Tag: Nigeria
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Omugwo: A celebration of motherhood
Rita Oghenero OmueroChicago, Illinois, United States In the days leading up to her due date, I called my sister, Chioma.“Sister, how far?” I greeted her in our usual way.“I dey o!” she responded. I could hear the fatigue in her voice.“When did the doctor say the baby was coming?” I asked.“Some days, or a week…
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A conspicuous eye problem in sickness masks from Southeast Nigeria
Peter de SmetNijmegen, Netherlands The Ibibio and Igbo peoples in southern Nigeria commemorate their deceased ancestors in masquerades, in which beautiful masks depict good ancestors, while ugly masks portray those who roam about as spirits inflicting illness and misfortune if moral laws are broken. These ugly masks may show twisted or eaten-away noses and lips,…
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Lassa: The small town with the mark of death
Patrick AshinzeIrrua, Edo State, Nigeria Little has been written about Lassa, a small town plagued by terrorism in northeastern Nigeria. No one has published even a cursory description of its topography or demography, its markets, schools, infrastructure, or the people who come from it. It is now known only as the site of origin of…
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Gruesome traditional medical practices in Nigeria
Joshua Obase-Otumoyi OforCalabar, Nigeria Among the various traditional practices that victimize women and girls in Nigeria, female genital mutilation (FGM) is the most reprehensible. It consists of removing part or all of the sensitive female genital organs including the prepuce, clitoris, and labia majora and minora. This surgery is done on girls of nearly all…
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Aunty Felicia
Boma SomiariPort Harcourt, Nigeria I can’t stand blood. So my goal was to stay as far as I could from hospitals and all they come with. But then change came to me when Aunty Felicia came to my village with a missionary organization that chose medicine and science as the medium for their message. As…
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The man who hated hospital
Emeka Chibuikem V.Enugu State, Nigeria An emergency patient was in critical condition. The staff nurse on duty moved swiftly to attend to him. Then she went to the waiting hall to meet with the patient’s family and asked them why they had waited so long before bringing him to the hospital. They stared at her,…
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A Cold War vaccine: Albert Sabin, Russia, and the oral polio vaccine
James L. FranklinChicago, Illinois, United States In the midst of the 2020 Covid–19 pandemic, when international scientific cooperation seems to be the order of the day, it is heartening to recall that during the height of Cold War tensions between the USSR and the United States, collaboration between an American virologist and his Russian counterparts…
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Kokumo: The child will not die again
Odia IyohaLagos, Nigeria It was 1838 in the ancient town of Ake, the era of the Abikus. The harmattan wind blew with reckless abandon, tinting everything living and non-living along its course. The leaves turned reddish brown from green, the roofs were caked with layers of dust and the buildings encrusted with patches of dirt.…
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Infertility in Nigeria and the race for parenthood
Princewill UdomPort Harcourt, Nigeria Infertility is a growing problem in Nigeria. In one study, researchers found that female gender-related causes accounted for 42.9% of infertility, in contrast to male causes, which were about half that number.1 Common causes are broadly categorized into genetic, physiological, endocrine, and lifestyle factors. One consequence of this problem is a…