Effects of the coronavirus pandemic among adolescents and young people living in South-East Nigeria

Background: Information on the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on adolescents and young people, who are in a critical phase of transition to adulthood is sparse. We evaluated the effects of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) among adolescents and young people living in Southeast Nigeria.Objective: To evaluate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on young people in NigeriaMethods: A cross-sectional (online and onsite) study of 328 Nigerian youths was conducted, and data on sociodemographic profile and effects of the pandemic collected through pre-tested self-administered questionnaires, were analysed using STATA 16.0, with the significance level for tests of association set at p<0.05.Results: The mean age of participants was 16.8±3.3 years. Two hundred and eleven participants (64.3%) experienced a fear of death significantly associated with a low monthly income (p<0.001), 62/328(18.9%) respondents had experienced intra-familial sexual abuse, significantly associated with age group (p=0.003). Positive effects reported by 190/328(57.9%) participants included learning new things (88/190 =46.3%), spending time with loved ones (39/190 =20.5%), spending time on studies (29/190 =15.3%, p=0.015), significantly associated with age group; and time for rest and self-discovery (34/190 =17.9%, p=0.038) significantly influenced by age group.Conclusions: A significant number of participants had a fear of death and intra-familial sexual abuse which was strongly associated with monetary poverty, and age; while some participants positively engaged in self-discovery, rest and studies. Thus, the mental health and social welfare of youths should be focused on, and positive skills enhanced during this pandemic and afterward

Climate-Driven Temporary Displacement of Women and Children in Anambra State, Nigeria: The Causes and Consequences

With increasing periods of extreme wet seasons, low lying geographic position, with socioeconomic, and political factors; some communities in Anambra State, Nigeria experience heightened floods annually resulting in loss of shelter, displacement of people with breakdown of livelihoods, particularly in rural communities worsening their risks and vulnerabilities. In 2012, a major flood event in the state temporarily displaced about 2 million people. In this chapter, we used a community-based adaptation approach to investigate the causes and consequences of climate-related temporary displacement on community members in Ogbaru LGA, Anambra State following flood events. We used global positioning system to obtain the community’s ground control points and gathered our data via field observation, transects walks, focus group discussions, photography, and in-depth interviews. Our findings reveal a heightened magnitude of flood related disasters with decreased socio-economic activities, affecting their health and well-being. Also, the community members have a practice of returning to their land, after flood events, as a local mitigating risk management strategy. For multilevel humanitarian responses at the temporary shelter camps, it becomes imperative to meaningfully engage the community members on the challenging risks and vulnerabilities they experience following climate-driven temporary displacement to inform adaptation and resilience research, policy change and advocacy

An Assessment of Ovarian Cancer Histotypes Across the African Diaspora

ObjectiveOvarian cancer in Black women is common in many West African countries but is relatively rare in North America. Black women have worse survival outcomes when compared to White women. Ovarian cancer histotype, diagnosis, and age at presentation are known prognostic factors for outcome. We sought to conduct a preliminary comparative assessment of these factors across the African diaspora. MethodsPatients diagnosed with ovarian cancer (all histologies) between June 2016-December 2019 in Departments of Pathology at 25 participating sites in Nigeria were identified. Comparative population-based data, inclusive of Caribbean-born Blacks (CBB) and US-born Blacks (USB), were additionally captured from the International Agency for Research on Cancer and Florida Cancer Data Systems. Histology, country of birth, and age at diagnosis data were collected and evaluated across the three subgroups: USB, CBB and Nigerians. Statistical analyses were done using chi-square and student's t-test with significance set at pResultsNigerians had the highest proportion of germ cell tumor (GCT, 11.5%) and sex-cord stromal (SCST, 16.2%) ovarian cancers relative to CBB and USB (p=0.001). CBB (79.4%) and USB (77.3%) women were diagnosed with a larger proportion of serous ovarian cancer than Nigerians (60.4%) (p<0.0001). Nigerians were diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancers at the youngest age (51.7 +/- 12.8 years) relative to USB (58.9 +/- 15.0) and CBB (59.0 +/- 13.0,p<0.001). Black women [CBB (25.2 +/- 15.0), Nigerians (29.5 +/- 15.1), and USB (33.9 +/- 17.9)] were diagnosed with GCT younger than White women (35.4 +/- 20.5, p=0.011). Black women [Nigerians (47.5 +/- 15.9), USB (50.9 +/- 18.3) and CBB (50.9 +/- 18.3)] were also diagnosed with SCST younger than White women (55.6 +/- 16.5, p<0.01). ConclusionThere is significant variation in age of diagnosis and distribution of ovarian cancer histotype/diagnosis across the African diaspora. The etiology of these findings requires further investigation