anemia were the major reasons for permanent (50.4%) and temporary (39%) deferral of donors. the ttIs rates were higher among male donors than female donors. conversely, more female donors were anemic (25.6%) compared to male (12.7%). Other reasons identified for donor deferral were underage (6.8%), underweight (2.4%), and hypertension (3.1%). conclusion: A donor deferral rate of 16% in this study is similar to that reported in other studies. However, the reasons for deferral differ reflecting differences in donor selection criteria.

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Background: Health insurance is seen as a pathway to achieving Universal health coverage in low- and middle-income countries. The Nigeria Government has mandated states to set up social health insurance as a mechanism to offer financial protection to her citizens. However, the design of these schemes has been left to individual states. In preparation for the set-up of a contributory social health insurance scheme in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. This study assesses the willingness-to-pay for a social health insurance among rural residents in the state.Methods: The study was conducted in three local government areas in Akwa Ibom State, South south Nigeria. It was a cross-sectional study with multi-stage data collection using a demand questionnaire. Interviews were conducted with 286 household heads who were bread winners. Contingent valuation using iterative bidding with double bounded dichotomous technique was used to elicit the WTP for health insurance. Multiple regression using least square method was used to create a model for predicting WTP.Findings: About 82% of the household heads were willing to pay insurance premiums for their households. The median WTP for insurance premium was 11,142 Naira ($29), 95% CI: 9,599–12,684 Naira ($25–$33) per annum. The respondents were predominantly middle-aged (46.8%), Ibibio men (71.7%) with an average household size of five persons and bread winners who had secondary education (43.0%) and were mainly pentecostals (51.5%). The mean age of respondents was 46.4 ± 14.5 yrs. The two significant predictors of WTP for insurance premium amongst these rural residents were income of breadwinner (accounts for 79%) and size of household (2%). The regression coefficients for predicting WTP for insurance premium are intercept of 2,419, a slope of 0.1763 for Bread winner income and a slope of 741.5 household size, all values in Naira and kobo.Conclusion: Majority of rural residents in Akwa Ibom State were willing to pay for social health insurance. The amount they were willing to pay was significantly determined by the income of the breadwinner of the household and the size of the family. These findings are relevant to designing a contributory social health insurance scheme that is affordable and sustainable in order to ensure universal health coverage for the citizens.

Context: Primary health care (PHC) is the cornerstone of the Nigerian National Health Policy. The national policy on PHC under one roof is undergoing implementation nationwide as a means of strengthening the PHC system. Akwa Ibom State (AKS) is set to commence full implementation of the policy. Aims: The aim of the study was to assess the existing human resource and infrastructure in PHC facilities in AKS. Settings and Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in 18 facilities selected from the three senatorial zones of AKS, Nigeria. Subjects and Methods: A rapid assessment of selected PHC facilities based on a checklist adapted from the minimum standards for PHC as provided by the National PHC Development Agency. The results were analyzed using Excel and presented in tables. Results: A total of 18 health facilities were included in the study. Human resources available were 276 full time core health workers, of which 48 (17.4%) were volunteer workers. There was inequitable distribution in district and facility type as 122(44.2%) work in Ikot Ekpene Senatorial district and 242 (87.7%) of them work in the Operational Base. Basic lifesaving equipment such as resuscitation sets was unavailable in more than 50% of the health facilities. Conclusions: There are absolute deficit and inequitable distribution of available human resources in AKS PHCs. Basic-lifesaving equipment is grossly inadequate. There is an urgent need for more health workers to be employed and provision of basic equipment for the PHCs.

Background: Haematological disorders have diverse modes of presentation that often requires bone marrow examination for both diagnosis and management. This simple and relatively safe procedure is important particularly in resource poor centres since access to adjuvant diagnostic techniques are often lacking or absent. This study was conducted to determine the indications and the spectrum of Haematological diseases diagnosed using this procedure.

