A rural-urban comparison of ownership and utilization of Long-Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets among pregnant women in Ogun State Nigeria

Background:The use of Long-Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets(LLINs) in Africaincreasedmean birth weight by 55g, reduced the incidence of low birth weight by 23% and decreased miscarriages/stillbirths by 33%. However, the benefit of the LLINs may be limited by the rate of ownership and utilization by pregnant women.Objective:To determine and comparethe ownership and utilizationof LLINs among pregnant womenin urban and rural areas of Ogun State. Methods:A community-based comparative cross-sectional study on 72 and 74 pregnant womenliving in urban and rural areas, respectively of Ogun State was carried out. Using a multi-stage cluster sampling technique and apretested semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire,information on LLINs ownership and usewere obtained. Results:Ownership of LLINs was 81.1% in rural areas compared to 66.7% in urban areas. About 65%of participantsin rural versus 44.4% in urban areas slept under LLINs.The predictor ofownership of LLIN was age group15-24years [AOR 0.10 (95%CI 0.01 -0.56)]. The predictors of utilization of LLINs includedurban residence[AOR 0.29(95%CI 0.13 ­0.65)], age group15-24years[AOR 0.17 (95%CI 0.04 ­0.70)], registration of pregnancy for antenatal care [AOR 5.12 (95%CI 1.14 ­23.03)] and knowledge on prevention of malaria [AOR 4.94 (95%CI 1.51 ­16.17)].Conclusion:Pregnant womenshould visit ANCclinics regularly, and health education on malaria should focus more on the prevention ofmalaria as well as encouraging the consistent use of the nets, particularly in the urban areas

Ownership of mobile phones and willingness to receive childhood immunisation reminder messages among caregivers of infants in Ondo State, south-western Nigeria

Background. The timely completion of the childhood immunisation schedule for children under the age of 1 year by caregivers is key to reducing the high morbidity and mortality of vaccine-preventable diseases among infantsglobally.Objective. To determine the ownership of mobile phones among caregivers of children under the age of 1 year, their knowledge about immunisation service delivery and willingness to receive childhood immunisation schedule reminder messages in Ondo State, south-western Nigeria.Method. A descriptive cross-sectional study using semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaires was conducted with 615 caregivers of infants, who brought their children to clinics conducting immunisation in 24 health facilities in rural, semi-urban and urban settlements in Ondo State in December 2014.Results. The mean (standard deviation, SD) age of respondents was 28.49 (6.01) years, 76.7% were Yoruba, 91.4% were married and living with their spouses and 4.2% were single. Mobile phone ownership was 74.5% among rural-based respondents, and 95.8% among urbanbased.Forty-six percent of the respondents had good knowledge of immunisation, vaccine-preventable diseases and vaccination schedules,while 27.5% had poor knowledge. The majority of the respondents (99.7%) were willing to receive childhood immunisation reminder messages on their mobile phones. About 50% of the respondents preferred to receive reminder messages at any time, rather than specific times. The most preferred language for reminders was English (54.5%). Residing in an urban area and having post-secondary education were predictors of mobile phone ownership.Conclusion. The high mobile phone ownership level, and the willingness of caregivers of infants in this study area to receive immunisation schedule reminder messages, is encouraging, and should be optimised to improve routine immunisation uptake. However, caregivers of infants in rural areas need to be provided with mobile phone support, and trained in their usage in order to benefit from such an intervention in childhood immunisation

Equity trends in ownership of insecticide-treated nets in 19 sub-Saharan African countries

Objective:To examine the change in equity of insecticide-treated net (ITN) ownership among 19 malaria-endemic countries in sub-Saharan Africa before and after the launch of the Cover The Bed Net Gap initiative.Methods:To assess change in equity in ownership of at least one ITN by households from different wealth quintiles, we used data from Demographic and Health Surveys and Malaria Indicator Surveys. We assigned surveys conducted before the launch (2003­2008) as baseline surveys and surveys conducted between 2009­2014 as endpoint surveys. We did country-level and pooled multicountry analyses. Pooled analyses based on malaria transmission risk, were done by dividing geographical zones into either low- and intermediate-risk or high-risk. To assess changes in equity, we calculated the Lorenz concentration curve and concentration index (C-index).Findings:Out of the 19 countries we assessed, 13 countries showed improved equity between baseline and endpoint surveys and two countries showed no changes. Four countries displayed worsened equity, two favouring the poorer households and two favouring the richer. The multicountry pooled analysis showed an improvement in equity (baseline survey C-index: 0.11; 95% confidence interval, CI: 0.10 to 0.11; and endpoint survey C-index: 0.00; 95% CI: −0.01 to 0.00). Similar trends were seen in both low- and intermediate-risk and high-risk zones.Conclusion:The mass ITN distribution campaigns to increase coverage, linked to the launch of the Cover The Bed Net Gap initiative, have led to improvement in coverage of ITN ownership across sub-Saharan Africa with significant reduction in inequity among wealth quintiles

Laws and Regulations Associated with Ownership of Human Biological Material in South Africa

Ownership with regard to human biological material (HBM) is addressed to some extent within South African law; specifically in chapter eight of the National Health Act (NHA) and its associated regulations. However; members of the legal fraternity struggle to conceptualise ownership of such materials without objectifying a person or people and risking reducing such individuals to a state of property. This then infers a reduction in human dignity by rendering one-self or parts of that same self as a commodity. The complexity of the issue raises much debate both legally as well as ethically