Health

Two-Thirds Households In Nigeria Lack Money For Healthy Food — NBS Survey

Published

1 year ago

November 22, 2024

547 Views

A survey by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has highlighted the harsh realities faced by Nigerian households, with two-thirds struggling to afford healthy and nutritious meals due to financial constraints. The report, titled Nigeria General Household Survey – Panel (GHS-Panel) Wave 5 (2023/2024), sheds light on the deepening multidimensional poverty and the impact of diminishing purchasing power caused by rising prices of goods and services.

Food Insecurity

The report reveals widespread food insecurity, with 66.7% of households unable to eat nutritious or preferred foods in the past month due to a lack of money. Other findings include:

63.8% of households consuming limited types of food.
62.4% expressing worry about insufficient food supplies.
60.5% eating less than they felt necessary.

The survey also notes a significant increase in food insecurity over time. Between Waves 4 and 5, the proportion of households worried about inadequate food rose from 36.9% to 62.4%.

Energy Access and Power Blackouts

Access to electricity varies significantly between urban and rural areas, with 82.2% of urban households connected to the power grid compared to just 40.4% in rural areas. However, households face an average of 6.7 power blackouts per week.

Traditional cooking methods dominate, with 65.0% of households using three-stone stoves and 70.2% relying on wood as fuel. Despite this, the use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is steadily increasing.

Basic Infrastructure and Sanitation

The survey highlights significant gaps in basic infrastructure:

Many households lack proper toilet facilities and rely on informal waste disposal methods, with 45.6% dumping waste in bushes or streets.
Tube wells or boreholes are the primary sources of drinking water for many households.

Asset Ownership and Housing

Asset ownership has declined since 2018/19. Key findings include:

66.7% of households owning mobile phones, while 21.3% have internet access.
70.4% of households own their homes, with rural ownership higher at 80.1% compared to 49.1% in urban areas.

Implications

The survey underscores the urgent need for policy interventions to address poverty, food insecurity, and inadequate infrastructure in Nigeria. Rising inflation, coupled with inconsistent access to energy and basic amenities, continues to erode the quality of life for millions of Nigerians.

Health

From South Africa to US, ‘Cicada’ COVID-19 variant spreading

According to the latest available data from the health authorities, this variant has been spotted in 23 countries and in wastewater from 25 US states.

Published

2 days ago

April 2, 2026

OCHEFA

27 Views

• New Cicada COVID variant detected across US states.

“Cicada” a nickname given to BA.3.2, a COVID-19 variant, is spreading around the world , according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization.

Like most other variants, the symptoms of the Cicada variant are the same as those of other COVID-19 variant infections.

According to the CDC, these includes:

Runny or stuffy nose, Fever, Headache, Fatigue, Sneezing, Sore throat,Cough, Muscle pain or body aches Vomiting, Diarrhea, and Changes to the sense of smell or taste.

According to the latest available data from the health authorities, this variant has been spotted in 23 countries and in wastewater from 25 US states.

In November 2024, BA.3.2 popped up in a nose swab of a 5-year-old boy in South Africa, and it looked very different than its parent virus.

It was first picked up in the US last summer, in a traveler from the Netherlands.

In January , the first clinical sample from a sick patient turned out to be BA.3.2.

It appears to be circulating in the US at low levels, although testing has been scaled back since the height of the pandemic, so it may be more widespread than currently known.

Health

Fire Razes Ebonyi Ministry of Health Section

” Different vaccines like BCG, penta, HPV vaccine etc that were all stored in that cold room were burnt”.

Published

5 days ago

March 30, 2026

OCHEFA

34 Views

A section of the Ebonyi State Ministry of Health, weekend , was gutted by fire with property worth hundreds of millions of naira destroyed.

The inferno destroyed the cold store housing immunisation and solar units which contained vaccines, vaccine carriers, cold chain boxes, laptops, documents, five refrigerators, two solar refrigerators, 45 solar batteries, inverters, including hospitals beds and foams received from the National Primary Health Care Development Authority (NPHCDA), Abuja, for distribution to local government areas across the state, among others.

The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Moses Ekuma, lamented the disaster and thanked God that no life was lost. He thanked the Commissioner for Power and Energy, the fire service personnel, and the security men who alerted him on time for their prompt response, which made the fire not spread to other parts of the building.

He said, “Different vaccines like BCG, penta, HPV vaccine etc that were all stored in that cold room were burnt”.

Health

Health Workers Protest Against Regulatory Bill

They maintain that all health professions have their regulatory bodies, and that the new bill was seeking to make other health professionals second-class to medical doctors.

Published

1 week ago

March 26, 2026

OCHEFA

61 Views

Health workers under the Joint Health Sector Unions and the Assembly of Healthcare Professional Associations are protesting against the proposed health sector regulatory bill, which is before the National Assembly.

They said that if allowed to pass, the law would subject every medical profession to the regulation of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.

They maintain that all health professions have their regulatory bodies, and that the new bill was seeking to make other health professionals second-class to medical doctors.

The protesters plan to also go to the National Assembly, where they hope to present their case to lawmakers.