In December 2008 an outbreak of Meningococcal Meningitis swept across sub Saharan Africa with Nigeria, especially its northern states worst affected. The management of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital constituted an Emergency Preparedness & Response (EPR) committee. Over the course of 18 weeks from 5 January 2009 to 15 May 2009, AKTH managed 222 cases of suspected meningitis with 14 deaths (case fatality rate [CFR] of 6.3%). Twenty three per cent (23%) were microbiologically proven as meningococcal meningitis while 9% were confirmed to be pneumococcal meningitis. Male to female ratio was 1:1 with most patients (81%) aged below 14 years. The epidemic peaked in weeks 10 and 13 with 38 admissions in the respective weeks. Meningococcemia with purpura fulminans, post meningitic immune complex cutaneous vasculitis and polyarthritis were observed. Control measures instituted included provision of free ceftriaxone, chemoprophylaxis to contacts, vaccines to staff/families, and creation of dedicated isolation wards. Clinical management guidelines were developed and hospital staffs were also enlightened. Lessons learnt included the difficulty of discriminating between nosocomial transmission and community clusters; relative increase in pneumococcal meningitis during the epidemic; unreliability of penicillin/chloramphenicol; the utility of internet for communication; and the inadequacy of vaccines to meet staff & public demand.

Pension decree 102 of 1979 age constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Section 3 (1) and (2) Stipulates the various types of retirement: Voluntary retirement or withdrawal after qualifying services, retirement after attaining the maximum statutory age of 60 years or length of service of 35 years. There are also retirements for the purpose of facilitating improved efficiency or economy or for public interest and retirement due to total or permanent disablement.Retirement planning is an exercise in which people need to take necessary steps as soon as they enter the work force, because they have a brighter outlook with regards to their own financial future through early planning and well formulated retirement plan [2]. To avoid this pitfall experienced by many people, it is advisable to save money early in one's working career as one of the principles to overcome retirement crisis [3,4]. Atchley [5] developed six key principles of successful retirement planning. Believed to be the descriptive phases of retirement planning that represents a transitional process that individuals go through when they permanently leave work force, these principles include the need to: 1) Know yourself, 2) Understand the retirement vehicles available to you and use them wisely, 3) Choose the financial assets for those vehicles and invest wisely, 4) Know the retirement planning steps, 5) Develop a good retirement plan, write it well and follow it closely, and 6) Start TODAY. He clearly stated also that nurses get their information on retirement through other care givers (Nurses), Colleges in other fields, research, internet and articles from newspaper. AbstractThis study assessed the level of preparedness of nurses toward retirement in two hospitals in Zaria. A descriptive non-experimental research design was used for the study. Using a questionnaire, data were collected from a convenience sample of 108 nurses. The data were analyzed descriptively using SPSS version 22. The result showed that most of the nurses are aware of retirement plans and believe that retirement is important in nursing. Most of them (60.2%) agree that there are benefits of early retirement, but a significant number (31.4%) of the respondents wish to retire at 70 years and above. Majority (63%) prepare for retirement by personal saving and contributing to Nigeria's compulsory contributory pension scheme. Male nurses, unmarried and younger nurses (in the age bracket 20-29 years) reported being to have more informed plan or even more prepared for retirement than their female, married and older counterparts. In conclusion, many nurses desire an elongation of age, to work longer in government establishments. Preparing more towards retirement is mainly by personal saving arrangements and statutory government pension scheme. Early planning for retirement from the point assuming duties through a combination of personal and institutional arrangements should form part of nurses' orientation as early as possible in their professional life.

Child nurturing is usually a shared responsibility between both parents, until in recent times that lone parenting is becoming more widespread. Viewed in diverse ways by many authors, it is simply raising a child by one parent alone, whether the other parent is alive or not. This is seen as normal by some, and thus offer social support; or as absurd, unacceptable, shameful and thus stigmatized both the lone parents and their children. How does the Zaria community perceive single parenthood? A descriptive cross-sectional survey in two urban Local Government Areas in Zaria metropolis was conducted, using a researcher-constructed questionnaire. Data obtained from 270 respondents were analysed descriptively using SPSS 21.0. Results indicated that single parenting is a common reality in the study setting: the main causes of which include divorce, children born out of wedlock and some parents choosing to have children as single parents. It is believed that factors such as the quest for economic independence by some women as well as social approval/choices are contributory to its increasing prevalence. There are perceived positive and negative effects associated with single parenting. Many respondents advocated for some assistance such as provision of basic needs and free education for single-parent families and children, depending on the cause/route to single parenting. It is concluded that single parenting is an increasing social issue, with limited acceptance in the study area. Strengthening the family institution to reduce contention factors that break intact families should form part of social engineering to forestall negative effects of single parenting.

Parents of children with neurological disorders face several socioeconomic challenges in nurturing them. Experiences of parents in the study area have not been explored. This descriptive cross-sectional study was designed to investigate socioeconomic challenges faced by parents of children with neurological dysfunctions. Paediatric Neurology Outpatient Clinic,

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