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This study applied a panel data of 37 African countries in examining the impact of trade openness and foreign direct investment on sustainable agriculture towards the attainment of the United Nation (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially, SDG-2, with the aim of ending extreme hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. Data for the study was sourced from the Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) and World Development Indicators (WDI) of the World Bank, for the period 2005 – 2019. To control for endogeneity, the study engaged the system Generalised Method of Moments (GMM). The result shows that FDI and trade openness have significant negative impact on agricultural sustainability in Africa. This result implies that, increase in FDI may decrease agricultural sustainability by 0.00294%, while increase in trade openness may lower agricultural sustainability by 0.430066 %. Therefore, the study concludes that while trade openness is negative, policy to raise local production towards export promotion should be encouraged. In addition, FDI should be encouraged to augment local employment and investment towards increasing output and productivity in the Africa region.

The study examined the effect of household socioeconomic status and other socio-demographic characteristics on antenatal care (ANC) utilization among 819 women within the reproductive ages across eight rural communities in Delta State, Southern part of Nigeria. Characteristics of the women were described using simple proportion and frequency. The chi-square test was used to examine factors that were significantly associated with a minimum of four (≥4) and eight (≥8) antenatal care contacts, which were respectively in line with the focused ANC and WHO's new guideline. The multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the determinants of a minimum of four and eight ANC. Statistical analyses were set at 5%. The results showed that 31.4% (257/819) and 2.2% (18/819) of mothers, respectively, made ≥ 4 and ≥ 8 ANC contacts in the course of their last pregnancies. According to the results, the odds for reporting 4≥ and ≥ 8 ANC improved with both wealth and educational attainment. Distance to the health center and cost are barriers to maternal care utilization and they reduce the odds for undertaking ≥ 4 and ≥8 ANC contacts. Women on higher media exposure were more likely to undertake ≥ 4 and ≥8 ANC contacts, and those on the highest media exposure were more likely to undertake ≥8 ANC contacts. Financing maternal care through health insurance and free maternal care significantly improves the odds to undertake ≥ 4 and ≥ 8 ANC contacts. Intervention programs should be designed to improve access to maternal care services and should expand education opportunities for mothers, improve household socioeconomic conditions, and encourage enrolment in health insurance and free maternal care in the study area.

Purpose Health insurance reduces the cost of using modern maternal and child cares and encourages women to use modern care services. This is because health insurance scheme spread the burden of maternal care usage across people and overtime. In Nigeria, there is a dearth of research evidence on the effect of health insurance enrolment on maternal and childcare use. This study examined the effect of health insurance coverage on maternal and childcare use in Nigeria, drawing upon data from the most recent National Demographic and Health Survey (2018). Methods Three outcome indicators were used: a minimum of four antenatal care (ANC) visits, place of delivery, and complete child immunization. Descriptive and predictive analytical methods were utilized. A representative sample of 33,715 women who reported recent birth within the last five years preceding the Survey was used for the analyses. Analyses were undertaken using STATA version 13.0 for windows. Results The results showed that 57% of the women made a minimum of four ANC visits, 41% delivered in health institutions, and 27% undertook complete child immunization. Enrolment in health insurance was low as only 2.3% of the women were under any form of health insurance coverage. However, enrolment in health insurance significantly improves the odds for a minimum of four ANC visits [aOR: 1.52, p = 0.00] and health facility delivery [aOR: 1.42, p = 0.00]. However, there is no significant difference in complete child immunization between women who were under health insurance and those who were not [aOR: 1.36, p = 0.28]. Also, residing in an urban area, Southern geopolitical zones, and being drawn from wealthy homes confer an advantage on women to use modern maternal and child healthcare. Conclusion Pragmatic interventions should be initiated to encourage women’s enrolment in health insurance in Nigeria. Community-based health insurance scheme should be encouraged among rural women and those of them in the informal sector.