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The illicit organ trade in Nigeria stems from the demand for organs in Western nations combined with the poverty, unemployment and harsh living conditions in much of Nigeria. Those in desperate need of money have their organs removed and sold on the black market. Although transplant operations can be dangerous or fatal, the donors usually donate one kidney, without which they can live relatively normal lives. One operation can get the donor up to $20,000, but it is not a steady source of income. Nigeria is not identified by the World Health Organisation as a "hotspot" for organ trafficking, but it has strong ties to traffickers of organs. The black market organ trend has developed into "transplant tourism," where patients in need of a transplant travel to other countries and are matched with a donor of their blood type. Donors lack basic health care benefits as well as the ability to take legal action against traffickers, and can be coerced into selling organs. Payment can also be reduced or withheld without consequence to the traffickers.
 * Illicit Organ Trade**

[] [] "In 2005, a Lagos-based orphanage suspected of ties to child trafficking rings, was shut down. There, charred baby-bones were discovered on the rubbish tip, leading to suspicion the orphanage was involved in the peddling of human body parts, possibly for use in rituals or for organ harvesting."
 * Articles/News:**

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 * Shantytowns**

**Gender Roles in Nigeria**

**In general, labor is divided in Nigerian society along gender lines **

**Women** ** Ø Women are rarely involved in political and professional areas** ** Ø In urban areas, woman are slowly becoming more and more involved in the labor workforces, however they are still greatly outnumbered by the males** ** Ø The women that do enter the workforce very seldom move up in the hierarchy of their company** ** Ø Women that are not in the workforce are still expected to provide for their family so they often farm crops or sell homemade products**

 Men ** Ø Men are dominant over women in almost all areas** ** Ø Men have very little obligations as far as providing for their families** ** Ø Men see women as possessions and they have the right to beat them as long as they don’t cause permanent damage**

**http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Nigeria.html**

__ **Background Information** __

0-14 years: 41.5% (male 31,624,050/female 30,242,637) 15-64 years: 55.5% (male 42,240,641/female 40,566,672) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 2,211,840/female 2,343,250) || varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north || Rank: 47th || Appointed by: Civilian Title: President of the Republic || __Historical Information__ []
 * **__ [|Location] __:** ||  ||
 * < Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon ||
 * **__ [|Area] __:** ||  ||
 * < **total: 923,768 sq km, slightly more than twice the size of California ** ||
 * < **border countries: Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger ** ||
 * Population ||  ||
 * July 2010 est: 152,217,341
 * **__ [|Climate] __:** ||  ||
 * < __<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #747b7b; font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px;">Current Weather __
 * <span style="color: #666666; display: block; font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px; padding-left: 5px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: middle;">**__ [|Terrain] __:** ||  ||
 * < <span style="display: block; font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in southeast, plains in north ||
 * <span style="color: #666666; display: block; font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px; padding-left: 5px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: middle;">**__ [|Elevation extremes] __:** ||  ||
 * < <span style="color: #666666; display: block; font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: middle;">**lowest point: <span class="category_data" style="font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px; vertical-align: top;">Atlantic Ocean 0 m ** <span style="color: #666666; display: block; font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px; padding-top: 2px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: middle;">**highest point: <span class="category_data" style="font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px; vertical-align: top;">Chappal Waddi 2,419 m ** ||
 * [|GDP] ||  ||
 * Amount: $115 Billion
 * <span style="color: #666666; display: block; font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px; padding-left: 5px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: middle;">**__ [|Natural resources] __:** ||  ||
 * < <span style="display: block; font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">natural gas, petroleum, tin, iron ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zinc, arable land ||
 * <span style="color: #666666; display: block; font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px; padding-left: 5px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: middle;">**__ [|Land use] __:** ||  ||
 * < <span style="color: #666666; display: block; font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: middle;">**arable land: <span class="category_data" style="font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px; vertical-align: top;">33.02% ** <span style="color: #666666; display: block; font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px; padding-top: 2px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: middle;">**permanent crops: <span class="category_data" style="font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px; vertical-align: top;">3.14% ****other: <span class="category_data" style="font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px; vertical-align: top;">63.84% (2005) ** ||
 * <span style="color: #666666; display: block; font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px; padding-left: 5px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: middle;">**__ [|Natural hazards] __:** ||  ||
 * < <span style="display: block; font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">periodic droughts; flooding ||
 * <span style="color: #666666; display: block; font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px; padding-left: 5px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: middle;">**__ [|Environment - current issues] __:** ||  ||
 * < <span style="display: block; font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px; vertical-align: middle;">soil degradation; rapid deforestation; urban air and water pollution; desertification; oil pollution - water, air, and soil; has suffered serious damage from oil spills; loss of arable land; rapid urbanization ||
 * <span style="color: #666666; display: block; font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px; padding-left: 5px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: middle;">**__ [|Environment - international agreements] __:** ||  ||
 * < <span style="color: #666666; display: block; font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: middle;">**party to: <span class="category_data" style="font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px; vertical-align: top;">Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands ** <span style="color: #666666; display: block; font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px; padding-top: 2px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: middle;">**signed, but not ratified: <span class="category_data" style="font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 16px; vertical-align: top;">none of the selected agreements ** ||
 * Administration ||  ||
 * Current leader: [|Olusegun Obasanjo]
 * [| Religion - population percentage] ||  ||
 * **Muslim**: 50%
 * Christian**: 40%
 * Traditional**: 10%
 * In government power**: Muslim ||
 * [| Religion - Conflicts between Christians and Muslims] ||  ||
 * Conflicts between the two prominent monotheistic Religious groups have been common since the Usman Dan Fodio’s jihad from 1804–1810 ||

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Information about Chris Abani, author of Graceland: [] media type="custom" key="8383002" Blog: []

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