Facilitators and barriers to effective primary health care in Nigeria

Nigeria is the most populous African nation with an estimated population of 182 million citizens in 2016.1 The population distribution is mostly rural (and agrarian), although there are large cities like Lagos, Ibadan, Kano, Port Harcourt and Abuja. The country has over 374 ethnic groups with Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo, Nupe and Tiv being the leading five languages. The official unemployment rate is 14% in the last quarter of 20162; however, the youth unemployment rate was given by the National Bureau of Statistic to be 47% in the same period. This implies that the real unemployment rates are much higher than given by the government for political expediency. The life expectancy is 53 years for men and 56 years for women.