DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2015.v03i08.045

Pages: 2966-2979

Increasingly, it is believed that the development of any nation in wealth creation, science and technology hinges so much on the robust nature of the health system available to her citizen. Thus, the health of any community or nation determines to a large extent how productive the workforce would be with sound reasoning ability to sustain life and determinant of health variables. However, one critical huge health challenge in Nigeria and Africa at large is the inability of effectively combating the increasing mortality index of maternal and infant death with its attendance of serious confounding consequences. Nevertheless, lack of coordinated health policies, inadequate funding, decay health infrastructure, huge corruption, ignorance, poor research strategy and lack of dynamic leadership style has been identified as a factor increasing the trend. Thus achieving the Millennium Development Goals of 4th and 5th in Nigeria has continued to pose a tremendous challenge. Sadly, Nigeria has been marked as one of the dangerous place with weak health infrastructure for women to have her baby without complications or death incidence. Nonetheless, the study attempt to critically evaluate, analyse and synthesize the leadership, structure and funding of a comprehensive health care system with the key focus on primary health care. Also the herculean task of achieving the millennium development goals of 4th and 5th was uncovered thus highlighting some of the pitfalls in the system that are hindering the achievement of the goals. It is therefore strongly believed that until Nigerian Government is ready to increase funding for health care, fight corruption, increase research and data gathering technique and mobilize the local populace through community participation. The achievement of Millennium Development Goals would probably not be achieved till 2030.