The outbreak of COVID-19 caused human activities to be affected in one way or another. As a result, measures were put in place by various national governments to reduce the spread of the virus. This paper examines adherence to COVID-19 guidelines in Nigeria among itinerant traders, using a total of 40 eligible participants from selected local governments in Enugu state, Nigeria. The study adapted purposive sampling techniques to identify eligible participants; while in-depth interview was the method used for data collection. Among other findings, result shows that the control measures rolled out by government were seriously undermined. Nomadic traders, driven by economic gains, played covert role in the spread of the virus. This signalled a weak link in the efforts to curb the spread of the virus in Nigeria. The study contributes to a more exact diagnosis of the weak link in the efforts to contain the spread of the virus and how the quest for economic gains drove the abuse of COVID-19 mitigation protocols with its attendant health implications. It therefore recommends that government should strengthen the institutional capacity for detection and control, and provide the critical infrastructural facilities that will make for intensified surveillance in future epidemic or pandemic outbreak. Economic incentives and the effective monitoring of protocol enforcers saddled with the responsibility of enforcing government directives are also encouraged in order to curb compromise.
There have been reports of growing rate of maternal mortality in most rural areas in Nigeria. This study examined women’s perception of the causes of maternal mortality in Nsukka, a semi-urban area in South Eastern Nigeria. the study seeks to find out what rural women know about maternal mortality. Qualitative research design was adopted for the study. The study was conducted between the months of March and April, 2020. Two health facilities were used for the study (Nsukka Health Centre and University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Obukpa). In each of the health facilities, one Focus Group Discussion involving 10 women was conducted while 10 in-depth interviews comprising women not using antenatal was also conducted in a separate arrangement to complement the FGD. The participants were married and single mothers aged 18 to 40 years. Participants identified personal factors such as delay in seeking healthcare and poverty as contributing to maternal mortality. Among other Findings, result showed that lack of education and exposure, and sole reliance on the advice of relatives and other rural women within the immediate environment indirectly contributed to maternal mortality in the area. Despite advances in healthcare system and increased access to education, there are still superstitious and primordial beliefs that have continued to impact on healthcare seeking behavior of women. We recommend that massive orientation and sensitization in the area of public health should be carried out especially in the rural areas to address some of these issues identified.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.