Why prioritising women’s public health is critical to Nigeria’s prosperity

Women are the backbone of Nigerian society, yet they face staggering health disparities. Over the years, maternal mortality, reproductive health issues, and limited access to care have hindered their potential.

According to public health practitioners, prioritising women’s public health is essential for unlocking Nigeria’s full potential and ensuring a healthier, more prosperous nation. Accordingly, it is said that Nigeria’s prosperity hinges on the well-being of its women.

However, with women comprising nearly half of the population, investing in their public health is crucial for economic growth, social stability, and human development. From maternal care to mental health, women’s public health is intertwined with economic productivity, education, and social progress.

In aligning with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), SocialGood Lagos, an initiative aimed at tackling Nigeria’s social and environmental challenges head-on, recently organised ‘Activating SDG5: Bridging the gap between women’s health and women’s economic empowerment’ to explore initiatives driving sustainable development in Nigeria.

In connecting people for good, SocialGood Lagos provided a platform to break down the shame factor by creating open spaces and more conversations about things that affect women. Tagged, ‘Our Health Our Wealth’, the conversation was geared towards redefining economic power through gender health solutions.

Oge Ilegbune, medical director, Lakeshore Cancer Centre, said that the chronicity of a woman’s illness or health can affect her earning power and the ability to train children who can break the poverty circle. According to her, lack of economic power is not just a grassroots challenge because some educated women are also not empowered.

“As women also get older, what we have also found in terms of women’s health is that where a woman doesn’t have access, when a woman is surrounded by a lot of social, cultural barriers; where there is stigma, where there is lack of economic support for the woman – whether its insurance, affordability; what then happens is that the woman rather than go to a hospital or a doctor when they are ill, they will rather suffer,” she said.

Ilegbune, who is also a family physician, said that there is a correlation to women’s health and economic empowerment. She said further that the better a woman’s health is, the more energised she becomes in engaging in economic activities.

Oreoluwa Finnih, the special adviser to the Lagos state governor on SDGs, stated that the state government will further deepen its policy and advocacy, which are favourable for women, especially in hard-to-reach areas.

According to her, policy advocacy about women and gender equity is part of the core activities of the SDGs office in the state. “We try to see how we can reach people that are in poverty, people that cannot afford wellness, which is what we have taken from today,” stated Finnih, who was represented by Yemisi Akingbade.

Abraham Ologundudu, founder, SocialGood Lagos, said the activating SDG5 helps in keying into global conversation about women in politics and other sectors, especially with the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, which got underway on Tuesday September 10, 2024, by creating a platform to advance gender equality in Nigeria.

According to him, the quality of the conversations was both inspiring and empowering; and that witnessing the depth of insight and shared passion for creating tangible change was incredible. “Together, we tackled tough questions, explored impactful solutions, and reaffirmed our commitment to advancing gender equality. Let’s continue to build on the momentum we’ve created and #ActivateSDG5 together.”

According to him, conversations about the activate SDG5 are meant to impact how future policies, ideas, and how world leaders perceive or engage with gender equality in the Nigerian context. He said further that the idea was to create a platform for intergenerational dialogue on gender issues and how it affects women in Nigeria.

“So, that’s why you see that we have a teenager, we have people in their 20s, we have someone in their 30s, in their 40s, so that we’re not just seeing the issues of women and girls from one point of view, we are seeing it from all the generations,” Ologundudu said, disclosing that the intergenerational dialogue sparked thoughtful reflections.

He further highlighted the progress, challenges, and opportunities in driving sustainable development towards a brighter future for all in Nigeria. He said that the conversations around ‘activate SDG5’ delves into the initiatives, policies, and partnerships needed to transform Nigeria’s development landscape, with a focus on the implementation of UN’s sustainable development goals.

“Health is wealth, and an empowered woman should be a healthy woman. It is only an empowered woman who will have that opportunity to access healthcare when the challenges arise,” Fabia Ogunmekan, gender and development consultant, said.

She said further that women’s health is a critical national issue that should be topmost on everyone’s interest as a family issue. According to her, women’s health is a community and societal issue, and that a healthy, economically productive woman is a good nation builder.

“So, we know that the face of poverty is a woman, or the face of poverty is usually women. We also know that women often stand in the gap as providers in the family, or at least supporters in the provision of economic opportunities and just in terms of the well-being of their families,” she said.

Speaking further, she said that with the conversations around ‘Activate SDG5’, SocialGood Lagos has highlighted a two-way approach to show the intersection that there is a need to invest both in women’s economic empowerment and health.

“But in this particular conversation that we’re having, statistics or evidence shows that there are definitely specific peculiarities that women face in terms of their health. And women’s health also has a ripple effect in terms of reproductive productivity as well, reproductive rights, reproductive care,” Ogunmekan said.

Jemima Osunde, physiotherapist and actor, advocated for more writers’ room to deepen understanding about women’s health in the creative space, especially through the movies produced in Nollywood.

“Fela is only as big as he is because of the quality of music he made and the stories he was telling. We are still singing those songs till today because a lot of those things are still our reality. So, imagine how much of an impact it will make if we make a movie that tells a real woman’s story in a way that is educating people,” she said.

According to her, women are currently doing as much as they can to champion their cause, especially in whatever capacity or cause they have chosen. She said further that women are often projected as a suppressed gender, especially when it involves issues affecting women’s health and socioeconomic state.

“There are a lot of films that show women taking the lead. There are a lot of movies that showcase women leading spaces. We have movies about women CEOs, we have movies about women entrepreneurs, and we have movies that showcase health conditions like postpartum depression, movies that showcase the process of pregnancy,” Osunde said.