Managing Primary Health Care in the South - South Geo Political Zone of Nigeria

Management of Primary Health Care (PHC) is one of the main pillars of a health system through Human Resources. Furthermore, the quality of health services depends to a large extent on the people who manage the services. The paper reviews the role of stakeholders in the management of primary health service provisioning in general and in Primary Health Care in particular, it examines brief historical review of the gradual introduction of new cadres of health managers into the health system in response to perceived health needs, training and deployment of health during the colonial era, establishment of the advance schools for health workers, events at third national development plan and the unfortunate decline of community nursing and community midwifery, etc. It further analyzes factors and challenges of leadership which affect the performance of health managers. It also discussed case studies of proven innovative approaches and best practices in the management of human resources in sub – Saharan Africa and Nigeria. Data used in this paper is derived from secondary sources. An urgent need for a comprehensive database on the Human Resource for Health (HRH) situation in Primary Health Care should be developed. The current Human Resource situation indicates that the availability and distribution of HRH and PHC is far from being adequate. The need to mobilize communities to get them to take ownership of primary health care delivery and its maintenance is important. The morale and motivation of personnel have major implications for their performance. In the case of Human Resource for PHC in Nigeria, data is not easilyavailable and when available tends to be incomplete and/or contradictory. The distribution and availability of HR and PHC is also a major concern in most parts of Nigeria. The poor distribution and inadequate number of the various health personnel required for an effective PHC in Nigeria is compounded by the brain drain, poor motivation among health personnel and inappropriate policies among others

The Nigerian National Policy on Education and Structure: Matters Arising

The Nigeria educational system has undergone a plethora of changes and restructuring, with consistent strike and industrial action by unions within the educational system. Government has made some concerted effort to address these problems in the educational system and also design and formulate an educational structure that will assist in reaching the set goals and aims as enshrined in the national policy on education. Such efforts include the national curriculum conference, the national policy on education, the 6-5-4 system of education, the 6-3-3-4 system and yet again the restructuring of the national educational system to the 9-3-4 system under the Universal Basic Education. However, success has been limited at best. Here, we reviewed the National policy on education and analyzed stakeholders views through oral interviews of officials in the Federal and State ministry of education, universities and other relevant agencies in the educational sector. The problem with the educational system seems not to be that of policy or structural falsification and proliferation, but that of programmes and policy implementations. Some recommendations were made to help address these educational problems.Keywords: National Policy on Education, educational restructuring, educational policy, strike actions

Reproductive Decisions between Gender and Fertility Preferences among Urban Dwellers: The Case of Bette, Nigeria

Efforts at reducing fertility in developing areas have focused on women who are expected to determine fertility preferences, yet fertility has not reduced in these areas. This is because in most of these areas, especially in Africa, fertility preferences are rather determined by the man, culture and society. This study focused on how reproductive decision making between man and woman affects their fertility preferences. We found that the immediate household (husband and wife) provided the household needs and in the process influences the reproductive decision. The man as head of the family leads or dominates in almost all decisions. We suggest that women’s position in decision making be enhanced while the norms and values that undermine their authority on reproductive decision should be reviewed.Key Words: Reproductive decisions, fertility preferences, urban dwellers, gender