Introduction of improved okra (NHAe47-4) variety as a means of economic enhancement of farmers in Ido Village, Ido Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria

The study was carried out to introduce improved okra (NHAe47-4) variety to farmers in Ido Village in Ido Local Government of Oyo State using SAFE approach to agricultural extension which includes; capacity building among farmers to enable them diagnoses their problems, identify solutions and develop plans and implement them with or without support from outside. Farmers in the studied area were selected and a group was formed comprising of twelve (12) members. Sensitization and awareness creation were conducted in the study area through series of activities such as facilitating, interactive group discussions and several meetings with the farmers were held to orientate them of the improved okra variety through teaching and management techniques. Descriptive statistical tool such as frequency distribution and percentages was used to analyze the objectives. At the end of the harvesting and whole exercise, the group (farmers) was interviewed verbally to know their levels of awareness for adoption and their general view about the improved variety in relation to the normal okra variety they were used to. The farmers embraced the technology and they were actively participated through demonstration method exercise. Having known all the techniques involved in the production cycle, the farmers also tried the technology on their individual plot which served as an encouragement factor for adoption. The study thus resulted into improving the standard of living and economic enhancement of the farmers inthe study area

Threats to e-government implementation in the civil service: Nigeria as a case study

The rapid advancement in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has undoubtedly influenced positive changes in carrying out administrative functions in government institutions. The ICT adoption rate in Africa is not impressive when compared to the more developed countries of the world. Nigeria, as a case study in this scenario, has also not implemented E-Government impressively, according to the required standards set up by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). A comprehensive study conducted on the application and implementation of E-Government in Nigeria has provided some metrics that examine the stumbling blocks for realization of adequate and efficient E-Government implementation in the civil service. The research was carried out in the federal civil service in Nigeria in two phases namely, pre-IT implementation phase and post-IT implementation phase. Our findings reveal that ICT implementation will remain elusive in the civil service as long as the as threats explained below remain unaddressed. It has therefore been asserted that the need to overcome these threats is a precondition for realization of E-Government implementation in the federal civil service

Blood transfusion service in a tertiary hospital in sub- Saharan Africa during the COVID 19 pandemic: Experience from Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria

Blood transfusion services are as pivotal to the health system during a pandemic as before the pandemic. The effect of a pandemic ontransfusion services depends on the nature, potential for community spread and risk of transfusion transmissibility. As the total number of cases and deaths from COVID-19 rises, and to prevent the community spread of the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus, governments worldwide, as well as the Nigerian government, announced national lockdowns. Lockdowns have affected blood transfusion services. In Nigeria, blood transfusion services are still decentralized and tertiary health centres run independent transfusion units. The Lagos University Teaching Hospital blood transfusion unit was also impacted by the pandemic and the consequent lockdown. The major challenges experienced are in recruitment of voluntary blood donors, follow‐up of donors and patients with concomitant reduction in blood and blood component  supply derived from family replacement donation, inventory and consumable management, staff safety and adequacy for emergency work. These challenges were compounded by the inadequate infrastructure and policies at the outset of the pandemic. Countries in sub-Saharan Africa should invest in health infrastructure and their transfusion services and encourage local manufacture of basic laboratory reagents and consumables. The blood transfusion services and units should put in place strategic continuity of operations plans (COOP) to respond adequately to challenges generated during a pandemic which should focus on shortage, wastage and supply of blood and components in a cost‐effective manner and human resource management.   French title: Service de transfusion sanguine dans un hôpital tertiaire en Afrique subsaharienne pendant la pandémie COVID 19: Expérience de l'hôpital universitaire de Lagos, Nigéria Les services de transfusion sanguine sont aussi essentiels au système de santé pendant une pandémie qu'avant la pandémie. L'effet d'une pandémie sur les services transfusionnels dépend de la nature, du potentiel de propagation communautaire et du risque de transmissibilité transfusionnelle. Alors que le nombre total de cas et de décès dus au COVID-19 augmente et pour empêcher la propagation communautaire du virus SRAS-CoV-2, les gouvernements du monde entier, ainsi que le gouvernement nigérian, ont annoncé des verrouillages nationaux. Les verrouillages ont affecté les services de transfusion sanguine. Au Nigéria, les services de transfusion sanguine sont encore décentralisés et les centres de santé tertiaires gèrent des unités de transfusion indépendantes. L'unité de transfusion sanguine de l'hôpital universitaire de Lagos a également été touchée par la pandémie et le verrouillage qui en a résulté. Les principaux défis rencontrés concernent le recrutement de donneurs de sang volontaires, le suivi des donneurs et des patients avec une réduction concomitante de l'approvisionnement en sang et en composants sanguins provenant du don de remplacement familial, la gestion des stocks et des consommables, la sécurité du personnel et l'adéquation au travail d'urgence. Ces défis ont été aggravés par des infrastructures et des politiques inadéquates au début de la pandémie. Les pays d'Afrique subsaharienne devraient investir dans les infrastructures de santé et leurs services de transfusion et encourager la fabrication locale de réactifs et de consommables de laboratoire de base. Les services et unités de transfusion sanguine devraient mettre en place des plans stratégiques de continuité des opérations (COOP) pour répondre de manière adéquate aux défis générés pendant une pandémie, qui devraient se concentrer sur la pénurie, le gaspillage et l'approvisionnement en sang et en composants de manière rentable et la gestion des ressources humaines

