Advocacy and
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Trust Returns to Gurjiya PHC After Solar Battery Theft Resolution, Yet Accountability Concerns Persist
Rahima Shehu Dokaji After residents lamented the theft of a newly installed solar battery at Gurjiya Primary Health Care (PHC) in a town hall meeting in January, community members have returned to another town hall meeting held in April to ask a new question: Can a health facility experiencing growing patient demand keep pace with […]
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How Antibiotic Abuse Fuel Deaths in Ghana: Pharmacies and street hawkers aid prescription disaster
Emmanuel K. Dogbevi Kofi, 38, married with three children, works as a commercial minibus driver known in Ghana as ‘tro-tro’. He plies along the Accra–Kaneshie route in the Greater Accra region. One morning he woke up complaining of fever, chills, and general body weakness. When he consulted a physician at the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital in […]
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Beyond the Counter: How CareHub Is Linking Pharmacy Customers to Primary Health Care in Lagos
School was on a long break when Temilola visited her uncle, Bayo, in Lagos State. A few days in, she began to complain of severe stomach pain. At first, Bayo did not think much of it. “She just kept saying her stomach was hurting,” he said, “So, I thought maybe it was something she ate […]
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Beyond Genotype Awareness: Nigeria Must Build a Sickle Cell Response That Serves Warriors
Modupe Babawale (Guest writer) Every year on June 19, Nigeria joins the global community to observe World Sickle Cell Day. The 2026 theme, “Closing the Survival Gap: Equity in Sickle Cell Disease,” serves as an important reminder that Nigeria must now address the unequal access to diagnosis, medicines, blood, specialised...
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Three Months After Speaking Out, Indabo Residents Still Await Improved PHC Services
Hadiza Musa Three months after residents raised concerns about poor healthcare services during a town hall meeting, many of the same challenges continue to affect patients at Indabo Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Kano State. For residents like Zainab Alkasim, the challenges affect daily healthcare decisions and maternal health outcomes....
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Nigeria Cannot Prevent the Next Outbreak if It Cannot Diagnose It
Shalom David and Vivianne Ihekweazu (Lead writers) In late 2013, Ebola began spreading in Guinea, but the outbreak went undetected for more than three months. Patients arriving at the health facilities presented with fever, vomiting and diarrhoea, symptoms that closely resembled malaria, typhoid, or cholera. Without the diagnostic tools needed...
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Curated Conversations: Moji Makanjuola on Building Public Trust Through Health Journalism
Public trust in health systems is established when people receive clear, consistent, and credible information from trusted voices, not just from policy documents. It is built when communities understand what a health intervention means for them, why it matters, where to access services, and what questions to ask when promises...
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Beyond Awareness: Why Nigeria Must Fund a Period-Friendly Future
Every year on 28 May, Nigeria joins the global community to observe Menstrual Hygiene Day and its goal of building a #PeriodFriendlyWorld, where menstruation does not limit dignity, health, education, or opportunities. In 2025, the global campaign reached 971 million people, demonstrating how menstrual health has shifted from silence to...
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The Anatomy of an Outbreak in a Conflict Setting & Nigeria’s Preparedness for Ebola
The latest Ebola outbreak in DRC is unfolding in a conflict-affected region where insecurity, displacement, and fragile trust are complicating containment efforts. What does this reveal about Nigeria's preparedness for outbreaks in its own most challenging settings? When the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic...
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Africa’s Precision Medicine Future Depends on Stronger Research and Clinical Trial Systems
Olatunde Olaoluwa and Prudence Enema (Lead writers) Precision medicine will not deliver equity for Africa if Africa remains underrepresented in the evidence that shapes it. The endorsement of a new resolution on Precision Medicine at the 79th World Health Assembly reflects an important step towards health equity and Universal Health...
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‘Garden in a Box’ Initiative is Helping Pregnant Women Eat Nutritious Food While Building Self-Reliance Through Gardening
Tzar Oluigbo (Lead writer) Tola (not real name) did not expect much when she first received the small white box with a bunch of biodegradable seed sheets neatly tucked inside. Yet, the spinach, beetroots, and tomatoes she planted sprouted within weeks. For the first time in months, she could pick...
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“Deliver Like the Hebrew Women”: How Traditional Myths and Religious Misconceptions Fuel Maternal and Child Deaths
Dr Otubo Victor Ogemdi* and Vivianne Ihekweazu (Lead writers) Sarah lived in Abuja. Ruth lived in Tel Aviv. Both were young, first-time expectant mothers. Both were filled with as much hope as anxiety as their due dates approached. Sarah had the support of her elderly mum and her pastor; “You...
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How the Enable Study Is Building Clinical Trial Capacity and Epidemic Readiness in Bauchi State
Lassa fever remains a persistent regional threat For over fifty years, Lassa fever has remained one of West Africa’s most persistent epidemic threats. First identified in Nigeria in 1969, the disease is now endemic across countries in the region, including Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Benin, Ghana and Mali. Yet,...
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One Vision, One Future: Why Africa’s Health Financing Is a Global Reset
Health financing has long shaped whether universal health coverage remains an ambition or becomes a reality. Across many African countries, governments are still spending far below what is needed to provide essential health services to their citizens, leaving them vulnerable to shifts in external funding and competing national priorities. This...
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The Bundibugyo Ebola Outbreak Shows Why Preparedness Cannot Wait
“As we scale up our detection and response, we expect to see more cases initially before the curve begins to go down” These were the words of Prof Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa, speaking at the latest WHO press briefing on the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic...
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