Assessing health related quality of life (HR-QOL) in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) has the potential to give an insight into the patients' perception of the burden of the disease and assess the effect of management. The aim of this study was to assess the HR-QOL in HIV patients who present for treatment in Uyo. The study is a prospective longitudinal study of PLWHA attending HIV clinics. One hundred and sixty-one newly diagnosed HIV patients were recruited by systematic sampling technique proportionately to the two public hospitals in Uyo. The patients were classified into Pre-HAART and HAART groups based on their eligibility to commence HAART. WHOQOL-HIV Bref was the instrument used at recruitment and at four months. Data was analyzed using STATA 10 statistical package. At recruitment, the HR-QOL of the Pre-HAART respondents was better than the HAART respondents across the domains, except for spirituality. While at four months both groups became similar except at social and environmental domains where Pre HAART fared better. Both groups showed improvement after four months. Provision of appropriate HIV care to an infected person within a short term is associated with improvement in their HR-QOL.

Introduction: Supplementary feeding programme is a strategy for managing underfives with moderate acute malnutrition (MAM). This study aimed to determine the effect of adherence to follow-up on recovery from MAM among under-fives. Methods: A clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of daily supplementary rations of a standardised milk-based formulation (SMBF), standardised non-milk-based formulation (SNMBF), and hospital-based formulation (HBF) on recovery from MAM over a four months period was conducted among eligible children aged 6 – 59 months. Recovery from MAM among participants was determined based on their status of adherence to follow-up at week 16. It was deemed statistically significant if p-value was <0.05. Results: Of the 157 children evaluated, 41/54 (75.9%) who received the SMBF, 32/57 (56.1%) who received the SNMBF, and 22/46 (47.8%) who received the HBF had good adherence. Adherence to follow-up was significantly higher with SMBF than SNMBF and HBF (χ²=8.923; p=0.012). In all, 95/157 (60.5%) had good adherence to follow-up with 73/95 (76.8%) recovery from MAM against 42/62 (67.7%) recovery in those with poor adherence (p=0.208). Conclusion: The status of adherence to scheduled follow-up was not significantly associated with recovery from MAM among under-fives enrolled in the supplementary feeding programme. Nevertheless, efforts at promoting adherence to scheduled follow-up visits should be sustained.

Introduction: Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is a nutrition specific intervention that is crucial to growth and development of a young child and contributes to the attainment of sustainable development goals. Aim: To determine the level of awareness, prevalence and determinants of EBF among nursing mothers attending Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities in Uyo Local Government, Nigeria Place and Duration of Study: three selected Primary Health care facilities in Uyo Local Government (LG) of Akwa Ibom state Nigeria. June-July 2017. Methods: The study used a descriptive cross sectional design involving 331 mothers attending child welfare clinics in three (PHC) facilities that were selected using simple random sampling techniques.  A structured interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect data on socio- demographic characteristics, awareness and practice of EBF. Categorical variables were summarized using percentages, and continuous data using mean and standard deviation, chi square was used to assess the relationship between variables. While multivariate logistic regression was used to determine independent predictors of EBF practice . Results: The level of awareness of EBF and early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF) were 89% and 88.5% respectively and universal awareness was 81.3%. Out of 231 infants below 6 months, 42% of them were currently on EBF and 36.8% (122/331) of the infants 0-12 months had EBF, the EIBF rate was 54.4%, about 45% of the infants had been on infant formula. Mothers who practiced EBF were significantly older than those who did not, the predictors of EBF were; delivery at the health facility (AOR 4.3; 1.84-10.49), normal delivery (AOR 2.3; 1.15-4.4), those with 2 (AOR 1.9; 1.04-3.4)  or more than 3 children (AOR 4.7;1.91-9.9), mothers who had opportunity to breastfeed at work place (AOR 4;1.2-12.9) and mothers who were unemployed/self-employed (AOR 7.2; 2.2-23.7). Conclusion: The practice of EBF remains poor despite relatively high level of awareness, measures such as Community-based breastfeeding support groups, one-on-one counselling and establishment of crèches in workplaces should be put in place. The international codes on marketing of breast-milk substitutes should be fully implemented.