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A new report released by African Women on Board has revealed gender disparities in leadership across Nigeria’s health sector and called for urgent reforms to empower more women into decision-making roles. In a statement issued on Friday, AWB said the report, titled ‘A Balanced Prescription: Leadership & Innovation in Nigeria’s Health Sector,’ was previewed at a roundtable in Lagos attended by senior professionals, policymakers, and health leaders. The report highlighted how entrenched structural barriers continue to limit women’s advancement in the sector, despite their critical roles in service delivery. It framed the push for women in leadership not only as a matter of fairness but as essential for strengthening national health systems. “Women remain underrepresented at the leadership table despite being the backbone of healthcare in Nigeria. “To build a resilient and inclusive system, we must address the gap with deliberate policies and institu...

READ MORE: Man with high levels of pregnancy hormone is hit by rare cancer The battle of the sexes is centuries old, but a new study suggests women might have the upper hand when it comes to pain management. Scientists from UC San Francisco have discovered the female hormones estrogen and progesterone can suppress pain by making cells that produce pain-relieving opioids. This process helps block pain signals between the body and brain. The researchers believe the discovery could help with developing new treatments for chronic pain resulting from diseases like arthritis and cancer . They estimate it could 'change the lives of the nearly 20 percent of Americans who experience chronic pain that is not adequately treated.' The US Pain Foundation reports more than 51 million American adults live with chronic pain and pain in America costs as much as $635 billion a year in direct health care costs, lost productivity, and disability...

Health experts have stepped up efforts to address challenges and barriers that hinder adolescents’ access to reproductive health services. Through the Step Up to Access campaign, the experts seek to ensure that legislators, policymakers and the community are able to reach a consensus on what could be the most progressive laws as far as age of consent to reproductive healthcare is concerned. The Step Up to Access is a campaign across five countries of Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Youth Advocates Executive Director Tatenda Songore has said the five countries are the point of focus based on the fact that they have a high burden of teenage pregnancies, child marriages, and are facing the triple threat of high HIV infections, Gender Based Violence and teenage pregnancies. “We are bringing together these countries to address one of the biggest issues that has been on the table whereby adolesc...

The guidelines cover screening, assessment, education, and management. The Maternal and Child Health Research Institute, led by the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, has launched Singapore’s first set of guidelines on sexual health for women of reproductive age. The guidelines for healthcare professionals provide a framework that covers screening, assessment, education, and management across all stages of reproductive health. It also recommends integrating sexual health discussions into routine consultations and introduces standardised assessment tools such as the Female Sexual Function Index-6 (FSFI-6) and the PLISSIT model. The guidelines were unveiled by Rahayu Mahzam, Minister of State for Health and Digital Development and Information.