Key stakeholders in the health sector have advocated for a comprehensive review of reproductive health curriculum in Nigerian Universities to include prevention and treatment.
A renowned Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Benin, Friday Okonofua, speaking on Monday Abuja at the opening of a two-day workshop on reproductive health curriculum review, said the stakeholders were concerned that the current curriculum focuses majorly on treatment, a reason he said was responsible for high maternal deaths in country.
He said there was the need train medical students on how to prevent conditions that would lead to maternal death, hence the call for a comprehensive reproductive health education that focuses on preventive rather than curative practice.
Okonofua who leads the African Centre of Excellence in Reproductive Health at UNIBEN, commended NUC for recently coming up with the new Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS), for Universities, saying it was unfortunate that the issues of Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR), were almost neglected.
The meeting which held at the headquarters of the National Universities Commission (NUC) Abuja, saw participants drawn from principal officers of medical schools, West African Post Graduate Medical College, Federal Ministry of Health, Medical and Dental Health Council of Nigeria, National Universities Commission as well as undergraduate and post-graduate medical students.
