded, and the Zarit Burden Interview administered to caregivers to assess their experience of burden. RESULTS: The mean age of the caregivers was 43.6 ±9.5 years, 52.4% lived outside Kaduna and the mean seizure-free period for the patients was 26.4 ±36.5 weeks. One hundred and twenty (51.9%) caregivers had high burden. High burden was significantly associated with patients aged less than20 years, patient’s unemployment, long duration of epilepsy, short seizure-free period, family history of epilepsy and living outside Kaduna (p valu

The effect of rutin on lipid profile and liver function enzymes on alloxan induced hyperglycaemic wistar rats

The aim of this research was to investigate the effects of rutin on lipid profile and liver function enzymes on alloxan induced hyperglycaemia in Wistar rats. Hyperglycaemic was induced by intraperitoneal injection of 150 mg/kg alloxan monohydrate. The rats were grouped into five groups of five rats each. Group 1 served as the diabetic negative control, Group 2 served as positive control and was treated with 2 mg/kg glibenclamide, while Groups 3, 4 and 5 were treated with 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight of rutin respectively. Rutin was administered to the animals orally for a period of four weeks. At the end of the experimental period, the rats from each experimental group were sacrificed using light chloroform and sera were collected for the determination of lipid profile and liver function enzymes. There was a significant (p<0.05) decreased in the total cholesterol, triglyceride and low density lipoprotein as compared to control. However, there was a significant (p<0.05) increased in the level of high density lipoprotein when compared to diabetic control. Furthermore, there was a significant (p<0.05) decreased in the serum liver enzymes; Aspartate transaminase (AST) Alanine transaminase (ALT) and Alkaline phosphates (ALP) as compared to control. As regards to the reference drug 2mg/kg glibenclamide there was a significant (p<0.05) increased in the liver enzymes function as compared to control. Conclusion, rutin has hypolipidemic effect and also decreased liver function enzymes activity on alloxan induced hyperglycaemic rats.Keywords: Rutin, Hyperglycaemia, Alloxan, Lipid profile, Liver enzyme

Family Characteristics and the Coping Behaviour Associatedwith Duration and Frequency of Sexual Assaul

This study reports the sexual abuse of children and their trauma post-assault in Sabah, Malaysia. The objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between family characteristics and coping behavior associated with the duration and frequency of sexual assault of the child survivors. Eighty children who reported sexual assault through a One Stop Crisis Centre in an urban hospital were studied. The main research instrument used was adapted from the Adolescence Coping Scale. The results of the study show that there are no significant differences in the coping behavior of victims according to the frequency and duration of their sexual abuse. The relationship of the variables family characteristics, frequency, and duration of sexual assault as well as the coping behavior of the victims is important for social workers both to understand and to take note of in intervention work with child sexual assault survivors who report their abuse. The implications of these findings were also discussed in the context of the provision of crisis intervention support for child victims of sexual abuse by social workers

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Level as a Predictor of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Liver Cirrhosis Patients

BACKGROUND: Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) has been used for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) diagnosis and screening, however, AFP has poor specificity. The extensive hypervascularity associated with HCC could be driven in part by the pro-angiogenic factor known as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Furthermore, invasiveness of certain HCC lesions has recently been linked to high levels of VEGF. Therefore, circulating VEGF levels of patients with liver cirrhosis (LC) and HCC were investigated and analysed.METHODS: An analytical cross sectional study was designed. Diagnosis of HCC and LC was performed using clinical criteria and findings obtained from B-mode ultrasonography (USG), computed tomography (CT) angiography, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Blood were collected intravenously from all subjects. Obtained serum and plasma were stored in -80°C for following analyses: hepatitis B surface antigen (HBSAg), hepatitis C virus (HCV), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), total bilirubin, albumin, VEGF and AFP.RESULTS: Levels of VEGF and AFP were significantly higher in HCC group compared with LC group with p = 3.05 x 10-6 and p = 8.74 x 10-5, respectively. There was a significant positive correlation (p=0.029, r=0.309) between VEGF level and tumor size in HCC group. The area under curve (AUC) for VEGF level in HCC and LC groups was 0.771. In the level of median 435.6 pg/mL VEGF, the sensitivity was 50% and specificity was 86%. In the level of 199.99 pg/mL VEGF the sensitivity was 74% and specificity was 76%.CONCLUSION: The present findings suggested that VEGF level could be a useful marker for the presence of HCC in patients with LC

