Nigeria Health Watch
As at January 12, 2021, Nigeria has had over a hundred thousand confirmed cases of the novel 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection. The pandemic has continued to challenge healthcare systems across states, forcing them to innovate as they learn, adapt and respond to the disease. Responding to various aspects of the pandemic is also helping […]
By Bashar Abubakar (Lead Writer) Habiba Aliyu, 20, gave birth to her first child in 2019 while preparing to begin her journey as a health worker. As a student at a health training institution in Niger State, Aliyu wants to become a Community Health Extension Worker (CHEW). ‘’All my life I wanted to be a […]
By Abdullahi Tsanni (Lead Writer) Trachoma is a major public health issue in 44 countries and the major cause of blindness or visual impairment affecting 1.9 million people globally. It spreads through direct and indirect contact with the discharge from an infected person’s hands, clothes, nose and eyes, or through infected flies. According to the […]
By Dr. Chibugo Okoli (Guest Writer) The maternal mortality ratio in Nigeria is estimated at 512 per 100,000 live births whilst non-communicable diseases (NCDs) accounted for 27% of total deaths in 2008. The Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) has demonstrated its commitment to address NCDs via the creation of an NCDs division, the development of […]
According to the 2018 National Nutrition and Health Survey, Sokoto State is one of the four states with the highest prevalence of malnutrition among children six to 59 months in the country. With a prevalence of 8.4%, only Zamfara (10.3%) Katsina (9.2%) and Jigawa (8.5) are worse off. Nigeria is currently battling child malnutrition amidst […]
“My husband and I have always known that I would deliver at the hospital,” says Azeema Hussaini, 25, while sitting on a bed in a muddy two-room house, nursing her three-week-old daughter, Maisara, whom she gave birth to at the General Hospital Jahun, Jigawa State. The mother of three had her previous deliveries at the […]
By Beti Baiye and Dara Ajala-Damisa (Lead Writers) The trip from Yenagoa was short and uneventful. We arrived the community town hall before our hosts and as they walked in, some led by friend or family members and others feeling their way along, their gait and demeanour began to tell their story long before they […]
Polio, a contagious disease caused by the poliomyelitis virus is transmitted primarily when stool from someone infected contaminates foods, drinks or water sources. It invades the nervous system and could, in a matter of hours, lead to complete paralysis. On the 24th of August 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) officially declared Nigeria and Africa […]
When will the COVID-19 pandemic be over? Will life return to how it was before COVID-19 disrupted it? These questions probably run through every person’s mind often even if they are not conscious of it. But the pandemic is far from over, even though the ease of lockdown measures makes it appear as if the […]
For several weeks, sixty-year-old Musa Danyadikko had been grappling with a strange fever and cough that had defied all known treatment. One day in June, sitting in his home in Gwarzo town, 75 kilometers north-west of Kano metropolis, he heard that public health officials from Kano had arrived at the palace of the District Head […]
Data is one of the most important drivers of development, from conceptualisation of interventions to design and implementation. It is what largely guides the policy direction of government and implementation plans of development partners. Data determines what investments will be made in particular areas, and highlights where the need is greater for a specific intervention. […]
As COVID-19 hit Nigeria, concerns grew for many journalists as to how they were to report on the pandemic which affected every sphere of life. Most media pages and airtime slots were filled with reports about COVID-19 cases and precautions on how the disease could be prevented. Given that COVID-19 is a disease caused by […]
By Adaobi Ezeokoli & Chibuike Alagboso (Lead Writers) Professor Chris Bode, Chief Medical Director at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), is sitting at a conference table in his spacious office. A colourful artwork frame takes up the wall behind him, and files and papers are arranged on the table, remains of a meeting he […]
By Chibuike Alagboso and Adaobi Ezeokoli (Lead Writers) When Oluwaytoyin Adebiyi, a 66-year old elderly resident of Ejigbo in Lagos State woke up on April 28, 2020, he expected the day to start and end like any other day — he would spend the day at the stationery business he operates with his wife of nearly 40 […]
