Background Nigeria is currently facing its worst economic crisis in about 30 years. The headline inflation rate, largely driven by food inflation, rose to 33.3% in March of this year. Similarly, the Nigerian naira had weakened to an all-time low in February of this year before appreciating in the succeeding months. The persistent economic […]
Tag: Nigeria
Will deterrents to migration strengthen the health workforce in Nigeria?
About two weeks into February, the Nursing Council in Nigeria announced a new policy to curb the migration of the nursing workforce. This policy, which will come into effect in March, will require that entry-level nurses work for a minimum of two years before applying for verification of their nursing licence for overseas work. […]
The vulnerable are here too: Insights from Nigeria
While interviewing patients, family members and healthcare professionals for my research in Nigeria, I interviewed a 70-year-old woman who has been wheelchair-bound for almost 13 years after having a stroke. Her older son lives outside of Nigeria and she currently lives in her own house with her youngest son and daughter-in-law. The vulnerable woman […]
Social media and the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria
The spread of COVID-19 has been relatively lower in Africa. Factors including age distribution and rurality have been proposed to contribute to this. Nigeria, the most populous African nation is predicted to have the most infections in the continent. Since the country’s index case, dynamics such as population density, urbanisation, poverty, and existing comorbidities […]
Ready or not? COVID-19 and epidemic preparedness in Nigeria
This blog is a part of #COVID19Africa Series Nigeria had been waiting for it, expecting it, anticipating it. But no one knew exactly as it came in. Only in hindsight would the country piece together the story of an Italian man who arrived by air in Lagos on March 24, infected with SARS-CoV-2. By four […]
Short-termism: The bane of health sector development in Nigeria
We all love quick wins. Quick wins represent our aspiration of implementing interventions that are relatively easy to achieve and hopefully impactful. Short-termism is a situation where the focus is on short-term results at the expense of long-term interests. Considering the modest progress made in strengthening Nigeria’s chronically weak health systems despite successive Government and donor efforts, we need some […]