Background: Safe blood is a vital component in improving healthcare globally and millions of lives are saved each year through blood donation. But most hospitals in the developing countries face challenges of constant supply of blood to carry out different life saving procedures that require blood, due to paucity of blood donors. Many studies have been done on the perception of blood donation but only a few have been on Medical and Pharmaceutical Students. Aim: To determine the perception of blood donation among Medical and Pharmaceutical Students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi and Agulu Campuses respectively. Material and Methods: Stratified sampling technique was used to divide the students into strata (200, 300, 400, 500, and 600), then simple random sampling was used to select different respondents from each class and self-administered questionnaires were given to the respondents. Data was collected and results were analyzed. Results: 294 respondents, 147 medical students and 147 pharmaceutical students participated in the study 141 (95.9%) of medical students and 137 (93.2%) of pharmaceutical students had heard of blood donation. 139 (94.6%) of medical students and 140 (95.2%) of pharmaceutical students knew their blood groups. 59.5% of the respondents had donated blood. The commonest motivating factor towards blood donation is "to save a friend or family member". Conclusion: The knowledge of the students regarding blood donation was high but the practice of blood donation was low.

Background: Sexually transmitted infections-preventive measures are effective methods employed in the prevention of sexually transmitted infections [STIs]. Sexually transmitted infections are among the most common infections in the world and therefore a major public health problem as they cause devastating long term consequences if untreated, especially in adolescents. Sexually transmitted infection-preventive measures, if correctly and consistently used, have been proven to be efficacious. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out among SS2 and SS3 students in Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra state, Nigeria. A structured, self administered questionnaire was administered to consenting senior secondary students to gather relevant information about socio-demogaraphic characteristics, knowledge about STIs, sexual behaviours. Three hundred and thirty four students participated in the study. Multi stage sampling technique was used. SPSS version 20 was used to analyze the data. Results were represented in tables and graphs. Results: Three hundred and thirty four students participated in the study, of which females and males are 167 each. 89% understood the * Corresponding author. meaning of STI. The majority of the respondents got the knowledge from TV/radio (34.4%), teachers (28.1%) and mother (27.0%). The majority of respondents knew that HIV/AIDS (89.8%), syphilis (58.1%) and Gonorrhoea (56.9%) were STIs. Good numbers of respondents knew the symptoms of STIs and risk factors of STI with unprotected sex and multiple sexual partners (57.5%) and (42.2%) respectively, as the highest risk factors. About 75.7% of respondents knew that HIV/AIDS cannot be cured. The Majority knew that avoiding sexual intercourse, being faithful to one partner and use of condom are preventive measures respectively. The majority of respondents (71%) felt they cannot be infected with an STI. 92.8% believed that STIs can be prevented. Age range for first sexual intercourse was 13-18 years for females and 8-19 years for males. Of the 86 that have had sexual intercourse, 48.8% had experienced one or more of the symptoms of STIs and the majority (80.9%) went to a hospital for treatment. Males (31.4%) are more likely to have multiple sexual partners than females (4.7%). Conclusion: The majority of the students had an objective knowledge on STIs transmission and prevention. Their overall attitude was positive but their practices were not satisfactory, especially for the males. Females were more careful and health conscious than their male counterpart.

Background: This study assessed the level of satisfaction of patients with TB implementation in selected DOTS accredited facilities. Methodology: A comparative cross-sectional analytic study involving rural and urban areas implementing DOTS for TB in Anambra State was done. A total of 354 respondents (177 per sub population) were enrolled in the study. By exit interview respondents were administered the questionnaire that bordered on services rendered and cost implications of accessing treatment at the facilities. Results: A total of 162(91.5%) rural respondents were satisfied with appropriateness of working hours compared to 166(93.8%) participants in urban areas. Also 141(79.7%) respondents in rural areas were satisfied with waiting time compared to 155(87.6%) in urban areas and this was statistically significant p<0.004. For the cleanliness of the specimen bottle 138(77.8%) rural respondents compared to 148(83.6%) in urban areas were satisfied and this was statistically significant, p<0.001. Majority of the urban respondents 123(68.9%) were satisfied with respect offered by health workers compared to rural 114(64.4%), and this was also significant, p<0.000. Concerning cost incurred and information given by health workers more urban respondents 5(2.8%) were dissatisfied compared to rural 2(1.1%) though not statistically significant p= 0.378. However, satisfaction was slightly higher in urban (82.8%) compared to rural (80.8%) respondents, while the overall satisfaction in this study was 81.8%. Conclusion: Patient`s satisfaction is a panacea for successful DOTS implementation. We therefore recommend that satisfaction could be improved by provision patient-centred requests such as provision of multivitamins, transport, food among others to help improve DOTS because it will encourage attendance and adherence with better outcomes.

Background: One third of the world's population constituting 2 billion people are infected with Tuberculosis (TB), which is the second most common cause of mortality amongst communicable diseases. Nigeria ranks fourth among 22 high TB burden countries. One of the major challenges to the control of TB is the presence and interaction of TB with HIV. In many parts of Africa, infection with HIV has further increased TB morbidity and mortality. To effectively control TB in Africa the co-infection with HIV must be perfectly understood and adequate measures and strategies developed and implemented. Methods: This was a cross sectional descriptive study, carried out between January 2012 and April 2014 at the DOTS clinic of a tertiary hospital in South-Eastern Nigeria. Three hundred and eighty-four tuberculosis patients were interviewed using a structured questionnaire and data on their HIV status and other characteristics were collected. Data were analysed using SPSS Version 20. Results: Three hundred and eighty-four tuberculosis patients participated in the study. Eighty-six patients (22.4%) were HIV seropositive. There were 182 males (47.4%) and 202 females (52.6%). The commonest age group was the group 20 -39 years (51.6%). HIV seropositivity was highest among the age group 20 -39 years and this was statistically significant (X 2 = 11.14, p = 0.01). The married patients had the highest proportion of HIV seropositivity and this was statistically significant (X 2 = 40.76, p = 0.00). The unemployed patients had the highest proportion of HIV seropositivity and it was statistically significant (X 2 = 35.14, p = 0.00). Conclusion: Some basic characteristics of tuberculosis patients predispose them to HIV/TB * Corresponding author. co-infection. The characteristics must be explored further and be factored in the strategies to control tuberculosis in Africa.