Against practice standards, Nigerian health workers, especially in public health institutions, ascertain the marital status of women to decide whether or not to give them contraception.
In 2019, Adesuwa (not her real name) made her way to a maternity centre, the only government-owned health facility around Aduloju/Bodija area of Ibadan, Oyo State, to get a contraceptive as she wanted a stronger conviction beyond condoms and calculating safe periods.

Nigeria is Africa's largest economy, with a growing population and large healthcare market. Inadequate health financing, high levels of poverty and weak healthcare infrastructure limit access to affordable, high-quality health services. The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the weaknesses of the country's health system: it highlights an urgent need for adequate health investments through efficient institutions and mechanisms that can drive improvement in health outcomes.

As part of effort to reduce maternal mortality in the country, the federal government has launched the Nigeria Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent and Elderly Health Plus Nutrition (RMNCAEH+N) platform.
The platform seeks to improve the well-being of women, children, adolescents and elderly in Nigeria, according to the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire.
Mr Ehanire, while speaking at the launch on Monday, said the challenges of the country’s health system are multidimensional and require an integrated, multi-sectoral approach.

FG allocates 4.5% of budget to health in 12 years FG, states allocated 6% of budget to health in 2019 Malaria claims 73,680 Nigerians in 4 months Nigeria loses 216,000 children, 22,310 pregnant women this year.

IF the Federal Government and state governments had not been paying lip service to healthcare funding, Nigeria would have been at a vantage position to combat the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across the world.