Amina Anas wanted more information before getting her baby boy vaccinated against polio.
Anas, who lives in a village in northern Nigeria, spoke to other women in the community about her concerns. Ultimately, Aisha Shuaibu Mohammad, a UNICEF-trained volunteer, was able to convince her.
Mohammad is one of hundreds of Nigerian women who have spearheaded the country’s fight against polio by becoming vaccinators.
The women are close to being able to declare victory: Aug. 21 will mark three years since Nigeria's last case of polio, said Dr. Anis Siddique, UNICEF's chief of communication for development who led the polio team. In the northern state of Kano, where Anas lives, there hasn't been a case in five years, Siddique said.
Siddique is cautiously optimistic that the country will receive World Health Organization certification for polio eradication in October — a country must go three years without a case, and the WHO routinely waits two months after the three-year mark to make an official declaration, he said.
This won't be the first time Nigeria has been declared polio-free. In 2015, the WHO declared that polio had been eliminated, but a 2016 outbreak wiped out the designation.
Efforts on the ground
To eliminate polio, women — mostly young mothers — have gone door-to-door, slipping drops of polio vaccine under the tongues of as many as 30 million Nigerian children. The volunteers work with UNICEF and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and have received clinical training to properly administer the vaccine.
In Nigeria, the vast majority of vaccinators are women. That’s crucial to ensuring that vaccines reach every child, because men — with the exception of husbands and close male family members — are prevented from entering households. This rule is strictly enforced in the northern and middle belt regions of Nigeria, where Islam predominates.
Mohammad, the UNICEF-trained volunteer, admitted that it's impossible to convince every woman to vaccinate her children, but said that she sees successful cases every day.
“Once we talk to the women like Amina, they usually open up. We not only give vaccines ... we discuss their fears about the medicine, proper hygiene and sanitation, and even prenatal care,” Mohammad told NBC News.
She said that with the help of volunteer community members, "we send reminders every Monday to all new mothers in the community that there will be a vaccine clinic the following day. We are here every Tuesday.”
As in the United States, there’s some skepticism surrounding vaccines in Nigeria. But the similarities end there: Some anti-vaccination myths in Nigeria are put forth by the violent militant group Boko Haram, and volunteers may be the target of violence. In 2013, two Kano vaccination teams were murdered.
But Michael Galway, deputy director of the Polio Foundation at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said that opposition to vaccines is no longer as a big a challenge as it once was. Now, only 1 percent of people are not getting vaccinated because they refuse the vaccination, Galway said.
More challenging is simply reaching people. Large nomadic populations live along Nigeria's borders. Last year, the WHO renewed efforts to vaccinate children regularly crossing into and out of the country by supporting the government in an initiative to improve vaccination efforts in the northwest region of the country.
Preventing polio
Alasan Isa, the village head of a small rural community in Minjibir, Nigeria, said that seeing the devastating effects of polio has led him to encourage women to become volunteers and vaccinators.
“I have seen how even one case of polio can devastate a community. I don't ever want to see polio again ... a child with paralytic polio cannot move and often they cannot work in the future. It's not a way to live,” Isa said.
In many parts of Nigeria, the polio vaccine is given orally, as drops under the tongue. This form of the vaccine is easy to administer — unlike an injection, it can be given by anyone. However, because the oral vaccine uses a live version of the virus, it carries the very small risk that the virus can mutate and cause disease, the WHO says. These cases only occur in areas where overall vaccination rates are very low, leaving people susceptible to the virus.
Siddique, of UNICEF, stressed that the benefits of getting vaccinated far outweigh the small risk.
When outbreaks of so-called vaccine-derived polio do occur, they are kept under control and generally do not cause paralysis, Galway noted. What's more, these cases should not take away from the milestone that may soon be reached.
“Providing these vaccines is part of our long-standing commitment to child survival,” Galway said. “It takes meticulous state level programs to interrupt transmission. In 2017, we almost reached a polio-free level in Nigeria, but we fell short. This time, I hope we can declare that Africa is certified as free of polio.”
By Shamard Charles, M.D.
NBC
Thursday, August 1, 2019
MTN to start to provide financial services in Nigeria
The fledgling mobile money market in Nigeria is about to get a major shake-up.
MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest telecoms operator, has been granted a “super agent” license which allows it set up an agent network through which it can provide financial services. It’s the first step in MTN’s plans to finally roll out mobile money services in Africa’s largest economy as the company says it has also applied for a payment service bank license, which will allow it “offer a broader and deeper range of financial services.”
