We investigated small arms and light weapons (SALW) in Africa by reviewing the situation in Nigeria and conducting a small study in one hospital in the country's north. Published reports about SALW in Nigeria suggest that several social, economic, and political factors have caused a marked increase in gun-related violence, including ethno-religious tensions, the response of security forces to c...

The continued progress of the Polio Eradication Program has encountered a number of hurdles in the past 2 years as virus has spread from northern Nigeria across much of central Africa and into the Middle East and as far as Indonesia. India continues to be a source of virus exportation but to a much less degree. WHO is optimistic regarding elimination of circulating virus from all of these count...

Upper gastrointestinal tract endoscopy is one of the commonly performed endoscopic procedures, and has only recently become available in Nigeria. The indications for upper gastrointestinal tract endoscopy in three health facilities in Northern Nigeria were reviewed. Two hundred and sixty-nine patients were found to have undergone upper gastrointestinal tract endoscopy. Their ages ranged from 12...

The persistence of early and closely spaced pregnancies in Northern Nigeria contributes to maternal and child morbidity and mortality. A technical working group to WHO recommended that following a birth, a woman should space her next pregnancy by at least 24 months, and following a miscarriage or abortion, a woman space her next pregnancy by at least six months. UNICEF, UNFPA and WHO also recom...

The Partnership for Reviving Routine Immunization in Northern Nigeria - Maternal, Newborn and Child Health initiative supports efforts by the government of Nigeria to bridge primary health care (PHC) policies and services at three levels of government: federal, state and local. The paper suggests that understandings informed by complexity theory and complex adaptive systems have been helpful in...

With the current maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of 630/100,000 live births, Nigeria ranks among the nations with the highest mortality rates in the world. The use of skilled assistants during delivery has been identified a key predictor in the reduction of mortality rates in the world over. Not only are Nigerian women predominantly using unskilled attendants, one in five births are delivered wi...

In March 2008, the journalist Eliza Griswold described a burgeoning “competition” for believers between Muslims and Christians in the country of Nigeria—“God’s Country” according to the article’s title. The description is tragically ironic in light of the carnage that has accompanied this competition in the form of waves of interreligious violence after the implementation of Sharia criminal law...

A helminthological study of faecal materials collected from 1037 people from four rural communities in Gumau District of Bauchi State, Nigeria was carried out using a standard diagnostic procedure. The study is the first parasitological survey to be carried out in this rural district. Thirty-nine percent of examined persons were infected with helminths. Ascaris lumbricoides, Schistosoma mansoni...

BACKGROUND Millions of children worldwide suffer and die from conditions for which effective interventions exist. While there is ample evidence regarding these diseases, there is a dearth of information on the social factors associated with child mortality. METHODS The 2014 Verbal and Social Autopsy Study was conducted based on a nationally representative sample of 3,254 deaths that occurred ...