Trend Analysis of Climatic Variables in the Niger Delta Region Nigeria

The study examined climatic trends in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria using 1951-2012 climatic data for five synoptic stations in the region. Rainfall, raindays and mean temperature were selected for this study. Second order polynomial, bivariate linear regression analysis and standardized anomalies were used to investigate the annual trends and deviations of climatic parameters from their respective mean. Correlation coefficient was used to ascertain the statistical significance of the trend, the result showed that annual mean temperature revealed an upward trend since 1951 up to 2012 in the region, the observed upward trend are statistically significant at 99% level of confidence (α ꞊ 0.01) while rainfall and raindays are not statistically significant. The result of the standardized anomalies of annual mean rainfall in the Niger Delta region clearly depicts a fluctuating rainfall pattern while the standardized anomalies of mean temperature indicated warming in the region, showing more positive deviation from the mean. Although statistical evidences were not enough to conclude that there is a climatic change in the region, it can be concluded that there are pieces of evidence of climate change in the Niger Delta region. Therefore, there is the need to develop the knowledge and skill for early warning about whether events, increasing the network of synoptic weather stations in the region so as to have adequate up to date record of climate and weather indicators available and accessible to researchers and the general public for free

An assessment of integrated Striga hermonthica control and early adoption by farmers in northern Nigeria

Two sets of on-farm trials, each covering two years, were conducted in the northern Guinea savannah of Nigeria over the period 1999–2001, the objective being to compare integrated Striga hermonthica control measures (soybean or cowpea trap crops followed by maize resistant to Striga) with farmers' traditional cereal-based cropping systems. In both sets of trials, this proved to be highly effective in increasing productivity over the two year period, especially where soybean was used as a trap crop. Resistant maize after a trap crop increased the net benefit over the two cropping seasons in both trials by over 100% over farmer practice. However, in the second set of trials there was no significant increase in productivity between a trap crop followed by Striga resistant maize, and a trap crop followed by local maize especially where legume intercropping and fertilizer had been applied in the farmer practice. There was also no increase in productivity between two years' traditional cereal cropping and one year's local maize followed by Striga resistant maize. This indicates the importance of a legume trap crop in the first year in order to ensure high productivity in the second year, regardless of variety. Up to 20% of farmers obtained higher productivity from their own practices, notably intercropping of cereals with legumes and use of inorganic fertilizers. Leguminous trap crops and Striga resistant maize, together with two key management practices (increased soybean planting density and hand-roguing) were seen to be spreading both within and beyond the research villages, indicating that farmers see the economic benefits of controlling Striga. Survey findings show that explaining the reasons why control practices work can greatly increase the adoption of these practices. Wider adoption of Striga control will therefore require an extension approach that provides this training as well as encouraging farmers to experiment and adapt Striga control options for their local farming systems

Evaluating and scalingup integrated Striga hermonthica control technologies among farmers in northern Nigeria

The results are presented of a project to promote integrated Striga control (ISC) technologies to farmers in the Guinea savanna of northern Nigeria. Extension agents used a participatory research and extension approach (PREA) to encourage farmers to test and adopt ISC technologies. Over a 2-year period, the performance of the technologies was compared with the common farmers’ practice with respect to crop yields, Striga seedbank, Striga damage and economics, as well as the adoption and adaptation of ISC technologies among lead farmers and others. ISC improved crop productivity on average by 88%. In the farmers’ practice, Striga seedbank increased by 46% in 2 years, while in plots under ISC it was reduced by a similar percentage. ISC resulted in higher margins than the farmers’ practice, but increased labour requirements were found to be a limitation for the expansion of the recommended technologies. Improved seed varieties, however, were rapidly adopted by farmers, but often used at lower plant populations than recommended and in mixed cropping systems. It was estimated that the participation of each extension agent resulted in the transfer of knowledge and seed to an average of 240 farmers. In addition, the PREA had improved community, group, and farmer–extension agent relationships. Ongoing demand by Government and NGOs for training in PREA, extension material and improved seed suggested that scaling-up has continued beyond the lifespan of the project

Global Burden of Cardiovascular Diseases and Risks, 1990-2022

The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) is a multinational collaborative research study with >10,000 collaborators around the world. GBD generates a time series of summary measures of health, including prevalence, cause-specific mortality (CSMR), years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) to provide a comprehensive view of health burden for a wide range of stakeholders including clinicians, public and private health systems, ministries of health, and other policymakers. These estimates are produced for 371 causes of death and 88 risk factors according to mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive hierarchies of health conditions and risks. The study is led by a principal investigator and governed by a study protocol, with oversight from a Scientific Council, and an Independent Advisory Committee.1 GBD is performed in compliance with Guidelines for Accurate and Transparent Health Estimates Reporting (GATHER).2 GBD uses de-identified data, and the waiver of informed consent was reviewed and approved by the University of Washington Institutional Review Board (study number 9060). This almanac presents results for 18 cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and the CVD burden attributed to 15 risk factors (including an aggregate grouping of dietary risks) by GBD region. A summary of methods follows. Additional information can be found online at https://ghdx.healthdata.org/record/ihme-data/cvd-1990-2022, including:Funding was provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the American College of Cardiology Foundation. The authors have reported that they have no relationships relevant to the contents of this paper to disclose. The contents and views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Government, or the affiliated institutions