The purpose of this study was to assess the vitamin D status of Fulani men and women in northern Nigeria. The Fulani are seminomadic pastoralists whose culture, economy, and diet are centered on cattle. Most of the foods consumed by the Fulani are not good sources of vitamin D. Also being Muslim, the women do not derive much benefit from the vitamin D-generating effects of sunlight due to their...

The capture-recapture technique was applied in estimating the prevalence of disabled leprosy patients in four States in Northern Nigeria. A two-sample capture-recapture method, using data from hospital admissions during 1997 and 1998 in three leprosy referral hospitals, and from a sample survey on leprosy patients with disabilities in the clinics in 1999. In the sample, 1395 (ex) leprosy patien...

Cyperus platycaulis is used in folk medicine in Kano, northern Nigeria, for the treatment of cold, cough, (tuberculosis), chest congestion, asthma, sneezing, and catarrh. The tuberous fragrant herb (black species) was extracted using ethanol, chloroform, n-butane, and n-hexane, to determine the physico-chemical properties of the plant and the cytotoxicity of the extracts with reference to its a...

In 2003 five northern Nigerian states boycotted the oral polio vaccine due to fears that it was unsafe. Though the international responses have been scrutinised in the literature, this paper argues that lessons still need to be learnt from the boycott: that the origins and continuation of the boycott were due to specific local factors. We focus mainly on Kano state, which initiated the boycotts...

BACKGROUND The polio eradication initiative had major setbacks in 2003 and 2007 due to media campaigns in which renowned scholars and Islamic clerics criticized polio vaccines. The World Health Organization (WHO) partnered with journalists in 2007 to form the Journalists Initiatives on Immunisation Against Polio (JAP), to develop communication initiatives aimed at highlighting polio eradication...

Since the first description of ocular onchocerciasis in Africa was published (Hissette, 1931) many records have been made of the ocular lesions (e.g. Bryant, 1935; Hissette, 1938; Toulant and Boithias, 1952a, 1952b, 1954; World Health Organization Regional Conference on Onchocerciasis, 1956). However, no detailed account has been written of the progress of ocular signs and visual acuity in an u...

BACKGROUND Obesity is assuming an epidemic dimension globally. It is important to appreciate factors associated with the disease so that a holistic approach can be taken in tackling the rising burden. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity and the factors independently associated with obesity in an urban Nigerian population. METHODS A cross-secti...

BACKGROUND Gynaecological problems in children and adolescents are often both medically and psychologically unique and require a highly skilled approach differing from those utilized for an adult female population. There is paucity of data on childhood gynaecological problems in our environment. The purpose of this study was to document the prevalence and pattern of common gynaecological proble...

OBJECTIVE This paper proposes a mechanism by which socio-economic rehabilitation (SER) reduces stigma in northern Nigeria following are-analysis of the transcripts of interviews conducted to evaluate the impact of SER on leprosy-related stigma. DESIGN The evaluation combined quantitative questionnaire (P-scale) with qualitative interviews of 20 individuals affected by leprosy, five focus grou...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness of the maternal death review (MDR) system and process in improving quality of maternal and newborn health care in northern Nigeria. METHODS A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used, including review of MDR forms and of health management information system data on maternal deaths (MDs), as well as semi-structured interviews with mem...