The license comes after reforms by Nigeria’s central bank last October permitting telecoms operators to get mobile money and banking licenses in a bid to boost financial inclusion and facilitate the long-held ambition for a cashless society.
As already seen in several African countries, the real-life application of mobile money among unbanked populations ranges from quick, seamless fund transfers to facilitating payments and boosting small businesses. In Ghana, the service has been adopted for investing as well with MTN’s selling shares for its landmark IPO mainly through mobile money. The West African country has recently become the fastest-growing mobile money market in Africa, with registered accounts increasing six-fold between 2012 and 2017.
The Nigerian reforms now allow telecoms operators like MTN attempt to tap into the promise of mobile money to offer similar services locally. As Africa’s most populous nation as well being home to a vast population of unbanked adults, Nigeria remains an attractive prospect given the success of mobile money services in other parts of the continent.
At the end of last year, there were nearly 400 million registered mobile money accounts—nearly half of the global total—across sub-Saharan Africa with nearly 90% of users in East and West Africa. In Ghana, Kenya and Zimbabwe, over 60% of adults have mobile money accounts.
Compared to standalone startups who have to build marketing and distribution infrastructure through a network of agents from scratch, mobile money services owned by telecoms companies have the in-built advantage of offering their services to an existing user base of millions of subscribers. Indeed, the continent’s biggest mobile money players are all owned by telecoms operators.
In MTN’s case, its longstanding status as Nigeria’s most dominant telecoms operator means it will have a pool of 67 million users to offer its services. And there’s room for significant upside in the near future too with Nigeria predicted to add 31 million mobile subscribers by 2025.
The license is part of South African-owned MTN’s delicate balancing act in Nigeria. It has a tumultuous history of billion-dollar fines and lawsuits in its largest market. Most recently, the company faced allegations of illegally repatriating $8.1 billion in profits and owing $2 billion in taxes. In 2016, it reached a $1.7 billion settlement with Nigeria’s government after a protracted SIM card dispute and an initial $5.2 billion fine.
By Yomi Kazeem
Quartz
MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest telecoms operator, has been granted a “super agent” license which allows it set up an agent network through which it can provide financial services. It’s the first step in MTN’s plans to finally roll out mobile money services in Africa’s largest economy as the company says it has also applied for a payment service bank license, which will allow it “offer a broader and deeper range of financial services.”
The license comes after reforms by Nigeria’s central bank last October permitting telecoms operators to get mobile money and banking licenses in a bid to boost financial inclusion and facilitate the long-held ambition for a cashless society.
As already seen in several African countries, the real-life application of mobile money among unbanked populations ranges from quick, seamless fund transfers to facilitating payments and boosting small businesses. In Ghana, the service has been adopted for investing as well with MTN’s selling shares for its landmark IPO mainly through mobile money. The West African country has recently become the fastest-growing mobile money market in Africa, with registered accounts increasing six-fold between 2012 and 2017.
The Nigerian reforms now allow telecoms operators like MTN attempt to tap into the promise of mobile money to offer similar services locally. As Africa’s most populous nation as well being home to a vast population of unbanked adults, Nigeria remains an attractive prospect given the success of mobile money services in other parts of the continent.
At the end of last year, there were nearly 400 million registered mobile money accounts—nearly half of the global total—across sub-Saharan Africa with nearly 90% of users in East and West Africa. In Ghana, Kenya and Zimbabwe, over 60% of adults have mobile money accounts.
Compared to standalone startups who have to build marketing and distribution infrastructure through a network of agents from scratch, mobile money services owned by telecoms companies have the in-built advantage of offering their services to an existing user base of millions of subscribers. Indeed, the continent’s biggest mobile money players are all owned by telecoms operators.
In MTN’s case, its longstanding status as Nigeria’s most dominant telecoms operator means it will have a pool of 67 million users to offer its services. And there’s room for significant upside in the near future too with Nigeria predicted to add 31 million mobile subscribers by 2025.
The license is part of South African-owned MTN’s delicate balancing act in Nigeria. It has a tumultuous history of billion-dollar fines and lawsuits in its largest market. Most recently, the company faced allegations of illegally repatriating $8.1 billion in profits and owing $2 billion in taxes. In 2016, it reached a $1.7 billion settlement with Nigeria’s government after a protracted SIM card dispute and an initial $5.2 billion fine.
