Sickle Cell Disorder is a global health problem with psychosocial implications. Nigeria has the largest population of people with sickle cell disorder, with about 150,000 births annually. This study explored the psychosocial impact of sickle cell disorder in 408 adolescents and adults attending three hospitals in Lagos, Nigeria. A questionnaire was designed for the study, with some of commonly described areas of psychosocial impact including general public perceptions and attitudes, education, employment, and healthcare issues, and emotional responses.The majority of participants thought that society in general had a negative image of SCD, and reported negative perceptions and attitudes. Some issues in education, employment, and healthcare were expressed, however these were in the minority of cases. The results also showed that depressive feelings were experienced in almost half the study population, even though feelings of anxiety or self-hate were uncommon. Clinical implications of these findings are considered.

Background: Malaria is a major public health burden that is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria infection during pregnancy can be deleterious not only to the mother but also the fetus. The objective of this study was to evaluate malaria programme and the utilization of malaria commodities between 2014 and 2018 in Ondo State, Southwest Nigeria. Materials and methods: This study analyzed malaria-related indicators tracked on a routine basis in Ondo State, Nigeria. A retrospective cohort analysis of data retrieved from the District Health Information Management version 2.0 (DHISv2.0) database was conducted. Data was analyzed using Stata 13 statistical software. The prevalence of utilization of ANC and the proportions of pregnant women accessing malaria commodities were assessed using frequency tabulation, means, and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Correlation coefficient for association among some variables was employed. Results: The mean proportion of women who had at least 1 ANC visit during the period of study was 34.3±3.9, highest in 2017 (39.1±14.8) and lowest in 2018 (26.8±12.1). The overall mean proportion of women who had at least 4 ANC visits during pregnancy was 20.3±14.1 (F-statistics=2.88, P-value=0.03), highest in 2015 (25.9±18.9) and lowest in 2018 (14.0±10.6) and the mean proportion of those who had at least 1 ANC visit before 20 weeks of pregnancy was 38.1±10.0 (F-statistics=5.63, P-value=0.0005), highest in 2017 (45.4±10.7) and lowest in 2014 (32.6±9.1). During the study period, significant variations were observed in the mean proportion of pregnant women who received LLIN at first ANC visit (F-statistics=9.52, P-value=0.00001) and those who received IPTs at ANC revisit (F-statistics=5.17, P-value=0.0009) but not in the proportion of pregnant women with anemia. None of the indicators for malaria in pregnancy correlated with anemia rate during the study period. Geographical variations observed in the measured indicators were discussed. Conclusion: This study observed disparity in proportion of pregnant women assessing ANC services and in the proportion of those that utilized malaria commodities from 2014 to 2018. Residential variances, and geographical locations were detected in the consumption of ANC services. Areas farthest from the state capital, such as the Atlantic Ocean coastline in the south and the Savannah ecological zone in the north seemed to have low utilization of ANC. The State Malaria Elimination Program should be supported strongly in terms of technical and financial assistance to improve ANC service utilization throughout the State. The disparity in ANC accessibility in Ondo State will further reduce maternal and infant morbidity and mortality as well as improve the socio-economic living standards of the people.

Background: Malaria as a health burden in sub-Saharan Africa is well-known. Information about access to programs by pregnant women during early antenatal care (ANC) visits and the impact on the burden of malaria is limited. Objective: To evaluate the utilization of malaria control services among pregnant women with fever between 2014 and 2018 in Ondo State, Southwest Nigeria. Materials and methods: Between 2014 and 2018, malaria-related indicators including the proportion of pregnant women with fever who were investigated with microscopy and Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) were tracked in Ondo State, Nigeria. Data were captured using the District Health Information Management version 2.0 (DHISv2.0) and analyzed using Stata 13 statistical software. Results: Throughout the study period, the mean (±sd) percentage of pregnant women with fever tested for malaria parasites with microscopy in all the LGAs was 2.71 (4.87) with the lowest and highest means (±sd) occurring in 2016 as 1.20 (1.71) and in 2018 as 5.47 (7.93) respectively with no significant difference (F-statistics=2.25; P-value=0.07).A statistically significant variation (F-statistics=34.90; P-value=0.0000001) was observed in the overall mean (±sd) proportion of pregnant women with fever who were tested for malaria with RDT over the study period with the lowest as 57.0 (15.2) in 2014 and the highest as 96.2 (4.1) in 2017.This level of significance was reflected mostly in the coastal (F-statistics=15.05; P-value=0.0000001) and in the rainforest (F-statistics=12.86; P-value=0.0000001) ecological zones of the state but much less in the Savannah ecological zone (F-statistics=3.23; P-value=0.04).There was no significant correlation (Pearson’s r=0.160, P-value=0.141) between fever cases that tested positive using microscopy and fever cases that tested positive with RDT. A noteworthy variation (F-statistics=3.96, P-value=0.005) was observed in the proportion of fever cases that tested positive with RDT but not with microscopy. Overall mean (±sd) proportion of pregnant women with confirmed fever cases was 76.66 (15.06), mostly in the Savannah ecological system (81.84±21.18) throughout the study period. Conclusion: Data from this study suggests that RDT gradually replaced microscopy in testing for malaria among pregnant women in Ondo State of Nigeria. It also suggests that some ecological zones may be more underserved than others in assessing malaria in pregnancy. More technical and financial assistance are needed for the State Malaria Elimination Program to improve ANC service utilization.