Lexy Blog

With millions of BlackBerry device users in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (including Nigeria) currently affected by service disruptions, Alexander Chiejina writes that this has seriously affected businesses globally with stock dropping by 20 percent. With recent advancements in technology, the world has indeed become a global village as people are able to reach an individual with a lot of ease through the use of the mobile phone; seen as an electronic device used to make telephone calls. Little wonder it is believed that without telecommunication, development in all strata whether in government or business will be at a standstill given its enormous impact. Driving this matter home, it has been revealed that the lunch of GSM (an open standard telephony platform) in 2001, has revolutionised the socio-economic status of Nigeria by reducing unemployment, creating entrepreneurs, improving business processes, encouraging globalisation, etc. With increasing number of Nigerians craving...

The statistics are damning and thought-provoking, especially when one considers the over used cliché “Nigeria is the giant of Africa.” Whereas, events have shown that perhaps we may not merit that tag. In recent past, Nigeria’s health sector has been marred with a myriad of problems; weak and inefficient health systems, dearth of infrastructure and personnel, ineffective primary healthcare units at the various Local Government Areas (LGA), to name but a few. Little wonder from the unborn child to the aged, Nigerians are currently in want of quality healthcare. Only recently, a recent report in the scientific Journal, Lancet, stated that Nigeria records 42 stillbirths out of 1000 live births recorded per time. Worst still is the fact that those who are eventually carried to full term and born are unlikely to live up to their fifth birthday, as records also show that of every 1000 babies born in Nigeria an estimated 91.50 are likely to die before the age of five. While Nigeria’s h...

… Most Nigerians in informal sector yet to benefit Given the state of Nigeria’s health services, coupled with dwindling funding of healthcare in the face of rising costs, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), was established under Act 35 of 1999 by the Federal Government by erstwhile President Olusegun Obasanjo with the aim of securing universal coverage and make healthcare affordable through various prepayment systems in order to improve the health status of Nigerians. The health scheme, which was officially launched on June 6, 2005, has attracted reactions from stakeholders in the health sector following the lawful payment mechanism of all levels of care in NHIS such as capitation, fee for service, to name but a few. Explaining the payment mechanism in a paper titled “Management of Capitation under the National Health Insurance Scheme,” Hope Uweja, general manager, Technical Operations of NHIS, revealed that ‘capitation’ is payment made to a primary healthcare provide...

…Healthy lifestyle, regular medical checkup important Biodun Ogungbo, a consultant neuro-surgeon, Cedarcrest Hospital, Abuja, had a stroke while driving home from work. He never knew he had high blood pressure (or hypertension) until the stroke occurred. Luckily, it caused him a blinding headache which made him stop the car. He was seen slumped at the wheel and bystanders took him to the hospital. His blood pressure, it was discovered at the hospital, had hit the roof. Ogunbgo is one of the few Nigerians said to have successfully passed through such an ordeal and lived to tell the story following recent reports which suggest that about one in every six to ten adults in Nigeria has hypertension; a very high percentage that calls for real awareness among the Nigerian people. Hypertension is dubbed ‘the silent killer.’ Many Nigerians are not aware of this silent killer and for those who are aware; they often neglect to take it seriously as high blood pressure does not give one a...