Only four in 10 Nigerian children age two and older are immunized; some 60,000 Africans die annually from the disease
Nigeria's campaign to vaccinate more people against yellow fever appears to be making headway. The government is partnering with the World Health Organization (WHO), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and UNICEF to immunize more than 26 million people. It is the second phase of Nigeria's preventive campaign after a yellow fever outbreak in September 2017. Timothy Obiezu has more from Abuja.
Many Nigerians wonder when a road safety officer is permitted to pull the trigger
Nigeria's Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has received government approval for their officers to bear arms. The commission pushed for the measure after an increase in road crimes and attacks against members of the corps. But not all Nigerians are happy with the idea that the people responsible for road safety will have deadly weapons at their disposal. Timothy Obiezu reports for VOA from the Nigerian capital, Abuja.
Generator use in Nigeria is on the rise because of constant power outages. Nigerian businesses spend more than half their budgets on generators every year, according to the country's Rural Electrification Agency. This reliance on generators is believed to contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions - a main topic of discussion at the recently-ended climate change conference in Poland. For VOA, Timothy Obiezu has more from Abuja.
Budgetary allocation to education low with no new policies to improve education spending
A survey conducted by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) indicates there's been a marked rise of Nigerian children who are not attending school: from 10.5 million to 13.2 million - the highest in the world. Most of these children are in Nigeria's northern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, where violence and insecurity caused by the extremist group, Boko Haram, have disrupted academic activities. Timothy Obiezu reports for VOA from the Nigerian capital, Abuja.
Nigeria's unemployment numbers jumped by nearly 30% this year to 16 million, according to a November report by the National Bureau of Statistics. Another two million are expected to be unemployed by the end of the year. The negative trend comes as Nigeria this year overtook India as having the world's largest population of people living in extreme poverty and just ahead of February presidential elections. Timothy Obiezu reports for VOA from Abuja.
Jobs and poverty expected to dominate February election campaigns, with no new policy proposals
A humanitarian group working in northern Nigeria says it has recorded 10,000 cases of cholera there and that at least 175 people have died from the disease since the start of November. The Norwegian Refugee Council says most of the cases were found in camps for displaced people in Borno state, where thousands seek refuge from Boko Haram attacks. Timothy Obiezu reports from Maiduguri.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says a campaign to distribute anti-malaria drugs to children in Nigeria's Borno state seems to be making an impact, with fewer cases reported. Nigeria is still the world's highest malaria-burdened country with 25 percent of all cases worldwide. As Timothy Obiezu reports from Maiduguri, there's still far more that needs to be done to check the spread of the disease.
