Two years of COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria: a review of the current situation of the pandemic: a literature review.

Curtailing COVID-19 outbreaks has been the major focus for many countries following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nigeria expanded its effort with the commencement of its vaccination program against COVID-19 in March 2021 after several less effective interventions as vaccine introduction was implemented. Following the introduction of the vaccines, Nigeria is expected to meet the worldwide COVID-19 eradication target of vaccinating 40% and 70% of the population, respectively, by the end of 2021 and 2022. Nigeria was unable to meet the target at the commencement of the program. The low vaccination rate, attributed to a low acceptance rate of vaccines, a lack of access to vaccines, poor communication, a weak cold-chain system, and inadequate infrastructure in the country, resulted in the complete vaccination of only 15% of the Nigerian populace as of 21 September 2022. To improve the vaccination rate, the COVID-19 Crisis Communication Centre was launched. Also, the implementation of delivery of service, logistics, accountability, supportive supervision, communication, and electronic management of immunization data scaled the vaccination rate to more than 54% of the target populace as of December 2022. Since the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine, a substantial change in the prevalence and mortality rate has been perceived owing to the country's progress toward achieving herd immunity against COVID-19. The country ascertained the percentage of cumulative deaths before the vaccination process to be 60.4%, which was reduced to 39.6% post-vaccination. In comparison, the percentage of confirmed COVID-19 cases was reduced from 58.3 to 41.7% post-vaccination. The authors recommend that the government and relevant public health authorities ensure meticulous documentation of the outcomes resulting from vaccination initiatives and facilitate the accessibility of this information to the general public to boost the vaccination rate.

Assessment of the availability, accessibility, and quality of sexual and reproductive health services for young people in conflict affected zones of Cameroon: a mixed method study.

INTRODUCTION: Despite ongoing programs to improve young people's Sexual and Reproductive Health Services (SRHS) in the conflict plagued North West and South West Regions of Cameroon, there is limited evidence-based information evaluating SRHS. This study, therefore, aims to investigate the availability, accessibility, and quality of SRHS provided to young people in the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon. METHOD: This is a cross-sectional mixed-methods sequential explanatory study conducted among healthcare providers and young people between 10 and 24 years in 6 selected urban and rural areas in North West and South West regions. Data was collected between December 2021 and September 2022 using an adopted checklist. A descriptive analysis was conducted for quantitative data. An inductive analysis was conducted for the qualitative data to construct themes. The findings from the quantitative and qualitative responses were triangulated. RESULTS: There were 114 participants, 28 healthcare providers and 86 young people. Most provider participants were nurses (n = 18, 64.3%), working in religious facilities (n = 14, 50.0%), with diplomas as state registered nurses (n = 9, 32.1%). Also, more than half of young people (51.2%) were less than 20 years old, while there were more male young people (51.2%) than female young people (48.8%). Most respondents agreed that SRHS services were available, though they think they are not designed for young people and have limited awareness campaigns about the services. Reasons such as limited use of written guidelines, affected quality of SRHS. Participants revealed shyness, resistance from religious groups and families, insecurities from political instability, and inadequate training, among others, as barriers to SRH accessibility. CONCLUSION: The study shows that SRHS are available but are not specifically designed for young people. Inadequate publicity for these services, coupled with the political crises and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, has increased young people's inaccessibility to SRHS. Young people usually have to finance the cost of most of the SRHS. The quality of service delivery in the facilities is inadequate and must therefore be improved by developing safe, youth-friendly centers staffed with well-trained service providers.

Management and Prevention of Pre-Eclampsia in Nigeria.

This research paper analyses the management and prevention of pre-eclampsia in Nigeria. Although efforts have been made to reduce outcomes due to pre-eclampsia, it still rears its head in the form of high maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. The aim of this review was to identify the main obstacles, gaps, and interventions related to the prevention and management of pre-eclampsia in order to be fully knowledgeable of the magnitude of the issue at the national level, to assess if current government policies are adequate and to recommend solutions. A search was performed on online databases and it was completed with hand searches related to the subject matter. Screening tests for early detection of pre-eclampsia are hardly available in Nigeria as many hospitals rely on the history of previous and current pregnancies, blood pressure monitoring and urinalysis-proteinuria. The administration of low-dose aspirin, antihypertensive drugs and magnesium sulphate, coupled with calcium in calcium deficit regions, was recommended. The main barriers to the wider implementation of these strategies are inadequacy of the antenatal care services in providing appropriate care, lack of resources and trained personnel, high healthcare costs, and low antennal care attendance. Improving education and awareness, use of low-cost screening modalities and low-dose aspirin can be deployed in developing countries to curb pre-eclampsia.

