On April 1 there had been 139 confirmed coronavirus cases and two deaths in Nigeria. Nine people have recovered after contracting virus Covid-19. Both major cities Lagos and Abuja along with Ogun State are currently in lockdown.

“Regrettably, we also had our first fatality, a former employee of PPMC, who died on 23rd March 2020. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family in this very difficult time. We also pray for quick recovery for those infected and undergoing treatment” President Muhamaddu Buhari wrote on his Twitter microblog page.

“…Without compromising our social distancing policies. The Minister will be contacting the affected States and agree on detailed next steps” the President continued.

At present health insurance system in Nigeria functions is devided in health care provided in different types: general financed for all citizens, health care provided by government through a special health insurance scheme for government employees and private firms entering contracts with private health care providers.

Nigeria’s healthcare system is plagued with chronic underfunding and limited infrastructure, and even in normal circumstances, many Nigerians have difficulty accessing healthcare. But people who are chained are likely to get little or no necessary healthcare, despite being at extreme risk, Human Rights Watch reports, commenting possible consequences of pandemic on Nigerians.

“As organisation, our area of specialization is health system strengthening and we can confidently say that Nigeria’s healthcare system is not strong. It is important that each state takes ownership to build the infrastructure in terms of building and equipping and capacity of healthcare workers so that they can be able to provide the necessary care” said Country Director of PharmAccess Foundation, Njide Ndili who has expressed concern over the quality of healthcare infrastructure in Nigeria. He suggested “…each state takes complete ownership of healthcare services”.

About 90 million people, a half of Nigeria’s population live in extreme poverty, according to estimates from thea number of international organisations.

As illustration of the dramatic situation of Nigerian extreme poor, their numbers acceded population of entire Germany.

High fertility rate has been consistently reported in Nigeria. The three major ethnic groups in Nigeria, Hausa/Fulani, Igbo, and Yoruba have different socio-cultural identities particularly those that relate to fertility but fertility index is often reported at the national level. Nigeria is currently the 7thmost populous countries worldwide and by 2050 projection, the country will be the 4th most populous country globally reaching figure of 400 million inhabitants.