Quarter of a century of female sterilization in Jos, Central Nigeria

The study was to assess the types and trend of female sterilization between January 1985 and December 2009 (25 years) in Jos, Central Nigeria. There were 25,313 new acceptors of modern contraceptive methods out of which 4,951 (19.6%) were female sterilizations. Minilaparotomy was the commonest method of female sterilization. Local anaesthesia was the commonest anaesthetic utilized. The women were mostly women of relatively older age, grandmultiparous and with large family size. The women were of mean of 38.4 years, and 60% had more than 5 children at the time of sterilization. Interval sterilization constituted 78.5% of the female sterilizations. The acceptance of female sterilization, however, has declined over the years, as acceptance of the long acting contraceptive implants increases. Female sterilization by minilaparotomy under local anaesthesia was found to be feasible, cost effective and acceptable by majority of clients, and recommended for integration into minor gynaecological procedures in our institutions (Afr J Reprod Health 2011; 15[1]: 101-106)

Skilled attendance: the key challenges to progress in achieving MDG-5 in North Central Nigeria

The importance of skilled attendance at delivery, as reflected in the MDG 5, is being promoted in developing countries to address the high maternal/perinatal morbidity and mortality. Evaluation of personnel skills and availability of material resources are central to elimination of barriers to delivery of basic Emergency Obstetric Care (EOC) to the community. We designed a semi-structured, interviewee-administered questionnaire for 54 certified Nurse-Midwives working in Primary Health Care (PHC) clinics in Nasarawa State, central Nigeria, and examined their knowledge and competencies in the five major areas responsible for maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, including power supply, referral linkages and motivation to work. Majority 51 (94.4%) of PHCs neither used the Partograph nor performed manual vacuum aspiration. Referral systems and feedback mechanisms were practically non-existent, 38 (70.4%) of facilities were >5km from the nearest referral centre, with 14(29.5%) connected to the national grid. Majority (68.5%) of respondents would want to work abroad. The quality of skilled attendance is low and basic EOC facilities are lacking, a situation further threatened by potential emigration to greener pastures. Governments and development partners need to address facility and skilled manpower shortages in developing countries to make a modest attempt at meeting the MDG on maternal health (Afr. J. Reprod. Health 2010; 14[2]: 129-138)