Exploring children's knowledge of COVID-19 and stress levels associated with the pandemic in Nigeria: a mixed-method study.

BACKGROUND: Children have been relatively spared from the direct effects of COVID-19 globally, but there are significant concerns about indirect effects on the most vulnerable children's well-being. Nigeria is the largest African nation, but little is known about children's experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our aims were to determine children's knowledge of COVID-19 and their mental health responses to the pandemic. METHODS: Children aged 6-17 years living in Calabar, Nigeria, were surveyed using a combination of online data collection assisted by parents and on-site data collection at schools. Parents filled out sociodemographic details, while children answered questions about COVID-19 knowledge and preventive measures. An adapted version of the 'Perceived Stress Scale for Children' was used to assess stress with additional free text space for expression of views and experiences of COVID-19. RESULTS: A total of 265 children completed questionnaires, mean age was 12.5 years, 52.1% were girls. All children knew about the virus and over two-thirds (67.8%) had good knowledge of COVID-19 transmission. Children identified television (60.8%), parents (44.2%) and social media (32.8%), as main sources of COVID-19 information. The overall mean stress score among the children was 20.47. Children mentioned the following as stressors: fear of the COVID-19 disease, effect of pandemic restrictions on schooling and social interactions as well as home/family tensions. Parental love and support were overwhelmingly reported as strengths. CONCLUSIONS: Nigerian children in this study had good knowledge and understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic and preventive measures to counter the virus. Children had high stress levels and expressed pandemic-related concerns but parental love and support were mitigating factors. Government and child health service providers need to tailor health and support services in response to children's needs and concerns.

Coping with COVID-19 pandemic in blood transfusion services in West Africa: the need to restrategize.

INTRODUCTION: The West African region has been lagging in terms of the availability of, and accessibility to, safe blood. According to the 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) Global Status Report on Blood Safety and Availability, none of the West African countries met the WHO benchmark of 10 blood units per 1000 inhabitants. This study is aimed at discussing the blood transfusion status of West African countries in the pre-COVID-19 period and analyze the capacity to respond to the COVID-19 blood crisis, as well as to outline the panacea. METHODS: Secondary data were extracted from published reports, journal articles and web pages, reviewed and analyzed. RESULT: All the West African countries have recorded confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths. The confirmed cases have reached 55,697, with 1069 deaths and a fatality rate of 1.9%, as of June 17, 2020. The assessed countries lagged in most of the WHO benchmarks for effective blood transfusion services. CONCLUSION: Blood transfusion services in the West African region lacked the basic benchmark practice and policy, are not coordinated and may find it hard to tackle the blood transfusion crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic.