FEDERAL government and governments at the State and local council levels as well as public and private institutions have been enjoined to continue to accord the highest priority in the distribution of national resources to the health sector in view of its importance to national development.

JUST before thedissolution of the Federal Executive Council last week by Acting President GoodlucK Jonathan, erstwhile Minister of Health, Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin announced a new National Plan for the nation’s health sector which he described as a revolutionary initiative that is bound to engender the required changes in the nation’s health system.

Dr. Ejike Orji is Country Director, Ipas, an International NGO in women’s health and reproductive rights., working globally to reduce maternal death from complications of abortion. In this chat with Chioma Obinna, he x-rays how contraception could be used to check maternal mortality as well as the problem posed by Nigeria’s restrictive abortion law. Excerpts:

TOWARDS proffering a way forward for the Nigerian healthcare sector, the Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria (APHPN) is aggregating the outcomes of the various stocktaking processes of the healthcare industry since Nigeria’s Independence 50 years ago.

CORRECT and prompt diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis – a disorder which affects women in their reproductive years has been identified as a significant factor in the treatment of female infertility.