Predictors of young maternal age at first birth among women of reproductive age in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Adverse obstetric outcomes have been commonly associated with early childbearing in many low-and middle-income countries. Despite this evidence, scholarly information on early childbearing in the sub-Saharan African region, especially Nigeria, is limited. This study examines the predictors of young maternal age at first birth among women of reproductive age in Nigeria using multi-level analysis. METHODS: Data from the most recent Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey conducted in 2018 were analyzed. A total of 29,949 women of reproductive age (15-49 years) were considered for the study. Descriptive statistics using weighted percentage and chi-square test of independence (χ2) were first used to describe the variables of interest. This procedure was followed by a multilevel analysis of factors associated with young maternal age at first birth in Nigeria at p<0.05 level of significance. RESULTS: Approximately 36.80% of the sample population had their first birth before the age of 18. Mothers residing in the North-East region [aOR = 1.26; 95% (CI = 1.13-1.42)] and practicing Islam [aOR = 1.17; 95% (CI = 1.05-1.29] were more likely to have their first birth before the age of 18 than those in the North-Central region and those practicing Christianity. Living in communities with medium literacy level [aOR = 0.90; 95% (CI = 0.82-0.99)] and high literacy level [aOR = 0.71; 95% (CI = 0.62-0.81)], being within richest wealth index [aOR = 0.61; 95% (CI = 0.53-0.71)] and being Yoruba [aOR = 0.46; 95% (CI = 0.39-0.56)] were associated with lower odds of young maternal age at first birth. CONCLUSION: More than one-third of women of reproductive age in Nigeria had given birth to their first child before 18 years. Thus, there is a need for the Nigerian government and other stakeholders, including Non-Governmental Organisations and Civil Society Organisations to formulate and implement policy interventions targeted at reducing early childbearing among women of reproductive age in Nigeria.

Prospects of malaria vaccination in Nigeria: Anticipated challenges and lessons from previous vaccination campaigns.

Malaria is a severe public health issue in Nigeria, with higher morbidity and mortality rates than any other country. An estimated 100 million malaria cases and over 300,000 deaths are recorded yearly in Nigeria. Vaccination is an effective strategy in combating and eliminating infectious diseases such as malaria, thus, the deployment of a prospective malaria vaccine in Nigeria offers hope to the country's health sector. However, vaccination programmes face challenges, particularly in communities that are difficult to reach geographically or culturally, and these obstacles can only be overcome through continued international, national, and individual commitment. There is a need for expanded and continuous public health information, education, and communication particularly on contemporary health issues such as malaria and vaccination hesitancy. This will enable easier implementation and compliance to strategies for the sustainable control and eventual elimination of malaria. This article highlights some of the lessons learned from previous vaccination programs in Nigeria and how the insight gotten can be pivotal in ensuring the success of a prospective malaria vaccination programme in Nigeria.

Poliomyelitis amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa: Efforts, challenges and recommendations.

Poliomyelitis is the leading infectious cause of acute flaccid paralysis among children under five years of age, caused by the Wild Poliovirus, with no medical cure other than prevention through vaccination. The advent of mass vaccination campaigns against polio disease worldwide has greatly decreased the number of global cases and limited the rate of transmission. However, the emergence of Vaccine-derived Poliovirus due to genetic reversions in the live attenuated oral polio vaccine has posed a significant impediment to global polio eradication efforts. Therefore, There is a need to modify the vaccination regimen by utilizing more doses of inactivated poliovirus vaccine or adopting the bivalent oral polio vaccine in order to eliminate the transmission of Vaccine-derived Poliovirus. In addition, collective efforts from governments, health policymakers, vaccination groups and health-related bodies are required to improve vaccine coverage and suppress the circulation of Vaccine-derived Poliovirus.