By Yomi Kazeem
Quartz
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Video - Why has Nigeria banned Shia Muslim group
Government labels Islamic Movement of Nigeria a 'terrorist' organisation. Nigeria's main Shia Muslim group has had a tumultuous few days. The Islamic Movement of Nigeria has been banned and labelled a terrorist organisation. Its leader, Ibrahim Zakzaky, as been in jail since 2015, when 350 of his followers were killed in confrontations with security forces. More supporters were killed in protests last week demanding his release. Observers say the government is handling the group in a similar way to Boko Haram, which turned violent a decade ago when its leader died in police custody. Could this latest crackdown provoke a new conflict?
Related story: Shia group in Nigeria banned after deadly clashes
Nigerian dies during deportation process from Canada
Calgary police say Canada Border Services Agency officers are not to blame for the death of a Nigerian man during his deportation last year.
The passenger on a Calgary-Amsterdam flight had an altercation with two CBSA officers before takeoff on Aug. 7.
The plane returned to the gate and police responded to find Bolanle Alo in medical distress.
The 49-year-old was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police say an investigation found the death was not caused by the border service officers, who were acting in a reasonable and appropriate manner.
The chief medical examiner also determined Alo died of natural causes.
Alo’s relatives have demanded information in the case.
Their lawyer, Elias Munshya, has said they want to know what happened when Alo was detained, what happened in detention and what happened on the airplane before he died.
Documents from the Immigration and Refugee Board said Alo, whose first name is listed as Bolante, came to Canada in 2005 and made a refugee claim on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
He was, however, denied at every stage and ordered removed from Canada in February 2018.
The documents said he had been co-operative with the CBSA but didn’t want to return to Nigeria.
“Mr. Alo is adamant that he will face harm if he is returned to Nigeria and has consistently told officers that he will not return to Nigeria on his own and that he would only return if he is forced to,” stated the documents.
Once he was ordered removed, Nigerian High Commission officers interviewed Alo and raised concerns that he could become violent.
By Lauren Krugel
City News
The passenger on a Calgary-Amsterdam flight had an altercation with two CBSA officers before takeoff on Aug. 7.
The plane returned to the gate and police responded to find Bolanle Alo in medical distress.
The 49-year-old was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police say an investigation found the death was not caused by the border service officers, who were acting in a reasonable and appropriate manner.
The chief medical examiner also determined Alo died of natural causes.
Alo’s relatives have demanded information in the case.
Their lawyer, Elias Munshya, has said they want to know what happened when Alo was detained, what happened in detention and what happened on the airplane before he died.
Documents from the Immigration and Refugee Board said Alo, whose first name is listed as Bolante, came to Canada in 2005 and made a refugee claim on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
He was, however, denied at every stage and ordered removed from Canada in February 2018.
The documents said he had been co-operative with the CBSA but didn’t want to return to Nigeria.
“Mr. Alo is adamant that he will face harm if he is returned to Nigeria and has consistently told officers that he will not return to Nigeria on his own and that he would only return if he is forced to,” stated the documents.
Once he was ordered removed, Nigerian High Commission officers interviewed Alo and raised concerns that he could become violent.
By Lauren Krugel
City News
Dangote Refinery has World's largest atmospheric tower built by China for Nigeria
China’s leading energy and chemical company, Sinopec, on Monday, said that it had built the world’s largest atmospheric tower for Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery. On its verified Twitter handle, the company shared photos of the tower and revealed that it (tower) had already left its port in China and was traveling to Nigeria. It tweeted: “On July 29, the world’s largest atmospheric tower built by Sinopec slowly left a wharf in Ningbo. Following the Maritime #SilkRoad, it will travel to #Nigeria and be installed at the world’s biggest single-train facility – Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery.”
The piece of equipment is designed to process crude oil for Dangote refinery.
Citac analyst, Jeremy Parker, told Reuters on Monday that for the type of refinery the company is building, the atmospheric tower is the primary unit processing crude oil into fuels. The company expects the refinery to start producing fuels in 2023.
It will likely take at least a month for the shipment to reach Lagos, it was gathered.
The 650,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery is set to be Africa’s largest, with potential to transform the country from an importer of fuel to a net exporter. The refinery is situated on a 6,180 acres (2,500 hectares) site at the Lekki Free Zone, Lagos.
In 2018, Aliko Dangote disclosed that he planned to complete the $12-14 billion refinery project in 2019, with additional plans to start production in early 2020. Analysts have however suggested that the project would take longer in order to begin pumping out fuels such as diesel and gasoline.
Reuters reported last year that the refinery was unlikely to start production until at least 2022, two years later than the target date. “This is a major milestone, but there is still much work to be done, both in terms of sourcing the other units and in terms of interconnection at the site,” Mr. Parker said of the atmospheric tower shipment.
Guardian
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