Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Towards Sexually Transmitted Diseases among Undergraduate Students in Ahmadu Bello University, Main Campus, Samaru, Zaria.

Background: Worldwide, over a million people acquire a sexually transmitted infection (STI) daily. Young individuals of 16-24years age group are more prone to STIs because they lack adequate knowledge about STIs and tend to have wrong perceptions towards sex. Aim: This study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice towards sexually transmitted diseases among undergraduate students of ABU main campus, Samaru, Zaria. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was used, in which 440 questionnaires were administered for the study among which 411(93%) were retrieved and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 23. Results: Results obtained showed that 77% of the respondents had good knowledge, attitudes of the respondents were found to be positive with an aggregate mean of 4.12 and 67% uses a condom for the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. Conclusion: From the findings of the study, it was concluded that undergraduate students in Ahmadu Bello University Zaria had good knowledge, positive attitudes, and good preventive practices towards sexually transmitted diseases

Implications of Land Use Changes on the Yields in Dry Matter, Energy and Protein of Range and Crop Fields in Zamfara Reserve, Northwestern Nigeria

The Zamfara reserve is a 235,500 ha grazing land within the Sudan savannah zone (12º 10\u27 - 13º 05 N; 6º 30\u27 - 7º15\u27 E) of north western Nigeria. Rainfall varies from 500mm in the north to 800mm in the south of the reserve, and is restricted within the months of May - September. The reserve is an important grazing site for the herds of sedentary, transhumant and agro pastoralists. Population growth within the farming communities in the reserve has led to the conversion of more grazing land to croplands. This work was carried out to evaluate the quantity and quality of herbage on the natural range and the croplands, in order to have an insight on the effect of increased cropping activity on biomass availability in the reserve

Knowledge and Perceptions of Maternal Health in Kaduna State, Northern Nigeria

This cross-sectional descriptive study explored knowledge and perceptions of maternal health and awareness of health services among women and men of reproductive age in rural communities in Zaria, Kaduna state Nigeria. Among the sample of 647 respondents, 72.6% of men and only 35.9% of women had received formal education. Knowledge of maternal health was very low. In a three point scale (poor, fair, good), only 3.1% of men and 1.2% of women had good knowledge of maternal health. The association between the respondents‟ educational level and their maternal health knowledge was statistically significant. Socio-economic barriers were identified as limiting this population‟s optimal utilization of maternal health services. Furthermore, some respondents‟ perceived available health care services to be of low quality. In order to improve reproductive health in rural northern Nigeria, it is imperative to improve access to formal education, increase knowledge about maternal health care, and improve the quality of care offered in health care facilities (Afr. J. Reprod. Health 2010; 14[3]: 71-76).Key words: Maternal health, reproductive health, knowledge, perception, health care utilization, rural, northern Nigeria

Time Budget on Major Activities of Livestock Grazing Heterogeneous Natural Range and Crop Fields in Semi-Arid Nigeria

Semi-arid rangelands of West Africa provide herbs, trees and shrubs, which together with crop residues form the main sources of feed for the livestock population. Feed supply in this region is characterised by a progressive decline in quantity and quality with advancing dry season. It was reported that walking ability as well as watering frequencies affect the productivity of grazing livestock (Dicko and Sangare, 1984). This study tests the hypothesis that advancing season increases both time spent walking as well as feeding, with a switch from grazing to browsing

Availability and Utilization of Emergency Obstetric Care Services in Three Communities in Kaduna State, Northern Nigeria

Maternal mortality ratios often reflect on the quality and availability of emergency obstetric care (EmOC) services. Ten health facilities in Kaduna State were assessed to determine their capacity to provide EmOC. Each community had the recommended number of both primary and secondary health facilities per population. All secondary health facilities had 24-hour services staffed by at least one doctor and one nurse/midwife per shift, and were able to perform most signal functions of EmOC in the three months preceding the survey. However, no primary health centres (PHC) were open 24 hours, and their performance of EmOC in the three months preceding the survey was near zero. Thus the presence of functional secondary hospitals is not enough to reduce maternal mortality in communities where women have to overcome numerous barriers to reach a hospital. If shortages of personnel, equipment and supplies in PHCs were resolved, 24-hour services could lead to a sharp reduction in maternal and infant mortality among rural women in northern Nigeria (Afr. J. Reprod. Health 2010; 14[3]: 83-88).Key words: Emergency obstetric care, primary health care, maternal mortality, rural communities, northern Nigeria

RANDOMISED DOUBLE-BLIND PLACEBO-CONTROLLED STUDY OF FOLIC ACID ADJUNCT FOR 8 WEEKS IN HYPERHOMOCYSTEINAEMIC HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS IN ZARIA, NIGERIA

Objectives: This study was aimed at determining the effect of folic acid adjunct therapy on homocysteine (HCY) and blood pressure (BP) levels in hypertensive subjects. Method: The study was a double blind placebo-controlled trial on 100 hypertensive patients randomised into 50 folate and 50 placebo groups, where the folate group had 5 mg folic acid daily for 8 weeks. Fasting plasma homocysteine, folate and blood pressure levels were determined at baseline, at 4 and at 8 weeks. The Mixed Model Repeated Measures analysis of variance was applied for data analysis. Results: Hyperhomocysteinaemia was found at baseline in the folate (21.3 ± 5.7 µmol/L) and placebo (21.6 ± 4.9 µmol/L) groups which did not differ statistically (p > 0.05). Folic acid adjunct therapy, reduced homocysteine levels at 4 weeks by 2.0 µmol/L (9.2 %, p < 0.05) and at 8 weeks by 1.2 µmol/L (5.6 %, p < 0.05), with no significant (p > 0.05) systolic and diastolic blood pressure lowering effect. High base-line folate levels were found in both folate (113.8 ± 51.2 ng/ml) and placebo groups (109.5 ± 51.4 ng/ml) with no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Short-term daily folic acid supplementation over 8 weeks had a significant homocysteine reduction effect with no significant reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressures of hypertensive subjects in Zaria, Nigeria. Hyperhomocysteinaemia could not be accounted for by suboptimal folate levels. Keywords: Hypertension, Homocysteine, Blood pressure, Folate, Placebo, Nigeria

A review of community-based health insurance in Nigeria

Background: The primary goal of many countries is to establish a healthcare financing system that guarantees universal health coverage (UHC) through equity in access to healthcare services as well as financial risk protection to the people. Community based health insurance (CBHI) has emerged as an alternative to reduce out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures and improved financial risk protections in developing countries like Nigeria. The aim of this study is to review the CBHI in Nigeria and highlight the issues, weaknesses and strengths of the system. Materials and Methods: A systematic literature review on the CBHI was conducted using relevant studies searched from electronic databases: MEDLINE, Pubmed, scienceDirect.com, PLOS and public search engine (Google). It was done on 16th January, 2017. The phrases used are ‘health financing’, ‘community health insurance’ in ‘Nigeria’ which were put together by Boolean operator “and” articles or reports. Relevant materials for the past 7 years were included. A total of 5 articles fulfilled the criteria for review. SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity and threat) tool was used for the analysis. Result: The strengths of CBHI scheme in Nigeria are it reduces OOP health expenditure and improves utilization rate on healthcare. However, the weaknesses are that the scheme tends to cover a comparatively small proportion of the social class, namely the lower social class. Also, involvement of the community sometimes is ineffective due to inadequate funding. The opportunities are that the CBHI scheme increases efforts towards improving healthcare system in the country and enables equity in access to healthcare. The threats are weak policy, lack of political commitment to health, poor funding especially in primary healthcare and poverty. Conclusion: Nigeria must start to make more commitment to health care, if they want to achieve UHC. The rate of out of pockets health expenditure is still very high and catastrophic on Nigerian healthcare system. Recommended strategies needs to be addressed urgently in order to improve equity in access to health care service as well as effective financial risk protection. CBHI may not be suitable in all situations but can play an important role in to health care programs in Nigeria