Efficacy of Combination Sofosbuvir, Pegylated-Interferon, and Ribavirin for Treatment of Hepatitis C Virus Genotype 1 Infection in Indonesia

Background: The presence of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) has improved the treatment of HCV infection and making it more preferable than Pegylated-interferon (PegIFN) and Ribavirin (RBV) based treatment. However, treatment with all DAA combination regimen is limited and expensive in low health care affordability country including Indonesia. The appearance of generic sofosbuvir (SOF) facilitate the utilization of SOF plus PegINF with or withour RBV combination. Therefore, in this study we assessed the efficacy of SOF+RBV and SOF+RBV+PegINF combination for treatment of chronic hepatitis C infections patient with genotype 1 in IndonesiaMethod: We performed retrospective study comprising 128 patients in Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital with chronic hepatitis C, genotype 1, infection. 36 patients was treated with PegINF+SOF+RBV and 92 patients was treated with SOF+RBV with the duration of therapy was 12 and 24 weeks in both arms. The primary endpoint was sustained virologic response after treatment completion (SVR12)Results: In the end of treatment, 99.2% patients achieved undetected HCV RNA in 12 weeks and 24 weeks duration of therapy (100% in PegINF+SOF+RBV group and 98.9% in SOF+RBV group). The SVR12 of PegINF+SOF+RBV reach 100% meanwhile The SVR12 of SOF+RBV reach 88%.  No different in SVR12 between cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic patient in PegINF+SOF+RBV group while in SOF+RBV group, the SVR12 was lower in cirrhotic patients (82.9%) compared to non-cirrhotic patients (92.2%). In multivariate analysis, HIV co-infection is associated with lower SVR12 in SOF+RBV group.Conclusion: 12 weeks and 24 weeks of PegINF+SOF+RBV and SOF+RBV is effective in the treatment of genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C infectio

Determinants of caregiver's knowledge and practices regarding childhood fever management in a developing setting: a multi-centre cross-sectional assessment

IntroductionFever is both a sign of various diseases (chief of which are infectious in nature) and an adverse effect of certain interventions (e.g. vaccines, drugs) in the pediatric population. It elicits anxiety among caregivers and healthcare professionals alike resulting in non-evidence based practices, adverse medication administration events, waste of scarce resources and overutilization of health facilities. The determinants of these practices among caregivers in the domiciliary contexts have not been well characterized in developing settings.MethodsWe assessed the knowledge and practices of childhood fever and their determinants among caregivers in domiciliary settings in Northern Nigeria using a 41-item questionnaire between August 2020 and February 2021.ResultsThe questionnaire is reliable (knowledge: Cronbach's Alpha = 0.689; practice: Cronbach's Alpha = 0.814) and collected data on a total of 2,400 caregiver-child pairs, who participated in the study. Over two-third (68.3%; 1,640) of the caregivers expressed fever phobic tendencies. Paracetamol was the most commonly used medication and constituted 31.3% of medication administration adverse events reported by the caregivers. Only one out of every six knowledgeable caregivers engaged in evidence-based home childhood fever management practices (7% vs. 41.6%) with being a primary caregiver [Knowledge: odd ratio (OR): 2.81, 95% CI: 0.38; 5.68; p value: 0.04; Practice: OR: 1.65, 95% CI: 0.09; 7.33; 0.02] and having a child/children aged ≤3 years (knowledge: OR: 7.03, 95% CI: 4.89; 9.67, p value: 0.003; practice OR: 3.11, 95% CI: 1.27; 8.59, 0.007) determining both the knowledge and practices of childhood fever management in a household.ConclusionsThe knowledge and practice of childhood fever management among caregivers were sub-optimal with being a primary caregiver and having a child/children aged ≤3 years being the significant determinants of each domain. These gaps underscore the dire need for targeted strategies aimed at improving childhood fever management by educating caregivers