There is no medication that cannot be openly obtained in the open market in Nigeria. Drugs that ordinarily should not be sold over the counter are common place. Try any Nigerian market and you can openly buy drugs for treating malaria, for inducing ovulation, for treating psychosis, migraine, epilepsy and so on. Insulin, the dangerous hormonal preparation for treating diabetes is so common place with different preparations, types and strengths. No drug is deemed too sacred to be sold in Nigeria.

When it comes to cancer treatment, people living in developed countries are fortunate to have access to excellent medical facilities and hospitals. But often, those who beat the odds against cancer have undergone a screening—conducted many times by their family practice physician. Screening is the search for disease in persons who do not have disease or who do not recognize that they have the disease.

Priority settings means deciding who is to get what at whose expense. “Giving priority to one group of people means taking it away from another group.” No nation, even the richest country in the world can survive health care policy driven by technology rather than health care needs on the long run. In a country like Nigeria with very scarce health care funding, this is a sure route to everlasting disaster.

US government regulations for cosmetics were developed over forty years ago when scientists believed that lotions and other products applied topically didn't have a significant impact on the body. At that time the skin was considered a protective barrier that prevented chemicals from entering the body.

The instruction was always to portray the programme in good light. However, my medical colleagues agreed that for Mr Chukwu to be returned home in his present state without access to adequate funding, instant death seems to be the prognosis. Even with a full pocket, the care needed by Mr Chukwu is still better sourced outside the country. So much so for our much orchestrated NHIS.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. We should lay more emphasis on our Public Health and Preventive Medicine infrastructures as we focus on Breast Cancer, which is the number one Cancer killer of Nigerian women. I am very positive that many of my readers know somebody that has succumbed to or is currently battling this dreadful disease. It is my hope that after reading this article, someone will be prompted to encourage a sister, mother, cousin or friend to get the necessary life saving mammogram.

The extremely high tar content of the Nigerian tobacco was highlighted by the trio of Awotedu, Higenbottam and Onadeko in a study conducted in 1983 (J Epidemiology Community Health 1983; 37:218-20). It should be emphasised here that the dangers of smoking are directly proportional to the tar content of cigarettes. Tobacco smoke pollution has been classified as a known human carcinogen in the USA. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, causing many diseases and affecting the health of smokers in general. Smoking also harms people of all ages

The concern as it were is to facilitate and encourage the reduction if not cut in totality maternal mortality rate that up to the time it made her entrant to the country has been on the rise. There is no doubt PATHS has successfully carried out its activities with utmost professionalism and total involvement by virtue of the diverse models employed in reaching out to the people. The programme is delivered through a consortium of five other partners, Life Sciences Partnership (HLSP) which is the lead Agency.