The Presidency has reaffirmed its commitment to expanding women’s leadership within Nigeria’s health sector, describing it as essential to tackling the country’s persistently high maternal mortality rate and improving outcomes for mothers and children.
It said this informed the creation of the Office of Women’s Health, describing it as a deliberate policy shift aimed at confronting Nigeria’s maternal and child mortality crisis and repositioning women’s health as a core national development and economic priority.
Speaking at the graduation of the inaugural EmpowerHer Health Fellowship in Abuja, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Women’s Health, Dr. Adanna Steinaker, said President Bola Tinubu approved the establishment of the office in response to the urgency of Nigeria’s maternal health challenges and the need to close long standing gender gaps in the health system.
She said women’s health could no longer be treated as a peripheral issue but must be addressed as a development imperative with direct implications for productivity and economic growth.
According to her, the EmpowerHer Health Fellowship was designed to equip women with leadership, advocacy and policy engagement skills to strengthen the health system and improve maternal and child health outcomes nationwide.
“We cannot achieve the mission of closing the gender health gap or prioritising women’s health without women who are trained and equipped to carry on that mandate,” Steinaker said.
She described the fellowship as aligned with broader health reforms, noting that the office marked a historic shift in governance, noting, “For the first time in the history of this country, there is an office dedicated to women’s health”.
Acknowledging Nigeria’s high maternal mortality burden, she added, “That is not a place we want to be, and that is something we are trying to crush.”
In her keynote address, the Senior Country Director of Pathfinder International Nigeria, Dr Amina Dorayi, described the fellowship as a clear signal that women’s leadership in health was no longer optional.
“This is a declaration that women’s leadership in health is essential to the strength, resilience and the future of Nigeria’s health system,” she said.
Drawing on her professional experience, Dorayi spoke on resilience, vision and the importance of finding one’s voice in leadership.
“True resilience is not about enduring injustice quietly. It is about holding your ground when it would be easier to step back.”
She urged the graduates to challenge entrenched systems and advocate with evidence, saying, “When women speak, narratives shift. When narratives shift, policies change. And when policies change, lives improve.”
The co-founder and chapter Lead of Women in Global Health Nigeria, Dr Peju Adeniran, said the fellowship was born out of the courage to challenge the status quo and build solidarity among women across the health sector.
“It takes courage to speak up, to embrace discomfort and to challenge the things you want to change.
“When women speak, narratives shift. When narratives shift, policies change. And when policies change, lives improve,” she said.
The Project Officer of Women in Global Health Nigeria, Bukola Shaba, said the EmpowerHer Health Fellowship was designed to directly address the leadership gap facing women in the global health space.
She said Women in Global Health Nigeria, part of a global movement with over 70 chapters, has been active since 2020, advocating equity in health leadership.
“Women deliver about 70 per cent of health services, yet they are missing from leadership. That is the gap we are trying to address,” she said.
Shaba explained that the fellowship is a fully funded, year-long programme, with recruitment beginning in January and structured training running from April to October.
“What we set out to do was to raise a new crop of visible women in global health,” she said, adding that participants were selected from women already doing impactful work and prepared through mentoring for greater responsibility.
She said over 600 applications were received, from which 24 women were selected across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, with ages ranging from early 20s to almost 50, to encourage peer learning.
The fellows were trained in advocacy, research, leadership, personal branding, and social media advocacy. “Some had no social media presence before, and today they are influencing global health conversations,” she said, adding that mentorship would continue beyond graduation.
The 24 fellows said the programme had deepened their commitment to advocacy, collaboration, and leadership in advancing the health and well-being of women and children across Nigeria.
One of the fellows, Dr Hauwa Bolanle Akanbi Hakeem, said the programme broadened her understanding of women’s health through a One Health lens.
“Human health, animal health, and environmental health are interconnected.”
Another fellow, Bilkis Abduraheem Lawal, said the fellowship strengthened her voice as a journalist advocating for maternal and child health, particularly at the grassroots.
“This fellowship has strengthened my voice to advocate for maternal and child health, especially using indigenous languages to reach underserved communities.”
