Water, electricity and good roads are some of the basic amenities every community needs to thrive, while health and education are the foundations of a productive society. Communities that lack these services often experience challenges as their absence slows down development. Indigenous communities in the Federal Capital Territory are amongst the most underserved in terms […]
“We received one million naira from October 2020 to February 2022”, said Halima Musa, the officer in charge of Beji Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Bosso Local Government Area (LGA) of Niger State. Proudly pointing out the facility’s solar-powered underground borehole and tank, Musa explained that a part of the funds was used to fix […]
“Enrolling people into insurance schemes is not easy, considering the fact that you are asking people to come and pay for health when they are not sick” — Dr Ahmed Danfulani, Director/CEO FCT Health Insurance Scheme. Each country’s journey towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is very context specific and requires strategies that address the unique challenges posed […]
By Oguntola Ibukun & Dara Ajala-Damisa Nigeria is among the countries where about 17% of health care facilities had no access to a water source as at 2019. A 2019 joint WHO/UNICEF report showed that worldwide, 896 million people use health care facilities with no water supply and 1.5 billion people use facilities with no […]
Big things every so often start in small ways. Louis Pasteur may never have fully conceived the far reaching effects of his innovative contribution to science and medicine.Thomas Edison may never have realised how the invention of a single lightbulb would impact civilisation today. The team that visited Sauka, a rural community of about 3000 […]
By Innocent Eteng (Lead Writer) Five years ago, when pregnancy related complications threatened the life of Abisola Oladapo’s new-born baby, she experienced a ‘eureka’ moment. “Unknown to me, my water had broken but I didn’t tell my doctor during my appointment because I thought I’d wet myself and I didn’t want to be judged,” she […]
Nigeria was declared wild poliovirus free in August 2020, however, despite Nigeria’s wild poliovirus free status, the country is still experiencing the transmission of circulating vaccine-derived polio virus type 2 (cVDPV2). The incidences of cVDPV2 are as a result of low vaccination rates and unvaccinated children coming in contact with excretions from children who have […]
Women’s access to contraception has had a significant impact on societies, enabling them to have greater autonomy over their bodies, and the power to decide when and how many children they have. According to the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, the current met need for family planning is 19.9 percent for women in urban […]
From the moment the novel coronavirus was identified in January 2020 and subsequently declared a pandemic in March, the race has been on to control the outbreak. Governments around the world locked down their countries and advised on tough public health and social measures for self-protection and to protect loved ones, as well as to […]
When Dr Uzoamaka Onyeama completed her medical training and was posted to Ekiti State for National Youth Service, she said that she “wasn’t sure of what to expect as I’ve had my entire education in the southeast”. At the time, the state was actively engaged in strengthening health service delivery through the Medical Corps Fellowship […]
In Maraban Jos, a densely populated community in Igabi Local Government Area (LGA) of Kaduna State, Kadijah Maiwada, a Community Health Worker (CHW) was visiting Ummulkhairi Musa and Hasiya Muhammad. Musa is a 39-year-old mother of six and Muhammad, an 18-year-old mother of one. While Musa is pregnant with her seventh child, Muhammad has a […]
By Dara Ajala-Damisa and Kemisola Agbaoye (Lead Writers) For reasons ranging from lack of funds and conflicting needs, to long wait times and convoluted registration processes, the average Nigerian would rather self-medicate or go to the neighbourhood pharmacy or chemist when they feel unwell, than go to a doctor. Very few Nigerians can afford the […]
By Beti Baiye and Uche Nwagboso (Lead Writers) A report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) focused on the largest study of the prevalence of violence against women. The report was on behalf of a special working group of the United Nations, and it revealed that across their lifetime, one in three women are subjected […]
Like many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria continues to face challenges with meeting the health needs of its population, especially in sexual and reproductive health. Despite cuts in funding from international development partners for Family Planning (FP) services and the revision of the Nigeria Family Planning Blueprint (Scale-Up Plan): 2014–2018 to the currently revised Nigeria […]